A Vertical Relationship

Have you ever just felt utterly overwhelmed by all that's going on in our world today?  My goodness, some days I wish I could just tune it all out!


As I have been focusing on my life these past few months, and most recently these past few weeks, I have thought much about where my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fits.  Ouch ... There are so many opinions from all kinds of different people ... read that, listen to this, do this devotional, pray for 30 minutes ... and on and on ... In fact just today there was a huge uproar about Ellen and her gay lifestyle being the spokesperson for JC Penny.  You're probably wondering how in the world I brought this rabbit trail into the middle of my thought but there's a reason behind it all.


It saddens my heart so much to see the hatred that "Christians" have for people who have a gay lifestyle.  I wonder what sin is in their life?  It amazes me that we can spend so much time judging others according to "our" standards but we don't bother to look at our own lives.  Do you really think the Lord categorizes sin?  I don't ... I think He hates it all.  I have had many gay friends in the past and have worked with many others and let me tell you ... they are some of the kindest people I have met.  Now wouldn't you think the kindest people would be those of us  who claim to be Christ followers.  In fact, in the Bible it tells us that the unbelievers will know we are Christians if we love one another ... shoot, we can't even do that in the church body because we are too busy looking at what others are doing.  It so saddens my heart.


So as I have been thinking through all of this and talking to Jesus about it I began to look at my own relationship with Him.  Am I looking around at all the folks around me and judging them as well because they don't fit into my box called "Christianity"?  Something like, "how could you even think God could love you and save you if you're gay?".  As I thought about my own sin in my life it made me sad to think how mean I can be to others without even realizing it.  Maybe if I would begin to look at my relationship with Jesus as a vertical one, I'd stop seeing what everyone else is doing are start learning to become more like him each day.  And what does He tell us to do ..... LOVE!  Love is weaved all over throughout God's Word. Hmmmm I wonder what He's trying to help us understand.


You know, our family watches Ellen's show every evening on our DVR .. Not only is she incredibly hilarious, but she's one of the most generous people I have seen.  Now think about this with me.  Why in the word would she want anything to do with Christianity when she is treated with such disrespect and hostility?  Why would she even have a desire to hear about this "loving" God who forgives us our sins and saves us?  Why?  It hurt me so much today watching her show and hearing what the million moms are doing because Ellen is a spokesperson for JC Penny.  Love that ... The Lord loves  Ellen ... In fact, He loves all of us sinners ... but the only way Ellen would ever truly understand God's incredible grace and mercy is if she experienced it from us!!! Remember, we are His hands and feet.  We are not here to judge but to love.  It's about respecting people where they're at.


And so with that, I'll close asking you all to pray for me as I focus each day on becoming more and more like Christ.  I pray that each day I will remember that my relationship with Christ is vertical and then from their it become horizontal to such a hurting world.