Scripture: John 4:5-42
There probably is not a better scripture to contemplate and meditate on today than this passage. Several things have been happening this week that have caused us stress. Most of it has to do with how we respond to people with alternative views or understandings than us. If we were to look at the rest of this year the stress even compounds and looking forward into the future our finite minds see only continued division in our nation and our world. This week I have had my eyes opened in ways I never thought I had been blinded, I had to examine my own thoughts and actions and try them against my understanding of the Gospel to see where I am lining up, and frankly I realized that I have often treated others out of ideological, nationalistic, or stereotypical ways instead of honoring and encouraging the humanity of those around me.
This realization, or opening as the more ancient Quakers would have called it, rattled me deeply. I thought I was living my life as God would like me to live, but all to often my responses to current events have become jaded. How should a follower of Christ, a Friend of Jesus, respond to the death of an infamous protester? How should a Friend respond to acts of violence and brutality in nations and communities? How should a disciple of Jesus respond to speeches given by political leaders that reveal the weaknesses and abuses of the nation I love?
Have we ever really asked those types of questions in full honesty? I do not mean just asking the questions, but really taking the time to slow down to meditate and converse with the Spirit of God about it. This is a difficult discipline to consider. The answers opened up to us may require a response that we are not prepared to give, it may require something of us that we are not ready to release from our control. It may mean that we need to repent, turn from our current path and begin walking into a valley cast in the shadows of unknowing.
Jesus, in today’s passage, is found tired sitting by a well in need of a drink. It is such a comfort to know that Jesus gets tired. Often times in scripture we see Jesus just moving from one place to another and it is easy to forget that Jesus was fully human as we are. He was on a journey from Judea to Galilee. It was a long journey, covering steep terrain, on foot, and Jesus was tired. It was noon so the sun was high in the sky and the temperatures were on the rise. Jesus sits to relax and a woman walks up carrying a water jug, so he asks if she would give him a drink.
Jesus is not in Judea or Galilee but Samaria. There is a reason for the distinction, because this area is settled by a group of people unlike Jesus. Jesus is a Jew; the people of Samaria were of a different culture. The people of these two cultures have a shared history but were often found on opposite sides of the issues. Samaria was the name of the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the Jews were the remnant or the descendants of the southern kingdom of Judea, so within that one portion of history there is tension. There was tension that dates back to the very origins of the northern kingdom, which really date back to the building of the temple under King Solomon. The temple was located in the capital of Judea so when the kingdoms split the leaders of the northern kingdom were afraid that the people would be turned away from them because the place of sacrifice and worship was centered in the heart of the nation they fled, so they build alternate places of worship. Prior to this time they were one people, one nation, one faith. They became a divided people, divided nations, but the faith was still in one God lead by priests of the one religion.
If we were to read on through the history of the kingdoms we would find that the two nations both eventually turned from this one religion and were found in exile consumed by another empire. Again two paths were taken, the southern kingdom held true to the faith of their ancestors as much as they could, where the northern kingdom was integrated into culture of the conquers. The people of Samaria were seen as a people that compromised their faith, incorporating and blending aspects of other religions into their own. It was impure in the eyes of the descendants of Judah, so when the Jews returned from exile they would have nothing to do with the remnant of the northern tribes. Why we might ask, they shared a history and faith, although there are claims that people of Samaria compromised their faith as they were occupied, it has been found that the religion still practiced even to this day, was not far from the practices of those of Judea.
Nationalism, pride, and ideology were the root of the discrimination and persecution. It is the very same issues that cause so much tension even in our world today. For me to be right then everyone that has an alternative view must be wrong. The Jews had the temple, the temple conceived in the mind of David, built by Solomon, and allowed by God. In their minds since they were the remnant of this line they were right. This divide is not all to different from the schism between the Eastern and Western Churches, one was established by St. Peter, the one that holds the keys to the kingdom, so they must be the right Church, and all others against that idea are wrong. Of course we do not have that problem because we are Protestants, we believe in scripture not the ancient traditions of man. But that very name, Protestant, is derived from the same root as the word protester, so by latching onto the name protestant we are engaging in the very same division as the Jews and Samaritans.
