A message from Jennifer.
I work in St. Louis and commute approximately 30 miles each way every day in rush hour traffic. Admittedly, I find myself frustrated with the way some people drive. (By no means am I perfect, but I just have my pet peeves!) Recently, as I was driving, I thought, “Did Jesus get annoyed at people? Would He be frustrated if He were driving behind this person going slow in the fast lane, with a long line of cars behind her?” and then I thought, No, because He knows all the other things that are going on with that person in her personal life and loves her at her core. Ha --- that thought put me in my place!
So, fast forward and now I’m reading a book by Pastor Jim Cymbala (of the Brooklyn Tabernacle) called “The Church God Blesses” and it’s causing me to do some serious reflection. He quotes Colossians 3:12, 14, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Then, he spends some time on each one of these virtues – breaking them down, and putting them into a real world meaning. He starts with Compassion and says, “The real mark of Christlikeness is to be stirred in our hearts by what others are going through. It is to be moved in our hearts by the inner battles with sin and the feelings of inferiority and guilt that people fight day after day.” It’s caused me to realized that, while I think of myself as a compassionate person, I have some serious work to do if I aspire to be more like Christ and to grow in spiritual maturity – and it does not involve thinking “not nice” words when someone is holding up traffic or driving too close behind me in the snow!
Join us tonight at Garden Club – where we can share our thoughts and experiences about being more compassionate, or allow the discussion to go wherever the Spirit leads.
Jennifer Kaburick
6:30 PM at Esic Baptist Church
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