Category: Recovered Blogs

Do you see this woman?

There has been a lot of social conversation lately about women being harassed, exploited or objectified. I welcome the spotlight that has been shown on the issue. My personal experience is that it was a part of my own story in nearly every job where I have worked and sadly, in almost every ministry where we have served. Learning how to deal with it has been a difficult and often disgusting life lesson.

I firmly believe 1 Peter 4:17, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.” Our goal as followers of Jesus is Christlikeness. So, on the issue of attitude and treatment of women, what was Jesus approach?

In Mark 5:25-34, Jesus is pressing through a great crowd on an urgent mission to save a dying child. He calls it all to a halt though when a woman reaches out in faith and touches him. Rather than allowing her to continue in the shame and isolation of her sickness, Jesus refuses to move until her healing is acknowledged publicly. He forced them all to see her while calling her “Daughter”.

In Luke 13, Jesus challenges the ruler of the synagogue; accusing him of having more mercy on his ox or donkey that on a woman healed after eighteen years of a spinal deformity. This time he refers to the woman as a daughter of Abraham, elevating her by her connection to the founding father of the nation, and also to some degree demanding the “daughters of Abraham” be given the same respect as the sons.

Luke chapter 7, tells the story of Jesus having dinner at the home of a Pharisee when a woman comes in and anoints Jesus’ feet. The scripture clearly states that the woman was a sinner.  That was all that the religious leader saw, her sin. Jesus looks at her and asks the man, “Do you see this woman?”

Not her sin, her embarrassing behavior, her intrusion into your dinner party…Can you look past all that to see her?

Because Jesus did see her.

He saw her many sins, but he also saw her repentance had led to forgiveness, and that she loved him so much she was willing to risk all social stigma to show Him.

Then there were those two dear sisters, Mary and Martha. Surely of all the women in the Gospels, they were among Jesus closest friends. When their brother Lazarus died, the scripture says Jesus wept when he saw Mary and the others weeping. He SAW her. It was that same Mary who just days before his death anointed him with expensive perfume, and again, Jesus had to tell the men in the room to “leave her alone”.

My point is that Jesus saw the women in his world as real people. He didn’t wait until the women He met had reached some level of perfection and were prepared for pedestalized sainthood and were thereby worthy of his attention.

I think it is safe to assume that the woman taken in adultery was not fully covered when they dragged her in front of Jesus. Maybe that’s why Jesus did not look at her the way the rest of the men did. He stooped down and wrote on the ground which would have also drawn the gaze of the men away from her. In front of her accusers, He doesn’t confront her sin; he confronts theirs! Was he also challenging their blatant double standard for only bringing the woman from the adulterous affair when He said that “HE” that was without sin should cast the first stone?

When He went to the cross, Mark 15:40 states, “There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem”.

Even in His final dying moments, He made certain that His mother would be provided for by John. After His resurrection, He appeared first to the women who were the first to believe.

 Within the family of God, do you really see the women? Do you recognize them? Jesus does, He calls them daughters. You’d better not mess with one of His!

Who do you look like?

