Get Down and Messy

I can remember the day and almost the pig tails with ribbons and pretty dress she wore.  My daughter was almost two.  She was like my play doll.  I dressed her precious and kept her that way all the time.  One day my husband was working in the back yard.  He made the comment, "she doesn't even know what it is to get dirty".  I picked up her  darling little self and took her to him in the back yard.  He sat her down right in the middle of the dirt.  Yes I held my breath but I knew he was right.  She had to experience the dirt to experience being all clean.

I so wanted to protect my children.  I use to tell my friends, I just want to put them in a climate control glass bubble in the middle of a beautiful place and keep them protected from ever getting hurt.  Well I knew that wasn't realistic but I sure tried to pull it off with my children for as long as I could I tried to protect them from pain.  It did not work.

This is not this life.  We are promised pain and suffering by God.  If you love people you are going to get messy and get hurt and hurt those you love.  It is just inevitable.  It is going to happen.  The Spirit uses our suffering and pain as a major way for us to know God and love Him and others. To bring Him glory.  For us to know His mercy.   It is the part of the christian story that is not told.  If you are a christian you are going to suffer. And if you love you are going to help others and it will be costly to you.  It is the only way the captives can be set free.   Breaking the walls of protection they have one brick at a time.  As they shut out the pain they shut out life.  They build walls to shrink their world to something they can control.

If you are a friend and have friends and are going to be with them through their suffering you are going to have to be willing to get down and get dirty.  Things will go up and down.  You will suffer as your friend suffers and you will want to fix them and their lives to relieve you both from feeling the pain.  It is an illusion and it won't work.  The situation has to be experienced.  Their problems will affect you but you cannot be their god.  You have to learn to do what you can and advise and point to Christ and the gospel but leave the results to God. Don't look for all the information you need to come from them.  They may not can even face their life but be in denial.  As you give them the courage they need to face what they cannot face alone the fears will be brought captive.  THe blinders will have to come off.  God probably won't work in the way you expect.  He loves surprises and bringing beauty out of ashes.  You may find your assets are your weakness.  You are going to do things wrong but God will use them in ways you can't expect.  You will have to believe when they lose hope and hold them up in prayer when they can't pray for themselves.  You may fight discouragement and anger at them if they don't follow your instruction or can't for a time.  The thoughts of their freedom maybe too grand for them at one point.  It maybe easier for them to stay imprisoned.  It is what is familiar.  THey don't know how to live free.  God may break you as much as He breaks them.  You may grow more or as much as they do.  You are partnering with the Spirit in the redemption of a child of God.  It is risky and not safe.  If they are fragile and scared they may have periods of depending too much on you as they learn to depend on God.  They will need you to guide the way.

Loving people is worth the pain, the risk and the getting dirty when you have to.  Don't try to figure things out, that is the flesh, trust God and His truth to provide what you need.  Fight from putting them under the law.  It appears like it will fix situations but it can't change a heart. THere is no power in the law. The rewards you will experience through setting the captives free and your partnership with the Spirit can not be explained but taught and caught.  You will be aware you have been in a huge Spiritual battle that Christ fought on the cross and now you are fighting with Him.  Remember it is not against flesh and blood but Spiritual.  We are in a war.  You are actually giving them Jesus.  God has just given you the honor He gave Moses.  Don't take it lightly.  God trust you to bring Him glory in what may have thought of as an impossible situation and without God it would be.