Faith in Action #13

Updated: Dec 5, 2021

I believe this is four Sunday afternoons in a row... Whoo hoo!! Rob and I are "soldiering on" in our relationship. He starts a new job Tuesday which will go a long way toward making things easier. I have to be honest here, as always, and say that this morning's message really struck a chord in me in terms of my interactions with Rob lately*. (actually random moments from the get-go) But we've had a couple of conversations over the last day or two specifically.

The past 2 years have been rough on all of us in different ways. That's just the truth no matter who you are or what your opinions may be. The focus in relation to our message today is on reconnection after what may have been a long period of isolation. For myself, there wasn't a lot of difference, really*. But for many, there's been a huge impact. In continuing our seasonal theme of Joy, we are looking here at a common explanation, or description of joy. And that's where the whole idea of reconnection comes in. During this time of re-opening a lot of places, we are seeing faces of friends and co-workers that maybe we haven't seen since this whole thing started. It brings us joy to see "real, live faces" again (not "Zoomed-in") and be able to hug them if they're agreeable to it. Of course, there may be those among the crowd that we may not be as enthusiastic to see. (and vice versa) And that leads into our message today. Are people happy to see you because you're loving, or do they continue (or return to) avoiding you because you're judgmental??* Let's see what our friend, James, has to share today --

James 5:19-20 New International Version

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

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Two final verses from James, but they have just as much impact as any others.

As I mentioned last week, Pastor Matt tossed around the question of finishing James or pausing for a more traditional Advent series. But we see joy as the result of studying and applying God's Word in daily life, and that's exactly what James shares in his letter. So it really flows perfectly in this season. So my "lead in" paragraph above was based on Pastor Matt's message opener. He was talking about how to explain "joy". God designed us to be social as a way to show us how much He desires to be near to us and share our joys and sorrows. That's why talking about friends and family we haven't seen is a good example of joy. Relational connections naturally bring joy. (or they should) As it says numerous places in Scripture*, God delights in us. We can share that delight in worship to Him*.

So our brief passage today has a powerful message. How do we maintain our relationship with a fellow believer who has wandered from God's truth?? Two things are clear here --

Believers are in the habit of wandering -- we try to live in the Kingdom of God using skills from life in the World and it simply can't work*.
We who are not currently wandering are meant to help them. We have all wandered in some way to some extent simply because we're human. That's why we're uniquely qualified to help. We've been "away" and found our way back*. The "question of the day" lies in our methods.

You may have noticed that in my lead-in above, I mentioned a "two-way street" in effect. We may be happy to see certain people, but at the same time, there are those who may or may not be happy to see us. It's a basic fact that people who are loving and give grace are better (and easier) to be around than people who judge. Jesus came in grace and truth. His way, and therefore example, are the ways of love. And with love comes, freedom, healing, forgiveness, restoration, and Eternal Life. (obviously we can't provide the last one directly, but we can do the rest for fellow believers and bring non-believers into the fold where Jesus can provide it)

Our "wandering", a.k.a. Sin, is a rejection of God's love, mercy, grace, etc... As "wanderers", we may need help in finding our way back. As helpers, we need to make sure that our efforts are not wasted on methods that will not only not work, but may result in pushing the person farther away. True help, rescue, and transformation can only come from a place of love. In doing this, we are actually participating with God in His Divine Nature. We are His "hands and feet" on Earth, so we need to behave as He would. And transformation, after all, is God's heart for us. Changing our hearts to habits of love, resulting in a true, and sincere heart for others. Not just a system of behavior modification, as we've been mentioning in recent weeks. Only love can lead people home, and that can only be shown by grace and truth.

John 1:14, 16-17 speak of Jesus coming from the Father "in grace and truth." This was not a "technique" Jesus employed to control others, but a posture which allowed Him to freely and creatively engage with others.

We try to find a way to balance our lives between grace and truth. (myself included*) Too much grace, and not enough truth comes across. But people think we're nice. Too much truth, and not enough grace, the truth may be there; but people aren't going to receive it because you're too tough. Pastor Matt had images here, I'll see if I can include them below*.

But rather than a balance beam, which is limiting by nature; it may be better to think in terms of a graph. The vertical line shows grace, and the horizontal shows truth. This creates fields of flexibility in each quadrant.