This woman lived in a culture filled with discrimination and persecution. The Jews rejected her because she was born to a family descended from the wrong heritage. They rejected her, treated her as a subhuman because of something she had absolutely no control over. Discrimination in any form is wrong because it dehumanizes people. Those of the discriminated group are seen as subhuman, not worthy of the same rights as those of the elite class of people. Discrimination leads to even inhumane behavior seen throughout history, the holocaust, the gulags, apartheid, or Jim Crow laws. Each instance the discrimination stems from a form of pride.
This Samaritan woman was of the wrong tribe, but she also participated in a lifestyle contrary to the cultural norms. She traveled to the well at noon; this was not the normal routine of the ancient cultures of that era. Women would generally gather water early in the morning, and use that water for the various tasks of the day. They would walk together to the common well, talking with each other; the drawing of water was a social time. But this woman came at noon, avoiding the crowds. Jesus asks her for a drink and she highlights the discrimination between their people. Jesus does not get involved in that debate, but begins to speak about the gifts available to her from God, offering her living water. There was a reason this woman was walking to the well at noon, she was not accepted by the people of the town, she was an outcast, and Jesus spoke to her condition. He spoke of living water because she desired relief from the constant shame and disgrace she received from those of her community. She wanted to withdraw completely, and if she could have an opportunity to avoid the constant judgment of the community she wanted it. “Sir, give me this water…” she proclaims.
How often do we shun, and judge those in our communities? This woman had a line of failed marriages, we do not know how or why they failed only that she had five prior husbands. Even today this is a lifestyle most of us would deem unacceptable. After failures she decided to give up on marriage and was involved in a relationship outside of marriage. This is why she was considered an outcast. Jesus knew her, and he showed her that the living water she sought was not found where she was looking. It was not in the physical but what she needed was a refreshed soul.
Jesus knew her, before he spoke of her social condition, he accepted her. He accepted her humanity by not engaging in the discrimination, but instead honoring her humanity. He himself was tired and thirsty, just like her. He needed refreshment as much as she did. At that moment she knew that what Jesus offered her was something desirable and that He was more than a mere thirsty man. She then engaged him in conversation as to how they should worship. Already she was drawn to Jesus, now she wanted to know where she needed to go to develop the spring beginning to well up in her soul. The Jews say Jerusalem, her people say the mountain, like so many before her she is asking, “what must I do?”
“[T]he hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” Though many believe they know exactly what this passage says, I feel that often we fail to understand it completely. I stand here before you as a minister, a teacher and pastor, and admitted openly that this week I found myself missing trapped in some form of discrimination rooted in some form of ideology. I have studied theology, I know the differences and have my own opinions of which version of theology I believe is correct. I could stand and debate those issues, but what good will that do? My mind has grasped onto theological ideas that seem correct in my own mind, what matters is if that theological stance is both correct in spirit and in truth. Many believe they have the truth, but fail to grasp the spirit behind the truth, and in all the fervent dedication to truth have been left behind. Others may have the correct spirit or application of something; yet fail to find the truth. Both sides fail because in their seeking of God they often ask incorrect questions. They will look at the law and see things and act accordingly but fail to ask why would God command such a thing. Why would God command that a rape victim be married to the predator? Why is it that Paul says prostitutes will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven, yet say nothing about those that exploit the conditions leading to the business?
What is the spirit? The spirit in this case is that God loves all people. All people: Jew, Samaritan, and Gentile. The spirit is that no one can be separated from that love of God. The spirit is that God loves the world and wishes that not one person should perish so he provided a way to redeem and restore people into the right relationship with him. The spirit is that all people has salvation offered to them, their sins are forgive even if they choose to reject that forgiveness. The spirit is that God wants everyone to live in relationship with Him. The spirit is that God wishes to prevent exploitation of all forms and restore dignity to all humanity.
The truth is that not everyone will accept that gift. The truth is that many will leave the gift unopened and un-experienced before them. The truth is that many will live so tied up in preferences and ideologies that they will place them before God and even though they think they are following Him, they are instead bowing before Idols made by human hands. The Truth is that there is only one way to experience the living water; the Sabbath rest offered by God and that is in Jesus.
As we enter into this time of open worship, this time of holy expectancy and communion with God. I want us to consider this story more fully. Have we been living a life of discrimination? Have we been living a life rejecting others? Or have we been accepting and encouraging those around us? And then let us each go just a bit deeper and ask God if our answers are based in true worship in His Spirit and in His truth or have we been living a hypocritical faith?
