Changing your reflection

If you have read any of my other posts you have read that there is a person that I love dearly, who is struggling with addiction.   During our relationship I saw him struggle with which lifestyle to choose, and ultimately, he chose the lifestyle that is easier for him, the one that caused him less change.

My heart hurts for him every day and grieves for not only the relationship, but for the man that I saw him to be.  I believe this pain is only temporary as I believe God has healing in his future, and will turn this addiction into his ministry. 

Tonight I was spending time reading in Acts and came across verse 11.  This immediately made me think of him, to the extent I wrote his name beside the verse.  Acts 17:11 Now these (Jews) were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

A little back story here, Paul and Silas were traveling preaching the word of Salvation through Christ and came across some Jews who were not keen on the preaching that Paul and Silas were doing.  They came to the home of Jason, who was helping shelter Paul and Silas and demanded to know where they were.  Paul and Silas had already left for their next land in Beroea, but the unsettled Jews had created a mob and threw Jason in jail.  He was later released after paying his bail.  The uproar of these Jews was that Paul and Silas were saying that Christ was the only true King, and one Jesus. 

Paul and Silas went into Beroea to continue preaching about Jesus and that’s where we find Verse 11.  This verse filled me with hope and excitement.  I loved that Luke went to lengths to explain to us the state of the hearts of these people.  They were ready to be taught.  They came expecting to learn of Jesus and have their hearts filled with His word.  They had already been teaching themselves on God and His ways, before Paul and Silas got there. 

I am sure we have all experienced in life trying to teach someone something and it was like hitting a brick wall with every word.  This is how I felt with my relationship.  I tried to convince him that his life meant more than his addiction, and the people that were holding him back from being the person that God created him to be, but you see, he had not come to the place where his heart was entirely ready, accepting, and welcoming of the changes. 

We can’t make people change, nor can we make them see themselves the way we see them.  I often say to God, why did you allow me to see him with your eyes instead of his eyes?  Or even the eyes of my old man.  Why did you allow me to see past his addiction and into the heart of him?    If I would have been able to see him with my eyes, and not see him with the eyes God allowed me to see him through, I would have never allowed my heart to open to his.  I would have never given him a chance to enter into my life, and in turn maybe I would have stunted a growth that was needed for me in God. 

I am not quite sure of what that answer is yet, I am still waiting, praying and listening, but I do know that we can view people in different ways.  We don’t always see damaged people as damaged; sometimes we see them as they are going to be in the future, after God is finished with them.

After sitting on verse 11 for quite some time I continued to read on and came to verse 13.  But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, disturbing and inciting the masses.

This verse actually angered me.  It caused me to think of the people who would not allow my relationship to flourish.  They would not allow him to have change in his life, for fear they would be left behind.   Fear can cause us to do horrible things, even, stealing a fresh start and new beginning to someone who desires one, because you will be left alone or behind.   We don’t want to be the only ones dealing with our issues.  We always feel better when we have someone else in the same boat as us, and to ensure that they stay there, you must keep them there. 

The Jews of Thessalonica were fearful, in their own way of the Word of Christ being spread to the Jews of Beroea.  They wanted to stop the spreading of the life changing word, or as they put it in verse 6 These men who have turned the world upside down, referring to Paul and Silas.  They wanted to stop them from bringing other people up and out of their current situations.

What I am learning is you can’t hold someone captive to the past or to the future.  You have to allow them to make their own decisions.  When you are trying to stop someone from pursuing what is in their hearts you are doing so because of the fear in your own heart. 

I can’t give you the words to say to stop fear, as I deal with it on a daily basis, but I can say that the word of God is a sword against evil.   Just as Paul and Silas could not be stopped from preaching and sharing the Salvation of Christ, neither can the word of God be stopped today.    

When you come up against something or someone who sees themselves through the eyes of the enemy pick up your sword of God’s word and change their reflection.    You have the power to pray strength into that person’s life with the word of God.  You have the power through Jesus Christ to have their eyes open to the life around them, and have God change their desires. 

I saw who God wanted me to see, maybe so I could pick up the sword of God and from afar change his reflection, so he can see what I see.  

The only thing that can change someone, is God, and His word, as verse 11 states, Now these (Jews) were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message (concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God) with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Don’t ever give up on helping God change someone’s reflection!!