Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, 2 complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. 4 Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, Philippians 2:1-5 (NET)
We live in a world, a society that would tell us that “happiness is found in rising to the top, fulfilling our desires for pleasure, and in gaining the applause of others. To do so, we must avoid the friendships that are hard, shun the downtrodden for fear they might pull us down, and fight against anyone who gets in the way of our success. We cannot be distracted from our own happiness by someone else’s pain. We must shun those who do not fit our image for fear of what others might think.” Yet that is NOT what the Bible teaches nor is it the example of what Jesus Christ lived before us. Jesus showed us that true joy is found in humility, kindness, and in reaching out to the downtrodden, the broken hearted, and those whom society have cast aside as deplorable or unredeemable.
There is no greater example of this than when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well as told in John 4. A woman shunned by society as immoral, unworthy to go to the water well when others were there. She must have felt the weight of shame, as the emotional scars of rejection and loneliness tore at her heart. No one would take the time to see the truth that all she desired or searched for was someone who would love her. Jesus saw deep within her heart. He knew her sin. He saw her failures. He offered her eternal life, eternal love in Him, eternal joy in His presence, and He bestowed upon her a portion of His Glory. Did you see that when you read the story? She went forth to bring others to Christ and was the first missionary to the village who had shunned her. She ran to the very people who had rejected her and brought them to meet Christ. Her story was simple, “Come and see the one who knew all my past, my sin, my failures and who loved me anyway. He offered me redemption and has promised to give me fountains of living water.”
When I come face to face with the truth of my own heart, I stand amazed that God could ever have loved me. Yet, He did. As I learn of His love, His righteousness and His Glory; a light begins to shine into the darkest crevices of my own heart revealing the selfishness, the pride, the anger, and the sin lurking there. Then I am forced to humbly bow before Him, recognizing that it is Grace that has saved me. That fact transforms how I see the world.
Just as Jesus was shunned by the Pharisees, there will be those whom we reach out a hand of love who will respond with evil in return. Not every heart will find Jesus. That is a sad reality. Yet, as a follower of Christ; it is not I who can judge whom is worthy. I cannot see into the heart of another. But I am to reach out a hand of love to all whom Jesus places in my path. This truth is even greater when I meet a fallen brother or sister in Christ. When a brother or sister in Christ stumbles, we must not abandon them. In the darkness of their own despair, we must reach out our hand of love, hope and comradeship. I must remember my own frailty and humbly reach out my hand of love. God’s love demands I come alongside them in their sorrow and their pain.
David would have drowned in His sorrow over his sin had it not been for God’s kindness, forgiveness and love. Peter would have been paralyzed by his denial of Christ, had Jesus not searched him out at the sea of galilee where they first met to remind him he was loved, chosen and redeemed. Let us be like Jesus and reach out our hand in love to our brothers and sisters in Christ; particularly, if we see them falling into a pit of despair over their sin. Then together, let us reach out to world.
[bctt tweet=”Our greatest earthly Joy comes when we humbly reach out to another in Love.” username=”effiedarlene”]
[tweetthis]Seeing a broken heart healed by Grace is Joy Above Measure[/tweetthis]
[bctt tweet=”God’s Joy Abounds in me when I can touch a despairing soul & see them smile.” username=”effiedarlene”]
I want to end with an excerpt from a poem I wrote–you can see the rest of it by going to the original post.
In Christ, I am God’s own Beloved
By Effie Darlene Barba
Accused, Condemned in eyes of men
Rejected, hated for my sin
No one stopped to see my heart
Cast aside some broken part
That no one cared to see inside
The scars and sorrows that abide
A heart so filled with hopes and dreams
Of meadows green and crystal streams
Lay shattered, broken cast away
With nothing good or kind to say
Chorus
Then God’s Dear Grace that loved me so
Looked deep within and bid to know
Each crevice of my heart and soul
Each broken piece to then make whole
In Christ I am set free from sin
My guilt and shame all taken in
And bore upon that rugged cross
My strength to stand though all else loss
My sins all covered by His blood
In Christ, I am God’s own Beloved
Read more at: In Christ, I am God’s Own Beloved
Photo by permission: https://unsplash.com/@seteales
New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.