Radiate
If you could see yourself in 10 years, who would you want to be like? Without a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Aragorn.” A high school boy I was counseling wanted to see himself as Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. And he was dead serious. As I investigated, I found what he meant was “strong, independent, and seen by others as a leader.” What this young man wanted was for others to see him for what he desired on the inside. Too often we focus on external observations of us instead of internal transformation. This is why we must get the order right when Peter tells us: “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.’—1 Peter 3:8
The life of blessing is a blessing to other people. It starts at the heart’s core of love, and get this, it radiates out. It radiates out to other people for their blessing and their good. It's not just good feelings and good vibes. It leads itself to action.
Peter gives us five characteristics of the life of blessing, and that life of blessing is because we follow Jesus, The Blessed One. You have like-mindedness, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart (compassion), and humility. They're not chosen at random or to be kept to ourselves, but they demonstrate themselves in action. They radiate out of a heart of love, a heart that's indebted to Jesus and for what He has done for us. 1 Corinthians 12:26 demonstrates how these characteristics radiate and are put on display in action toward others: “If one member suffers, all suffer together, and if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
Because of the day and age in which we live, I'll give you a warning from my own subjective, personal experience: I found it very hard to celebrate God's blessing in my life for the last 10-15 years. I think it comes from the secular culture of victimhood. Now, listen, victims are real, oppressors are real, and abusers are real. However, my biggest concern is that people begin to see themselves as only victims. If you begin to celebrate anything good in your life, people will tell you to, “tone it down” and “Don't rejoice so loudly because someone else doesn't have or isn't experiencing what you experience. Your celebration is hurting them because they don’t have, or haven’t experienced, what you are.”
1 Corinthians 12 tells us to rejoice with those who are rejoicing, to celebrate the blessings of God, to acknowledge that He did all of this, but it also tells us to suffer with those who suffer. There's an amount of wisdom that's necessary when it comes to empathy and how it displays itself in the life of believers. The biggest thing is that empathy always looks at the other one. It always says, “Who needs to be served, who needs to be encouraged? How can I get involved? How can I demonstrate that? How can I display Jesus' sympathy toward me as a sinner and identify with others to love on them and encourage them and serve them in the process?”
May the wisdom we learn help to humble our pride, strengthen us in our weakness, comfort us in our pain, and make us more deeply sensitive to one another. —Sinclair Ferguson
The more sensitive we become to one another, whether others are rejoicing or suffering, it always leads to action.
How do you know if God is calling you to an assignment of displaying empathy, to serve
someone else, to encourage someone else, to meet a need of someone else? Historically, I've just said this, a need seen is an assignment given. That's how you know! How do you know where empathy worked itself out? You saw a need, and you responded without waiting for someone else to do it.
Written by: Pastor Andy Swart
Andy Swart has been a member of The Mount since 2019. If he’s not working or spending time with his family, you can find him working on one of his passion projects: garage organization.
Devil’s Den, Discipline, and Delight
“We can totally do this”, the three of us unanimously agreed. Oh, how naïve youth and ignorance can make us. The name, “Devil Den’s State Park”, should’ve been enough of a warning sign but when have young men ever let a park’s name stop them from pursuits of glory?
The plan was to hike the Butterfield Hiking Trail. That’s it. No training, purchasing gear, gathering intel from trust hikers, or emergency plans if things went sideways. We set out on the 15.6 miles labeled as “hard”, “experienced hikers only”, and other warnings that I’m sure were there but they would only get in the way of our goal of conquering the trail. No matter the cautions we wouldn’t let reality diminish our illusory confidence that “we can totally do this.”
To save you from the gory details, here’s the short of it: We completed the trail, beaten, humbled, and hurting for several days afterward. We failed to take seriously what it would take to make it through the hike without destroying ourselves in the process.
The Christian life of following Jesus can be similar. In moments of spiritual renewal, we make emotionally charged declarations of obedience and faithfulness to Jesus. While these declarations can be normal parts of the Christian life, we often fail to prepare a disciplined plan to help sustain us when our will fails.
The Path of Obedience
Obedience is a clear indication of our love for Jesus. It is through obedience that we demonstrate our trust in His wisdom and our commitment to His will. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15). This is not a burdensome requirement but a joyful response to His love and grace. At times, joy in obedience will come naturally. Inexplicably, our will, desire, and affections are stirred from within propelling us to keep in-step with Jesus’ commands. At other times, joy in obedience seems arduous. The necessity of discipline keeps us from letting our will, desire, and affections hijack our commitment to Jesus.
An anticipated moment that every Christian must prepare for is when our emotions take us to I don’t “feel” or “want” to keep God’s commands. Obedience involves aligning our actions, thoughts, and attitudes with God's Word. It requires surrendering our own desires and submitting to His authority. While this can be challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding.
Discipline is the prepared plan to continually put you near Jesus. Discipline isn’t dependent upon whether we “feel” like it or not. Discipline will till the soil to stir the will, desire, and affections that usher in delight. It is the discipline of regularly putting yourself in proximity to be changed by Jesus, with faith that, eventually, delight will come.
I want to encourage you to reflect on the areas of your life where you might be struggling with obedience. Are you letting your emotions prevent you from proximity to Jesus? Ask God to help you align your will with His and to give you the strength to follow His commands. Plan for seasons where delight is M.I.A. He’ll meet you there.
Remember, obedience is a journey, not a destination. Take it one step at a time.
Written by: Pastor Andy Swart
Andy Swart has been a member of The Mount since 2019. If he’s not working or spending time with his family, you can find him working on one of his passion projects: garage organization.