Loving God. Loving Others.

In every high school in the United States of America people put others down and hurt one another. People bully, harass, and torment one another.  As people and as Christians we are called to more than this. It is a problem so prevalent yet so obscure. It’s a problem that most avoid changing or attempting to make a difference of it. If for one day all those who bully were to see life through the eyes of those they hurt; I can promise their lives would change forever. I’ve defiantly been the victim before and trust me it hurts a lot. But the best thing to do is just love those people, and I mean really love them.

Because God loved us we need to love others. He sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins; I don’t know what is more loving than that. 1 John 3:16 says.”This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters.”  Truly the best way we can show God’s love is by loving others, especially those who hate you. Love them, serve them, forgive them and most of all pray for them. We love God right? So we are supposed to love others as we love God, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself” Matthew 22:37-39. Even if they are your enemies, love them. God tells us to love are enemies and pray for those who hurt us. 

Of course as people, and especially as warriors of God it is not appropriate at all to act rudely against those who hurt you and treat you wrong  "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don't stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek also.” Matthew 5:28-29. Just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! It may seem senseless, illogical, and ludicrous but untimely it is SO rewarding and just the feeling of knowing that you are loving these people is indescribable. And in Matthew 5:11-12 it says that “People will insult you and hurt you. They will lie and say all kinds of evil things about you because you follow me. But when they do, you will be blessed. Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward waiting for you in heaven. People did the same evil things to the prophets who lived before you”.

A lot of people think that being hurtful back and retaliating is the best way to deal with hateful people but that is so farm from the truth.”Hatred stirs up trouble, but love forgives all wrongs” Proverbs 10:12 and as well we should never judge people. A lot of the times the way people are hurt is by being judged, when you judge someone you don’t know them, it’s wrong and hurtful to them. God is the only one who can judge us, and the only one who can judge others. Every time you judge, slander or gossip you push them further away from God.

Judging, being mean and bullying others can be detrimental to them. It can really break them inside, even if they do not show it. It can make them feel so worthless about themselves. And when someone feels so worthless they can become depressed and maybe even want to kill themselves. Do you really want to be the one responsible for making someone feel so horrible? I know I don’t. And this is also why we need to stand up to it when we see it so they can stop hurting people. Let me tell you a little story: There was this guy in my sophomore English class, I never really talked to him much, then one day he suddenly was really terrible to me, for the rest of the year he said everyday “Jackie, I hate you so much, go kill yourself”. He doesn’t know how much that hurt me and I almost listened to him, but that’s not the point here. I never did anything about it; I didn’t stand up for myself. Normally I would not recommend tattling for little petty things people say but that was something I should have told a teacher about, because that isn’t okay on any level. I wish so much that I had told, not for my benefit, but so I could try to prevent him doing that to anyone else. He’s now at a different school and I have no clue how he acts toward people. This is why we need to take action and stand up when we see it.  

My desire and passion in life is loving and serving God, I want to serve Him by making a difference in the world and trying to make the world a place where people feel safe and aren’t afraid of being judged or hurt by others. I believe if even just the readers of this post were to go out and start loving others and stop judging and being mean and to take a stand (appropriately of course, we don’t punch people) when they see bullying, that it would start a chain reaction. Every action starts a chain reaction, we can change the world. 

True Beauty

Anywhere you go it is inevitable that you will see someone who is extremely abundant in outer beauty. In today’s society that is what girls aspire and aim for, it is what many guys want in a girl, and it is what people are judged on: outward appearance. This is the sad reality of our world today. People should remember it is what comes from within which makes a person who they are and for what they should be judged. “It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4 (NCV)

Also in all things everyone: every single person on this planet, big or small, popular or seemingly insignificant is beautiful through the Lord God. He created each and every one of us with a design so unique not another is like it. There are almost 7 billion people in the world and for God to create each of them with such intricate and careful design we are completely unique, one in 7 billion. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14 (ESV). He made me, me. He made you, you. He made her, her. He made him, him. He made us all who he wanted us to be.

God created us, and God creates beautiful things. God looks at how pure our hearts are, not how much physical beauty we posses. Many girls are blinded by societies’ belief that it is the opposite. “Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades but the woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in Fear-of-God” Proverbs 31:30 (MSG). Through God we are made beautiful and we need to realize that; in Song of Songs 4:7 He says “My darling everything about you is  beautiful and there is nothing at all wrong with you” (NCV). WE WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD, I don’t know about you but I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than that.

We live in a, culture, a society that bombards us with messages of insecurity, telling us we’re not pretty enough that we’re not good enough. The Christian community says no, you’re good, you’re beautiful but the danger of that is that it often promotes self-esteem and we’re looking within ourselves trying to find our value, our beauty, our worth. God is calling us to more than this. We need to find our value in God. We are good enough because God created us!

I have struggled a lot with not feeling good enough, feeling ugly and worthless, and insecurities. But I have come to realize that I am more than good enough, I am perfect in God’s eyes. I am no ugly or worthless, I am beautiful inside and out, I am not worthless, I am worth so much to God I have so much value and it comes through God. I have no need to be insecure, I have God and with that alone I am completely secure in myself. It took my years to realize this but I am so glad that I did and I hope every girl in the world can realize it too. Say it with me: “I am beautiful, I am good enough, and I am worthy.”

 Looking at how I always viewed myself, I would never want to see another girl think of herself the way I thought of myself. It breaks my heart to know girls feel the way that they do. Every girl deserves to know that they are beautiful just the way that they are, they deserve to be told that. Whether or not they are told they still should know that they are. I always longed to be told that by guys, and because they didn’t tell me I felt like I was worthless and ugly. The guys were all looking at the other girls and thinking they were beautiful and amazing, and I wanted that too. I thought that because they didn’t there was something wrong with me. I know plenty of girls who feel this same way, but let me let you in on a little secret: God looks at you and thinks you’re beautiful and amazing and heck God thinking that is so much better than any guy (even Justin Bieber) thinking that.

I had this misconception of who I was because of the person everyone told me that I was. They told me I was: ugly, fat, stupid, worthless, annoying, mean, and so on. Anything you can call someone, you can bet I have been called it, I heard it so much I believed it was true. But looking at me it was far from true. These people who didn't even know the real me were judging me, in high school and life that’s going to happen no matter what, but I had to learn that it doesn't matter what they think or say. All that matters is what God thinks and says of me, I only let God judge me now. I hope girls can realize that and remember to only care what God thinks. And God thinks we are amazing.

As if I could not make it any clearer I’m going to say it again, beauty comes from within. But true beauty also comes through a life fully surrendered to Jesus Christ. It is when He can be seen in and through you. We really won’t have any true beauty until He transforms us from the inside out. Nothing else can give us that true beauty. We must surrender ourselves to Him, completely surrender. Christ said that whoever doesn’t forsake all that he has cannot be His disciple. We must decrease so that He might increase, if we’re in the way, living the way we want to live, His beauty will not be seen through us. True beauty can only be acquired by true surrender, full surrender.

Every single person in the world is beautiful because God created them. God doesn’t make junk. Real beauty comes from within the heart. But TRUE BEAUTY come from living a life for God and surrendering to Him.