The Litmus Test of Life

Have you ever noticed how many qualifying standards we’re required to meet these days, even for some of the simplest of situations?  Everything seems to have turned into one continuous replay of that gigantic day of nerves as a sixteen year old when mom or dad took us down to the DMV to obtain our very first driver’s license.

I was thinking about that recently while trying to get qualified to obtain my state license as an investigator. This is the first year Alabama has required that process and I wasn’t made aware of the deadline to get it done until about four days before the cutoff date to get grandfathered in as a long standing professional.  Trust me, four days isn’t nearly enough time to jump all the hurdles the state licensing board requires, and still get everything down to Montgomery in time.  So the $350 process became a $400 process with added overnight shipping.   

That $400 pales in comparison to the alternative cost of $1,300 for a six month, college level course, the technical training books (about $500 worth), and the added expense to take the test itself.  Not to mention I would have been required to shut down my business for at least seven months until all of that was taken care of.  So I was really left with a very keen sense of urgency to get this done within the four days I had before me.   As some of you know, my efforts to do so were successful as I became one of the very first to be called a Certified, Licensed, Private Investigator in the State of Alabama.   That title and $3.57 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks - a small cup, that is. 

Yet, there seems to be so many other less dramatic occurrences these days where we have to jump through man-made hoops to get qualified for whatever it may be.  To obtain a debit card for instance, to get a home mortgage loan at a decent interest rate, to get a job, or to run for public office.  DNA testing, paternity testing, IQ testing, personality type testing, background checks, job skills testing, etc, etc, it’s a never ending number of tests we place on each other.  Kids in school think that once they get into the real world those darn test days will be behind them - we both know they have a rude awakening coming for sure. Speaking of school, I was talking with the parent of a high school graduate recently that said she was; "worn completely out" as it had taken her and her son his entire senior year to complete all the qualifying processes to get available funds, grants, loans and financing just so he could begin his freshman year of college this fall.  

Litmus tests have become a daily process for humans, as we're now required to prove ourselves over and over again to each other, to the world.  Why?  Because no longer is our “word” considered to be above reproach, and our handshake no longer signifies true commitment.  We require a lot more than that these days before we can even begin to let down our guards and trust each other.  

As example, there are churches today that have made it as difficult to become a member, as it is to become a "made" man in the mob, or some other so-called secret society.  If only our church membership had as much significance as maybe it should.  Take being a member of a Christian church in the shadows of communist China in the 1970s where if it were found out, you would viciously be put to death - just as it is in many less-civilized countries even today.  Persecution for being a believer is still very much real in so many parts of the world today, but here in American, being a “Christian or a church member carries with it as much danger as belonging to a monthly on-line book club.

Litmus tests - we must prove our worthiness and level of commitment to everybody for everything, some justifiably so and some, maybe not so much in my opinion.

We often hear all the things that we must do, or become, to be considered a true Christian these days.  You've even read quite a few of those things here on this blog over the past few months. That is until God convicted me of the judgmental spirit I had allowed to twist my way of seeing things. [For those that aren't on social media such as Facebook or Twitter], about a month ago I confessed this sin and asked for forgiveness from those I had offended by my harsh and wrongful words toward other believers.  If you didn't see that, then let me ask the same of you today.  Please forgive me and pray for me in that area, as I’m certainly praying about it myself.   Thank you!

So, back to what I was saying; we hear so many ways as to how we must act, what we are to say, where we are to go, how we should spend our time, who we should hang out with, and especially how we should think, if we really want to pass the litmus test of Christianity.   Much of what we hear in this area comes from people with good intentions, but nevertheless it’s often with misplaced focus on things that Jesus himself never gave a thought to - or at least it’s not recorded anywhere if He did.

I can’t find where Jesus said many of the things we hear coming from talking heads today, but maybe I’m wrong.  I just think if God was willing to send His only son to live among us, then doesn't it stand to reason if something was ultra-important, just possibly He would have mentioned it at one point or another in 33 years?  Maybe, instead of just wearing WWJD bracelets we should add another one, a WDJSAI  – What Did Jesus Say About It - but that might require some of us to actually have to brush up on our Bible reading skills though, and lord knows we don’t have that kind of (Facebook kind) of time available, now do we?  Oops, there I go again, slipping into the darkness…forgive me!

So what did Jesus, the Lord of all Lords say His litmus test was?  

LOVE –as simple and as complicated as that is!  One word, one lifestyle, and one qualifying test - to be certain we are a true follower of Jesus.  We are known by our LOVE, whether we like it or not - whether we have any or not, whether we feel like loving or not.  This is what we are known for, and will forever be known for - either in a positive light or a negative one. 

