“What If”

What if;

We are a product of our environment, if we are not careful. Many of us have taken to pulling into the garage and closing the door, locking our neighbors out of our lives, our faith and our friendship. When I was recently on a short-term mission trip, I was lucky enough to be working with these great people, all of which I had never met and went to a variety of churches throughout the country. Many of them were retirement age, some were young, and others in-between like me. In meeting them, I was privately impressed with their servant’s hearts and their seeming selflessness. We were talking together as a team in a devotional together one evening when someone suggested we give testimonies, you could see people becoming uncomfortable at the thought, so we did two to three an evening. It was great to then meet all of these people for who they really were, not who I had made them out to be in my mind. One truth I knew, none of them would have been there had they not asked “what if”.

As we worked together I saw the hands and feet of Jesus at work in these people I had just met, and it made me think, What if…………

What if you saw people not for their appearance, but for their soul with its hurts, insecurities and defense mechanisms?

What if we woke daily wondering what we could do for the world, rather than what it could do for us?

What if you mowed your neighbor’s lawn while he was at work, then hid all the evidence so he wouldn’t know it was you.

What if rather than setting boundaries on what you would and would not do at work, you just went in with a servants heart and didn’t worry about a pat on the back?

What if you chose to shovel snow from the walkway of  that neighbor you have never met?

What if instead of telling our kids that they can be president if they choose to be when they grow up, we told then that if they seek God first, they can be guided by the one who created the universe?

What if we choose to comfort rather than to be in comfort?

What if you recommend a co-worker for a promotion that you have wanted, because they need the money more than you do?

What if rather than using the mantra “who ever dies with the most wins” we use the mantra “whoever gives everything away before he dies wins a home in Heaven”?

What if you call or go see that person who wronged you and ask them to forgive “you” because you held a grudge for so long?

What if rather than giving money to a charity, you gave something much more valuable, your time.

The list goes on and on, I could think of things for days that I could do to serve more than I do, but what can I do to put my list in action. I can realize that I am a candle in the wind, my life is short, and it doesn’t matter whether the world remembers me, as long as Jesus does. So think of this.

What if my neighbor is now my friend, and he asks me if he can come to church with me because he was shocked at my kindness, and he wants to know more.

What if my child grows up to be a missionary in China because they know God has put them where they belong.

What if your co-worker is a servant leader because they saw that displayed in you?

As the New Year approaches, ask yourself how your relationship to the Lord can change if you let go of long held opinions and only ask, What if?

God Bless

JFT

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