You know how people and their pets begin to look alike after some time? There is even some science to show that long-term married spouses begin to resemble one another. According to the article linked here, “when people mimic their spouses’ facial expressions, they also evoke the same emotions, thus empathizing all the better. ‘Facial mimicry allows a truer empathy because it triggers the same inner state,’’ Dr. Zajonc said. ‘Couples can understand each other much better when this happens.’”
I found an interesting verse today in 2 Kings 17:15. It was speaking about the apostasy of the people of Israel in that they left the worship of the true God and substituted idols. The verse says, “They went after false idols and became false”. Apparently, their mimicry triggered within them the same inner state. They were following something fake and so became fakers themselves.
Isaiah is so descriptive of the state of a person following something false, “He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isaiah 44:20) The NIV says “is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
What is this thing in my life that I am, consciously or not, spending so much time focusing on that I am mimicking it in my behavior or attitude? If I am only reflecting the culture and ideology (interesting how close that word is to “idol”) of the world around me, am I not in danger of becoming what it is?
I had a discussion recently with a young adult regarding being culturally relevant. How much of current media, movies, and music do I need to consume to be able to speak the “language” of this current generation? I do not have a good answer to that question. Sorry, if you were hoping for one. Partially, because I believe only God knows a person’s heart and can know how easily they will be influenced by what they are exposed to. Lest you accept that as a caveat to greater license remember Paul’s discussion with the Roman’s regarding dietary restrictions.
Romans 14:20 “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.”
The obligation is always placed on the one without the “too sensitive” conscience to not become a stumbling block by what they feel they can do without guilt. However, note that last sentence carefully, “Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.”
In other words, we need to look in the mirror and watch ourselves! What are we mimicking of the world around us because of what we have approved? It’s not our job to judge others as being “too sensitive”. We have to pass judgment on ourselves, and that is not easy to do!

We know that as followers of Christ the standard for our behavior has to be Christlikeness. The only way to truly accomplish that is to keep Him forever in our focus so that His is the face we are mimicking.
Philippians 2: 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
How can we look out for the interests of others? Only by mimicking the mind of Christ.
How can we know God? 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The older I get- the more I want to look like the face of Jesus!

Don Quixote’s House

She’s at it again! The female cardinal who travels from window to window around the house attacking her reflection in each one. She must think that there are innumerable enemies since every time she looks in a window another one appears who surely is bent on encroaching into her territory. Her lovelorn mate sits behind her in the tree calling to her; obviously, he is failing to understand that she has a duty to run off all these interlopers!

My husband collects Don Quixote themed items. Note, I did not say clutter. He has always had an affection for the story of a man who in his delusions of chivalry had a tendency to confuse windmills for giants. Also, this particular quote could apply to him as well, “Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.” I do hope he doesn’t follow it to the full extreme.

Our poor Mrs. Cardinal and the old Don have much in common. Their perception of threat and danger, their determination to defend and protect has seriously skewed their ability to understand reality and cause them to harm themselves. Mrs. Cardinal must at the very least have some brain damage from repeatedly running her beak into a hard glass wall.

Mrs. Cardinal sees a threat where there is none. She is ready to throw herself into a battle where none exists. She is literally fighting against herself. Why? Because her reflection threatens her. So often when we are determined to defend some territory in our lives, it is purely a reflection of our personal insecurity. In our attempts to keep everyone away from “our” stuff, our rights, our portion of whatever pie; whatever it might be, we are revealing to the world; not how brave we are, but how fearful. We end up wasting our time that could be spent building relationships, homes/nests and investing in the next generation.

Don Quixote wasn’t particularly territorial. He wanted to bring back the days of chivalry, the knights in shining armor defending the damsels in distress.

“But our depraved age does not deserve to enjoy such a blessing as those ages enjoyed when knights-errant took upon their shoulders the defense of kingdoms, the protection of damsels, the succor of orphans and minors, the chastisement of the proud, and the recompense of the humble.”  

This backward-looking perspective can also be a destructive pattern. When we are committed to bringing back the “good ole days”, we begin to see everyone and everything as a threat to our desired reality. We pick fights with everyone we meet, champion causes that are truly ridiculous, not to mention time-consuming, and we are completely ineffective in bringing about change because we are not dealing with systems and people as they really are, but rather view them as an enemy to our ideal way of life. In the story Don Quixote is not able to bring back the golden age or restore chivalry; he only further deludes and harms himself.

Surely there are principles and truths that we need to hold on to and be prepared to give an answer for when asked.

1 Peter 3:14-16 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

The only effective response should be done with gentleness, respect, and accompanied by such good behavior that those who are attacking us are ashamed of themselves.

