The Negatives - Easier to See than Positives

It is so easy to focus on the negatives of the Christian faith and miss the positives. We prohibit actions, and we create a list of don'ts. We tend to focus on what is illegal or outlawed or against God's Law. Don't cheat, don't lie, don't commit adultery, don't be an addict to whatever, don't say that, or don't think this.

These are the easy things to identify. Our conscience testifies about these heinous acts.

What about all the positive actions of things we should be doing. Things that we missed. We were too busy there and self-absorbed here. We should have loved and offered kind words to that young kid. We should have been focused on showering attention on a loved one instead of attending to our list of do's for the day. We should have enjoyed a laugh with a friend instead of holding to our agenda of what we would rather be doing. We should have reached out instead of avoiding someone who offended us. We should have loved others instead of loving ourselves. We should have smiled and appreciated instead of being annoyed with our children.

You see. We focus on the negatives more than we realize all the positive aspects of Christianity that pass us by moment-by-moment.

Christianity is not a bunch of negatives. Why should anyone want to be a Christian if all they see are people holding to some moral code, some "list of don'ts?" Love is not a "list of don'ts." We have things messed up in our minds if negatives, the don'ts, are all that we see in Christ.

Having walked with the Lord for five years now, I am finding the negatives much easier to identify. What I fear are the positives which I have missed. I should have been present in more situations. Physical presence does not always necessitate spiritual presence. I should have been present "in the spirit" in more situations. I should have been focused on the Kingdom in more situations. I should have been more focused on loving, encouraging, being the hands and feet of Jesus wherever I went physically. I need to be consistently abiding in Christ as I walk around.

How many are the opportunities to love, that I have missed? How many touching moments from God in friendship, mentorship, or family-building have I not experienced? How many times have I walked past a situation God wanted me to experience something deep and enriching but because of my lack of spiritual awareness I walked past? Love is not so clearly defined as a list of rules to follow. Love comes moment-by-moment and it presents itself quietly and peacefully. Love opens its arms and invites us to come and experience it. Will we see it? Will we be aware? The postitives of Christianity of which love is one are not as clear as the negatives that trample the conscience. We need to be finely tuned to the movings of the Holy Spirit, this is the only way to enter into Love.

May God enligthen us to opportunities to love without them passing us by. May this happen in our families, at work, and in all our waking hours. May we be awakened to opportunities to be enouraging, uplifting, supportive, caring, showering words of kindness, taking the time to listen, letting another get what they want even if its not what we want simply because we love them.