Unconscious Glory

Mrs. Lisa makes me feel loved. 

Each day when I go to pick up my lunch from the  school cafeteria, our lunch lady, Mrs. Lisa, has my salad ready to go— complete with fork, knife, and a few napkins, neatly placed on top of my salad. She doesn’t have to do that. She could just put my salad on the fridge shelf and I could grab my own fork, knife, and napkins from the bins on the counter. But every day, she takes the extra minute to neatly arrange all I will need for lunch and place it on the shelf… and it’s just a simple, little, random thing that comforts me and makes me feel loved. 

Mrs. Lisa doesn’t do that because she’s trying to make me feel loved. She does it because that’s who she is. Unless I told Mrs. Lisa, she would have no idea of the positive impact she makes on my day, doing something that is so unconsciously natural for her to do. And it’s little things like that when I see Jesus the most— I see Him shining through someone because that’s who they are, not necessarily because that’s who they are trying so very hard to be. 

Strangely, as we mature in the Lord, our reflection of Him seems to become more and more unconscious. Often times, I’ve found the greatest impact I’ve had in someone’s life wasn’t because I was trying to, but simply because of some unconscious thing I did that came naturally to me—Christ poured Himself into a vessel, and the vessel poured Him out. So, it isn’t the vessel that is seen, but what has been poured into it, because it isn’t the vessel that people need, but what’s inside. 

Oh Lord, help us to stay focused upon relationship with You, so that we may be filled with the oil of Yourself as You help us to be true vessels of Who You are.  

(2 Cor 4:6,7) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

(Ex 34:29-33) When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD…and they were afraid to come near him…[so Moses] put a veil over his face.

(2 Cor 3:18) And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Sharing Scraps

 

We are so quick to run off and share a morsel, when the Lord has yet to finish sharing a banquet with us.

I have been so guilty of this. During my prayer time this morning, the Lord began to pour beautiful truth into me and the first thing I wanted to do was stop praying and write it down so I could share it. Then I asked myself, “If I were sitting at the Lord’s feet, would I jump up to run off when He was in mid-sentence? Or would I sit in reverence, drinking in His words until He was done teaching?” And I began to lament all the half-understood truths and half-learned lessons I’ve shared over the years. 

The fullness of some truths take time for us to grasp. Our understanding increases in stages as we grow in maturity. I can look back over my life and see many nuggets of truth and scraps of understanding I was too quick to run off and share, before the Lord had ever finished bringing me into the fullness of them. This morning, I repented of all the times I surely cheated the Body of Christ by giving them less than what God had for them because of my own eagerness, impulsiveness, and impatience. Lord help me to be more like You. 

It is not wrong for us to desire to share the things the Lord gives to us, because His revelations are desperately needed in the Body. But at some point in our maturity, the Lord will begin to teach us of the patience of the Lord. Spiritual maturity necessitates learning how to wait upon and be led by the Spirit, because that reflects the character and nature of Christ. And since it is God’s will for us to be transformed into Christ’s image, it is also His will for us to mature into the embodiment of Christ’s character and nature. 

Which means we do not run off to merely share morsels, nuggets, and scraps, but we embody the patience of Christ which enables us to share God’s banquets. 

(Acts 18:24-26) [Apollos] was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

(Hab 1:2; 2:1,2) How long, O LORD, must I call for help but You do not hear, or cry out to You, “Violence!” but You do not save?… I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the ramparts. I will watch to see what He will say to me, and how I should answer when corrected. Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it…”

(Luke 24:25,27,44,45) Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!… And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself… Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” Then He opened their mind to understand the Scriptures.

(John 16:12) I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it.

Seed And Soil Moments

 

We don’t get to choose our moments for God, but we do get to choose whether we will be obedient in them. 

