Disciple James log: Jesus has no time for guilt-wallowing self indulgence.

 8/10/24

https://youtu.be/femCgDp5YSk?si=Yq1R3jT-PIpeK8AF

Jesus has no time for guilt-wallowing self indulgence.

Warning: Everything but what moves you to discipleship of Jesus is destructive of your health. jesianity.info/search/label/Jesus

Lightly edited transcript:

00:07 Speaker 1

This particular encounter may be why I'm here, why I was placed here on earth.

00:17 Speaker 1

Within the last couple of weeks, an encounter with a young man at the beginning of his life, rather than I at the end of mine, boy, I never would have anticipated it in a million years. 

00:32 Speaker 1

It was a young Amish man. We had been speaking for about ten minutes. I was in a relatively untrafficked area, and five minutes earlier I had noticed that he was sort of lurking in the area of the vehicle. And I hoped. We would speak. I did not guess that we would. And there he was at the side of the vehicle. 

01:19 Speaker 1

I shared with him what I'm about. That I've found the answer I was looking for in life. After I finally pushed everyone aside to focus exclusively on the words and example of the man, Jesus, 

01:45 Speaker 1

it was clear he was listening. It was clear he was glad with what he was hearing. 

01:58 Speaker 1

Early on, I shared with him that, well, my ignorance of the Amish community may be total and profound, but I've done some reading, and I told him that when I am in Amish areas, I feel less alien. I feel less alone. And I wanted him to know that because of him, and people like him, I feel a level of encouragement that I don't feel in other communities. 

02:44 Speaker 1

I've been depressed in recent weeks, he said.

02:49 Speaker 1

My demeanor and a few words made it clear that if he wanted to share, I would be glad to know. it was probably five, five minutes of silence as he tried to find what he wanted to share and how. And he finally did. 

03:14 Speaker 1

It really doesn't matter what he said, in my view.

03:20 Speaker 1

I said, weeks ago, in a conversation like this, someone said, someone was expressing to me a deep guilt that they felt, how terribly they had disappointed Jesus. And I said, I've spent thousands of hours immersed in the words and example of the man, Jesus, from the canonical gospels. And I told him, I said, and I told this person several weeks ago, here's how I understand such things. The essence of Jesus, I think, is clear from the gospels. As you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. Jesus is not dispassionate. is in agony over the mess we've made of our lives and the unnecessary pain and the joylessness that we have. And to this young man, I shared what I told the fellow several weeks ago. 

04:51 Speaker 1

To me, when I am in such situations, oh, I really messed up. I can't believe what a bad disciple I am. I hear Jesus saying, James, the world is writhing in pain. My children are writhing in pain. And you've got time to wallow in your guilt? You've got talents. You were given talents. You were given abilities. Spend them to try and help some of these suffering people. 

05:31 Speaker 1

This young Amish man, early 20s, I guess, was deeply glad for what he was hearing, I think. We spoke of many other things, but they related to this. 

05:45 Speaker 1

I've never had a more hopeful encounter,

05:49 Speaker 1

and I told this young man, you encourage me that you are in the world. 

05:57 Speaker 1

Saved almost no one in his day. A handful. The man Jesus, right there. Saved only a handful. Saved only a handful. But he did save some. And that you, as a young man, are in this world with the apparent courage that you have, the apparent compassion and empathy that you seem to have, the almost unavoidable desire to help other souls in your community, it seems to me you have been chosen to be a rare instrument of God and Jesus. And that gives me hope for at least one other soul. 

06:49 Speaker 1

Almost every meaningful encounter I have is likely to amount to nothing, In this one, I think I met a soul that has been chosen, and I think he was encouraged and gained some strength by our encounter. What an incredible privilege.