Hello to all you wonderful blog readers…
I made an error in posting last night’s blog, and it didn’t go through. I apologize! You’ll see it tonight.
With gratitude for you,
Margaret
A Word from Nelson
Mom asked me to fill in for her on the blog tonight, because she’s busy editing her next book; a book of prayers. I hope you can get something out of it.
God bless, Nelson
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So, I’ve been reading this book called, Humility, (Andrew Murray) and a pretty good suggestion is offered as to the meaning of something I’ve wondered for quite a while. There is the verse that says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10 – NRSV) I think when teaching others, we tell them this is in the same vein as the one where Jesus says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” (Luke 16:10)
Taught to a child or a young adult, we use this as a lesson about telling the truth and stewardship. Take care of the little money you have and you’ll get more. You’ll show God you can be trusted with more. Along the same lines, we could think that humbling ourselves means God will exalt us. But what do “much” and “exalt” really mean? In human terms, they mean money and power. But, as offered in the book, Murray says that being exalted before God means,
“The highest glory of the creature is in being only a vessel, to receive and enjoy and show forth the glory of God.”
It’s my belief that God knows we are, by nature, selfish and do things mostly to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. Even offering a kind gesture gives us a good feeling and therein lies some of the payoff. But as we continue down the road to REAL humility, the “more” and the “exalt” are less about me and more about God and others. But do I really believe that letting go of myself and my agenda for everyone else will bring the highest level of fulfillment? Hmm.
Well, I just turned 42, and a question a friend asked a few weeks back still haunts me.
“Are you growing or just growing older?”
Ouch!
But I think humility, and the “growth” he asked about happens when I change my viewpoint and see pain and adversity as opportunities to make God look good. Could this be the “more” Jesus is talking about? What if his answer to my prayer for relief is this?
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Or am I still stuck on the “more” meaning material pleasures and the “being exalted” meaning power and success?
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
― C.S. Lewis
What’s your name?
This winter the Midwest has been short on snow. Though last year we’d had 50″ by this date, so far this year we’ve seen less than 8”…. until today.
Last night a blizzard headed our way, starting to make snowy deposits on our neighborhood exactly when the iPhone weather app predicted: 8:00 pm. Heavy snow fell all night, and as I write, it’s been snowing all day, too. Predictions are for continued snow overnight until we’ve reached a grand total of 15”-18”.
TV’s weather channel tells us this snowstorm has been given a name: Linus. Last week’s severe blizzard in New England also had a name: Juno. So, in addition to naming hurricanes, apparently we’re naming snowstorms now, too. We might as well name earthquakes, tornados, typhoons, and tsunamis. Giving each a name might help us keep them all straight: “Remember Linus? He was a doozy, but wasn’t he gorgeous?”
And then, as long as we’re naming storms, maybe we should name our personal storms, too. That might help us better recall our own histories. We could say, “I remember ‘Ethel.’ Boy, she was a wild one, wasn’t she?” Or, “I’ll never forget that ‘Ichabod.’ He nearly finished us off, but we made it through!”
I think often about the storms of life. All of us know we gain more wisdom during difficult times than easy ones, but living through them is something else again. If given the option, we’d never choose all the trouble that comes to us, despite acknowledging that once we’re on the other side of it, we’ve learned a few things.
I wonder if God names the life-storms he allows to come to us. If he does, their titles are probably something like, “Victory over addiction,” or “Opportunity for Patience,” or “Triumph against Self-centeredness.” Surely if we could see our struggles not just as obstacles-to-get-past but opportunities-to-grow, we could live through them with less fretting and more anticipation.
Meanwhile here in Southwest Michigan, as Linus continues to pour down on us, we’ll try to appreciate his beauty. We can also enjoy the chance to hone our driving skills and build new muscles from lots of extra shoveling.
“When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” (James 1:2)