In my last post, I talked about what it means to be chosen and called to be a member of God’s family. I hope as you read this next part of my post that you have come to realize how exciting it is to be adopted into God’s own family as his son or daughter! Let me just share with you one of my favorite verses about the heart of our Father:
“Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
And delight you with his songs”
Zephaniah 3:17 (The Message)
I just love this verse. God is happy when we acknowledge him in our life and allow him to lead us. He delights us with his songs and calms us with his love! Can you think of the last time your heart was calm and delighted? Can you think of anyone in your life that seems to have this kind of attitude of overflowing joy? This is God’s desire for us, to have a full heart that KNOWS it is loved, chosen, accepted, and cared for. This is the truth that Jesus came to tell us about so we could experience life on a whole other spiritual level of security and abundance that is not possible outside of his provision. But what about the people who don’t feel loved, chosen, accepted, and cared for? As God’s children we need to be on the look out for these people and be ready to show them what it means to be in God’s family. Words can only go so far when it comes to spiritual things and that is where actions come in to play. I think one of the best ways to bring more people in to the family of Christ is to treat them like they already are. It doesn’t matter someone’s background history, past mistakes, race, age, religion, occupation, or any other dividing factor you can think of…God sees them as his. As Christians we have to start living this out. Here are some ways we can invite people to God’s family by being their spiritual brother, sister, mother, or father:
Pray: Obvious and often overlooked, but most important, is praying for people. Don’t get in to the trap of thinking you have to “save” everyone. Jesus saves, you listen and obey. This isn’t about going out and trying to mass convert people or trying to get them to simply say a quick prayer. This is about building relationships with people that God hand picks for you. You have to spend time in prayer to discern who these people are and how you can reach them. Don’t fall in to the trap of being sucked under by someone who is trying to take advantage of a kind person; you have to pray for discernment, if your energy is being sucked by someone then that is a good hint that they may not be someone that God is calling you to focus on right now.
Be Genuine: When you are someone’s family, you do not get to control or change them, you just love and accept them exactly how they are. When it comes to building a relationship with someone you should not put expectations on that relationship of how they should respond to you. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen Christians befriend someone with the intent of sharing Christ and then when the person is not receptive within a certain time frame the Christian moves on to the next “project”. NO. NO. NO. This sends a terrible message. God always meets us right where we are and that is how we should act towards others. Just be real. You don’t have to condone what they do or join in by any means but don’t make people your project.
Love and Encourage: What else is there to say about this one? What God does for us, we do for others. We are his hands and feet. We are representatives of God on this earth we need to act like it. How? Find your individual style of love and encouragement. Is it writing letters, sending quick but encouraging texts/emails, Taking the time to call and keep in touch, or remembering specifics about people’s lives? Basically, just literally being there is usually enough to send the message, “I am here for you, I care.” That is a message that God wants us to share and it says so much more than you may ever know.
Spend time with God: How can we pour out love on others? How can we be spiritual siblings and parents? We have to be full in our hearts first and this comes from time with God. Taking the time to express our every worry and concern is so key to allowing him to minister to our hearts and calm us in his love. Taking the time to praise, worship, and thank him enables us to have that supernatural joy to give out to those around us.
So my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s make it our mission this Christmas season to be living invitations in to the family of God. Let’s go out there with our little joy-filled hearts and show them whose they are 🙂
speaktruthinlove1 