Live it or Lose It

My cell phone has an auto-correct option.  This can be either be very good or bad, very mortifying or profound.    Recently I was having a terrible time with our old cable company’s customer service and took it to the Twitter to complain.  I meant to type the phrase, “About to lose my religion with these cable people!”  Instead my phone auto-corrected me and it came out, “About to LIVE my religion with these cable people!”  When I read it before I tweeted (because I’ve learned my lesson on that) I was ashamed at myself (because I hadn’t lived it with the customer service agent I had just spoken with) so I just deleted the thing.  But that doesn’t mean I stopped thinking about it.

What if, in those moments we are about to lose our religion we live it instead?  That we would get to that point of explosion and rather than vomit rage we would be a geyser of grace?  That we would lay down our pride and get over ourselves for just a minute?  Luke has been preaching a series on revival and it’s eating my lunch.  One of the big issues I have faced this year is how to guard against bitterness when my family or church is maligned.  My flesh tempts me to respond in kind because I’m so over it.  OVER IT.  But Jesus has reminded me so many times in my spirit, “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.”   I have to remember that the majority of people who lash out are doing it out of their own issues and that those have nothing to do with me at all. Hurt people hurt people.  So do we hurt them back?  No.  We reach out.  We entreat.  But if there is only a temporary response or no response at all and they continue their angry rants?  Well, then we love them with the cross in between us.  He is our justice and knows the cost of our obedient restraint.

I don’t know if that means anything to you at all or if you find yourself at a similar crossroads of losing it or living it.  I would love to hear how you respond when you find yourselves in this ridiculously hard place.

 

*I wrote this post a few months back and desperately needed the reminder.   Thought I would share it again with you in case you did, too.*