Delighting In His People

Jeremiah 31:21 Set you up waymarks, make you high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which you wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

Psalm 84 How lovely is Your tabernacle (are Your dwellings), O Lord of Hosts.

Peoples
I Corinthians 6:19: What? Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? 20: For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

"Peoples will be peoples." Somewhere I heard that in a movie line. A great supporter of law enforcement, Jack Webb, was once questioned about how a police officer could "go bad". With extensive application procedures and qualifications and more extensive training and preparation, the questioner was plagued with confusion as to how this continually happened. How did a law enforcer become a lawbreaker? Webb replied, "The problem is we must recruit from the human race."

The tabernacle of God is first and foremost us. Each individual and the body of Christ together is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Walking tabernacles of the glory and divine character and nature of God seems to be a strange description of these flesh and bone mistake makers called humans. Yet, that is how He sees us. That is how He plans us. That is how He supports us. By the way, "us" includes "them" as long as "they" call Jesus, Lord.
Passioned Peoples
2 Corinthians 6:16: ... for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Each of us has a passion for which we contend. That passion motivates our life, our soul, our speech, our actions, and our feelings about circumstance and others. Christ impassions us. To stay in our fleshly passion and interest is to deny the power of the Gospel. The will of God is to reveal in us His way that is higher than our way. Some stay. Some go forward. In each instance, we as believers must contend with the passions of others. These seem to be opposite ours. Really they are not opposite or opposed. They are conjunct. They are conjoint.

The Holy Spirit in us produces a delight in the passions of others. His temples are enjoyable. The variety in the kingdom spices our lives. Delight in His temples, and you delight in Him. Supporting the passion of others is a delight. Thrilling in the working through of difficulties when passions connect close up and confrontational is a part of having a heart for the highway. Working through leads into the fellowship of the saints. How lovely are Your tabernacles!

Yesterday, I had lunch with a software inventor and a business administrator and his wife, who serve in an east coast state in a very different church than the one in which I serve. What a group! The discussion was vivid and passionate. Regularly, I have bible discussion with businessmen passionate about building businessmen for Christ. They represent different expressions of faith in Christ than my norm. What is that about? It's about sharpening my saw. It's about getting out of my box. It's about letting others' passions rub off on me, while letting our common denominators build on each other. It's about breaking down preconceived notions and barriers.

Problem Peoples
Life always has problems attached. Problems always seem to have people attached. Some people are like the old character in Li'l Abner who went around with the cloud over his head. The character, Mr. Mxyzptlk in the old Superman comics, presence always meant disaster even though he was friendly. There are just people who live problematic lives. You need to delight in being a part of their solution in life.

Purple Peoples
Zig Ziglar tells the story about the man who walked into a bookstore and asked the female manager, "Ma'am, can you tell me where I can find the book, Man, The Superior Sex? She replied, "Oh, yes. It's upstairs in the Science Fiction department!"

People come in all different sizes and makes, customs and colors, hairs and ornaments. Our task is to delight in all of them. When we love the fellowship of God, when our heart is turned to the path into the city of our Savior, we love all kinds of people.

Call Me Eddie!
Call him Eddie or call him enigma, the man meant the same to Krons. Every morning he had shown up for the last two weeks. Before the door opened, he was dressed in the same jeans and boots and jacket and hat with his sleeping bag and belongings neatly tucked in a duffle bag. Eddie’s smile was real. It had a taste of pain behind the lips, but the smile was real. He never talked. Just nodded his head and began opening the door for folks coming for coffee.

Standing at the table closest to the door so he could keep his eyes on his accumulated earthly possessions, Eddie served with a smile. He never asked for anything. The blustery hard wind sharpened by 20 degree weather did not stop him from smiling and nodding. An angry face on a customer bothered by being served did not stop him. The aloof attitude of the suburbaned lawyer in tailored dress that moved her well out of his path did not stop his smile. He served.

The boots on his feet belied the streets. They were as shined as they could be after keeping feet warm in the outdoors all night. No other person living on the streets had such shining boots. His clothes were neat with a few wrinkles. How did he accomplish all of that living on the streets? No one knew. He did not talk. He did not come to share a hard lot story. He came to serve and smile.

Krons had gotten his name out of him. He even found that Eddie had served in war time in the Middle East. That was about it. Eddie did not come to talk. He came to serve.

Around noon, Eddie would disappear back to the streets. Every once in a while, someone would give him a dollar tip and a smile. For Eddie, that seemed like a fortune. As gracious as any concierge in a $750 a night upscale hotel, he would thank the person and continue to serve. He was surely an enigma. Krons always brought him a first cup of coffee. Eddie never asked. He just received it and continued to open the door. He was happy to serve.

Maria was getting a little worried about the situation. What if people began to fear being robbed? What if people found Eddie offensive. Krons contemplated that for the last week. He concluded that Eddie was an angel. Maybe not a ‘real’ angel, but surely a messenger from God. They did not know the message he carried, but they did believe there was a message for them all in Eddie’s service and faithfulness.


Taking Inventory on Delighting in People
Are there some personality types that just rile you? How do you handle it? Can you see them as God's creation?

When was the last time you spent a great evening doing something with a group of people that have a radically different background than you do?

Taking Action on Delighting in People
Find someone who is entirely different than you are this week. Take them out to lunch or have them over to your home. Get to know them. Listen more than talk.


Prayer on Delighting in People
It is amazing, Father, that You do so much for us. In our daily routines, we can get so bogged with our own focus that we miss others. Give us the love for people that turns our hearts to Your home. Construct Your home Your way. Let all the passions, problems, personalities, and purpleness of people come into harmony. Build in us a love for the heavenly choir made of many sounds that form one voice of praise to You in our variety of service.