Dirty Job

Manual labor is defined as physical work done by people rather than machines or animals. The labor is done by “man”. I was thinking about this lately in connection with a very familiar incident in the life of Jesus.
It is the last supper, and Jesus washes the disciples’ feet.
John 13:3-5, “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
At this moment of fullest realization of who He was as God and His purpose within the plan of salvation, Jesus does this act of “man”ual labor.
He doesn’t just do Peter’s feet then tell him, “There I showed you how; now get busy and wash others.”
He doesn’t pay one of the disciples to do the washing for him.
He doesn’t tell them to go hire a servant to come and wash their feet.
He doesn’t find one of the women who undoubtedly was preparing the meal, and add this chore to her list of responsibilities.
He doesn’t even denigrate them for their lack of self-respect and personal responsibility that they don’t wash their own feet.
He does it himself. He physically lowers himself to take each of the disciples’ dirty feet, wash and dry it himself. He does the dirty work Himself. Then He says the following:
12-16 “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.’”
God expects us to do the dirty work for each other ourselves. Not to show someone else how and then order them to do it. Not to pay someone else to do it. Not even to find someone in our employ or the woman in the kitchen to do it for us. Alarmingly, He is not even concerned that we might be enabling them to avoid washing their own feet.
Ann Voskamp says it well in these excerpts from The Broken Way.
“Anyone can have enough compassion to write a check for the needy, but who has compassion for the kid who makes life hard? Compassion can feel like the right thing when it involves a donation. But when there’s been a violation of your rights? Compassion can feel like a degradation…It’s more like Christ to go after the one than to go for the applause of the ninety-nine. There is more compassion in the giving of yourself in hidden, dying ways to the unworthy than there is in giving expensive things in noticed ways to the applauding.”
Jesus showed that to do the dirty work of ministering to others was to do the work of God Himself. All of heaven’s resources were in His hands at that moment, and rather than command their feet to be clean; He did the manual labor the way that He knew we would have to do it. On our knees with a towel.

Know that He hears!

As I have stated before, I am addicted to Ladies’ Bible studies. I can’t help it. If I am not involved in one, then I am looking for one to join or start. Whether or not the studies benefit the other ladies who attend, (I do appreciate them joining me on the journey), I know I need the structure of designated time in the Word. Right now, our group is preparing to do Ann Voskamp’s one thousand gifts. Her book and subsequent study came about after she was challenged to write down one thousand things that she was thankful God had given her. It also goes deeper than that.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 states that we should, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Give thanks in everything? I have struggled with this. There are several things in my life that I would be outright lying if I said I felt thankful for them. How can I come to a place of being truly thankful for them without feeling disingenuous?

I can do it because God says to- choice of your will- and all that, but I don’t want to serve God that way; although, I have on many occasions. It is a white-knuckle sort of obedience that results in very little joy. I want to obey God out of the fullness of a heart that loves Him. I WANT to be able genuinely to give thanks in ALL circumstances.

In my preparation for this study, I have been hit with one of those “Aha!” moments. Why didn’t I see this before? So, at the risk of spoilers for those attending the study- sorry ladies- I just had to share this.

First, go back to the 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 passage and put the give “give thanks in all circumstances” verse in context.   “17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit.” So, praying without ceasing, which pretty much means pray about everything, comes before the thanksgiving.

Here is the amazing part.

In the story of Lazarus, Jesus is standing before the tomb, and He prays this beautiful prayer.

John 11:41-42, “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Jesus could give thanks because He KNOWS that God ALWAYS hears Him!

Pray without ceasing the apostle says and then give thanks no matter what the circumstances are because like our Master, we can KNOW that God Always hears us.

John then takes this a step further, 1 John 5:14- 15 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

Here is where we falter. We know that if our hearts are holding on to or harboring sin, God is under no obligation to listen to our prayers unless or until we confess to Him. Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished iniquity (sin, wickedness) in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” We have to make sure our hearts are right before God, and as much as it is possible within our power to be right with our fellow humans. Why would you live miserably? Confess it and move on!

