One way to be held back from living a life of freedom is to deny yourself wise counsel. The ability to make decisions based on a wealth of knowledge and experience is priceless. However; man makes it tricky and sometime impossible. How do we give someone the title of a “wise counselor,” when there are so many different schools of thought, ways of doing things, and opinions on the same subject?
Many people are quick to give me direction before asking where I’m going. Some do not believe I can think for myself. Some are not willing to see things from my prospective before giving their points of view. Then there are those who look at my situation and think, “Of course I can help him. Surely, I can only add to whatever he is doing.” I know we all have been there. Unfortunately, I have been there more often then most. It is for this reason that I too struggle with labeling someone as a wise counselor. Though this struggle seems to be understandable, the results of it are pride, lack of trust and, behind the scenes, a low self-esteem.
Then there are many who truly want to help. They just want to see me succeed. No motives, only a belief in God’s will for my life. They have nothing to gain; just a chance to see God glorified in my life. My pride, lack of trust and low self-esteem often gets in the way and stops me from recognizing those people. These issues have become a wheelchair in my life. They have been known to hold me back from wise counsel. So, what do we do? How do we open our heart to wise counsel and not submit ourselves to the foolishness of man?
John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (NASB )
It begins by truly knowing what a wise counselor looks like. A wise counselor is not someone who reads or quotes the Bible. It is someone who practices the Bible. I do not use the word “practice” lightly. Man can never master the Bible. The Bible is to be lived out through man by the Holy Spirit. It is in this man we will find a wise counselor. One of the many things God has taught me over time is a man can never substitute for the Holy Spirit. A godly wise man can only direct me toward the Holy Spirit. He can’t speak for the Holy Spirit.
No doubt about it, we are born sinners. Just like a wheelchair, what surrounds a person often confines a person. When we accept Christ, we are again born as free men and women. For me, freedom in Christ begins and remands with the knowledge of living in a corrupted body that is easily influenced by a corrupted world. Freedom is spiritual redemption from the hold life on earth has on us. Would you discreetly share with me your story? In what way have you been hindered and how have you experienced freedom in Christ? Christophercoleman.net (Galatians 4:21-31)
Disclaimer: I am not out to prove any type of theory or persuade any one to a particular belief. Rather, I am simply sharing my thoughts with those who may be interested. I am open to lighthearted conversations on the topic.
I have several friends that I would consider to be best friends. Most of these guys have been friends of mine for nine and ten years, now. Most people can probably narrow down their best friend to one person. However, I have been blessed to meet the cream of the crop when it comes to friends and each one of them brings something to my life that I need that the other ones can’t provide. One particular friend of mine lives about 45 minutes away from me and works about 45 minutes even farther away from that. We don’t see each other very often. I would say it has been close to a year since I have seen him. However, right now, at this point in my life, I am closer to him than the others, even though I see the others more frequently. How is this possible?
About once or twice a week this friend of mine calls me on his way home from work. For the next 30 to 45 minutes we talk. I mean, we really have deep conversations. We laugh, we cry, we get mad. There are pauses in our conversation as we process what each other is saying. I can even imagine his facial expressions as he replies to my comments. There is something about that time over the phone we know we can be absolutely real in our conversation.
Now, we don’t know the next time we will see each other. It might be next week or next year. When I do see him, I may not recognize him. He could be balder, fatter, older, or just the opposite. He would be able to recognize me easily due to my wheelchair, but out of my wheelchair I could be grayer, thinner, fatter, I could have hair or a goatee. There are lots of things that would make us unfamiliar to each other. However, even if we are in a room filled with people, everything about our friendship will become recognizable the moment we hear each other’s voice. I talk to him often enough and long enough to know his voice and to be able to say, “That’s my friend.”
