The Call To Give

Have you ever felt distant from God, like things weren't right but you didn't think you were doing anything wrong?

I know I've felt that way many times.

When you feel like this, you should take a look at your life. Usually the times when you're most distant from God are the times when you're being self-centered. God demands our all. Our all is a lot. We want to keep it to ourselves. We're scared. We're scared that we'll be hurt, rejected, laughed at. While these fears are very real, they're also very limiting. When you give your all to God, He will give His all to you. It's amazing how just giving a few dollars to someone who needs it can make you feel as if someone just gave you a million dollars! The only way to explain this is the Holy Spirit. He comes along and shows you how giving yourself to God to help others is really so much better than just living for yourself. You really have nothing when you keep everything to yourself. Giving is the opposite. The more you give, the more you have. I know this sounds like an oxymoron, but it's true. Money cannot buy you true happiness. But seeing the joy on the faces of homeless people who were given just a few scraps of hot food, or the mother who received some money and doesn't have to worry about feeding her children, or the child who hears about the love of Jesus for the first time- these are the things that bring a happiness that will last forever. These things are only acquired by giving something. While people need money, a lot of times what people really want is your time. It's hard to give it away, but if you want all of God you need to give Him all of you.

Firstly, spend time with God. Dive deep into His Word- as you grow, so will the Bible. The words will no longer be just stories you heard as a child, but letters from God to you explaining all His glory and mystery. The Bible is so much more than a lesson from Sunday School- it's like life hacks or shortcuts, showing you how to avoid most of the pain in the world. Spend time in prayer- talking with God. Listen to what He wants to tell you. Any relationship requires communication. The first relationship between God and Man set the path for every relationship through communication and spending time with each other. God still desires to communicate and spend time with us today. Spend time worshiping God. A common misconception among people today is equating worship with music. Music is a form of worship, but it is not the only way to worship. Worship is how you treat God. Worship should be the way you live. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). Worshiping God deepens your relationship with Him and renews your spirit. It connects you with God in a way that nothing else can.

Secondly, spend time with people. Get to know the people you're surrounded by daily. How much do you know about your coworkers, the people you sit by in church, your neighbors, or even your family? As you spend more time with God and grow to love Him more, your love for people will grow also. You will value the time you have with them because you will view them as God views them and you will see them as God's children. Open yourself up to the people closest to you and you will be greatly rewarded. Yes, pain and hurt may come when you get to know people better, but in the end it will be worth it all. If your friendships are all rainbows and butterflies and rabbits and sunshine with no hurt, your "friends" probably won't stick around very long. People hate pain, but the truth is if you spend time with them, working through the pain, they will respect you and they will respect your relationship. People just want to know that people care for them. They don't want a hand out, or your pity, or a "I feel bad that I have all this money and you don't" kind of attitude. They want you to take the time to get know them, to hear their story. Listen. Don't give advice. Listen. They want your heart, not your words. Spending time with others shows them that you care more about their needs than about yourself. No one likes self-centered people, but everybody loves the one who is willing to be there for them no matter what the cost.

One of the surest signs of a healthy, growing relationship with God is healthy, growing relationships with the people around you. The best way to learn how to have better relationships with people is to start with God. He will show you what a true friendship is; how giving everything to Him is really better than keeping everything for you.

Cultivated Beauty

I believe that true beauty is something that must be cultivated from inside. Beauty isn't something you were born with, it's something you grow inside of you. Your beauty isn't defined your freckles, or the digits on the scale, or the clothes you wear, or the number of friends you have. Beauty is defined by God. God says that your beauty comes from Him. Your beauty is who you are-who you are-not how you look. Beauty is in your personality. Beauty is in your soul. Beauty is in your spirit.

One of my favorite shows, Doctor Who, has this great quote that sums up beauty. "You know when, sometimes you meet someone so beautiful, and then you actually talk to them and five minutes later, they’re as dull as a brick? Then there’s other people, and you meet them and you think, ‘Not bad; they’re okay.’ And then you get to know them, and their face sort of becomes them, like their personality is written all over it. And they just turn into something so beautiful." This is what beauty is.

You should put your emphasis on glorifying God with all of your life, rather than glorifying your body so that other people will like you. I'm not saying that you can't dress up or wear make-up or dye your hair. Just don't make those things your priorities. Try to spend more time working on your personality and spirit than on your face and hair. I promise you your life will be much better that way.

Now not every person is beautiful, although every person has the potential to be beautiful. Some people can look very attractive on the outside, but when you listen to the way they talk, or see how they act, or look at how they live their life you can see that there's not much beauty inside. They may think that they have a lot of friends or have a great life, but eventually they'll realize how empty they are-usually when they find their first wrinkles.

But there is still hope! "Cultivating beauty" means that it is an ongoing process, even when we're old and in nursing homes. We all fail, but the best thing about Jesus is that He forgives and He helps us get back on our feet whenever we ask Him for help. His love is unconditional-even if you were perfect, He couldn't love you any more than He already loves you now. Your physical beauty is nothing compared to the spirit that He created inside of you. Your body will grow old and tired and will eventually die. But the spirit that God gave you will live forever. So I suggest that you live your life in a way that gives back all the glory to God that He deserves. When you do that, you will be truly beautiful.