From John Collins Ministries:
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the might man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, excercising lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NKJV).
Give and take life
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| Loving kindness is compassion, that is Christ-like. Pastor John Collins |
A kind person with a kind heart will do kind things for
others. Mercy and compassion will drive a person to be considerate of others
and to take the time to help others out. Thoughtfulness comes in so many
different ways. It can be helping out a friend to move, getting groceries for
an elderly neighbor, helping someone change a tire, giving a few dollars to the
homeless or it could be taking the time to hear out your son or daughter which
will give them the confidence in your relationship to learn to act with
maturity and transparency.
Jesus has said that we should love one another. He gave us
perfect examples for doing so. What happens when we deny another the
opportunity to help us when it is our time? Our pride can stand in the way of
our path to heaven. To everything there is a season and time. As we go through
life, we will not always be in a position of helping others. We will come to a
time or times in our lives when we should be accepting the help of others. You
see, this is important in our faith. God will bring people into our lives that
will further the faith of both parties. Sometimes you are the helper and
sometimes you are the helped.
“Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4 (NKJV).
Testing Faith
Each of us cannot stand alone. We were never meant to. It is
a give and take in this life. We need to learn to be compassionate and kind as
well as learn to be accepting of that same compassion and kindness when we need
to. Our bodies are deteriorating all of the time. You cannot expect a 70 year
old woman to move her household furniture by herself. She has passed the age of
being able to do so.
The Levites that took care of the tabernacle did so from
the ages of 30-50 years. Their strength was greatest during these years and
their service was limited to that time. There are seasons in all of our lives
of physical strength and those seasons do pass. Do not let your pride deny
others of their opportunity to serve God by helping you. Do not lean too
heavily in either direction so that you do not become a burden nor defensive.
This is true for all aspects of our lives. We will go
through situations in our lives that will bring us low and sting our pride. We
will go through times of being lifted up that will challenge our egos and tempt
our pride. Both sides of this coin is needed to test our faith and teach us the
ways of God. We must be able to become humble. It is not worth it to hang on to
your ego or to cling to your stubborn pride. Be done with it and let it go
because it will never serve you well. In order to enter the kingdom of heaven
we must allow God to stomp our pride in the dirt. Be willing to welcome that
huge piece of humble pie. Gobble it up and ask for more!
“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Romans 12:3 (NKJV).
