Valerie Rae Hanneman
“To all who received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God” John 1:12-13(NIV)
The news is full of stories of individuals and groups demanding their rights. There are homosexual partnerships demanding all the rights of heterosexual partnerships. There is the atheist in San Diego demanding his right to not be offended by a war memorial shaped like a cross. In the United States of America we are blessed to have individual rights to the degree that few countries share. Try saying something against the “god” dictator on the streets of North Korea, or preach about Jesus on the street corner in Iran. In these countries, and in too many others, the rights that we as Americans take so casually, are a dream that they will never hold.
With rights come responsibility. Because we hold our rights so casually all too often we take the responsibilities of those rights just as casually. Thousands take to the streets to protest for the rights of those illegally in the US - ignoring the responsibility to obey the laws of our land. A woman takes advantage of the right to reproduce but leaves the responsibility of providing for those children to the taxpayers. Or they purchase a cup of coffee at a drive through, put it on the dashboard and drive off. Then when the coffee spills in their lap (duh!) they grab their right to sue the fast-food company and refuse to accept responsibility for the questionable decision to place coffee on the dashboard in the first place. I am sure that you could fill my e-mail with your pet peeve of somebody not accepting the responsibility of the rights that they claim.
Salvation is not a right that I am entitled to. It is not something that I am capable of earning. It is not automatically mine because of where I was born. It is a gift from God. But according to John 1:12-13, accepting the gift of salvation gives me the right to become a child of God. Now that is an awesome right! But with the right to be called the child of God comes a responsibility - two of them actually. Jesus detailed out those responsibilities in Luke 10:27 when He said, “You shall love the LORD, your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Seems simple doesn’t it - love God & love your neighbor. But what seems so simple in concept is hard to put into practice in your daily living. There are parts of my life that are just right in there. Care Fresno is a great example of how I love God and love my neighbor. My prayer life is a reflection of how much I love God, that I pray for others is a reflection of how I love others. Actually, when you get right down to it - I could get a pretty puffed up chest and ego with all that I do because I love God and love others.
There are other parts of my life that aren’t quite so bright and shiny though. These are the parts of me that I try not to let others see. Sometimes I find myself gossiping about others. I try to justify it - or excuse it - by saying that somehow the conversation just slipped into gossip before I realized it - but in the quiet spot of my mind (that spot where the truth lives) - I know that nothing “just slipped” I fell willingly. Or when I see a man in the doorway of the building next door and I don’t see a soul that Jesus died for, I see a bum who should get a job or even better - just go away where I don’t have to see him. Or when I get to thinking about how much I do that shows God how very much I love Him and how very much I love others and my chest gets so puffed up with ego and pride that I can’t see anything but me.
I just don’t see how those times fit in the “love God, love others” responsibilities of being God’s child.
Unfortunately there are too many of those times when my thoughts, words and actions do not fit in with my responsibilities of being God’s child here on earth.
When I am careless with my rights and responsibilities as a citizen of the USA, the effect of my carelessness is felt here in this country and in this time. When I am careless with my rights and responsibilities as a child of God the effect of my carelessness is felt through all of eternity. It is felt when my friend will not listen to how much God loves her because she has heard me verbally claw another person apart. It is felt when the homeless man slips into eternity without knowing Jesus because I turned my nose up at him. It is felt when I am so puffed up with myself that I can not see what God would have me see.
The gift of my salvation gave me the right to become a child of God. My right to become a child of God has given me the responsibility to love God first and foremost, and then to love others. It is time for me to get serious about those responsibilities - the cost of my carelessness is too high.
Abba, my heart is heavy because in writing this I have realized how often I have been careless with loving You and loving others. Forgive me. Help me to make loving You and loving others the consuming fire of my life.
Contact Valerie or sign up for the e-Ministry of Fresno First Baptist at valerie@fresnofirst.org.
Posted by Valerie at June 9, 2006 02:33 PM