GO AWAY JESUS, YOUR JUST TOO CLOSE

GO AWAY JESUS, YOUR JUST TOO CLOSE

This morning as I was waking up contemplating some of the experiences of my own life over the long term and of late, I was struck with a thought that made my heart leap that one could call the ‘trickle down economics of love’ in the heart of a domestic crisis.

How many of us leave home mad at someone in our family? How many of us have been offended by a close friend and chose to simply break off the connection rather than deal with it employing the tools of forgiveness, mercy, and love?

How much easier is it to deal with people that live farther away who are also trying to employ what we call ‘unconditional love’? It’s a lofty term without any real roots. How realistic is it to say that you love Jesus and treat everyone outside the 100 mile boundary of your proximity with ‘unconditional love’, but as for those family members who have treated you ill and friends that have offended you, they can kiss your sweet behind?

In summarizing, how can you claim to love Jesus and hate your closest family or friend? Would Jesus love you and never say anything when it comes to you abusing money, sex, or substances without moderation? Jesus Christ had plenty to say about domestic abuse to yourself, to your family, and to your friends. How can you place higher in your circle of value foreigners than those friends and family who love you enough to say something?

Truth be told, the foreigner if he came into close proximity to you from his foreign position really doesn’t care about you, and would use you as an object of not very much affection, especially if he knows nothing of what your reality truly is.

The profound thought occurred that it truly is our families and friends in close proximity who provide us the greatest opportunities to improve, employ, and utilize all of the characteristics of forgiveness, mercy, and love which is what Jesus Christ taught. They in a sense are knocking at our door and are challenges we must open up for in order to use what Jesus has taught.

You can almost count on the fact that the challenges in your life won’t arise from some disturbed friend offending you on facebook 3,000 miles away. They do not see the crazy things you do at home. Oh, what do you mean? Well, like abusing substances to the point where your bodily functions are either malfunctioning or refusing to function or employing a silent sex trade with anyone that knocks on your door, or simply living in a pig sty. I always like to point here with a wink; Jesus lived in a “Garden” not a pig sty. (smile)

To your social media friends who you receive and give this ‘unconditional love’ from and to respectively, there is no concern for you in these matters. My heavens, you could drop over dead the next day or two and they’d protest and feign their sadness and move on to someone else who post pretty pictures, but your family and friends in close proximity would be attending your funeral and burying you. That’s real.

Recently a friend of mine, here in America, was bragging a little to me that most of (his/her) friends on social media were foreign in such a way that I got the distinct feeling (she/he) didn’t like Americans because of the way they acted or thought and much preferred foreigners. Well, my heart got a little sorrowful ache to it as I thought about the treatment to this person by those in close proximity, perhaps by family, perhaps close proximity friends, that had given them the idea that foreign friends were ideal and domestic friends were out to lunch. Indeed, maybe both perspectives could use some help.

Maybe the ones offended could try and employ a greater understanding that was said or done came from a loving foundation meant to stabilize. Maybe those dishing out the constructive criticism could temper or flower it a little so it wasn’t so harsh? In both circumstances, the words “I’m sorry” can be skillfully and truthfully employed as strength without embarrassment or a sign of weakness.

The inner or domestic circle was the uncomfortable one, and the outer or foreign circle was much more comfy. I thought about my own challenges with the exact same thing. It wasn’t that it was difficult to employ what Jesus Christ taught; it’s that you were called upon to employ it so often. (smile)

So it kind of dawned on me as something to recognize as I recall the picture of Jesus Christ knocking on your door with no door knob on the outside. We must invite him in and employ his teachings to those who are actually at our door; for what kind of reward do we have to get along with someone half way round the world we are holding in high esteem the value of their “unconditional love for us” while we spite, and under employ love to those in close proximity?

Jesus taught that we should pray for our enemies and love those who despitefully mistreat us so that our example would wreck their unhappy world. So that through our example our own domestic arena could be purified as we cleaned the inner vessel (inside) first and then tended to the outer vessel (outside) of our world.

Jesus certainly was experienced with strife within his own family, and his own friends teaching Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44 [Jesus himself testified] a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. How many many examples are there in scripture that tell a story of family strife and discord? So it is we must exert and exercise the muscles of ‘forgiveness’, ‘mercy’, and ‘love’ with those who are closest to us, as if we were facing the stair master, weight bar, or a distance to run, with no energy, slumped down looking at it as if it was a dragon to slay with our choice to either get on, or go home and forget about working out.

It seems that those who actually get on the exercise machine, grab hold of the bar, or finally just leap forward in taking that first stride of a 5K are the ones who return from their work out with a smile on their face. How much bigger of a smile will you have when you have employed that determination with those whom are closest to you that may have offended you in some way in what was a prod of love, or an encouragement they failed to understand was coming across as a ‘judgmental accusation’?

Of course we all make judgments we have to and that is not bad. Without them we might not ever feed ourselves. When we ‘judge righteously’ employing love in the greatest degree we can possibly think of our example is left behind as a teaspoon of sugar and that certainly helps the medicine go down. ‘Sparing the rod and spoiling the child’ certainly has applications of avoiding ‘domestic abuse’ if we consider our communications of love to be corrections that don’t necessarily sit well with us and judgment of others as an action. What we often forget is that corrections can be made, understood, and thus employed much better as we sprinkle it with ‘mercy’ of which we all need a big dose of.

Truly this has enormous implications world wide as we ask the question: How can we tend to foreign affairs and let our own domestic affairs crumble? The United States is not built by Governments it’s built by individuals. The world is not run by Governments but by individuals and it is right at Home that you can find the single best place to really improve the whole world.

God Bless you Americans to employ forgiveness, mercy, and love, so that you can bless the whole world!

Sincerely,
Cody Robert Judy
www.codyjudy.us
www.codyjudy.blogspot.com

P.S. Yesterday I did savored a little story here in picture.

You have seen the lightening in the sky in violations, now read the thunder that Taking A Stand is. Get it as a Nook Book now for only $8.49, or as a Hard Back Cover for 28.95 and or Soft Cover for $22.75.

Taking A Stand 2 Minute Promo Spot