We've been taught His true followers will be known by their love, yet He also said; if you love me you'll obey my commandments. That's the evidence He's looking for in our lives.   In other words, don’t just say you love me, rather show me that you do, by loving all others.   That was His big commandment, Love God, and Love others.  That’s it!  So if Jesus said if you love me, obey my commandments, then that's where we should start the very basic of litmus tests of our lives.  

We are known.....

Not by our political affiliation

Not by our stance on gun control

Not by our stance on legalized gambling

Not by our stance on alcohol sales

Not by our church denomination

Not by our race, or nationality

Not by our_______________(fill in the blank)

Those are all just silly things man and RELIGION tests us on, and forces us to become known by – not God’s test.  Rather, we are to be known by our LOVE according to God himself.  That alone should push it to the top of our priority list, don’t you agree?  The LOVE test should be the one test we need to make sure we pass.  It's not the kind of test you can stay up and cram for the night before Finals!

Here’s the key point with all this – Only God / Jesus / Holy Spirit knows whether or not you're passing the test or not, and if you’re interested they’ll share with your spirit as to how you're doing.  NO ONE ELSE KNOWS!!!  So don’t be bothered by their criticism of you, or their judgment over you, but I would suggest we still heed the good advice we’re offered, as it may just help us see areas where we can improve our LOVE score.  

We all have examples of true LOVE in our daily life we can learn from, and receive encouragement from, if only we take the time to LOOK and LISTEN, as we were taught so long ago.

One example of true love I see every day comes from what some of you may think of as being a ridiculous source, but that’s okay.  It comes from my dog, Bubby - a fat, fluffy, bundle of full-blooded Shih-Tzu love.  Bubby loves me like no one on earth has ever loved me.  He has since the very day I got him.  Some of you may already know the story as to how that all came about but in case you don't; A guy wrote me a bad check for $70.  I went to collect.  He didn’t have $70 and was on his way to check in at a drug rehab facility.  He offered me his dog, which he was taking to the animal shelter on his way to rehab that day.  Later I came to learn it wasn’t even his dog, but that’s another story.   

The dog was pitiful looking to say the least.  His hair and eyes were so matted up, it hurt just to look at him. He had the mange, and was covered in fleas.  He had been abused, beaten, neglected, exposed to drugs, left to survive on his own on a fenced in back porch with broken glass everywhere and piles of poop and urine that made me gag.  Why in the world would someone keep a dog if they were going to allow it to suffer like that I thought?  It made me furious to see how he had treated this dog!  The guy needed more than drug rehab in my opinion!  But anyways…

I knew Dale didn't want a dog at the time, as her baby girl Phoebe (the dog she had for 13 years) had just passed away a few months earlier,  Honestly, I just wanted my $70, but I just couldn't let this scraggly but precious animal go to the pound and possibly be destroyed. I figured nobody would want to adopt this mangy dog.  So I took him and put him in the car seat beside me, and told the guy I would be praying he gets the help he needed.  On the way home I gave the dog the name Bubby, and I petted him on the head the whole trip.  He fell in love with his rescuer even before his rescuer fell in love with him.   From that car ride till today some three and a half years later, that dog has never once stopped loving me, wanting my affection, my approval or stopped wanting to be right beside me 24/7.   Wherever I am, he wants to be there also.  He will sit on my desk at the office ten hours a day without moving if I let him.  He would die of heatstroke in the hot days of summer as long as he can stay outside with me as I work around the house. Nowhere else does he want to be but with me.   

When I have to leave him at home for some reason, he gets so dejected he actually stumbles and slumps his way back away from the door.  It literally breaks my heart to see how disappointed he is when this happens.  Dale says the entire time I’m at work or away from the house, he never stops watching and waiting for my return – not even for a second.  He won't eat, drink, or do anything until I get back.  He longs to get on the sofa beside me to wrestle for about five minutes every evening (which is about all either one of us fat boys can take) and it’s like when that is done, everything has been made right in his little doggy world and he’s at peace.   He obeys my every command without hesitation, yet stubbornly disregards most of what Dale tells him to do.  He loves me and no one else, and I know this hurts Dale’s feelings a bit, but there’s nothing she or I can seem to do to make him think or feel otherwise.  He has one love, one focus and it’s me, and for that I am richly blessed!

His love for me is what I see when I try to figure out how I should love.  If only there was a way I could have a Bubby-like love in my heart for my rescuer, Jesus Christ and others. I think I do, I sing that I do, but do I really have that level of love? How can I not? For God loves us so much He sacrificed His own son to die for us. That is the greatest example of love man has ever known!  I long to have that kind of love in my heart, to be that focused, to disregard my own needs and desires to that degree, if only I could.   

Bubby’s love and Jesus, himself are my litmus test examples as to how I should love. Thank you Lord for giving me such a great example of love as this precious little animal, and the sacrifice of your Son! Let me learn to truly LOVE in order that I can pass the real litmus test you created for our lives.