What this picture got to do with faith? Should I have asked a question with such an obvious answer? Maybe the better question is:
How many times has someone let you down?
This is one of the life lessons we’ve all had to learn. We’ve all been disappointed by others and we have all let someone else down. And believe it or not, this is a vital teaching point on faith. This element of faith will take us to some challenging a revealing places!
Life Lessons: Killing the Lone RangerÂ
Hang with me here! I’m not advocating physical violence. 🙂 We’ve established the necessity, and the difficulty, of trusting what we cannot see. A earlier post covered another part of that idea. But faith is also required for things we can see. Actually, it’s required for people we can see. God doesn’t call His children to serve Him as Lone Rangers. Too many people in the church (many church leaders?) believe their ministry opportunities begin and end with them. That isn’t true. Faith requires us to lose the whole idea of Lone Ranger ministry. So it’s the idea we must kill. And like the TV hero, this idea isn’t easy to vanquish!
Life Lessons: Faith In Community
Jesus made disciples. He called us to make disciples. The disciple-making process is intensely relational. Jesus lived with His disciples 24-7-365. Even so, they were still pretty clueless even after His resurrection.
Imagine their state of readiness if Jesus had only met with them every Sunday. (Ouch!)
A Biblical search for the term one another is sufficient to make my point. God calls us to:
- Love one another
- Greet one another
- Edify one another
- Pray for one another
- Forgive one another
- Encourage one another
And there are more one anothers. You get the idea.
Now, add some other things to that. First, each of us has at least one spiritual gift. Why? For the building up of the body of Christ. Translation:
I am gifted by God in order to serve others in His name.
Second, we are commanded to assemble with one another. See the end Acts 2 for great examples of that. Third, through Peter God tells us we are His building. We are living stones, fitly put together (not Lone Rangers) as God sees fit. God places us in His wall by others of His choosing. And all of us are placed on the Cornerstone: Jesus Christ.
Life Lessons: See the Problem – Solve the Problem
This is a bit frustrating. We haven’t really gotten to the problem yet. This post just sets up the challenge we all face. Examples and solutions are in the a later post. Til then, how about a self-check on that one another list? That would occupy most of us for quite a while. Think about it!
