Tereasa Mansfield
(I realize it’s not the first Friday of the month, but I was distracted by the holidays and the Downton Abbey premier. Better late than never!)
I’m excited to introduce you to my friend, Tereasa Mansfield. We connected through a link-up last year. The more I learned about her compelling story, the bigger fan I became. (I actually mentioned her in my Legacy series last year.) She recently moved to the US from Canada, with her handsome hubby and three children.
You can find her online at www.hispenonmyheart.com and as @mtereasa on Twitter.
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I’d like to have a conversation with you. Have a seat. Can I get you something hot to drink? There is something I really want to talk to you about. It is important that you are honest with me, though. I want us to take a really good look at ourselves while we talk.
What would you do if Mary came to church today?
No, I’m not talking about the mother of Jesus. I’m talking about the other one. Yeah, the one who did dirty things for money and made the religious men uncomfortable.
What would you do if she showed up?
Ok, sure you would be nice to her or else she would tell Jesus on you. Right? Or, maybe you would want to sit with her and hear what she has to say about Jesus. For real. That is probably what I would want.
Well, what if you did not know she was Mary? What if she was just some girl who showed up in skimpy clothes and said all the wrong things at the wrong time?
Do you think you would talk to her or would you ignore her, hoping that she would leave before the weaker men in the congregation caught a glimpse of her thighs?
Alright, maybe you would remember that we are the body and decide to act like Jesus and let her in.
Would you know how to make her feel comfortable? Would you hand her a hymnal and hope she knows what to do with it? Would you sing along with the words on the overhead and raise your hands to heaven so she could smell your pleasing aroma?
Or would you make sure she knows what’s going on? And how would you do that without embarrassing her?
So. . . maybe you’ve got that covered.
Now. What would you do when the preacher got up and started talking about the Good Book? What if he started using words and saying things that are completely irrelevant to someone who has never set foot inside a church building? What if everything he said sounded like a foreign language to her? Even if it was very simple and relevant to you?
I’d really like to know how you’d handle that.
Well, let’s say you feel affectionate toward Mary and desire to build a relationship with her. How would you do that?
Would you invite her to lunch?
Would you invite her into your home?
Sure, you would.
Wait a minute. You have children, don’t you? What about them? What will they think if you consort with the likes of her? What if they hear something they shouldn’t? What if they saw something they have never seen before?
Well, you know, Mary would have a lot of questions after everything she experienced this morning. Some of her questions might make you blush.
Would you invite her anyway?
Or would you protect your children’s innocence?
Have you ever considered how Mary ended up in the life she has? Oh friend, we could talk about the possibilities for hours. Couldn’t we?
I think it pretty much comes down to this. She needs love. Just like I need love and so. do. you.
You know? The chances are, if Mary came to church today and you chose to welcome her, you would end up finding out that Mary needs a lot. You would probably realize that she needs more than you can give her in one hour of worship or a few fleeting minutes over lunch.
You would probably leave feeling like someone just dropped an infant at your doorstep. Then you would realize that you have just picked up a burden that is very heavy and consuming.
Would you be ready for that?
Are you ready for that?
I was just wondering, because. . . well, we keep calling ourselves the body of Christ and I have been thinking about what that means. And, you know? I don’t think it means quite what we have thought or, at least, what we have acted like.
Susan–Happy Friday and I love first Fridays any Friday. Tereasa, thank you for sharing this blog post. What wonderful questions. Hope it’s okay, but I am going to share this post link with our Ladies LifeServe group. Thanks again for sharing.
Love it and am visiting Teresa’s blog as well. Yes, we ALL need to ask those questions and answer them as Christ would.
I look forward to meeting you there!
I see the biggest obstacle as fear of what others will think. It might be ok to say hi, but to invite her into your home before she’s cleaned up her act? Yikes!
You have hit on an elephant in the room, Tereasa. We may talk Jesus and kindness and grace, but when it comes right down to it, are we willing to walk the talk? So many families stay completely in Christian circles to avoid others’ sinful behavior. It is rarely easy, comfortable or convenient to do the right thing.
I have been grappling with this very subject for weeks as I step back and really look at who it is I am meant to serve. I wrote this to some friends: This past week I found myself praying yet again for direction and discovered FEAR creating the tangles in my decision. I continue to feel called to reach out to moms who are not yet believers with my “fruit of the spirit” writing, yet realized I am afraid I won’t be able to meet them where they are and concerned what others will think of my engaging those women.
Thank you for your post today. I believe it is yet another nudge and confirmation that I am on the right track, as unequipped as I sometimes feel.
Kim, I love your heart in this response and I am confident that God is faithful to meet us with strength when we submit our fears to him!
How wonderful to find Tereasa here! Love both of you amazing women:) Blessings!
Hello Theresa!
Your words pirece my heart and remind me of not just where I have come from, but how far I need to *go* to not just talk Jesus, but LIVE Him and take action.
For most of my Christian walk, I was the one who judged. The one who looked down. The one that *said* we needed to accept people as is because that is the way He accepted us, but I rarely acted in that way.
BAM! God then takes a hold and begins to rip away each Pharisaical layer of my heart and showed me just how often I neglected *doing* rather than *talking*. Still, even with all that grace, I see my heart and know I have so far to go. Thank you for the reminder to be a willing servant. He does not always call us to *do*…but He always calls us to be WILLING to *do*.
Have a great weekend my dear friend!
Two of my favorite bloggers in one place! Love when that happens.
Thank you for sharing your heart here, Tereasa. I’ve never forgotten these questions. they’ve left a mark and I’m striving for them to make an impact. thank you!
Wonderful thought to ponder. We all need to remember no matter where we are, even in church, we are on the mission field. Thank you for sharing, Tereasa.
Tereasa, you already know I’m one of your biggest fans (thanks to the introduction via Susan’s blog!) This post packs a powerful punch — straight to the gut.
Just this week I returned to a former church for a funeral. Love was spoken from the pulpit but I was shunned by the leadership (we didn’t agree with their new found direction a few years ago). Talk about a contrast! We need to be loving on our “Mary’s” — truly exemplifying the love of Christ. Thank you for your willingness to broach a sensitive subject.
Thank you Teresa for sharing this post. I am blessed by your words and challenged to consider them.
I must confess I was near tears b/c someone near and dear to my heart (within my family) is this Mary and she experienced the very LOVE you speak of and b/c of it her life was changed for Christ which trickled down and also impacted mine. I don’t think we accurately understand as a body what LOVE really looks like in today’s world.
God bless you sister,
Love, Hester
Really makes me think. We’re so afraid of what people think–including our own families. A good post to pray over.