Encouraging reflections

I was encouraged this morning by the following:A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE.

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Patience

This is the daily devotional from Grace to You. I thought it was both timely and potent."Love is patient" (1 Cor. 13:4).

We usually think of patience as the ability to wait or endure without complaint--whether it's with people or circumstances. But the Greek word translated "patience" in 1 Corinthians 13:4 refers specifically to patience with people. It literally means "to be long tempered," and speaks of one who could easily retaliate when wronged but chooses not to.

That kind of patience is a spiritual virtue reflective of God Himself (cf. Gal 5:22). It can't be duplicated on a purely human level. But for Christians, it's to be a way of life. Paul said, "I . . . entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love" (Eph. 4:1-2).

God Himself is the supreme example of patience. Peter said, "[He] is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). Those who reject His grace are despising "the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience" (Rom. 2:4).

In the Greco-Roman world of Paul's day, retaliating for a personal insult or injury was considered a virtue. Non- retaliation was interpreted as a sign of weakness. Our society is much the same. Our heroes tend to be those who fight back with physical strength or litigation. But that isn't God's perspective, nor was it Christ's in praying for His killers, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).

As you consider your own patience, remember that retaliation isn't always blatant and forceful. It's often subtle--like withholding affection from your spouse when he or she has wronged you, or withdrawing from a friend who has hurt you. But godly love never retaliates. It cares more for the feelings of others than for its own.

Remember the Lord's patience toward you, and allow His Spirit to produce similar patience in you.

Great article on Grace!

Here's an excerpt to entice you to click the link and read the whole thing. :-)Grace is the most transformational word in the Bible. The entire content of the Bible is a narrative of God's grace, a story of undeserved redemption. By the transformational power of his grace, God unilaterally reaches his hands into the muck of this fallen world, through the presence of his Son, and radically transforms his children from what we are (sinners) into what we are becoming by his power (Christ-like). The famous Newton hymn uses the best word possible, maybe the only word big enough, for that grace—amazing.Read the rest here.

Relationships

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately, specifically in a Christian context. Personal relationships are one of the most difficult, and at the same time, the most rewarding aspects of life.

This post isn't going to be well thought out and cohesive, because my thoughts are not that way right now.

Here are a couple of questions I've been asking myself.

1. Why are we so quick to assume we can correctly gauge others' motives and intents? When in reality we can barely get a firm grasp on our own personal motives and intentions.Jeremiah asks this question in Chapter 17 vs 9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

He then answers his own question in vs 10: "I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins..."

I know I need to fall on my face before the Lord and pray as David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked [NASB says hurtful] way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.2. Why does it hurt so bad when people make wrong assumptions about my motivations and intentions?When I'm doing something I feel right doing, and someone criticizes me for it, why do I want to lash out in defense? Why is my natural flesh reaction to immediately assume I know their heart and their motives behind their criticism of me?

Isn't the best way (maybe the only way) to get to know someone's motives and intentions to establish relationship with that person. The deeper the relationship goes, usually, the more clearly we can see their hearts.I'm not sure if this is Biblical here, but I really make an effort to assume people's motives are good until I have strong reason to believe otherwise. It's proven very beneficial in my relationships to remember how diverse our experiences are as Christians. Our Sovereign God has taken all of us down very unique paths. We exist in the body of Christ to share those experiences with each other and to refine each other in the journey.

That process is a painful one sometimes, and sometimes it's a beautiful one.

My call here is for us to recognize that process as it's happening and not neglect to be thankful for it in all it's difficulty and beauty. We are called to Love one another, but let's remember that Love is not exclusively about good feelings. It's about making choices that are for the good of others, not necessarily ourselves. God loves us enough to discipline us, not just hold us when we cry.

Peace & Love