the encounter

every plant is held up by system of roots.

they form a complex system that supports the tree and provide its nourishment. whenever you see a tree, plant, or bush you can know there is a root system below the surface that gives it life.

i was reading through this passage recently and had a similar thought:

When someone slaps the right cheek, turn and let that person slap your other cheek. If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coatas well. If a soldier forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. When people ask you for something, give it to them. When they want to borrow money, lend it to them. matthew 5:39-42

these are some radical requests! turn into the face of pain, giving up, sacrifice; give up my rights, comfort, schedule, and possessions – for someone that is against me? those are the opposite of everything that cries out within me!

thus enter the roots.

for someone to be able to forgive, love, and turn into the direction of pain, they must have a strong root system. they would have to have something deep within that would cause them to love when love didn’t seem logical. they would have to have something deep within that would cause them to serve someone who didn’t deserve being served.

wow. to live that selfless, that loving, that forgiving, that free, that focused.

that is real life.

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From onevoicetoendslavery.com

Through differing relationships we (together) have been presented with the opportunity to help 42 labor trafficking survivors make ongoing and necessary phone calls with their families in
Indonesia, Dominican Republic, and the Philippians.

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“Well, I’m not going to be a doormat!”

You can’t go too far into the discussion of serving without running into the this statement. It seems to be the ultimate in humiliation – having someone else take advantage of you with no recognition of what you have done or care for who you are.

When you bring the doormat discussion into realms of faith, you find yourself face-to-face with what Christ did. He gave up His rights. He allowed Himself to be taken advantage of. He did not answer when others accused Him. He did not stand up for His rights when He had the power and reason to.

So… Was Jesus a doormat?

I’ll leave you to answer the question. There’s much to gain from the discussion about the servant life of Christ. He didn’t serve out of duty, obligation, or resentment. He served out of genuine love andsincere delight. He honestly found joy in putting others first.

A revolutionary concept. A foreign concept to our modern way of thinking.

We close with another question. A question that perhaps takes the discussion to an even deeper level. A question that can provide us with greater understanding of what it means for us to be a servant. Here’s the question:

Did Jesus think of Himself as doormat?

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there’s a war inside. its a war that few recognize. most assume the feeling is natural. for most it is.

some recognize the war. they fight against it. they don’t allow it to win. the keep back the desire to always be first. they make the call to intentionally and joyfully let others go first.

in the day in which we live, it does seem highly unatural. today i’ve wrestled through some of the reasons:

• we think profit/loss. we want to always be on the increase of possessions, wealth, position, and status. to let someone else go first wars against that thinking. i can’t always prosper if it let someone else go ahead of me.
• we reject feelings of servitude. and rightfully so. because of the injustices of our own nation’s past and injustices we see around our world today, we fight against anything that comes close to slavery or servitude.
• we think the more i get my way, the more happy i will be. there is an almost natural sense that if i can position myself to a place of ease, independence, and power that gives me servants then i will be happier.

the sad reality is that none of these are true.

the most joyful moments are those in which we:

• give up all for someone we love
• become a servantfor someone we love
• give up our rights for another’s rights
• give up our expectations for another’s expectations
• give up our privileges for another’s privileges

where is the war within you to keep yourself out of first place?

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80 years from now. let that sink in for just a moment.

now try to imagine not just mobility. try to imagine the collective experience of faith or what we know of today as the church. what changes will come to it? not in the sense of how it will decline, be filled with compromise, be under attack, or any other negative condition. for Christ will always be building the collective of His people until the Day He returns.

i’m not thinking in terms of what the church as a building will look like or church as a program. it has little to do with whether or not hymns return, people dress more modestly, or preachers dress in suits and return to expository preaching styles. these are not the essence of Christ’s body, so we should remove them from the discussion.

instead, maybe these questions will better shape our imagination…

• how will it see and relate to the culture around it?
• will it go underground or will it expand in influence?
• in a world where great distances could be spanned in a short amount of time, how will it relate to an immediate global world?
• what will have changed about denominational differences and debates?
• will the organizational and business dimensions of “church” increase or decrease?
• will a great movement of humility and brokenness sweep across the collective/church?
• will the “church” continue to have buildngs of existance or will it take on a more ergonomic feel in culture?
• will there be a fresh approach to developing people in their faith that is of far greater effectiveness?
• will continued advances in communication and mobility completely change the way we relate within the collective/church?

so many questions. so many possibilities. Unless Christ returns, He will continue to add to His people. He will continue to grow the Kingdom.

let us be filled with hope, imagination, purpose, and humility. dream forthe Kingdom!

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