Testify of Christ, Loving Those Who Are Different, The Joy Potential of Sacrifice
Newsletter #10 on April 1, 2023.
Discipleship // Leadership // Mental Performance. The best from this week.
DISCIPLESHIP
“Never give up an opportunity to testify of Christ."
Bonnie H. Cordon
This teaching was given to Bonnie Cordon by her father who was diagnosed with ALS, who soon wouldn't physically be able to testify of Christ.
There is nothing we can communicate that is more important, significant, and meaningful than a witness of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ lives. He is real. He knows you individually and loves you perfectly. You can trust Him completely.
LEADERSHIP
“Love is the expression of the one who loves, not of the one who is loved. Those who think they can love only the people they prefer do not love at all. Love discovers truths about individuals that others cannot see.”
Soren Kierkegaard
One of the greatest measuring sticks of charity––the pure love of Christ––is how we love those who are hard to love.
It's easy to love those who are, well, easy to love. Everybody does. It comes naturally. But what about those who aren't so easy to love? What about those who are different from us?
Jesus taught: "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Jesus here wasn't just giving advice. He was teaching what charity actually looks like. The act of loving those who seem hard to love engenders actual feelings of love. Marjorie Hinckley wrote, "There isn't a person you wouldn't love if you could read their whole story."
Perhaps this is why Christ found it so natural to forgive those who crucified Him or heal the ear of His arrester. He knew their whole story. There wasn't a single chapter He wasn't acutely aware of. He felt everything they had felt. He understood every part of their lives. He knew what it was like to be them.
And knowing all, His immediate and natural reaction was love.
Perfect love borne of perfect knowledge and perfect empathy. As humans, we don't know the whole story of others. We don't have that perfect knowledge, and it can be hard to feel that empathy.
But Jesus does.
Trust that Jesus knows their whole story and treat others as if you knew. Because we know that He knows. And we know how He loved. This is what charity looks like.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
“If the job were easy, I wouldn’t derive so much satisfaction from it. The thrill of winning is in direct proportion to the effort I put in.”
Rafael Nadal
Sometimes we might be faced with a really big challenge or a really hard road ahead. We complain. We wish it away. We worry about its difficulty. We envy those who seem to have it easier. But in reality, we should have the exact opposite reaction!
The greater the difficulty, the greater the capacity for joy and satisfaction when we overcome it. The deeper the lows, the higher the highs. James Clear has written, "The height of your joy is linked to the depth of your sacrifice."
If you are really going through it right now, be encouraged. The joy on the other side of hard will be so much greater because of the struggle.
Without the hard, there is no joy.
3 Questions
1) What opportunities could you take advantage of to testify of Christ?
2) What does your regard for those different from you reveal about your love?
3) What trial are you currently experiencing that you can be grateful for?
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.
Have an amazing week.
Aaron @ The Disciple-Leader