If you haven't heard me say so before, I'll say now that Stepping Heavenward is my favorite book. Each time I read it, I identify with Katy all the way through. I am convicted, encouraged, & my passion for Christ grows deeper with each perusal. I'm rereading it now & would like to share a part of this phenomenal book with you today. This is a letter from Katy's minister, Dr. Cabot, addressing her lament that she is like the blind man in Mark 8:24. I'm going to start not quite halfway through this beautiful letter & stop before the end of it; even though it's long, I pray it will be as profitable for y'all as it always is for me. I encourage you to read it as though it's written to you; read it 2 or 3 times even. Drink in the words & let your very soul be filled with wonder that we are so loved by God.
Having been pardoned by your God & Savior, the next thing you have to do is to show your gratitude for this infinite favor by consecrating yourself entirely to Him, body, soul, & spirit. This is the least you can do. He has bought you with a price, & you are no longer your own. "But," you may reply, "this is contrary to my nature. I love my own way. I desire ease & pleasure; I desire to go to heaven, but I want to be carried thither on a bed of flowers. Can I not give myself so far to God as to feel a sweet sense of peace with Him, & be sure of final salvation, & yet, to a certain extent, indulge & gratify myself? If I give myself entirely away to Him, & lose all ownership in myself, He may deny me many things I greatly desire. He may make my life hard & wearisome, depriving me of all that now makes it agreeable." But, I reply, this is no matter of parley & discussion; it is not optional with God's children whether they will pay Him a part of the price they owe Him, & keep back the rest. He asks, & He has a right to ask, for all you have & all you are. And if you shrink from what is involved in such a surrender, you should fly to Him at once & never rest till He has conquered this secret disinclination to give to Him as freely & as fully as He has given to you. It is true that such an act of consecration on your part may involve no little future discipline & correction. As soon as you become the Lord's by your own deliberate & conscious act, He will begin that process of sanctification which is to make you holy as He is holy, perfect as He is perfect. He becomes at once your Physician as well as your dearest & best Friend, but He will use no painful remedy that can be avoided. Remember that it is His will that you should be sanctified, & that the work of making you holy is His, not yours. At the same time you are not to sit with folded hands, waiting for this blessing. You are to avoid laying hindrances in His way, & you are to exercise faith in Him as just as able & just as willing to give you sanctification as He was to give you redemption. And now if you ask how you may know that you have truly consecrated yourself to Him, I reply, observe every indication of His will concerning you, no matter how trivial, & see whether you at once close in with that will. Lay down this principle as a law - God does nothing arbitrary. If He takes away your health, for instance, it is because He has some reason for doing so; & this is true of everything you value; & if you have real faith in Him you will not insist on knowing this reason. If you find, in the course of daily events, that your self-consecration was not perfect - that is, that your will revolts at His will - do not be discouraged, but fly to your Savior & stay in His presence till you obtain the spirit in which He cried in His hour of anguish "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Every time you do this it will be easier to do it; every such consent to suffer will bring you nearer & nearer to Him; & in this nearness to Him you will find such peace, such blessed, sweet peace, as will make your life infinitely happy, no matter what may be its mere outside conditions. Just think, my dear Katy, of the honor & the joy of having your will one with the Divine will, & so becoming changed into Christ's image from glory to glory! (pg. 62-63)
Showing posts with label living the Christian life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living the Christian life. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sow, Reap, & Don't Grow Weary
Life is short. Fleeting. We forget that on a day-to-day basis. We go about our busy lives, making seemingly trivial choices smattered with a few major decisions & forget that - in a flash - it will all be over. Every now & then, we're confronted by this reality, & then we have to take stock of our lives, particularly how we're choosing to live them.
Today was one of those days for me. It's been brewing for a little more than a week, ever since a dear old saint in our congregation died suddenly. We haven't been there very long, so didn't know him terribly well, but we already loved him. He was just that kind of man. The unexpected nature of his passing has given me pause many times over the past week as I've reflected on my relationships. "None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, or even the next 5 minutes" is a mantra that has taken on new meaning for me. It can be wearying, living with this realization ever before me. Last night, I lay in bed talking to God & acknowledging that - unless He takes me home first - I am going to live to see a lot of people that I love die. There is comfort in knowing that, if they're Christians, they'll be with God. But that doesn't take away the grief while I live without them. Honestly, that scares me, knowing that I may have to feel that intense pain of loss again. Ginger is awful enough; to think of losing my mother or husband . . . I shudder at the thought.
I pray that God will keep me faithful, & that as He strips away the things that I hold dear in order to bring me closer to Him, that I will count Him as more valuable, that I will love Him more.
