Practical Justice: Loving Others Comes with a Cost

Why hello fellow readers/bloggers of the internet world! I have notices from the stats provided by this cool blog site that the most read article to date is my article on Luminosity. I can see why. People enjoy practical, useful information, not everyone is willing to sift through chatter or personal recounts unless the stories are quite entertaining and well written. Well sadly those posts will be rare but keep your eyes out for the next big post!

For now I am diving into a book as my quite time. I am taking a break form the Old Testament; which my boyfriend and I have been reading and discussing about for over a year now. I am reading a book given to me by my Campus ministry (Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) at East Carolina University title: Practical Justice by Kevin Blue. I already ready 2 chapters previously before deciding to actually take and then share my notes with you. Its a small book and easy read thus far with many amazing examples and questions. Maybe you should use this book in a small group setting? I would only suggest this book for small groups that are tight-nit, have a strong God-based community, and that have a desire to do something more together. This book is wonderful for personal growth too! 

SOooo I will start on Chapter 3: Love comes with a cost.

Mark 8:35 "Whoever loses his life for Jesus' sake and the gospels will save it."

I can hear it now..."Wow this is very uplifiting and way to jump right into the hardest and most unmotivating part of serving...." Well Im not sorry. This was not intientional at all, however, suck it up and face it. Serving is not easy. Loss will happen. When serving you risk loss in time, energy, money, comfort, physical well-being such as health, and emotional loss. Kevin offers many examples of how him and his friends and partners in ministry have loss loved possessions like wedding gifts, and bikes as well as trust for others. In a personal example Kevin explains how even after an extended, giving relationship to a local homeless man Ron. Even after many acts of kindness and love to Ron, Ron steals one bike and breaks into the house the following night to steal another. Loss of trust. 

While some costs to serving seem more important or costly than others (such as loss of a bike vs. loss of a few extra dollars) the key point of this chapter is that the cost is worth it...even when we dont see it... This book provides examples of times when extended service and gifts have led people to God and to a higher quality of life. However, Kevin points out that rarely did he ever see the result of his actions When serving, dont expect to see a glorious result, don't expect to be rewarded on the spot for your actions. (Another loss, your pride...) So what is the point of serving then? Well when you truly put your trust in God that He would use you and your service as His acts of love to change people, peace and a growth of desire to serve God's creation begins to grow. Your acts of love may not change a person's heart but may change your own.

Questions to Explore:

1) Do you see the value of each person as greatly as Jesus sees them?

    

Honestly for me...no. I wish i did and for the longest time I fooled myself into thinking that I did but no. For example, On a bus trip to NYC with a small group of friends, we met a man named Craig. At first, due to his 48 oz of beer and his loud personality and over-aggressive tone to the bus driver, we determined to sit as far away from him as possible and I did not want to even make eye contact with him. I saw him as an obnoxious drunk. Well to make a story short we actually spent 24 hours with him on the bus and through transfers too. We had lunch with him, we shared food and learn about his life. There was much more to him than meets the eye.  He was a third grade teacher with a degree in elementary education. He is now working at a TV studio. We prayed for him after he left and hoped that he saw God in some way. Craig really opened my eyes to my earthly judging attitude. 

2) What are your initial thoughts when you drive by or see someone or a group of people not cleanly dressed or acting slightly out of the ordinary?

3) Are we willing to have the small/unnoticed role and not be the star when serving?

Yes! however it's always the big star roles that get noticed and the small roles are often left out or forgotten about.It is easier to overlook the small but needed roles. Day to day I miss out on the small tokens of God's love I can share to others. Also I feel this question is connected to the number 1. If one is unable to see the value of or desire to show love to each individual how will one notice see the small ways to help? For example if you easily pass a person on the corner asking for money because of being hungry, how will you think of and allow the time and money to take them to lunch with you at a fast food restaurant? With the power of rationalizing, you would say the person only wants money to pay for drug use or whatever. I fall into this sometimes...other times I wish i had a few $$'s to give but I rarely caring cash.

Ever seen Shallow Hal? I did recently and the movie fits perfectly. How do we view ppl as desirable or beautiful, by their looks and outward actions or by their hearts and their potential in life?