Great Expectations – Belief Matters

Greetings Dear Reader,

Last summer I had the privilege to take a friend to his first baseball game.  He is Brazilian and was completely unaware of rules of the game.  It was a great evening and my natural desire to teach was quite satiated. 

I did not expect my friend to understand the game or to know all the national and local rituals associated with the game.  It struck me that we do the opposite to those who do not know Christ.  We expect people who do not believe to act as we are supposed to act.  We even do this when we are not acting that way.  It could be that expecting those who do not follow Christ to act like those who do is in itself a failure to follow Christ.

This expectation leads to failure to show the love and compassion that is supposed to be our way of life.  Everyone who follows Christ is supposed to be known by love.  It is a failure to love to place my values as an expectation on anyone else. 

The Church should be in the lead in providing for the needs of others and instead we argue over morals and values.  What would be the impact if we just met the needs of others?  We should be the example of living out this difference.

Everyone who follows Christ is responsible to be good to those who do not.  When we do not do this we place unjust expectations on those who do not follow Christ.  This leads to a poor example and hurts our ability to be heard.  We do not show the love of Christ when we do this.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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