Then we run into the “ask according to his will,” and we stumble again. How could we ever know before we pray what the will of the Lord is concerning the situations we are bringing to Him? In our fallen humanness, we are only ever going to be able to “see through a glass darkly”, so it’s time to quit worrying about having perfect knowledge and ask away! The loving heavenly Father will put His stamp of approval on all the requests that line up with His sovereign will, and I don’t have to worry about it as long as I am willing to accept what He gives.

Matthew 7:11 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

 Back to my original issue, which is- what about the things that I find it hard to give thanks for. I think the problem comes down to my lack of faith that God has really heard me, or that He is capable of handling the issue. Jesus is standing before a tomb ready to raise a dead man, and He was so supremely confident that God had heard and would answer that He could thank God. Resurrection power should cover anything I need!

ASK!

KNOW that He hears!

TRUST that His will is best!

THANK Him!

  1. Pray without ceasing.
  2. In everything give thanks.
  3. Because HE Hears!

What is your dream?

In my granddaughter’s favorite movie there is a song about having a dream that is sung by the lovable hoodlums in the Snuggly Duckling. These miscreants confess in the song that they all, in spite of appearances to the contrary, have a dream. Most of us remember having some outrageous child or youthful fantasy, unfortunately too often “life” can get in the way of fulfilling our dreams.

It is good to know that God is in favor of dreams, not just daydreams but really BIG dreams. Like Joseph, who dreamed that everyone his world was one day going to bow down before him. Abraham was going to be the great granddaddy of an entire people group, and he had no kids, and the Mrs. was no spring chicken. And Moses! So, he was somehow going to get an entire slave nation freed, from the country where his picture had been on the post office walls as Egypt’s most wanted man. Gideon was supposed to deliver his people from an occupying army but was hiding out in the grape-stomping vat when the dream arrived. Even Mary, every girl dreamed of giving birth to the Messiah.

There is this pattern that seems to run through scripture.

God gives someone a dream. Usually something bigger than they could ever imagine on their own.

There is a death to the dream. Circumstances, physical limitations, resources come together to kill the dream. Or at the very least make it humanly impossible.

Then there is a supernatural fulfillment of the dream. The person doesn’t accomplish the impossible themselves. God accomplishes the impossible through the person.

Abraham gets these astounding promises for innumerable offspring, but then Sarah goes through menopause, hot flashes, mood swings the whole thing. The dream is so dead that they laugh when God brings up the subject in a special live appearance. But still little Isaac (aka. Chuckles) does arrive.

Joseph, lost in a multitude of brothers, dreams he is going to be in charge someday. Then he goes as low as he could go, to the dungeon as a convicted sex offender where only he knew the charges were false. Within one day, God resurrects his dream and blasts him from the bottom rung to the second to the top on the corporate ladder. Talk about culture shock!

Moses had retreated so far from his dream after he became a wanted man, that even after God gives him his own personal pyrotechnic and snake show; he still tries to talk God out of it. After his first day on the job, everyone wanted to get rid of him. However, God was getting ready to very supernaturally fulfill the dream he had given Moses to lead the people to freedom!

To Gideon, God gave the dream of becoming a mighty warrior. Then instead of becoming the Commander in Chief of a superior fighting force, God sent nearly all of them away! Even in the enemies’ dreams, he was at best a loaf of barley bread. God wanted everyone to know He was the power behind the win.

Mary shared every young girl’s dream to become the mother of the Messiah. This dream was so big that God even sent heaven’s special announcer angel to proclaim it. If you don’t listen to Gabriel when he shows up you can end up speechless for months, just ask Zachariah. (Luke 1:19-20) Mary’s dream died many deaths, Joseph was going to divorce her; her community could stone her, then Jesus went off and did strange things and hung out with the wrong people, she even feared for His sanity. (Mark 3:21) Then she had to watch him die…

The most amazing supernatural resurrection of the DREAM did occur on the third day!

