Soaking up a little sunset with my man.
“You are a Christian. What are you doing there?”
“I didn’t know you were friends with them?”
I have heard these types of questions before. Was there a little judgmental attitude in the air? Like a hound dog sniffing the air for the hunted. It did appear so. Unfortunately, I’ve probably had my fair share of questions or thoughts about someone else in the same way. Touché.
Then, when you explain things to the “interrogator” with a tad more detail, they seem to change their expression, like a puppy dog tilting its head, and say, “Oh, I see.” Then all is well, and shame on them, and me, for being so judgmental.
This is what happened to Peter in Acts 11.
“The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers argued with him. They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised, and you even ate with them!” Acts 11:2-3. And now the crowd goes, “Oooo. Ahhh. Gasp.”
Then once Peter explained things to them: “Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God.” Verse 18.
Good things can happen in “surface seen” instances. You just have to dig a little deeper to expose it.
Keep reading into verses 22-24 and it says, “When the church in Jerusalem got wind of this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to check on things. As soon as he arrived, he saw that God was behind and in it all. He threw himself in with them, got behind them, urging them to stay with it the rest of their lives. He was a good man that way, enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. The community grew large and strong in the Master.” There are other instances of “I’m not taking anyone’s word on it; I need to find out for myself”. So, our good ole friend and encourager, Barnabas, was sent to find out the scoop. I love Mr. “B”! He was like the “Mr. Two-Bits” at The University of Florida games running around cheering everyone on. The words used to describe Barnabas are enthusiastic and confident in the Holy Spirit’s ways. I want to have that reputation. I love it!
There are various routes I can take on thoughts that came to mind during this writing. Such as, “Should we go and associate in a ‘non-Christian’ atmosphere?” or the whole topic of being judgmental. But that may come up another time.
Well, it appears that I’ve made a couple of dog references today, so here is a picture Holly had taken a while back with our 17 year old poodle, Sadie, apparently reading Soaking Up The Son. I knew Holly’s photography skills would come in handy at some point during this season of journaling.
Sadie….a godly, I mean good old dog. :0)
Blessings to you all!
| July 9 |