Where Everybody Knows Your Name

  Do you remember the tune?  It’s the catchy jingle from one of TV’s top shows of yester-year:

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they’re always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name. …

Sound familiar now?  It’s the theme song to Cheers, one of NBC’s longest running and most successful sitcoms.  Mind if I ask you something?  When was the last time you exhibited the sort of sensitivity or acceptance evident at Boston’s favorite bar?  When’s the last time you noticed:

 

The hollow, vacant eyes beneath the plastic smile.        The mother who politely declines Sunday’s “let’s all go out for lunch after the service” invitation, citing a “prior engagement” that’s more fictional than her empty wallet is factual.      Circle-the-wagon “huddle-ups” where everybody has a huddle.  Except one.      Elderly neighbors whose shuffling feet, failing hearing or fading eyesight are mistaken for ineptitude.       The vociferous co-worker whose loquacious ways mask loneliness as deep as the Marianas Trench.        The “got-it-all-together” pastor’s wife whose wayward child has chosen a bottle as his best friend – and she thinks she has to bear the burden alone.     The high schooler sporting glasses, a “tin grin,” acne or Wal-Mart labels instead of brand names – and the frostbitten scars of rejection.     The “angry mom” whom everyone snubs, never guessing that her external explosions mask searing internal pain.

 

These are the isolated, the lonely.  The rejected.  The forgotten.  Who knows their names?  Where can they can go and see “our troubles are all the same?”  Who is “always glad they came?”

Look around.  Ours is a tear-stained world.  Unfortunately, we Christians sometimes exude the warmth of a polar bear convention inside an igloo stuck in an iceberg.  The sad fact is that needy, hurting folks are often more welcome at the local bar than at the local church.

So let’s think for a minute.  How many of these “nameless” folks has God placed in your path today?  Do you think they’re there by accident?  Sure, it’d be a lot easier to let someone else “know their name.”  To turn away and pretend you don’t see.  But God, who made these people, can’t.  And those of us who claim to be His followers shouldn’t, either.  So here’s an idea: how ‘bout another “tune”?  The lyrics of the Lord Jesus Christ go like this:

 

… “Love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 

This is the first and greatest commandment. 

And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

– Matthew 22:37b-39 (NIV)

 

This is known as the “royal law,” because it’s the supreme law, the source of all other laws governing human relationships.  The idea is total devotion, first to God and then to others.  Here’s the second verse:

 

A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 

By this all men will know that you are my disciples,

if you love one another. 

– John 13:34, 25 (NIV)

 

Self-sacrificing, unconditional love over the long haul is the mark of our special bond in Christ.  It’s created by the Lord Jesus’ love for us.  And it’s meant to be shared.  (Incidentally, loving fellow believers—and by extension, the world–with this kind of love is an imperative, not a suggestion.) 

  

When we share Christ’s love with others, ask yourself this: what would our world look like if we loved each other with total devotion?  Better yet, what if the place “where everybody knows your name” and “they’re always glad you came” wasn’t Cheers but rather, the Church?

 

Kristine K. Lowder

http://www.HEvencense.wordpress.com

http://wwwacenturyoffaithfulness.wordpress.com

 

How’s Your Self-Respect, Lately?

“A kindhearted woman gains respect.” Pro.11:16a

Ever feel like you’re not getting the respect you deserve? Most moms feel this way routinely, but lots of people suffer the “lack of respect” syndrome, from Rodney Dangerfield to the biggest celebrities, to YOU. Are you frantically trying to “be more,” “do more” “be better” to gain respect?

What do you do when it feels like you’re giving your life in service to others and not getting the respect you deserve?

Here’s a few suggestions: (from one who’s been there, done that! I’ve got five kids, a hubby, and a writing career, so I know the temptation to feel unrecognized.)

1. <b>Remember that Jesus Christ, our role model, did not get the respect he deserved while on earth! </b>If even God himself in Christ suffered from disrespect, than we should not be surprised that we will, too.

2. <b>Give yourself the respect you deserve and stop looking to get it from others. </b> Here’s a trick: Ask yourself how it would FEEL to be properly respected. Really try to imagine this FEELING. Then, go ahead and allow yourself to continue feeling it. When you give to yourself what you need, you will not waste precious time and energy seeking it elsewhere. God provides us with good reasons to be proud of our lives. Mothering, being a wife, a godly friend, a godly employee; using your God-given talents and gifts–all are reasons for self-respect. But how often do you stop and really soak it in when you do a job well? Take a minute every day, if possible, to RESPECT your jobs well done. Ironically, if you do this, and truly respect yourself, first, the world will be more likely to follow your lead and respect you more, too!

3. <b>Be Kindhearted.</b> Just as Proverbs 11:16 says, a “kindhearted woman gains respect.” So be kind, to yourself, and to others. What does it mean to be kindhearted? It means your ACTIONS are kind. That you are a forgiving person. (It isn’t kind to hold a grudge.) Also, if your heart is kind, then your mouth will SPEAK kind things. It’s not enough to mean well, either. Don’t say, “Well, I didn’t MEAN to hurt that person by what I said.” Determine to be kind-hearted, in word and deeds.

If you recognize a need to grow in kind-heartedness, ask God to help you. He is the “author and finisher of our faith.” He <i>will</i> help you grow in this area! And respect, from yourself, and from others, will follow.

<i>Dear Lord, Help me to find my self-respect in You, first and foremost. Teach me to receive the grace and kindheartedness that will open my heart to my own self-worth in your sight, as well as enable me to be kindhearted in my dealings with others. Grant me self-respect; and grant that I might grow in lovingkindness and good deeds, as you have foreordained for me. You are the Author and finisher of my faith. In Christ’s Name, I pray. Amen. </i>

The Holy Bride

He shuffled his feet and wiped his sweaty palms on his jacket. His face twitched, producing a peculiar, cockeyed smile. Then, a vision of loveliness began her promenade down the aisle, and the groom’s whole body radiated with delight. 

They were so anxious to look their best for each other. All decked out in their wedding finery, he, fit to meet the bride; she, fit to meet the bridegroom.  

As I sat in the chapel praying for them, the thought occurred to me: Jesus is fit and ready to meet me, His bride, but am I fit and ready to meet Him, my Bridegroom?  

If Jesus died that the church, His bride, might be “without spot or wrinkle or any other defect – holy and unblemished” (Eph. 5:27a Weymouth), then she is to “Be prepared – all dressed and ready – for (her) Lord’s return,” (Luke 12:35-36a TLB). 

When the heavenly Bridegroom arrives, will the bride be dressed in an old rag, spotted with worldly residue? Or will she be “a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Rev. 21:2 NIV), in a spotless gown of holiness?  

Will He radiate with delight in each of us, as a vision of loveliness? “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.” (2 Peter 3:14 NIV) 

Prayer: Lord, You loved me enough to die to give me a pure wedding garment of holiness. May I love You enough to keep that gown unsullied from the world and meet You in holiness on Your return. May I be continually dressed and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Amen! 

~ Lynn Mosher ~