Even so, being confronted with losing those we love is just one thing that can wear us down & make us lose heart. Sometimes the pain of this life can be unrelenting, & we can wonder what it's all for. But Paul admonishes us:
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)
Do not give up, for we will reap! Did you catch that? We will reap. Not maybe, or perhaps. No, we will reap, of that we can be sure. However, as our pastor pointed out, there is one condition. We will reap what we sow. We have a choice in this life as to what we sow, & - as we all know - whatever we sow is what we will reap when it's harvesting season. We can sow to the flesh - & reap corruption (a.k.a., death) - or we can sow to the Spirit & reap eternal life. You don't sow corn & reap watermelons. Nor should we fool ourselves into thinking that we can sow to the flesh, living any way we want, & reap a godly harvest. It just doesn't work that way.
You know how it is, how you can hear something a hundred times, & then all of a sudden something fresh occurs to you? That's what this verse was like for me today. It was like a light went off inside my brain & illuminated my life in an instant. I looked at the ways that I spend my days & received a reality check. As I go throughout my day, am I sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit? Am I living to please myself or to please God? Am I furthering my own kingdom of comfort & self-indulgence, or am I furthering His kingdom by sharing the good news of His Son & ministering to others, bearing their burdens in love? For me, the question isn't so much a matter of "do I ever do these godly things?", but rather "which encompasses most of my time?". I don't like the answer.
Now, I don't want to leave the impression that I can earn my salvation, or even earn God's favor. Christ did that when He died for me on the cross. I am God's child, & He loves me. But, because I am His child, my life should bear His mark. People should be able to look at me & see my Father. My life should diverge from the world & its ways. How that works out in your life will most likely be very different from how it works out in mine. But we all must take that time to inspect our lives & see whether it matches up with what we claim. And rely on Him to help us when it doesn't.
God, help us to be Your people, Your light in a dark world, & not grow weary in doing good. Help us to sow to the Spirit & reap eternal life, all the while not banking on our "good deeds" to save us. Help us rely on Your power & strength, ever confident in Your love for us through Your Son. In Christ's holy name I pray, Amen.
Today was one of those days for me. It's been brewing for a little more than a week, ever since a dear old saint in our congregation died suddenly. We haven't been there very long, so didn't know him terribly well, but we already loved him. He was just that kind of man. The unexpected nature of his passing has given me pause many times over the past week as I've reflected on my relationships. "None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, or even the next 5 minutes" is a mantra that has taken on new meaning for me. It can be wearying, living with this realization ever before me. Last night, I lay in bed talking to God & acknowledging that - unless He takes me home first - I am going to live to see a lot of people that I love die. There is comfort in knowing that, if they're Christians, they'll be with God. But that doesn't take away the grief while I live without them. Honestly, that scares me, knowing that I may have to feel that intense pain of loss again. Ginger is awful enough; to think of losing my mother or husband . . . I shudder at the thought.
I pray that God will keep me faithful, & that as He strips away the things that I hold dear in order to bring me closer to Him, that I will count Him as more valuable, that I will love Him more.
Even so, being confronted with losing those we love is just one thing that can wear us down & make us lose heart. Sometimes the pain of this life can be unrelenting, & we can wonder what it's all for. But Paul admonishes us:
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9)
Do not give up, for we will reap! Did you catch that? We will reap. Not maybe, or perhaps. No, we will reap, of that we can be sure. However, as our pastor pointed out, there is one condition. We will reap what we sow. We have a choice in this life as to what we sow, & - as we all know - whatever we sow is what we will reap when it's harvesting season. We can sow to the flesh - & reap corruption (a.k.a., death) - or we can sow to the Spirit & reap eternal life. You don't sow corn & reap watermelons. Nor should we fool ourselves into thinking that we can sow to the flesh, living any way we want, & reap a godly harvest. It just doesn't work that way.
You know how it is, how you can hear something a hundred times, & then all of a sudden something fresh occurs to you? That's what this verse was like for me today. It was like a light went off inside my brain & illuminated my life in an instant. I looked at the ways that I spend my days & received a reality check. As I go throughout my day, am I sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit? Am I living to please myself or to please God? Am I furthering my own kingdom of comfort & self-indulgence, or am I furthering His kingdom by sharing the good news of His Son & ministering to others, bearing their burdens in love? For me, the question isn't so much a matter of "do I ever do these godly things?", but rather "which encompasses most of my time?". I don't like the answer.
Now, I don't want to leave the impression that I can earn my salvation, or even earn God's favor. Christ did that when He died for me on the cross. I am God's child, & He loves me. But, because I am His child, my life should bear His mark. People should be able to look at me & see my Father. My life should diverge from the world & its ways. How that works out in your life will most likely be very different from how it works out in mine. But we all must take that time to inspect our lives & see whether it matches up with what we claim. And rely on Him to help us when it doesn't.
God, help us to be Your people, Your light in a dark world, & not grow weary in doing good. Help us to sow to the Spirit & reap eternal life, all the while not banking on our "good deeds" to save us. Help us rely on Your power & strength, ever confident in Your love for us through Your Son. In Christ's holy name I pray, Amen.
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