Walk Away

And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

                                                                  (Mark 10:29-31 KJV)

Walk away. Sometimes, one has to walk away from everything for Jesus' sake. It will not be easy. But, sometimes, it is necessary.  If those you love are dragging you down; if they are doing their best to extinguish the light of Christ within you then for the sake of Christ you may have to walk away. In order to continue proclaiming and living the gospel you may have to walk away.

That sounds un-Christian to many. It even sounds downright evil to many. But, what is more evil? Is it more evil to walk away from those you love and genuinely care about or to turn away from God?

That does not mean that you should despise those you have chosen to keep your distance from. But, often it is much easier to continue to love and pray for them when you are not caught up in the web of dysfunction you find yourself in when you are close in proximity to them.

Continue to love them. But, do not let them interfere with your first love; the one who lived and died and lives again for and through you. Remember the one who has purchased for you eternal life, by the shedding of his blood; Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Witness To The Light

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

                                          John 1:6-8 KJV

As I live in a land and in a time where egos reign, I often think about the faithfulness of St. John the Baptist. His mission was to be a witness to testify to the light that was coming into the dark world. That light was Jesus the Christ. John was a humble man. That is not to say that he was timid. Rather, he was quite bold in his proclamation and did not worry that he might offend anyone with his words. He did not brag about himself. He did not worry about his daily or his future needs; after all, he was a wandering missionary, whose meals came from the wild and whose clothes were made of camel hair. His only concern was to announce the coming of the Savior into the world.

May God help us all to remember that our main concern is (or should be) the proclamation of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ our LORD, which was purchased for us by the shedding of his blood.

God's Peace - Pr. J