We live in a world of misunderstood, mistaken, unappreciated, and undermined people; a world of misfits looking for value and seeking to make sense of the world in which they live. I doubt you will come across a person who is one hundred percent confident with his or her own thoughts and opinions, when challenged.
As I jumped on a plane nearly two years ago I heard the Lord whisper, “why do you feel the need to justify me? I didn’t feel the need to justify myself in front of Pilot, and I do not need your help.” This was extremely profound to me. Why did I truly believe that I could be the Holy Spirit within the heart of man? Jesus does not need justifying. He is the justifier.
With that being said, I saw through the lens of my misconception on life. I felt a need to justify Christ to help my personal belief to make sense. Do this, don’t do that- because I cared far too much of what other thought of me, not of what they thought about Christ. You see I wasn’t truly standing for Jesus out of a heart of love and devotion to him and his mission. I was out to prove my own point and belief. I wanted to be understood and acknowledged in my belief as a way of assurance. I wanted to be appreciated and valued for my good character and appearance. I wanted to be sure of my faith, but I was seeking the security of my beliefs in what man thought, and not what God thought.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t stand for Christ, what I am asking is why? What is the deep purpose behind our belief and are we willing to sacrifice reputation, acceptance, and ourselves out of our deep faith and obedience to Christ?
My life motto at the moment is to, “seek to be understanding, rather than to seek to be understood.” The world we live in always appears to have something to prove, something to earn, or gain. I am guilty of this very thing. But God is in the business of saving insecure and crippled people just like me. He gives us courage in this scary world to not just say we believe in something in which a culture has taught us to adopt. He’s in the business of making the weak strong through the reassurance of our faith. He is faithful when we are faithless.
To truly love like Christ we must know Christ personally. We love because he first loved us. We are on a level playing field with people from different backgrounds, upbringings, and perceptions but we are called to unity and we are called to love. The way to do this isn’t through proving our point of view, but through seeking to understand and walk through life with others.
Jesus had all the knowledge, power, and ability it took to force people into a belief. He didn’t want to do it this way. He sought relationship. There is right and there is wrong, but the ultimate good is to seek to do as Jesus did. He stripped his deity and humbled himself to do life with others. He sought to journey through the misunderstandings of man and their mistaken disbelief. He became all things to all people.
My prayer is that we would be a people of the same nature. A people that seek to walk, live, and journey through life and all it’s questions within the context of community. May we look different from the world that begs for us to prove ourselves? May our lives be enough of a witness and our actions speak louder than our words.
About the Author
BRITTANY WRAY
Los Angeles, CA | 26
PROJECT: Stockton
Graduating from Liberty University in Spring, 2012, Brittany never dreamed God would take her on such a journey. Three months after graduating, she transitioned from Virginia to Los Angeles, where she worked full-time with Muslim refugees. Brittany's heart is to let the world know about the free grace of Jesus Christ. She love to serve, play games with kids, and do whatever it takes to meet people where they are at.
