Two-Way Street

I believe a full life is one that has peace with God and peace with others, and this can only happen on a two-way street.

Who we are and what we do are determined by our vertical and horizontal relationships. This can be summed by the phrase “loving God and loving people.” No matter our place in life, this is our challenge and this is our mandate from Christ. Yet this is easier said than done as we are navigating a variety of emotions and memories, which impact our behavior. In our imperfection we are faced with the opportunity for His grace making us strong when we are weak.

The two-way street empowers us, vertically, to be close to God, and horizontally, to love others. It feeds our inside to be more like Christ in attitude and action, along with convicting us of where we fall short so that we are more like Him.

From this two-way street, every aspect of our lives will be affected in some way, for better or for worse. What we do with this is huge.

Jesus said in Matthew 23:23,

“You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”
Matthew 23:23

Earlier in this verse He mentions justice, mercy, and faith as those important things. This shows what we should be doing with God and with others.

Vertically, we give our hearts to Him. We give our all to Him and we yield our resources to Him so that He can multiply it. Tithing is linked to our heart which is why Jesus talked more about money than eternity, because our hearts dictate everything. He has given His all to us; therefore, we can give our all to Him.

It’s not the amount of money we give, it’s the amount of our hearts we give!

Horizontally, we give our hearts to others. We show them justice, mercy, and faith because we have received the same from Christ. We do unto others as Jesus has done unto us. This is our chance to make an impact that will last for generations and for eternity.

How does your two-way street look?

Jesus wants us to be close to Him and for us to be clean with others. It’s our moment to live our lives on a two-way street the best we can.

I encourage you to give your heart to God with a reckless abandonment! And I encourage you to give your heart to others with arms wide open. This is a full life; this is life on a two-way street.

Have a great week and the best is yet to come!