Scripture: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Today more than any other our faith is challenged. It is challenged in the realms of science, as things once believed as being miracles are understood as basic medicines. If you read through history what was once known as Jesuit Powder, was thought to be magic due to its ability to relieve the fevers of the plague. This magical powder was expensive and hard to find in the dark days of historical Europe, but today it is not nearly as magical or miraculous when some of us take it daily for small aches and pains or our low dose aspirin to prevent a potential stroke. Our faith is challenged and it is thought to be some sort of fairy tale told to children to get them to behave. It seem as if our current era of history is faced with the most unique challenges because those before have never had to fight a foe so cunning as the contemporary man.
History would prove us wrong if we were to really look into it. Sure the advancing technology of today provides greater access to knowledge that was once only available to those able to afford higher learning, but in every era of history in every culture the gospel met there have been those that possessed higher learning. The Magi of ancient Persia were not merely stage magicians but were the most educated people of their day, with knowledge of herbal remedies, the movement of the stars, and mathematics. The same could be said of the Gaelic Druids, or the Greek philosophers each group offering a different challenge to those that went to the ends of the earth to present the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Peter faced these wise men of the world when he went out on his missionary journeys; journeys that tradition says took him to the very streets of Rome where he was crucified upside down for the sake of the Gospel. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…” When we hear the word myth our minds wonder to the realms of Hercules or the great, lost city of Atlantis, we see them as elaborate and fictitious stories craftily spoken in the epic presentations of Homer. A myth is a story or legend that portrays a lesson or a commonly held belief, by definition the scripture we hold very dear in our faith is mythology. Now relax the muscles of your backs because I know you all just tensed up thinking that I just said that scripture is fiction, but that is not at all what I said. A myth is a story that portrays a lesson or belief. Peter is saying that we did not follow cleverly devised myths; in saying this he is saying that he is telling a story to portray a lesson, but that the story of Jesus is different than other myths.
To those he was speaking to the accounts presented to them by this man seemed just as far fetched as the travels of Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus, the difference was that Peter saw these things with his own eyes, a feat that Homer could never claim since he was blind. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made know to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” At best the stories relayed to us by Homer are questionable because he did not see the things of which he wrote about. Although archeologists have been able to locate the city of Troy using his writings the descriptions given of the characters were exaggerated by the imagination of a man that was using words to express images he could not see to people with full sensory capacity. Peter could see though, and that is why he says we did not follow cleverly devised myths, but were eyewitnesses.
Peter saw something that changed him, he saw something that caused him to leave the comfort of his home to give an account of this to people he did not know. What did he see that caused such a radical shift in the life of a simple fisherman? He saw the embodiment of all knowledge shining before him.
Peter wrote this letter to followers of Jesus throughout the known world. We do not know if these believers were Jewish or Gentiles, but we can gather that these believers have an understanding of both cultures. These believes know of the mythology of the Hellenistic world as well as the history of the Hebrew people. He is also speaking to people that have already heard him give an account of the life of Jesus. The event that Peter speaks about today is the day Jesus took him, James, and John up on a mountain to pray. While they were on that holy mountain they saw Jesus standing talking to Moses and Elijah while Jesus was illuminated as if he were the sun.
This one event caused Peter to look at the world from a different perspective. Moses in the Hebrew culture is the lawgiver; Wisdom came to mankind from God through Moses. It is said that when Moses was with God his face shone, and as time passed it would become dimmer. This dimming light caused Moses to wear a veil over his face because it was a distraction to those around him. Because of this account light became a symbol to represent knowledge and wisdom from God. Throughout all of Jewish history even to this very day the first five books of the bible are considered the most important because the very person that spoke to God, whose face the light of God enlightened, wrote these books.
Elijah is also a very important figure in the Hebrew culture. Elijah is considered the greatest Prophet of God, because he was a man that did not taste the sting of death but was carried away in a chariot of fire, or light. According to tradition Elijah will return just prior to the coming of the Messiah or the Christ, bringing with him the new age. The books of the prophets are considered the second most important section of the Hebrew scriptures, because they were written by men who were directed by the Spirit of God to highlight areas of the Law mankind allowed to become dim.
