I don't think it was the loudness that stunned me. It was the passion. His sister is my best friend and she listens to everything I have to say. I don't think the fact that she sits through my rants is what surprises me. It's that she listens for real, and I can see it when I let out a sigh at the end of my paragraph and her eyes are vivid with compassion for me.
What do all these things have in common? Well several things. First off- they're all verbs, all actions done. He yelled, his sister listened. Simple enough.
They all did something that was in a general context, easy. So what? I could have yelled, you think to yourself. I could listen to you rant, what do you think I'm doing on this website you must being saying to yourself. But this is all about what was beyond the action.
They meant it. There was truth in everything they did.
A lot of times people go around doing good deeds, talking a certain talk, walking a certain walk (Like "swagger" for real, pull your pants up and walk at a normal pace!) But they have no idea what any of it is for, what it means, and how it can impact someone. (Like how walking slow can make me almost late for class.)
In Mark 14, a women came to Jesus and poured an expensive perfume on His head in the middle of dinner. The people eating around Him (including the disciples) thought this was ridiculous and wasteful; We could have sold the perfume and used the money to help the poor they thought. Oh but were they surprised when Jesus countered them.
"You will have poor people with you everyday but not me and what she just did was really important to me" He explained to them. "
The story is really quite wonderful, and I suggest you read it, but here we have finally reached my point: They were beginning to fall more in love with what Jesus was doing for people than Him. More in love with the action than the purpose. They loved the poor so much that they didn't stop to appreciate Who was actually healing and feeding those they loved. They had actions but no Truth to back them up, no meaning behind their actions besides pity for those less fortunate. There was no change in the eternity of the person they helped. Still not smelling what I'm cooking?
My friend could have yelled those lyrics as loud as he wanted, but if he didn't believe them they were just noise. Just words. But because what he was saying had truth behind it, it was a radical declaration of what God has in store for His life. I can talk and talk and my best friend can sit there forever, but it's because she honestly cares for me, that talking to her makes a difference in my mood. If not, I might as well talk to a wall. (and we all know that those never seem to do any good.)
Still not catching what I'm throwing out?
WHAT YOU DO MEANS NOTHING IF YOU DON'T MEAN WHAT YOU DO!
Our actions can be just like the apologies we gave as kids to our siblings after we punched them and our moms made us say sorry ever though we really weren't sorry at all. If don't walk around with some sort of truth behind us, with some sort of reason as to why we are living, then whatever action we are taking, although it may be amazing, means absolutely nothing.
I don't know about you but I never want my life to be pointless noise. I hope everything I say has some sort of significance, and everything I do for someone can somehow play a part in changing their eternity. Like this post.
So hey, might as well back up my actions with Truth.
You itching what I'm scratching? :)
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