There was a time when I was full of plans and intentions for the Lord. I had all kinds of noble aspirations and fruitful expectations. And a large part of my early ministry was fueled by a strange mixture of genuine desire to serve and please the Lord, and my own ambition. It was a mixture that would only and ever produce wood, hay, and stubble, and the time finally came when I had to put all those plans and intentions in the fire of the altar, and learn how to wait upon the Lord and be led. 

I have now learned that “gold, silver, and precious stones” are usually random, unexpected moments the Lord leads us to by His ambitions, rather than ours. And those moments are often simple “seed and soil” moments that may not seem spectacular at the time, but if we are obedient, will produce spectacular eternal fruit. 

I was reminded of this truth yesterday, as I wrote a personal note in one of my student’s dialectical journal entries. A student shared their struggle with faith, and I reminded the student of specific scriptures which tell us of God’s faithfulness and then I simply said, “Real faith is sitting in the dark trusting that God is sitting next to you, even though you don’t feel His hand.” 

It was a “seed and soil” moment— a “gold, silver, and precious stones” moment that I didn’t choose by my own ambitions, but was led to by the Lord’s. 

(1 Cor 3:11-13) For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.

(Isaiah 30:18) And therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore  He will be exalted … blessed are all they that wait for Him.

(1 Cor 3:5-7) What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

*copyright to “Dialectical Journal” belongs to The Daring English Teacher*

Facing Our Inadequacy

As a teacher, I sometimes struggle with the haunting thought: “What if my students face a future test and they fail because I have not adequately prepared them?”

I’m always thinking ahead, trying to anticipate what my students may face or deal with in their school years ahead, because the thought of them depending upon me to prepare them and me failing them in that preparation is crushing to my soul. They trust me to teach them what they need to know, and the weight of that responsibility often reminds me of my own inadequacies. And that is a good thing to be reminded of. 

I used to feel like I could conquer the world. I used to feel like I had a lot to offer God. I used to be full of strength and fire and passion for ministry, and for a long time I just assumed my strength, fire and passion was of the Holy Spirit.  But the Lord had to teach me that all that strength, fire and passion was my own and not His. And for Him to teach me that, I had to be emptied. And that has been a very hard school indeed. 

The quality of our fruitfulness in service to the Lord is proportionate to our recognition of our inadequacy. The more we understand our utter and complete dependency upon God for all things— and I do mean all—the more He will pour of Himself into our recognized lack. Austin-Sparks states, “..the more spiritual growth and maturity takes place in us, the deeper will be our consciousness of utter dependence upon God for everything in the realm of our relationship with Him.”

Therefore, when I face my own inadequacy to fulfill my calling, I am reminded of the One Who will be faithful to make me adequate. And that is a good thing to be reminded of. 

(2 Cor 12:9,10) But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

(2 Cor 3:5,6) Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

(2 Cor 4:7,11) Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us…For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal body.

Saying I’m Sorry

My youngest daughter wrote an apology to her classmate. 

Her teacher told her that they will be celebrating “Friendship Day” in a week or so, and students could give each other cards if they would like. However, her teacher said if they give cards, they have to give one to everyone in the class. Since my 6 year-old daughter knows nothing about all the hype and commercialism of Valentine’s Day, she thought her teacher meant they had to write a card to each student in the class. And the first card my daughter wrote was an apology. 

My daughter had every intention of writing all 16 classmates a card, before I explained to her what her teacher meant. And I find it worthy to note that my baby’s first order of business was an apology. But here’s the thing you really need to know— her apology was to a classmate who is mean to her on a regular basis…I hear a lot about this particular kid from my daughter. So honestly, if anyone should be writing an apology letter, it would probably be him. But my baby reminded me of the clear teachings of Christ that many of us tend to wander away from. 

I know what it’s like to hang onto wrongs committed against me— to hold out for the justice or apology due me, to defiantly raise my banner for “fairness” against all “unfairness”. I’ve been down that road, and it only leads to the bondage of bitterness, resentment, and self-righteous indignation. Jesus knows that too. Which is why He commanded all who follow Him to forgive the unforgivable, to keep no record of wrongs…to “love others the way I have loved you.”