These two figures represent the totality of Jewish wisdom, the Law and the Prophets. On top of that Holy Mountain Peter saw the representatives of the totality of his faith conversing with Jesus. The lawgiver whose face would shine and the prophet who was carried away in a chariot of light were standing before him, speaking to Jesus who was the one filled with light. Before his very eyes he was seeing all wisdom and knowledge being encapsulated into the man Jesus. To him this very event was telling him that the light that shone in the face of Moses the lawgiver was the light of Jesus, and the chariot that carried away the great prophet was Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of all knowledge and wisdom of God, making the teaching of Jesus greater than and fulfilling the teaching of all that was before.
This is powerful. All the laws point to Jesus, all the oracles of the prophets’ point to Jesus, every myth, story, and person in his history pointed to Jesus. Jesus the man he saw perform miraculous signs, the one that healed his own mother-in-law who was laying on her death bed, could do these things because Jesus is the very essences of God, the light in the darkness. Peter is telling those who will listen that all knowledge and power come not from clever stories devised by man, but from Jesus.
This leads into the second portion of today’s scripture. “So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as a lamp shining in a dark place…” Prophetic messages, like myth, hold an often-misunderstood meaning in our minds. When one thinks of prophetic utterances we immediately think of people who can speak to us about the future, or a holy fortuneteller. This, of course, is part of the office of a prophet, but is not the totality of what they do. A prophet is a speaker of truth, a light bearer to those that would prefer to live in the shadows of a lie. Remember that Peter was saying that Jesus is the source of all knowledge and wisdom of God, that Jesus is the very Word of which all the writings of the Law and Prophets speak. So let us then look deeper at the prophetic message that is more fully confirmed.
The phrase “lamp shining,” is to cause things to become visible, made known, appear, appear to be, and shine. The “dark place” is a place, passage, task, position, possibility, or people without light, gloomy and miserable. So this prophetic message could say, “You will do well to be alert for a passage to become visible through the gloomy, unknown, and miserable situations.” I do not know about you but that to me says that life sucks and Jesus can help us through it. That if we diligently seek Jesus that He will allow the wisdom to shine through and give us a direction to walk.
Peter ends this section by saying that prophecy does not come by our own will but comes by men and women being moved by the Holy Spirit. How then does this light dawn in our lives? In many ways Peter is telling the believers that we must follow Jesus, to take on His lifestyle of worship, prayer, and service. Because it is in prayer and worship that we will begin to see hope through the misery to begin our service.
The spiritual practices of Friends, the meetings for clearness and the times of holy expectancy point to this, the waiting on the Lord in our meetings for business are times where we wait together for the Spirit of God to shine through a situation so that we can move forward through the passageway that was once filled with the gloomy darkness of uncertainty. The problem is that often we do not want to wait; often we feel we have waited too long already and decide by taking the path that seems right in our own minds. Often we assume we already have the knowledge. By doing this we run the risk of following the cleverly devised myths of man. The question also is raised how do we know when the way forward is from God? That comes the study. Through study we gain the knowledge of both man and God, and we discern through scripture and especially through the teachings of Jesus who is the Word of God
This lifestyle is not easy, in fact is one of the most difficult aspects of life. There are challenges all around us that distract us from this way of truth. Just this week as I attempted to center and prepare for worship, my mind dwelled on the conflicts in Ukraine. My heart cries for these people because I lived among them for a short time. Part of me wants our government to do something, to go defend the people, and part of me wants us to stand back and instead promote peace in other ways. This has become challenge to my faith, and a distraction on the pathway God has been leading me down. But in this miserable gloominess God has been teaching me and shining His light through the darkness. I have become more aware of the injustices that I myself have perpetuated, and have been lead to confession and repentance. Just as Peter was an eyewitness to the majesty of Christ, I have been an eyewitness to the hope that God can shine into the darkness. I can bear witness in my own life and in the experiences of the meetings I have participated in that God will provide the way forward if will allow Him to work through us. Though the future may seem grim, though it may seem as if there is no reason to carry on I stand before you saying that we have never had a greater opportunity than we have today to be bearers of truth and light in our world today. The dawn is coming and the bright morning star is rising in our hearts, so let us be ever more diligent to become a people loving God in worship, embracing the Holy Spirit in Prayer, and being obedient to our callings as we live the love of Christ with others.
