Subtitle – Getting along with other people

John 13: 34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I am very shy and at times introverted. I don’t like getting into confrontations with other people. If I perceive another person to be the confrontational type I will leave them alone. I’ll say hello of course but will not get buddy buddy with them. This attitude might have been OK if I was not a Christian but I am one. The scripture above is not a suggestion, it’s a command.

When I first became a Christian the Lord gave me many lessons on this. One day in my prayer closet time He told me I needed to work on my attitude toward people. As I had my eyes closed I saw a vision of a large pair of eye glasses. God told me they were Jesus glasses and He told me to put them on and to remember I had them on at all times. He said that when I had them on I would see people how Jesus sees them. Who likes wearing glasses……nobody. These glasses made me see people in a different light and I also saw myself…my heart in a different way. Ouch! That sure hurt.

So here I was with my new eye/Jesus glasses and I tell you I could see clearly. There were no excuses….couldn’t hide from folks anymore. Then I got my first big lesson…uh oh!
I was at a women’s meeting in my church and there was a woman there that I never liked. I felt she was kinda mean and puffed up. Maybe she was… maybe that’s how I perceived her ….it really didn’t matter to God because He knew my heart. While I was sitting in that meeting, the Lord told me to get up and confess my feelings about her.

I told God (in my mind God and I was having this big conversation) you want me to do what? So when the group leader stopped talking for a moment I raised my hand and asked if I could say something and I told the group my confession and they all looked stunned especially the woman who it was about. I apologized and went over and hugged her shocked body. Everybody was like…well alrighty then.

I will never forget that lesson and there were others but not as hard as that test. I really needed that test though because: “HOW CAN I PRAY FOR PEOPLE OR HELP ANYBODY IF I DON’T LOVE THEM????? I can’t. My prayer life will go nowhere. If I’m going to be a prayer intercessor (and I am) there is no way I can be one without LOVE in my heart for all God’s creations. God so loved the world and He gave up His only Son….. So If I love God so much and I do, I need to love what He loves.

Did you ever go to the Eye Doctor (and you know what doctor I’m talking about) and get you Jesus glasses? You’ll never be the same. Now don’t get all scared….He’s not going to give you my lesson ( I hope LOL) He deals with us individually. So please do wear those bible prescribed Jesus glasses. I can see clearly the rain will fall….the rain of God’s blessings for being obedient to John 14: 34-35.

Message for today: It’s better to wear the Jesus glasses than to stumble around and be limited in what you can do for the Lord.