Words of Redemption

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” - Galatians 5:6

Last week, in an extension to my review of David Gregory’s The Next Level, I spoke about faith being all about me, which David classifies as level four of five in his parable. I stated that I am often guilty of making faith about my personal satisfaction. In thinking about how I lived each day, I saw myself on level four as someone who concerns himself, most of the time, with how life and the world and others are affecting me.

Instead of how I am affecting life, the world and others.

And that’s level five. Faith working through love in the service of and sacrifice for others.

Meaning (your last questions, LL :)) that the elevator ride from levels four to five is a shift from inward to outward living. From indulgent living to sacrificial living. The implication for me is that I need to find those areas where I am living life for myself and turn them around.

A lifelong journey, to be sure, and yet, after agonizing over all I’m not doing, I find myself on the road without even realizing it. For one thing, marriage is an exercise in self-sacrifice, as I am sure most would agree. I really had no clue how selfish I was until I got married. It’s something I still struggle with, but I think that one of the marks of the great marriage Sarah and I have is that we try to serve one another daily. Often, the things that bring me the most joy are the things I do for my wife.

Elsewhere, I’ve seen how involvement in community, when my first desire is to protect my “free time,” is a sacrifice of self that affects those I serve in ways I can never imagine. Last October, I volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters and started mentoring an 11-year old boy whose parents had been divorced. We meet every other week for several hours to hang out, play games, or just talk about life. It’s not about me at all, it’s about him.

When I was an 11-year old boy, with divorced parents, I also had mentors. Not through BBBS, but mentors just the same. Young men who gave of their “free time” to be with me and who left their mark upon me. Much of who I am today is because of my Grandfather, my Step-dad (heretofore “my Dad”), and a small handful of men who gave of themselves for my benefit.

That was faith working through love.

As someone who writes, I can see opportunities to give of myself to others, even though I spend a great deal of time on this practice in front of a computer screen. For starters, I can write the stories I am supposed to write. Stories that challenge faith and thinking. Stories that trigger hope and inspiration. Stories that are more than just cute, interesting, or self-indulgent.

Stories that offer truth and redemption.

I can also look at the examples of people like LL Barkat and Heather Goodman, who give of their time to read the words of others and offer encouragement, laughter and a sense of community that extends beyond a church group, and which doesn’t trouble itself with differences in denomination, political affiliation, genre, personal taste or writing style.

That’s faith working. And that’s the man I want to be.

For now, I know I don’t do any of these things enough.

The truth is, I probably never will.

But I know the truth. And when the truth affects me to the point of change, I believe that’s when the truth sets me free. Or as GI Joe would say:

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