Face Changing

Most of us are determined to speak, and or act when we deeply care for a person, group, ideology, or about our faith. That kind of determination can lead us into very uncomfortable and difficult circumstances as we defend, support, persuade, or put into practice advocating for a person, group, our world view, or as we embody our faith.

How far will you go and what are the limits of your endurance when speaking or acting on behalf of God's plan for your life? What are the limits of your endurance for difficulties, discomfort, and obstacles? Think about how you are already stretched beyond your imagined and actual capabilities fulfilling requirements, keeping traditions, and meeting the expectations of the various people and areas in your life.

We allow ourselves to be stretched far and wide for others and for the institutions that we are beholden to, to make do in our daily lives. That is how we show our commitment. We have been taught to show our commitment through the good, the horrible, and the unexpected.

The absence of hardships is not the way to be committed because we have understood that commitment is not commitment until we have reached a place or state of being where we cannot continue under our own power. That is where Jesus found himself as he decided to go to Jerusalem, his final journey.

In the Bible, Luke 9:51-62, Jerusalem was the final stop that Jesus was determined to make in his mission on earth, and it revealed that he was not just committed but he became the ultimate symbol of sacrificial love. As you read it, I ask that you revisit the questions that I asked you earlier.

How far will you go and what are the limits of your endurance when speaking or acting on behalf of God's plan for your life? What are the limits of your endurance for difficulties, discomfort, and obstacles?

The way that you approach those questions, in the light of the passage from Luke 9, will determine whether you respond using measurements and quantities or adaptations and alterations. Amen.