The Blind Side

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

Isaiah 58:6-7

We’ve been talking about what God requires of us, us – meaning fellow believers in Christ. In my last post I shared what God had required of my friend, Jen Gash, of Sweet Sleep. For her, it is a life devoted to providing beds for orphans in some of the darkest places in the world. Now, don’t click off this page just yet because you have no desire to travel to “dark places”! Hang on just a second……

You see, we can find in God’s Word SPECIFIC ways of how He desires us to follow Him and live a life set apart from the world so that He alone can be glorified. Most of us can rattle off a list of things like, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” “Love the Lord with all your heart,” and “Take up your cross and follow me.” In these three quotes alone, God is telling us how to live an abundant life on this earth. OK – still, don’t click off just yet. We are getting to the good part!

For example, ALL believers are required to “love” our neighbor (found in Leviticus & several time in the New Testament). Now surely you know that “neighbor” doesn’t mean the person literally living right next door to you. Jesus is talking about mankind in general. So, how do we do that? The Bible doesn’t say, “Love your neighbor by baking a pie for a widow on their birthday.” Or “Love your neighbor by keeping your kids off their lawn because you know they are really picky about how it looks!” Or “Love your neighbor by building beds for orphans in dark places.” You see, the AWESOME thing about God’s Word is that yes – He is totally specific as to how we are to live. BUT – He wants to be even more specific and tell you step by step, “Ginger, this is how I want YOU, and You alone, to love your neighbor….” If we really desire to be all that God created and planned for us to be – we must do our part in looking into His Word, finding these specific callings He has for believers and then say, “OK, Lord, How do you want me to live this out?”

Above in Isaiah, we see yet another calling – another requirement for us in Christ. He lists 9 ways that He has chosen for us to show Him and a lost world that we are indeed followers of Chirst.

1) loose the chains of injustice
2) untie the cords of the yoke,
3) set the oppressed free
4) break every yoke
5) free the enslaved
6) feed the hungry
7) shelter the homeless
8) clothe the naked
9) acknowledge kinships (taking care of family)

Have you ever prayed and asked God how He wanted you to live out any of these?  Jen has.  He wants her to live a life, as I said earlier, devoted to the care for orphans.  Now, He probablly doesn't have that for you.  But what has He called YOU to do?

I watched the movie, The Blind Side, this weekend. It’s an amazing story of how a family in Memphis, TN lived out this very scripture. It’s a story of how God asked their family to do something very specific for Him. Of course Hollywood doesn’t get into all the “God stories”, but you understand that their beliefs play an important role as to why a very wealthy white family with two kids - choose to take in a homeless African American teenage boy.

As we were leaving the movie, the couple behind me started talking about the film. The lady said this, “I like the story line. But it’s hard for me to believe that somebody would do that for somebody else.”

Have believers become so much like the world, that when scripture is lived out, it is so far from the norm - that other’s find it hard to believe?

Freeing the enslaved, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked……etc, as a believer – this should be a way of life for us! This should not be because it’s the Holiday’s and we feel guilty about how much we have and sorry for those who don’t! It should not be odd to live this way on a daily basis! But, it is.

So, will you be an oddball with me? Let’s talk more in a few days:)