Conduit or Blockade?

THE BIGGER PICTURE

By Jessica Breazeale | Wesson News

This past Sunday at Decell Memorial United Methodist Church in Wesson, the pastor was reading the Beatitudes, and she said something that has stuck with me ever since:

Are you the conduit or the blockade?

Friends, that question fits a whole lot of situations.

When it comes to peace in your family, are you the conduit or the blockade?

When it comes to kindness in our community, are you the conduit or the blockade?

And what about that relationship that has gotten tainted… when it comes to reconciliation, are you the conduit or the blockade?

Hold that question up next to the Beatitudes.

Jesus is honest with us there. He tells us we will face persecution, and it won’t come only from people who don’t believe. Sometimes it comes from folks sitting right across from us. We can be misunderstood and criticized by believers and non-believers alike.

So what does it mean to be a conduit?

A conduit is a pathway. It’s the pipe that carries water to a thirsty field, the wire that carries power to a dark room. A conduit doesn’t generate the good thing; it simply lets it pass through. That’s what Jesus describes in the Beatitudes: the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers are people through whom God’s goodness flows to everyone around them.

A blockade is the opposite. It’s whatever stands in the way. And here’s the uncomfortable part: we rarely set out to be one. We become blockades in small ways.

-          A grudge we’re holding onto.

-          A word we didn’t say.

-          A cold shoulder.

Pride that won’t let us pick up the phone first. Gossip that stops a person from feeling welcome. None of it feels like much in the moment, but it adds up over time.

Notice, too, that Jesus doesn’t say blessed are the peacelovers. He says blessed are the peacemakers. Peace takes action. A conduit is open, and that takes humility, because it means setting down our need to be right so something better can get through.

A few questions to carry with you this week:

• Is there someone I need to forgive, or ask forgiveness from?

• Where have I been quiet when a kind word was needed?

• Who might feel the door is closed to them because of how I’ve acted?

And when criticism comes, even from those in our circles, remember that the Beatitudes promise blessing in the middle of it, not after it’s gone. Being misunderstood doesn’t make you a blockade. Responding with bitterness might. Responding with grace keeps the channel open.

What’s the bigger picture?

So, friends, I’ll leave you with the pastor’s question one more time. In your home, your church, your community, and that one relationship that’s been on your heart:

Figure out if you are the conduit or the blockade.