Scripture: Matthew 5:38-48
This week has been one of ups and downs for me. Driving home one day I see on the warning signs “Amber Alert”! Meaning a child has been wrongfully taken from her family. Only to find out later that that child’s body was found, dead. We had a wonderful discussion on Wednesday evening only to go back to work to see yet another young person struggling with substance abuse and theft. I listened to people all around me tear my faith to shreds because of the actions of others, yet in the same conversation I heard but you are different, you have faith yet you still honor humanity.
You have faith yet you still honor humanity. That one statement nearly brought me to tears in part because they saw something different in my life and respected it, but there was so much pain in the words. There was pain because somewhere in the past someone deeply injured this person through words and actions that jaded their understanding of what life with Christ truly means. I went to bed that night thinking; actually I was up nearly most of the night contemplating this issue. Begging God to give us all another chance to show the truth and light to the world around us, because in that person’s words all I heard was we have failed to honor our God because we failed to love our neighbors.
This is the essence of what Jesus was talking about in His Sermon on the Mount, the dichotomy of words and actions of the religious. It is said, Jesus repeatedly says in this sermon. He points out the teaching of the religious in many cases, it is said do not murder… It is said do not commit adultery… It was said, give a certificate of divorce… It was said an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth… love you neighbor and hate your enemy. For most of those statements what was said was correct, but the actions did not reflect what was said in those words.
You have faith yet you still honor humanity. With that simple statement, which was given in complete honesty and genuine respect I realized that often those of us called by the name of Christ have missed the point. It does not take long watching the news to see just how often very well-meaning religious people have diligently held up the letter of the law yet with their words often do not shine the light of Christ to the very ones they hope to encourage. Often we are caught in the “it was said” statements
I tremble as I speak because I know that every word that I say has consequences, once the words leave my mouth I cannot take them back and once the sound waves hit your ears your minds may interpret them differently than the mind that uttered them. I know that it could be thought that I just lowered a standard, that some might think that I have just diminished the place of scripture but please bear with me, and listen.
Jesus in his “It was said,” statements was saying that the interpretation of the law was not adequate not the law itself. Interpretation is not the Spirit behind the words but instead mankind’s understanding of it. Jesus was accused of diminishing the law that was given to Moses by God’s very finger, but in reality he was upholding and deepening the understanding of what scripture was saying. Jesus was telling them that it is not enough to merely keep the law, but to remember honor the humanity of those around you.
Today, we are faced with the law of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is a legitimate biblical statement. You could look up the cross-reference and find every place in scripture it was mentioned, but if we only look at the words and do not look at the context, or if we do not contemplate the reason behind the law we may miss the point totally. When we look at this law, we would find that there was a reason for the wording that is used; the meaning in context was to ensure the penalty for an offence did not exceed the offence itself. The law was given to prevent vengeance, yet as time moved away from the initial presentation of the law the interpretation has been twisted and instead of preventing revenge many began using the very words of God to promote vengeful actions. They had faith but failed to honor humanity.
Jesus in His teaching urges us to take a different path. It was said, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.” Do not resist the evildoer, how many of us just quickly run over that statement as we read this? In the New Revised Standard Version, Do, is capitalized, this struck me as odd. I looked it up and found that the translators of the King James Version also capitalized the beginning of that statement, as did the translators of the New International version. These biblical scholars deemed it necessary to forego proper English grammar to capitalize a word in the middle of a sentence without it being a proper name. It is as if it is highlighted so we will not miss the point. I do not know if there was a grammatical reason why the translators did this but I found it odd, that it has been done in nearly every English translation. Now back to the point, Do not resist the evildoer. Jesus is literally saying eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth is not something that you personally are to do anything about. It is not our place to enact justice; we are not to resist the evildoers personally.
This is very uncomfortable for us to consider, because we as Americans are used to standing up for our rights and we take our rights very seriously. If someone attempts to do us wrong we are quick to demand justice, but Jesus is saying Do not resist. If we do not resist then where does that leave us? If we do not stand up for ourselves who will? This is where the next statements become more important. “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also…” Jesus is telling us Do not resist but stand firm. To be stuck on the right cheek is to be physically insulted, but our response is not to get revenge but to continue to stand firm in our faith even in the face of persecution.