So where is your dream today?

Do you feel like Abraham, that you are too old? It may not seem that you even have the physical ability left to accomplish the dream God has given. Maybe you have tried to make your dream come true without God’s direction and are now dealing with those consequences as Abraham had to do

Is your dream in a prison of false accusation and misrepresentation like Joseph? Stay faithful in your daily grind, no matter how bad it got Joseph gave his best to every dirty job he was given. He is the epitome of being faithful in little God will make you ruler of much. (Matthew 25:21)

Is it impossible to get anyone else to believe in your dream? Even the people Moses was trying to help wanted to get rid of him when things got tougher. God gave Moses Aaron to go with him, but considering the sin Aaron led the people into later (golden calf) it might have been better if Moses had not insisted that he needed help. (Exodus 4:14)

What if like Gideon, you feel that God has sent away all the resources you need to accomplish your dream? Maybe God wants to show you that little is much when God is in it.

Maybe like Mary, you have fully believed the dream God has given, but with every passing year things have gotten harder to understand, and your heart is broken. It may be Good Friday in your soul, but hold on…Sunday is coming!

Supernatural fulfillments come in God’s time, when we do things His way, and are accomplished in such a way that He will get the glory! All He expects from us is faithful obedience to what we are called to do today.

Ask God what dreams He has given you that He is still waiting to accomplish. Are you being obedient and faithful in every “little, grimy” task God has assigned you? (Remember Joseph, in prison…) Have you been telling God that He did not provide you with enough “whatever” to accomplish the task? God knows when we are scared, and He will often give reassurance, just like He did for Gideon.

Don’t believe in the dream-

Believe in the all-powerful God who can bring supernatural fulfillment to the dreams He inspires for His glory!

Get your heart checked!

The first Friday in the month of February has been designated as “Wear Red” day to raise awareness of Women’s heart health issues. Apparently, heart disease is the number one killer of women. Several moves ago, don’t judge me, it’s how I remember the details of my life; I worked as a receptionist in a heart clinic. A few details have managed to remain in my memory regarding that experience.

First of all, if the patient is having chest pain they do not need an appointment with the cardiologist, which may not be possible to schedule for weeks, they need to go to the emergency room. STAT! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go to the emergency room!

The second thing that I remember about the heart is how closely it is tied to the patient’s emotional well-being. Nearly, every patient who had heart surgery struggled with depression following that experience.

Valentine’s Day will be celebrated next week, so there are hearts literally everywhere. When God wants to get my attention…well, He doesn’t let me escape the message.

So here it is, when was the last time you checked your heart? Having a physical heart checkup is not a bad idea for someone “my age”. The number of old classmates who have begun having heart issues is alarming. Y’all need to stop that!

However, this is more spiritual than physical. The question is, “Have I let my heart become hard?”

Did you know that the word “heart” is used over 800 times in the Bible? There is only one way to know the truth about the state of your heart, and that is to take it to God, the heavenly cardiologist. We lie to ourselves about ourselves. Jeremiah 17 says,

“9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”

If you need a New Testament reference, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, “but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.”

When you say with the writer of Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” It can become a painful procedure.

Throughout the scriptures, we see the dangers of hardening one’s heart. Pharaoh and others hardened their hearts toward God, and very bad things happened. But what if we feel our heart is soft toward God, but not toward another person? What if our experiences of being repeatedly hurt and wounded by someone leaves us feeling justified in hiding behind the callouses we have allowed to form toward them?

There is that annoyingly convicting verse. Matthew 25:40, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.’” Or as James says, judgment is without mercy to those who have shown no mercy.

Wait a minute, if we don’t hate the person, if we can say with a sincere heart that we love them and forgive them, by the grace of God and an act of our will, isn’t that enough? Aren’t we justified in protecting ourselves from further harm by not allowing them to get close enough to our heart to hurt it again? ([i])

A hard heart cannot be wounded, it is tough, nothing gets through, rhinoceros hide.

