The Importance of Being Recognized

I was reading a freinds, Kevin Watson, blog the other day and it really got me to thinking about truly meaningful conversations. I am not talking of "How's the weather?" or if you are from my part of the country "What does the wheat (corn, milo, hay) look like?" I am talking about deep conversations where we can share who we really are and what we really feel or think. On the same day, I was also reading Raging with Compassion, a book I highly recommend, and this particular section was on the Christian act of recognition.

Swinton loosely defines recognition, not as simply seeing someone and calling them by name, but seeing someone and recognizing who they really are. In other words, I am not talking about something like Cheers, where everyone simply knows your name, but when people know who you are and accept you as you are. Such a place is where everyone needs to be. Each person may or may not realize this need, but it is a deep seated spiritual need.

As Christians, we are called to create these spaces and be the people that recognize first each other and then the rest of the world. It seems to me that many people spend much time trying to make other people into their idea of what people should be like. Sometimes this is done overtly with attempts to manipulate and control other people. Other times it is done covertly, but simply thinking everyone thinks or believes like me. Either way it does not allow a person to have his or her own identity.

It seems to me that God allows us to be who we are, even when he does not like what we are doing. Jesus called the people to follow him as they were. He never said, "before you come follow me you must grow your hair out like mine and by some clothes that are like mine and agree with me in all things." No, Jesus simply says, "Come follow me." Why can we not simply recognize people for who they are and know that if there are needed changes God will put that upon thier hearts.

The bottom line for me is that there are very few people out there that will allow us to be ourselves. Many people are scared of recognizing us, because that is way to intimate. However, we all need people who recognize us, because that is the beginning of deep and Godly conversations. I hope that I can learn to truly recognize people and show them the love of God.

The Power of Words

I think it is interesting how many people hear or read things very differently. For example, not every week, but quite often when I preach a sermon, someone comes up to me and says, "I really liked that sermon. The part about(please fill in the blank from your own imagination) was really good." I will usually thank them for the compliment and go away wondering when I said that. I mean, it is usually a great point and sometimes something I wish I had said, but not a part of the sermon I remember. I know that many other pastors have had the same thing happen to them. You see this is what I call the power of words, particularly living words.

Living words are words that are put forward in an effort to be the Word of God for that day. They are more than mere words, for these words must be surrendered to the Holy Spirit and spoken through the the Holy Spirit. In order to be the Word of God, we, the speaker, must give up control. Let's face it, though, some of us do not like to give up control. Oh, we pray the prayer, "God may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be truly pleasing unto you this day." We even mean it, we want our words to be pleasing to God. But we still want them to be our words, we want the credit for them when they come out good. We want to be able to predict our congregations reactions, control them and even manipulate them into doing what we want them to do. However, God has other plans, other meanings for His Word.

Although it is difficult for me, because I like control, my prayer is that I will give up control of my words, so that my words may truly be God's Word. This does not excuse me from preparing for a sermon, studing and the like. It does however, relieve me of the responsibility for changing people. I will let God handle that. I can't do it anyway. So God, guide my words and even more so, guide the hearing of the people you have entrusted me to shepherd. Let them hear your word, not matter what I say.