And I’m sure glad my baby gave me a much needed reminder of that. (*explanation of letter at bottom of post) 

(1 Cor 13:4,5 ) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

(John 13:34,35) A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.

(Matt 6:14,15) …if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

(Matt 5:43-45) You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. 

 

(Matt 5:38-42) You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also…if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

*Her letter says: “I am sorry for what I did when we were at gym. Can you forgive me? Write if you will forgive me.” (She stole his ball when they were playing in the gym)

Maturity Unto The Measure

 

This is Bentley, our 7 month-old kitten/cat. 

Bentley is at that in-between age where he looks more like a full grown cat, but he still has a lot of kitten behaviors inside. Bentley wants to sit on our lap like a mature cat, but he can’t be still. He is very active, wanting to explore constantly, and anything that catches his attention, he’s off to get a closer look. There is a part of Bentley that just wants to rest around the house unworried and untroubled like our other cat, but until he matures a little more, he will continue to have those fidgety and anxious kitten urges. 

If Bentley were to stay a kitten and never mature into a full-grown cat, he would never get to the place of unbothered rest exhibited by our other cat, Rudy. Rudy is always at rest. If you see him walking around, it’s usually just so he can move to another place of rest. And that’s because Rudy is a mature, full-grown cat. Even though Rudy and Bentley are both cats, they have very different behaviors simply because one is mature and the other is not. 

Scripture says that once we become believers in Christ, God’s ultimate purpose is to bring us to maturity— our destiny is not to be eternal infants, but to become eternal sons (Eph 1:5). As we grow in personal knowledge of Christ Himself, we grow in unity of the faith, and we “mature into the full measure of the stature of Christ” the Son of God (Eph 4:13). And one of the benchmarks of such maturity is complete rest in the Father, regardless of what work we are called to or what circumstances may surround us. 

So let us press on brothers and sisters, to full maturity, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

(Eph 1:5) He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will…

(Eph 4:12-14) …to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

(Rom 8:18 ,19) I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

(Heb 4:8-11) For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.

I Know Your Deeds…

You can serve the Lord with all your heart while you neglect seeking Him with all your heart. 

I know this is true, because I’ve done it. Of course, the reason many of us begin serving the Lord with all our heart because we initially start out seeking Him with all our heart. We begin serving because we sought, but over time, our focus slowly shifts from seeking to serving. We unconsciously begin to become more passionate about the work—we become busy for God with all our godly service— and the time we spend in solitude at His feet dwindles….but the work still goes on with gusto. 

Our focus on relationship with the Lord can very easily turn astray into a focus on our work for the Lord. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that to 5 out of the 7 churches in Revelation, Jesus says, “I know your deeds..” but then goes on to explain how they have strayed in their relationship with Him. In Jesus’ first letter to the churches, He says, “I know your works, your labor…you have persevered and labored for My name’s sake…but I have this against you:  you have abandoned your first love” (Rev 2:2-4). And in each subsequent letter where Christ lists what He “has against” each church, we can see that the root of the problem in each, was a lack of singular focus upon passionate pursuit of the Lord Himself. 

I wonder to how many of us the Lord would say the same thing today: “I see your deeds…” I see all your work, I see you serving me with all your heart, but I rarely see you willing to wait and listen at my feet. Truly the Lord has called us to a great work— a work of bringing and discipling the gospel among the nations. But we lose the foundational integrity of that work when we lose focus upon a passionate seeking of the One for Whom we are working. 

Our whole-heart focus must remain on Christ Himself, for it is only the fruit of such devotion which will result in truly acceptable service unto the Lord. 

(Matt 22:36-38) “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

(Matt 10:37) Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

(Col 1:17,18) He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.

(Luke 10:38-42) …a woman named Martha welcomed [Jesus] into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made… “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary, only one; for Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."