A soft heart is vulnerable, can be wounded, bleeds easily.

Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh

God! It’s like you are asking me to live with a continually broken heart! And the still small voice whispers back, “Like Mine.”   

Psalms 34:18, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Friends, who has your heart gotten hard toward? If you are willing to let Him, the heavenly heart surgeon will remove that heart of stone. It is painful, it doesn’t feel safe, and it may take some time to adjust to this new way of living.

Jesus job description in Isaiah says, “he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted”.

Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like You

[i] I know there are levels of toxic relationships where distance is a physical safety issue. God will have to give you the wisdom to protect yourself or your family in those situations.  That is not what I am referring to here. 

Christmas of Helplessness

Too many years of trying to lift and carry everything myself have finally caught up with me. So, this year at Christmas I will be in the process of recovering from back surgery. The timing of this procedure has been beyond inconvenient for myself and my family, but God gives grace. The main thing is, I just don’t do helpless very well. Not at all.

Experiencing this surgery/recovery at this season got me thinking about the Christmas story.  God incarnate became one of the most helpless beings on the planet. The human baby pales pathetically compared to most other newborn creatures in its ability to survive on its own. It cannot warm or feed itself, cannot stand or run or hide. It is completely dependent on communicating its needs for all of the above by weak utterances that hopefully someone will care enough to interpret. Apart from its ability to cry out, it is totally helpless and dependent.

Fortunately for me, I have been surrounded by family members who have bent over backward, literally since I cannot, to take care of me in my recovery. The helpless Christ child had Mary and Joseph, but even they were overwhelmed by the extremities of their experience.

They were powerless against a decree that required their travel. They had to be dependent on the mercy of others for even the most basic shelter. They were helpless to prevent the coming of the birth for a more convenient time and place. They were dependent on the generosity of others who provided gifts which financed their escape as refugees into Egypt. Poor Joseph was so overwhelmed, yet could not turn to his family for advice or counsel as would have been the order of the day; he waited completely dependent on messengers from God for direction.

This enforced helplessness has been for me a sort of fasting of self-sufficiency.  There’s suddenly a whole range of physical movements and activities that I have had to give up doing for myself. I cannot image God allowing for Himself the limitations of a human baby! I just really want to put on my own socks!

Why would God choose such a humble helplessness of beginning? Hebrews 4: 15 is one answer: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The mediator between my soul and God needed to understand helplessness. My tendency to want to handle it all myself rather than be dependent even when it means I hurt myself…how much I hate to ask for help…how hard it is to trust others to do what needs to be done…maybe really at the heart of it- how hard it is to trust Him and not to protect and defend myself.

I have an overwhelming respect and admiration for Joni Eareckson Tada and others like her, who have allowed God to use their helplessness and dependency to minister to others.

“My wheelchair was the key to seeing all this happen—especially since God’s power always shows up best in weakness. So here I sit … glad that I have not been healed on the outside, but glad that I have been healed on the inside. Healed from my own self-centered wants and wishes.”
Liked!
 

“The weaker I am, the harder I must lean on God’s grace; the harder I lean on him, the stronger I discover him to be, and the bolder my testimony to his grace.” Joni

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

I have never thought of this verse in connection to the Christmas story, but how true it is that God’s power was made perfect in the weakness of a tiny baby. Only God could do that!

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Amen! Let it be.

Missing Meekness

Humble, or meek, is the way that Christ self-identified in Matthew 11:29. “For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” There is also the incredibly poetic prophecy of Christ in Isaiah 42:3. “A bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench; he shall bring forth justice faithfully.” Somehow, Christ can bring forth justice so gently that even an already bent stalk or the last little spark on a candle’s wick will not be snuffed out in the process.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines meek as “having or showing a quiet and gentle nature: not wanting to fight or argue with other people.” I wonder if anyone else misses the days when followers of Christ were known for their meekness?  When did it become acceptable by Christians on social media to treat “stupid people” (defined as anyone who disagrees with the person posting) with mockery, contempt, and even cruelty?

