Yesterday I wrote a post in which I shared how it hurts the heart of a father when his children ignore or shun those in need.

Today I want to talk about what makes a father’s heart happy!

I am never so proud of my children as when they share! A couple of nights ago at Chuck E. Cheese, Reagan gave her tickets to a little girl at the toy counter where you “buy” things with the tickets you have won while playing the games! I was SO proud of Reagan!

I love to watch my children share! I love it when they give up one of their toys to someone else! It especially makes me happy when they share with or include their sister who may not always “get it” as quickly as they do.

When they share or include it makes me say, “That’s the girl I’m proud of!” They gain my delight when they share and include!

OK, so how does this apply to the church?

I’m persuaded that the Father’s heart is happiest when His children give up their “rights” to include others who may not “get it.”

So what does this look like?

It looks like an attitude that says, “It’s not about me.”

• The focus of the church… it’s not about me.

• The attention of the pastor… it’s not about me.

• What the weekend experience looks like… it’s not about me.

• Whether we drink coffee or wear jeans or play loud music… it’s not about me.

Ironically, when we embrace an attitude that says, “It’s not about me” all of a sudden we find that we are experiencing the delight of the Father unlike at any other time in our lives!

When we give up our “rights” and begin sharing and including we put ourselves in a position to receive more than ever before! Crazy? Yes, but it’s true!

It’s kind of like what St. Paul said in Philippians 2:3-11,

Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It was only after Jesus gave up everything that He gained everything, and it is this same spirit that St. Paul calls us to!

So how about it?

What are you willing to give up?

What are you willing to share?

What are you willing to quit fighting over so that others can know the love of God and you can experience the delight of the Father?

I don’t talk much about this, but I think it’s time to make a point so here goes…

We have a daughter who has some special needs.

I love to watch as she plays with her friends and is well received. It makes me feel good.

On the other hand, there’s nothing that hurts me more than to watch her be shunned or ignored because of some differences. It especially hurts when it is her sisters, my daughters, doing the shunning or ignoring.

A couple of mornings ago I was watching her two sisters play together. They were having a great time laughing and playing. They were having a great time until their sister wanted to join… then things changed.

They told her to leave. They started gathering all of their toys to themselves. They made it clear that they didn’t want her to be a part of what was going on.

Now here’s the thing, this doesn’t always happen, but it happens more often than I’d like it too. They slam the door when she’s trying to get in the room. They talk about and with each other but often leave her out of the conversation. It’s little things that, if not corrected, will have BIG impact.

As a father, this breaks my heart.

And so it occurred to me that our Heavenly Father’s heart must break too as He watches His children who “get it”, the “mature”, shun or ignore those who may not “get it”.

This happens all the time in churches around the country. “Christians” regularly shun and/or ignore those who have not embraced the faith… those with a unique set of needs. Oh maybe they don’t do it intentionally, but they sure do it implicitly.

How?

Well, for instance, I’ve had people tell me, “I don’t want our church to grow any more. I just am not comfortable in a big church.” In my opinion, that is kind of like slamming the door and leaving the “special needs” child on the outside.

I hear to many “Christians” talk about things they don’t like about the church and not enough about “What can we do to make those who don’t ‘get it’ welcome here?” Again, in my opinion, that is like gathering the toys to themselves and saying, “This is our space, you can’t come in here.”

Too many churches are having a “great time” while those with special needs are ignored or shunned. Too many churches are filled with laughter, sharing, fellowship, and all kinds of other good things, but only for those who “get it.” Just try reaching out to those who are needy and see what happens to the fun, laughter, and fellowship… it changes quickly to “Hey, what about me/us? We were here first!”

I know how my heart hurts when I see my little girls shun or ignore their special needs sister.

I can only wonder how much more our Heavenly Father’s heart hurts when He watches the church act like this.

What can we do about this? We’ll talk about this later…