Mark 4:21-23 (NKJV)
“Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Have you ever reached out to others or volunteered without having thoughts of what you could get out of it? Maybe you only got involved because it was an opportunity for others to see you helping? How about the actions people see in your public life being much different than how you act in your private life?
Trying to balance our public and private lives can be exhausting if we fight with our underlying feelings. The reasons for the actions we take can be many and for some have to be precise and controlled. We want those around us to see what we want them to see so they have a certain opinion of us.
This happens a lot with many people in the public eye. Actors, politicians, athletes, and many others who have achieved a certain status want to maintain a certain persona. Most want it to be positive, while others will twist it into a certain image. But underneath they are someone totally different and eventually those lies can catch up to them.
We may see this in our own lives where keeping up appearances is exhausting. All the details that we have woven into the story people see can easily be forgotten and bit by bit it can fall apart. Then the damage control we try to put in place adds even more details that we have to remember.
As children we should have seen that negative behavior will usually bring negative consequences. We either learn not to tread into that negative territory or we learn how to manipulate it to prevent the consequences. Most times not treading there is easier, but we just can’t resist because part of us wants to go the direction that can bring the undesired results.
As adults we tend to try to manage the negative impact our actions will have on us. We can even try to bring about change with positive thoughts or by eliciting good karma, but true change will not happen unless we alter our whole approach.
Our focus has to be more of what we are actually pouring into our lives and not the appearance of what we get out of it. The love we give and show others can be a great starting point especially when our actions are true with our beliefs and intentions. We are volunteering, helping others, or living every day out of that love and not for any other motive.
The greatest example that we have of this is Jesus. It does not matter if you are a believer in Christ, He showed us how to live and interact with everybody in the world. His words and actions came from a place of love and not for what was in it for Him.
We have an example of this in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Jesus poured His love and His life into His disciples during their short time together and they in turn took that love and transformed it into the Christian faith we see today.
We have to look at ourselves to see what we are pouring into our lives and those around us. I know that I have periods in my life where I am concentrating more on myself and just making it through whatever is going on. This has been particularly true this year with everything that has been happening in my life.
I have maintained my faith and continued with many of the things that I should, but I have not been all in as much as I have been in the past. I felt tired and worn out, so I paused. But those pauses got longer and longer at times making it harder and harder to get back to where I need to be. The light that God has given me from the opening scripture was not hidden, but was obscured at times.
This meant my heart was not as open as it should have been and the love I should have been emanating was not as strong as it could have been. Your actions come from the heart and we need to keep following Hosea 10:12 NLT, “I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”
We have to continually plow the ground of our hearts so that it does not prevent us from living life as God wants us to. I was given a one word response to a recent prayer which form the basis of this commentary. Reciprocity. Essentially, you get out of life what you put into it.
With love you get love, mercy you receive mercy, with forgiveness you receive forgiveness, but with selfishness you receive loneliness, hate you receive hate, resentment you receive resentment, and we have all heard Matthew 7:1-2, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” What are you giving and receiving?
So, really take the time to pray and ask God to show you where you have been sowing this past year, and ask Him to lead you to the fields where you need to plant this year. After the recent response I received, I know I have to prepare my plow for lots of work ahead. Please share where you are led.
There were many times I was told “do as I say not as I do,”
Doing my best was not good enough so frustration grew.
I vowed I wouldn’t be that person when there was a chance that I could,
Looking like a hypocrite instead of being the example I should.
Instead it started happening in a much more different way,
My actions in private were not what to others I did portray.
Lord, it’s like I’m leading a secret life that others wouldn’t see,
Even trying to fool myself that I am keeping it hidden from thee.
Dear child, it doesn’t matter what people see or even what they know,
You just have to remember that you will be reaping what you sow.
A house that is built on deceit will not stand the way you think,
The more you try to cover the imperfections the more it starts to sink.
Because what you keep in the shadows will be exposed by the light,
But always keeping my word in your heart will help things turn out right.
When you start loving me and others, following my examples on how to live,
You will soon see a new path before you and Receive The Blessings I Give.
Simple Faith Christian
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