Good morning everyone and happy Saturday. I hope that you had a good week and are looking forward to worshipping the Lord on Sunday. This week we continue the series talking about the Multi-Ethnic Church.
One day I took the church van and headed to Home Depot to pick up some supplies. As I waited at the stoplight I noticed the car behind me trying to squeeze by to get into the left turn lane. So I pulled forward enough to let them get through. Just a simply gesture to bring joy to the heart of some unknown person. However, the reaction from the lady in the truck in front of me was anything but joyous. In fact, she went ballistic. She threw her hands in the air and started ranting. At first, she was yelling in her mirror. Then she turned around to make sure I knew what she was saying. She added a hand gesture just to make sure I understood how she felt about this perceived injustice in her life. And what was it that set her off on this tirade? Well, I had inched forward at a reckless speed of nearly one mph. And, to make matters worse, I got within three feet of her truck. From the vantage point of the drivers seat in the van, you can pretty much see everything that is in front of you. It sets up higher than a lot of vehicles and the hood only extends about two feet in front of the windshield. However, this woman thought I was too close to her beloved truck. I had violated her sovereign airspace. I had somehow made it into the invisible protective bubble in which she had sought refuge from the world. And that was enough to cause an adult woman to act like a two year old. Arms waiving, mouth spewing venom, all accentuated with the universal symbol of love. And for what? There was still only air between the two vehicles. I can assure you the compressed air did no harm. It wasn’t even what some would refer to as a near-miss. Besides, if you did hit a car a one mph, it would likely not cause a chain reaction accident that would ultimately lead to the destruction of western civilization as we know it. Fortunately, the light changed and we drove on to the next intersection. As luck would have it, that light also turned as we got to it so we stopped once again. It was evident that my “friend” was still mad. She gave me the stare down to make sure I didn’t get too close once again. And of course, it happened at the third intersection as well. Finally, I got to my turn and she went on with her life. Sadly, I imagine she remained mad for a while. As I thought about it, this whole thing made me feel bad for her. Seriously, how could something so silly make a person go on a rampage? I wonder what all is going on in her life to have anger simmering below the surface?
One thing that we must recognize it that the world is a stressful place. There are a lot of people dealing with difficult things. Granted, many people bring some of it upon themselves. Nevertheless, as ambassadors for the cause of Christ, we are to seek to demonstrate the love of Christ to all. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” This is especially so when we can help people to find peace with God through Jesus Christ. Obviously, we won’t be able to verbally share the Gospel with everyone we encounter, especially if they are in the midst of a meltdown at an intersection. However, we can do our best to live our lives in such a way that it demonstrates we are Christians. That means that we need to be on our best behavior. Make sure that you are not the one going off on someone, or doing something that detracts from your witness. Let us be reminded once again of the characteristics we are to have evident in our lives.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. (Galatians 5:22-25, NLT).
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