Numbers 12:3, describes the Old Testament hero Moses in the following manner: “the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men on the face of the earth.” The single incident when Moses took it upon himself to straighten out the unruly bunch of whiners he was leading did not end well for him. If God punished him by refusing to allow him to go into the promised land for lashing out verbally at the people and for striking the rock; how much more grieved He must be by our angry outbursts and name-calling.

Moses was certainly correct in his assessment of the character of the people he was leading. That becomes the problem when we are so certain that we are right and the other party is wrong. Dallas Willard has this incredibly applicable perspective on being “right” from his book Hearing God.

“Indeed, being right is one of the hardest burdens human beings have to bear, and few succeed in bearing up under it gracefully. There is a little placard I have seen that reads, ‘Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change, and when we are right, make us easy to live with!’ A very wise prayer.”

It is also extremely difficult not to retaliate when we are the one that is being attacked. But even angry, accusatory unjust words do not have to change who we are. Just because someone is throwing mud does not mean we have suddenly become a pig and must go wallow in the pigpen.  As Thomas `a Kempis states in his Imitation of Christ,

“Don’t have your peace depend on what other men may say about you: whether they interpret your actions rightly or wrongly, you are still what you are.”

What we are is the vessel that holds the light and love of God that he wants to pour out to a hurting frightened world. 2 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, the excellency of the power being from God and not from ourselves. Ultimately, what is at stake in our actions is the very reputation of Christ. To follow him and to be identified with him is counter-cultural to what is considered to be acceptable behavior at the moment. Oswald Chambers says it so well,

“The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.”

The way to give justice in a Christ-like manner is so gentle that it doesn’t break the bruised reed, it is spoken so softly that the last tiny spark of the smoldering wick is not extinguished.

What time is it?

This blog is not the first time I have written regarding Solomon’s wise words in Ecclesiastes. See  http://estherrigsby.com/2014/07/04/just-a-piece/ . However, after one of the most hectic summers of my life, I feel compelled to return to it.

Ecclesiastes 3. (ESV)
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace…

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

I said goodbye this morning to my youngest child as he went to board a plane bound for college. Letting go of my children has never been an easy thing for me to do, even though by number four I ought to know the drill by now. No worries, due to other circumstances, I am not an empty nester, that is not the problem. It is just that I have learned by now that they never come home as the same person. 

I have not read the entirety of Thomas Wolfe’s You Can’t Go Home Again, but I feel like the watcher in this quote who knows from experience the road before my young pilgrim.

“Child, child, have patience and belief, for life is many days, and each present hour will pass away…You have stumbled on in darkness, you have been pulled in opposite directions, you have faltered, you have missed the way, but, child, this is the chronicle of the earth. And now, because you have known madness and despair, and because you will grow desperate again before you come to evening, we who have stormed the ramparts of the furious earth and been hurled back, we who have been maddened by the unknowable and bitter mystery of love, we who have hungered after fame and savored all of life, the tumult, pain, and frenzy, and now sit quietly by our windows watching all that henceforth never more shall touch us – we call upon you to take heart, for we can swear to you that these things pass.”

Time, it too shall pass.

The same week that we sent one off to college, we celebrated the fourth birthday or our granddaughter, and we also brought one of our parents home from the hospital following an illness. Time passes.

What I have found is that only by living with eternity in our hearts can we truly see the beauty that God is making in the times of our lives. Otherwise just grieving the losses that we experience over time would overwhelm us.

Now lest this post become too maudlin even for an Eeyore, like me, let me conclude with the following:

I am quite certain that my rock-carrying, garden-building big son who left for college this morning is glad that Solomon in his great wisdom included that there is a time to gather stones and a time to cast them away.

Keep eternity in your heart my son; God is going to make all things beautiful in His time!