In the few weeks since my outlook on religion and God have been completely changed, I have come to realize one glaring weakness in the body of Christ. This weakness is something I still struggle with, but my eyes are being opened to it more and more everyday.
As a body of Christ we tragically fail to realize the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I know that I was doing the same. As I prepare to get ready to go on the race it was all about who was supporting me and who was praying for me. Very rarely did I take the chance to step back and see that people around me needed support just as bad as I did. So how do we remedy the neglect of each other?
I think that the most beautiful way to support and build up a brother or sister in Christ is to just shut up and listen to the cry of their heart. If you let them talk long enough, eventually they will stumble upon what is hindering them in their walk with Christ. It is an extremely beautiful moment when you both realize what is holding them back in their worship of their Creator.
So now this blog takes a very practical turn….
This is my challenge to anybody reading this. Step out of your comfort zone and approach a brother or sister and just let them speak. Let them release the cry of their heart, their dreams, their fears, or whatever they are experiencing in their walk with Christ, and when they don’t have anything left to say….. POUR LIFE INTO THEM!!! What does this look like?
Pray over them. Just affirm any visions that they are having, let them know that you love them and more importantly God loves them in a crazy way that they will never understand! A lot of times I just need affirmation in my walk and when I get it, it makes me cry out with joy. So you can seriously alleviate the stress of another by simply affirming things that they already know but fail to realize sometimes.
In Matthew 18:20 says, “And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” (the Message) It is so awesome to realize that Jesus Christ is in the midst of two people that love each other and are just pouring life into each other.
Also it is our commandment to give this joy to others. Matthew 10:8 says, “Freely you received, freely give.” Just give away any excess you have, and believe me, if you are willing to give it away God will fill you up beyond your wildest expectations (see my last blog about that).
Another huge flaw in the body of Christ is that we are horrible at receiving these kind of experiences. If someone is trying to pour life into you, RECEIVE it!! I know that may sound insane that someone would deny life being poured into them, but America has become such an individualistic culture that we are scared to death to tell someone that we are weak. So that’s another challenge from me. Let yourself be vulnerable to someone else. Let down your guard and just let it out. Sometimes for me, the only way to resolve a problem is just to talk to someone. Even if the person has no knowledge of the situation, just letting someone know that I am struggling helps me out tremendously.