Jesus moves on to say if someone sues you give them more than they ask and if they force you to go a mile to offer to carry the burden an additional mile. These again are dehumanizing and insulting things to have happen. These actions defuse the situation and it actually removes the argument from the evildoers.
I know it sounds like a losing battle that we will lose everything if we do not resist, but this actually empowers us. It removes the need to use force upon us and opens the door for us to teach out of love.
Jesus then says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” This portion of scripture is one that is highly contested, because there is no reference to where this particular teaching to hate the enemy directly implied. But it goes back to the question who is your neighbor. Neighbor can mean many things like the word we translate as brother. In many interpretations of this word law to love the neighbor it was implied that it was those of the same faith or nation, all outside of that were not equal and the law did not necessarily apply to them. In Luke’s version of this sermon Jesus was asked the question of who is our neighbor and Jesus then told one of his most famous parables, the parable of the Good Samaritan. The word neighbor simply means a person nearby. It is not someone who has similar beliefs, not only those that agree with you, someone who speaks your language, or even from the same country. Simply if they are nearby they deserve the same love as anyone else.
This is where things get more difficult. It is fairly easy to love or to take pleasure in those near us, but it is much more difficult enjoy the presence of an enemy. How can we take pleasure in someone who is hateful, detestable, or hostile to us? This is where honoring the humanity of others is important, this is where listening, turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile comes in handy. If we honor those that oppose us as people equal to us we take the fuel away from the fire, because if they are detestable to us chances are very good that we are the same for them, but if we treat those that oppose our views with respect suddenly they must answer the questions.
These are extremely difficult statements. I like everyone else enjoy my rights, I like everyone else dislikes it when people treat me poorly especially when it comes to beliefs that I hold as important. Yet I look at the way Jesus responded to those around Him. He was very passionate, yet in His passion He honored those around Him. He only used harsh terms on those that lived as hypocrites, yet even in those cases he continued to entertain the company of those that opposed his views. He was willing to sit at the table with the sinners as well as the religious leaders and took pleasure at that table. This tells us just a bit about God.
Jesus says that God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. God even though we so often times are living as an enemy to Him still cares for us. Even though we tend to make a mess out of His creation He still takes pleasure in us. Even though we reject the ways of God so often He still sent His Son to us and Jesus willingly came even while we were detestable, hateful, vile enemies of His. He came and sat down at the tables of people just like us, yet he took pleasure in it. Even when the enmity got so bad He joyfully endured the pain and shame of the cross. Why?
We rejected Him yet He found joy in that rejection. He found joy, because to honor God we must love our neighbor. To love God we must honor the humanity of those near us. This stops the current course and causes those around us to reconsider their views.
Jesus ends this section by saying, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is where we so often fail. This is where the words spoken by my friend cut the deepest, the words, “you have faith yet you still honor humanity.” Be perfect. If our faith is perfect faith it should reflect the one in which we are faithful to. Yet so often those outside of our faith find us to be hateful, vengeful, and detestable. They see us as hypocrites because we claim perfection but often we exhibit something else. The problem again is the interpretation of perfect. The word translated as perfect in this passage could also mean genuine, complete, mature, adult, or initiated. Be genuine as your heavenly father is genuine. This changes everything. Be honest, be humble, and be real. Treat those around us with mature adult responses, filled with love and grace.
You have faith yet you honor humanity. What does that statement mean? This statement came out of observation. This particular individual saw other rip into me, saw people laugh in my face when I expressed my beliefs, had argued with me on various topics yet continues to speak to me. They themselves have often been the ones laughing. You have faith yet you honor humanity. I have not changed what I have said to them, and they are fully aware that I am not perfect, but they see something genuine. They observed me as I make every attempt to live my faith out in my daily life even when it is hard.
You have faith yet you honor humanity. Words spoken, actions taken, and lives lived in front of those around us. Jesus came not as an enemy but as salvation, providing the way out of a lifestyle commanded by cycles of hate, revenge, and other selfish desires. He gives us something new and something real that changes our entire life now and for the ages to come. He shows us that life, the kingdom life, by how He interacted with those around Him. By loving God the Heavenly Father genuinely in worship, by embracing the Holy Spirit in prayer, and by living a life of love by serving those around him. You have faith yet you honor humanity. Our love for God is not complete unless we are willing to take on the life of Christ in our own lives, having faith yet honoring humanity.