Starting in the lower right, we have High Truth/Low Grace. This can be considered the "call out" zone. We try to control others by "holding them captive" with the truth until they're views match ours.
Next, we look to the upper left where we have High Grace/Low Truth. This is also known as the "hang-out" space. We just decide to continue being friends with someone we disagree with because they "can't handle the truth." This is actually disempowering to others. There is no real love there because we've given up on truth.
The third section is Low Truth/Low Grace. We just "check out" and hold power to ourselves by distracting ourselves (or becoming unavailable) with work, television, Social Media, etc...
And finally, the "Jesus Zone" of High Grace/High Truth. This is the "call in" area. This empowers others by not shaming or judging. The Truth is simply held out and offered in true love, unlike the other 3 quadrants which only offer "shadow love". We think we're helping in some way by our actions or lack thereof. But true help can only come from true love, which can only come from God. Jesus shows us the 2 possible results of offering His love in the stories of the Rich Young Ruler, which we mentioned last week. The result being that he walked away. He simply wasn't willing to do all Jesus required of him. He didn't want to be free from his riches*. The other is the story of the Woman at the Well. She was so desperate for freedom that she obeyed immediately.

And that's the true point here, if we see that Jesus wasn't obsessed with the reactions of others to His truth, we shouldn't be obsessed with other's reactions to the truths we present either. Otherwise, we're in that lower right section where we're "hitting people over the head" with truth because it's important. And it is, but we need to share it in a loving spirit and not a judgmental one. People just won't want to listen if we're harsh. But if we're graceful, as God calls us to be, and participating in His Divine Nature, we may still have people who walk away, but at least they will have listened.

Pastor Matt closed with a personal story about teaching his kids to drive. He's currently teaching the youngest of the 3 in the skills and rules of the road. That's not the kid he was speaking of today. (I don't think, I actually haven't met the kids) Regardless, Pastor Matt is a Type A personality, so he had a whole schedule worked out of driving practice. Said kid had a more laid-back approach. When Pastor Matt realized the error of forcing his plans on his kid, and chose love, things smoothed out. He simply presented the facts of why learning to drive sooner than later were important for everyone concerned. The driving practice was then in the kid's control rather than his, and missions were either accomplished or are in progress in a happier way.

Just remember that you can either judge someone or love them, but not both. -- God Bless!!

Footnotes --

I've been judging him too harshly for things resulting from his Disabilities due, in part, to my own. (see footnote from a few weeks back for more details) FIA wk#9, footnote #8.
The only major changes for me were staying home to watch Church online for a while, not going to karaoke, and not singing with my local Choral groups. At this point, I've permanently left at least one group, and likely the other if restrictions continue. Very glad to be back at Fellowship Groups and Church in person. But daily "9-5" life never changed for me because I don't work and have very few friends. My family interactions didn't change at all.
A lot of emphasis recently on "judgement", I know. But that's because it's such a hard thing to avoid in either direction. Personally, I've become less judgmental towards certain people or groups over the past few years, but it never stops being a challenge entirely.
Scriptures about God's delight in us include -- Psalm 149:4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Psalm 147:11 says, “But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (ESV). ... '”
Worship usually brings thoughts of music and singing, but it can be any act of service towards others, either directly or financially. Especially relevant during this Holiday Season.
We have wandered and found our way back... The story of the Prodigal Son comes to mind here. Specifically in the direction of the Older Brother. We need to welcome the wanderers back home rather than judging them for having left and resenting the lack of reward for "staying the course" ourselves.
"Balancing grace and truth" -- My "mantra" the last several months in particular, has been about "finding balance" in my life. Balance in personal time vs being available to others has been the main thing lately. The focus prior to that, and on-going is finding the right approach on Social Media to major issues. We, as Christians, need to first discern God's views on the subject at hand, then present the truth in love. We cannot be lax and just stay silent. As Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for Evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." The problem with this is two-fold - 1) People on both sides use it thinking they're right. 2) Not enough Godly people take action. This is why it's so important to seek God first and share the truth based on His view and in His love, not our own. (and don't concern yourself with the results)
Graph concept courtesy of Gravity Leadership.