An Inside Out Faith
Inside Out People . . . the end result is a selfless, consistent, others centered lifestyle. But the irony is that it starts with selfishness. In order to get to the point in life where we are genuinely caring about others, we must first focus on our own relationship with Jesus.
If I am honest with myself, I realize that it is often difficult to drum up sincere feelings of compassion for others. But then I look to the Bible and it tells me to first focus on my relationship with God, i.e. – focus on the INSIDE. Then, the OUTWARD expression of that relationship will overflow into the lives of others. I have realized that I cannot stir up those feelings and actions of compassion on my own. I see this idea of living from the INSIDE OUT all throughout the Scripture . . .
- God said to Abraham, “I will BLESS you, so that you will be a BLESSING.” – Genesis 12:2
- Psalm 67:1-2 asked that God would be gracious to us and bless us, so that His ways and saving power would be known to the nations.
- In Mark 12, Jesus said to first love God, and then love others.
- I Peter 2:9 says that God has a people of His own possession so that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him to others.
I look forward to working through the struggles that accompany this type of faith with you over the next few months . . .