In John 10:27, Jesus declares that His sheep recognize His voice when He calls them. As I think about this passage and my relationship with my friend, the importance of prayer dawned on me a little bit more. I asked myself, “Will I recognize His voice when He calls me?” Are we, as the church or as individual Christ followers, spending enough time talking with and listening to our Shepherd that when the time comes — even if it is in the midst of a crowd — we will recognize not only His voice, but also the essence of who He is because of the time that we spent communicating with Him in the past? I can’t speak for the individual Christ follower, but I can tell you that corporately, as the body of Christ, we don’t spend much time just communicating with God. If the church was to call a church-wide prayer meeting on Sunday morning, I truly believe only 10 percent of the congregation would show up.
The truth is we don’t know when He is coming back; we don’t know when we will see Him again. In this world full of false prophets and with the knowledge that the Antichrist will one day appear, we as Christians, as His sheep, must know His voice. We must be in communication with Him on a daily basis, not only to recognize His voice, but to engage in meaningful conversation. I want to point something out about the conversations that I have with my friend. They are intimate. They are personal. They are real. There has never been a point when I called him “sir”, but if I ever had, certainly by now I would not call him by that formal title. We quickly get the formalities out of the way and start communicating on a transparent level. I think it is very important to approach the King of Kings with reverence. But, it is equally important to ensure that the reverence rhetoric does not become an excuse for a lack of transparency. At some point, as with any growing relationship, you have to become real.
Disclaimer: I am not out to prove any type of theory or persuade any one to a particular belief. Simply sharing my thoughts with those who may be interested. I am open to lighthearted conversations on the topic.
Over the last few months I have been pouring my way through the first book of Peter. I’m really trying to take this year and study, and not just read, the Word of God. I came to 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” –NASB. I kind of got stuck there. The word race is a very intriguing word to me. When it comes up, I am always interested to know where it is going to lead. Here’s why.
Even though I am not of a mixed race, over the years I have come to understand what it is like. Until I was around 22, my whole culture and environment was of the black race. Though I had friends outside of my race, the predominant influence on my life was the black race. Then, I went off to college and moved Atlanta and the majority of my friends and colleagues here are of the Caucasian race. It has been this way for thirteen years now.
It has been an interesting experience for me. I have been able to understand the concern and issues that blacks have with whites. But, I also understand the concerns that whites have with blacks. I guess you can say that I have a very diverse world view on different cultures now. I have to say here that I am not ashamed of one or the other. When I visit my family in Louisiana, I do not hide the fact that all of my friends here are white. And I do not hide the fact that I go to a church that is predominately white. Nor, when I am here at home in Georgia, do I try to act what some people would call “white”. Those who know me would tell you that I like my R&B music, I like my “black” TV shows, and various parts of the black culture for numerous reasons. I am proud to be a well-rounded black man.
However, when I search for my identity that defines who I am, it is not based on skin color, ethnicity, or what I think of as a certain race. My identity is who I am in Christ. I had a thought in recent days that maybe Christianity itself could be a race. In my study time of 1 Peter 2:9, Peter tells us that we are a chosen people and an elect race. I started thinking about that. What if Christianity is a race of people from many different races?
How far-fetched is this suggestion? I went back to the King James Version of the Bible and found that they use the word “generation” rather than race. From there, I looked up the Greek interpretation of the word and compared it to the definitions of race. Here is what stood out to me:
• Greek interpretation: kindred – definition from race: a group of persons related by common descent or heredity
• Greek interpretation: stock – definition from race: any people united by common history, language, cultural traits, etc.
• Greek interpretation: kin – definition from race: a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock
• Greek interpretation: kind – definition from race: any group, class, or kind, especially of persons
Some thoughts…
A. When you are born again, your identity is no longer distinguished by the skin color you were originally born with. You are now covered in the blood of the Lamb. You are red. Not black. Not white. Your identity is found in knowing that the blood of the Lamb has covered you.
B. Every race has a common denominator; something that identifies them as one. Jesus Christ is that common denominator for every true Christian. We even refer to one anther as brothers and sisters, because of our commonality in Christ.
C. Every race expresses itself differently from another race. God tells us in His Word that we are called to be in the world, but not of the world; that we are set apart as Christians. The Bible tells us the world will know us by our love for one another. That kind of expression will definitely set us apart from all other races.
