God Loves Everyone VS. I Do Not

Everyone who claims Christianity agrees that God is a lover. Inside of that demographic the majority of us believe that we are to act like Jesus would act, even if we don’t wear the bracelet that reminds us. But within that smaller demographic, how many of us hold onto hate against others even though we tell everyone God loves them and we are trying to be like Him.

Maybe I shouldn’t use the word “hate” because it scares people.

A good Christian knows that hate is terrible and we just “strongly dislike” people; never ever hate though. I am not here to define the line between dislike and hate. That doesn’t matter. If God loves someone and we “strongly dislike” them, there is still a certain inequality between God’s ways and ours.

The question isn’t “How do I make them better/nicer/more polite/less annoying?”

The question is how do I adjust my view to accept them as God does.

(This is the part of the essay where I incorporate a Bible verse that nobody thinks relates.)

Ephesians 6:12 says “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

Most of us have heard this verse before, and it is common practice to apply it to such things as how to get ready for evangelism, how to lead people to Christ, and how to prevent earthquakes. While all of these applications are fine by me, I think we are missing the easy everyday application. Instead of thinking about the problems with a person, why don’t we think about the greed, pride, bitterness, jealousy, etc. that affects their life, as well as our own view and deduction of them.

Here is the breakdown.

• God loves everyone
• I “strongly dislike” Certain Individual
• I am supposed to be like God
• God loves + I strongly dislike = Nonsense

• God tells us the battle is not against flesh and blood
• Certain Individual is made of flesh and blood
• Battle is not against certain individual

• God says spiritual forces are what we are fighting against
• I am affected by spiritual forces
• Certain Individual is affected by spiritual forces

Maybe I am on the same team as Certain Individual, and we are both just struggling to recognize those spiritual forces that are affecting each of our actions and views.

Miracle(s)

When you are doing such practical work as photography sometimes you start to lose focus of the overall picture. Spread thick the love of Jesus. Bring the Kingdom.

Today I got to go out with the new Chiang Rai DTS on their first outreach, and they were doing treasure hunts, one of my favorite experiences in Melbourne. Basically before you even leave the base, you pray for God to give you some details about someone. My list was exactly as follows:

• Place – Playground
• Name – Pet
• Feature – Long Socks or Purple Clothing
• Need – Open Sore or Back Pain
• Random – Multiple Animals

So as we set off my main focus was taking pictures of the students, but right as we got out of the vehicles a dude named Andy pointed me to a group of wild animal statues. There was a zebra, a giraffe, etc. As we looked past that there was a playground, and then on the table only 2 feet to my left there was a pet cat.

As we started looking for someone who could be wear long socks of purple, we spotted a few candidates, but after four rejected attempts we decided to head back toward the group. On the way back we opted to take a quick look behind a building. That is when it got nuts.

We rounded the corner of the building to find not one, but five women wearing purple shirts, relaxing on the curb. We walked up and asked if we could sit down. After a few minutes of introductions we asked bluntly if any of them had any problems with back pain. Two of them raised their hands amidst the giggling that often ensues when white boys try to be social here.

After God moved we took a second for a picture.

Andy and I then proceeded to pray for them one at a time, and between prayers asked them to test the level of their back pain. After four prayers of incremental healing the first woman said she felt completely better, not to mention light and airy. The second woman only too two trials to say she was completely healed.

God is gnarly. Not only was this a great faith builder for me, but I also got to take a break from behind the lens to do what I came here for. Bring the Kingdom.

Pap

For the sake of anonymity, the subject of this post will be referred to as Pap. Pap is a 43 year old recovering alcoholic, and a member of the program at The Shelter. Having grown up in the slums of Pattaya, he has had a background most of us would consider a nightmare. He never learned how to make a bed, clean a toilet, or even brush his teeth. This is all part of the past for Pap now though. Not only has he learned basic life skills at The Shelter, but he has also tasted the love of God the father, and his past is just that, past. He was barely schooled as a child, and care hardly read, but that doesn’t stop Pap from taking his Bible everywhere with him, and take the time and energy to read it in depth too.

Pap has a 13 year old son living with his parents in Pattaya, whom he has never been involved with. Along with the change in his spiritual and hygienic life, Pap now has the desire to be involved with his son. He has even chosen to send 60% of his monthly spending money to his youngster every four weeks. Pap has finally recovered a hope for a relationship with his son, and with the help of The Shelter, can look forward to the reunion in the near future. The Shelter is planning on helping Pap meet with his son, as well as his parents, as part of Pap’s recovery, as well as helping Pap shape his life after The Shelter.

Please pray that the details of the meeting come into place easily, and also that all the bitterness that has been building for years would immediately be erased by the grace of God. God is in the interest of restoring relationships, and I believe that God looks down on this situation with even more anticipation that Pap does.