Monday, October 19, 2009

Religion vs. Relationship

We were talking in our small group the other night about the differences between a religion and caring about others, or the difference between religion and a relationship. One of the things that I brought up, that just hit me as we were talking, was that in a religion you can still be prideful. It's all about you and the rules you follow or don't follow. It's about how you act, how you behave, how good you are. Religion requires an inward focus.

However, a relationship or caring about people requires you to look beyond yourself. It requires investing in another person's life. You can be in a relationship with just yourself. In a relationship you can't always be looking out for yourself. It requires humility, service, and love.

A religion is all about me. A relationship is all about others.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Drained and Filled...

I was feeling really empty and drained on Tuesday. I came home from work and was just exhausted. I didn't want to do anything, go anywhere, and I certainly didn't want to pour energy into anything that wasn't sleep related. But, alas, Tuesday night is KidBUILDERs night and I headed down there around 5:30. Now, don't get me wrong... I LOVE those kids. I think they are the some of the coolest people in the universe. I just felt like I had nothing left to give to them that night.

However, by the time I left and was on my way home, I was amazed at how alive and full of life I felt. It was totally a God thing. I go to serve these kids (who were so well behaved in the program, I guess the bus ride was another matter) and instead I get blessed and filled with God's power and love and life! I love how God uses service to bless the one who serves. I didn't really want to be there at first, but God blessed my willingness to go down and serve. He restored me and put life back in me to help me through the rest of the week.

So have you experienced any blessings when you serve?