D. A lot of individuals in the same race are united but different. I love the joke that claims all white people or all black people look the same. The truth is we don’t and that is the same for Christianity; we all have our different denominations and our different ways of expressing our love for Christ and who He is. What matters is that we all know that Jesus is the only way to an eternal life with God.
E. Unfortunately, within the same race, there are those who are against each other. They say, “You don’t do things this way or that way, so you are trying to be a member of the opposite race.” That is true for the church today. We find the program that works for us and a church that does things a particular way and think, “This is the way Christianity works.” I do believe that the Bible gives us clear instructions for our conduct and the way we are to live our lives and be a part of a church. But, sometimes we pursue a denomination or a certain program to a greater degree than we pursue Christ himself.
If what I am proposing is in any way accurate, that Christianity is a race of people from many different races, then what?
A. Sunday morning should not be labeled as one of the most segregated days of the week.
B. Our comfort with sharing the gospel should not depend on a person’s color or nationality.
C. Christians should be the leaders on racial reconciliation in this world.
1. The hand of God
A couple of months ago I was asked to speak to the singles of First Baptist Church of Woodstock on the topic, “When God doesn’t make sense.” It didn’t take me long to finish the sentence. When God doesn’t make sense, He’s making a miracle. I think most people who know me could easily see how He physically performed a miracle in my life. But, that is not the miracle I am talking about. I’m talking about the change and the transformation that He made in my heart. I would say that for the first half of my life I had some anger and bitterness. I felt like it wasn’t fair for me to be in this condition when everyone else around me had the liberty of moving, walking, and talking freely. For me to come the place where I not only embrace my disability, but am learning to celebrate it, is definitely a miracle that only God could perform. One of the blessings in whatever adversity we are facing is the opportunity to see God’s hands at work; to see a miracle in the middle of the situation.
2. Deep true fellowship
The second blessing would be God’s people rallying around you in the midst of your adversity. When I moved from Baton Rouge to Marietta I, as well as my mom, prayed a lot that God would rally the right people around me. This is a big deal when you have a disability that leaves you in a vulnerable position. You have to be very careful with the people you trust and rely on.
I believe God has ordained people in my life to walk beside me. People that not only wanted to do life with me, but a disabled life with me. I have friends that understands a relationship with me requires them to be personally involved more than they would with any other person. They are prepared to drive extra miles for me to be part of the event that night. Or they are ready to help me finish getting dressed before we can get out the door. Not to mention, the times when life for me gets really hard and I need someone to hold my hand through the sickness and seizures that often come my way. We need to praise God for ordaining our friends and family to walk through our adversities with us.
3. A chance to testify
Every now and then God has to remind me that He didn’t put me on earth for my benefit, but the benefit of other people. Yes, in my situation and in the situation of many others, that may be a hard concept to accept. But whether I accept it or not, I am here in this body living this life. Whether I want to accept it or not, I am disabled and life will always be a challenge for me. So, why not use it for a greater purpose? Why not encourage the person who needs to see me smile in my situation even though I don’t feel like smiling? Why not wrap my arms around and hug someone who needs a little bit of extra love today, even though they may not be going through half of the things I am going through. Isn’t that what we are all here for anyway? Ultimately, God put us on earth to help draw people closer to Him. Why not share with someone the things I learned about God’s mercy and grace through my disability; who may not really understand it otherwise? I like to say that I have lived a successful, disabled life. What makes it successful for me is the thought that I may have used all of my ups and downs to draw people closer to Jesus. If we all use our adversities to draw people closer to Him then our challenges will not be in vain.
Sometimes we all have to remember there will come a time when this life will be over and there is a place in heaven for us. There is a place that God has set aside for you and I. No more sickness. No more sorrow. No more pain. Jesus promised us all a home over there for evermore. Meanwhile, count your blessings and seek out opportunities to praise God.
On January 4, 2010, I’m starting a journey through my book, “Solitary Refinement”. I would love it if you would come along. To find out more go to www.solitary-refinement.com.
Welcome to my new blog!