Reflecting Christ

By Carl Kimbro, Fellowship Bible Church, Rogers, Celebrate Recovery Devotional Team 10/23/19


In November 2012 our lives changed forever. Our son went to prison, and his wife and kids moved in with us. His wife was struggling with addiction and not caring for the two girls. She was failing at work and would sometimes disappear for days at a time. Our son was also calling and threatening to harm himself over all that had happened. It was a bad situation and about to get worse. In January 2013 the girls’ mom left for work and never came back. We suddenly found ourselves raising a three-and-a-half-year-old and an 18-month-old. The girls didn’t understand what was happening. And frankly, neither did we. It seemed that no one understood what we were going through, and we felt very much alone. I buried myself in unhealthy activities to cope, and life got worse.

Just when it seemed hopeless, God sent Vicky and Wayne into our lives. Never have two people been so welcome. It was as if God had sent a lifeline directly to us to pull us out of the waves and keep us from drowning! This awesome couple reflected the image of Christ to us when we needed it most. We had just started attending Celebrate Recovery. They encouraged us to not just attend, but to get involved. I’m very thankful that they did.

When I think back on those days, I ask myself these questions: “Since I am created in God’s image, am I reflecting His image to others around me? Can others at Celebrate Recovery see Christ in me? Do I love them as God loves me? Am I a Vicky or Wayne to someone at CR that is struggling right now?” What does God expect from me?

“…Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

Jesus said this when asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” His answer reflects this truth: love is the key! Showing the love of Christ to others at CR is the true reflection of Christ’s love. Every Friday night God presents us with opportunities to reflect Christ to fellow strugglers. It can be as simple as listening to them and as spiritual as praying with them. It can be a kind word or a pat on the back. There are so many ways to reflect Christ to others. Our reaching out can be a part of their healing process. Your concern may be why they don’t give up and come back next week. When we reach out to them, they will see Christ in us!
How about you? Who will you be a Vicki or a Wayne too? Pray for opportunities to show God’s love to others at CR though your life. Loving others as God did is truly reflecting God’s image to the world. You may be the lifeline they need to keep from drowning in their struggles.

Click HERE to listen to "Somebody Tell Them" by City Harbor

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 Days Of CR Christmas

Image
One of our great leader Monica rewrote the lyrics to this old Christmas song to tie into the 12 steps. We had a lot of fun singing it and love that it keeps the focus on the 12 steps thru Christmas. Great job Monica! On the first day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the notion it’s not about me; On the second day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the third day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fourth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my inventory, will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fifth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me On the sixth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, desire to be humble, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the
Read more

Why do we introduce ourselves?

One of the things that might confuse a newcomer coming into this great ministry is the way we introduce our self and do so every time we meet in a Step Group and/or Open discussion group. The question that often comes up is; “Why in the world would we have to introduce our self every time we come together? I mean, we all know each other don’t we? We all know what the other is struggling with right? So why should I have to state my main issue I am dealing with? These are all logical questions and I think the below content from Tina at Saddleback might help shed some light on this. As you may already know, in our small groups we ask our Leaders to introduce themselves with this statement: “Hi my name is _______; I am a believer who struggles with________.” We ask our leaders to keep it short; to stick to one or two primary areas of recovery. We ask them not to state a host of recovery issues and character defects, etc… especially because we do not run recovery specific groups for cha
Read more

Verbal Reality--Why you can't believe an addict and what you can do as a co-dependent

I recently came across the below article when websurfing for information about verbal reality, a concept a friend introduced me to last year during a time I was trying to figure out is someone was telling me the truth or not. The below article is specifically for Porn addiction, and comes from a very good website, but I've found it true with all addictive behaviors. If you've never heard of Verbal Reality, and you question whether or not your spouse is being honest, this is a good way to help you sort it out, and a great tool for your recovery. ______ Consider This. (from http://www.pornaddicthubby.com/Help-For-The-Addict.html) Addicts of any kind live in a "verbal reality." This means if they say it, it is true and if they say it passionately enough even they believe it is really true. Men who have an addiction to porn live in a verbal reality. A sex addict believes what he is saying while he is saying it. Your most helpful tool in dealing with verbal reality is look
Read more