I expected to gain some understanding of artistic design, painting tools and watercolor techniques. What I did not expect included learning to see with new eyes and insights into living in the moment. The instructor repeatedly mentioned that taking this class would change the way we saw the world around us. From his perspective, becoming a student of art ultimately leads to asking of the things we see in our lives, “How can I paint that?” The answer involves more than color choices and techniques, it also involves truly observing what we see.

A classic example happened during a recent class on painting trees. As we began to paint the trunks and limbs, our teacher asked, “what color should we use?” Of course, we responded with browns and grays. His suggestion, “begin with blue.” I was sure I’d never seen a blue tree trunk, but I was patient. By the time the class was over, our blue tree trunks looked more realistic than I imagined possible. Since then, as I observed the trees around me, I’ve seen a number of blue tree trunks and a number of colors I never knew were there.

Attentiveness to life is a gift. Not only do we see surprising colors and details we never noticed, but our eyes are opened to life that is all around us. The great diversity of creations begins to unfold before us and some of the simplest, most common things become awe-inspiring wonders.

Similar discoveries await us in our emotional, relational and spiritual worlds as well. When we pause long enough to truly see and when we are willing to retrain our senses, a world of fantastic wonders open to us, filled with great diversity, new discoveries and unimaginable inspiration.

I love living with my new eyes on the world. I invite you to join me as you take the time to open yours to what is around you as well.

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One part of my presentation (and the preparation for it) that really captured my thoughts was the concern for the language we speak. All too often, we fall into the belief that we should be able to speak our language and expect others to understand it and grasp what we are saying. When they ignore or reject what we are saying, we can easily place all of the responsibility on our audience while never asking ourselves if we communicated in the right way.

I have a passion for ministry in Brazil and enjoyed the privilege of leading groups there to do missions work. Never did we arrive in Rio expecting that the people we would minister with would speak fluent English. Instead, we took time to learn some Portuguese and we arranged to have an interpreter ready when necessary. We made every effort to speak the language of the people we were with.

The same thing applies in the areas we all live and serve in. The church, reaching out to the community and the world, must be willing to learn the language of the people we are speaking to. We cannot simply expect that our words have the same meaning and that our methods of communication are the same. They are not. Even though the learning curve is significant and seems to continue to change, we must not step back.

When I was young, the church found its greatest growth through its members having children. People remained committed to their church and people who moved into the area typically looked for a church of the same denomination they previously attended. There was tremendous denominational loyalty. By the time I began in ministry, people were shopping for churches based upon the programs they offered. They would often change congregations based upon their needs and the seasons of their lives.

Today, people are seeking something real and a place where they can be engaged and connected. They want to be known and to know others, and they want to be a part of something that is bigger than they are, something that enables them to make a difference. The church can meet these needs and become stronger in the process, but we will need to speak the language of a new day.

Change can be intimidating, but what wonderful opportunities it presents. Thank God the message of divine love and saving grace remains unchanging. Thank God the Holy Spirit enables and empowers us to face a changing world and speak a relevant word. Thank God we have the privilege of living is such exciting times, and when it all seems overwhelming, take heart in John Wesley’s final words, “The best is, God is with us.”

The post The Language We Speak appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

Popular Christian author and speaker Chuck Swindoll, writing on attitude said, “Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home.”

There are many things that we cannot control or change, but we have all the power in the world to choose our attitudes. We can decide how we will use the experiences, resources and opportunities that are before us. We can act from the mind of Christ, or we can be out of our right mind.

One of the key characteristics of Jesus’ attitude was a deep commitment to an attitude of compassion. Repeatedly, we find the Scripture affirming this attitude of God’s heart. Consider the following:

• “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.” (Mark 1:41)
• When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them.” (Mark 6:34)
• “Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes” (Matt. 20:34)
• “I have compassion for these people” (Mark 8:2)

In a world of debate and conflict, it is easy to become judgmental and harsh, and often that is exactly how Christians are perceived because… well… because that is how we act. We lose sight of the line that separates, “speaking the truth in love,” and self-righteous judgment.

Jesus loved people and had compassion on them. He still does, and if anyone had the right and position to offer harsh judgment, it is the perfect Son of God, yet he demonstrates the heart of compassion even toward those who persecute him.

We are not called to agree with everything or to approve of every behavior, but we are meant to be people who can be concerned about important issues while living out of the compassion of Christ. We are recipients of that compassion in our own lives and should seek to sow it into the lives of others. Compassion is an attitude worth being passionate about.

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