When you look upon the cross, what do you see?
I see a God that adores the person beside me as much as He adores me.
The road to the cross isn’t paved. It’s windy, sometimes bumpy,
and a little muddy at times. It’s lined with people that love you and
people that would love to see you fail. It’s scattered with
encouragement, yet other times the curves may lead to disappointment
and despair. Wrong turns or misdirections sometimes make the journey
seem lengthy, which can make one wonder if they’ll ever arrive at their
destination.
and a little muddy at times. It’s lined with people that love you and
people that would love to see you fail. It’s scattered with
encouragement, yet other times the curves may lead to disappointment
and despair. Wrong turns or misdirections sometimes make the journey
seem lengthy, which can make one wonder if they’ll ever arrive at their
destination.
In San Juan, the road to the cross has been filled with people
that are difficult to love at times. It’s been a hard month that has
stretched me in ways that I never imagined, but God has continued to
reveal more of His heart to me. God has shown me what it means to be
led to the cross. He’s shown me what it means to love people with a
strength that can only come from Him. To love children through daily
fist fights and temper tantrums. To see the potential of greatness in
men that have left me feeling dirty and disgusted with a grime that is
more than skin deep, because they hiss and blow kisses at women with
less than pure intentions.
that are difficult to love at times. It’s been a hard month that has
stretched me in ways that I never imagined, but God has continued to
reveal more of His heart to me. God has shown me what it means to be
led to the cross. He’s shown me what it means to love people with a
strength that can only come from Him. To love children through daily
fist fights and temper tantrums. To see the potential of greatness in
men that have left me feeling dirty and disgusted with a grime that is
more than skin deep, because they hiss and blow kisses at women with
less than pure intentions.
At times, I’ve wanted to yell and tell them they are disgusting.
To tell them to look around at how the women walk with downcast eyes
because they feel defiled by their perversion. But, I don’t. I walk
with a smile on my face and my head held high. Their comments have
actually had the opposite of their intended effect; they’ve caused me
to seek refuge in the truths that the Lord has spoken over me. God has
counted me worthy. God has called me His beloved. I know I am His.
To tell them to look around at how the women walk with downcast eyes
because they feel defiled by their perversion. But, I don’t. I walk
with a smile on my face and my head held high. Their comments have
actually had the opposite of their intended effect; they’ve caused me
to seek refuge in the truths that the Lord has spoken over me. God has
counted me worthy. God has called me His beloved. I know I am His.
And yet, they are His too. Even in their misconstrued view of love
and relationships with women, they are His. It’s not my choice to
decide who makes it to the cross. It’s my choice to decide to show love
and guide the way with grace.
and relationships with women, they are His. It’s not my choice to
decide who makes it to the cross. It’s my choice to decide to show love
and guide the way with grace.
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew
sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and
Matthew got up and followed him.While Jesus was having dinner at
Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with
him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his
disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and
‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners. Matthew 9:9-13
