For ye were as sheep going astray;
but are now returned unto the Shepherd
and Bishop of your souls.
1 Peter 2:25
The attitude of a Godly heart. What does this look like? How do we maintain a Godly heart? I remember many years ago hearing the phrase: "A man after God's own heart." My first thought was if I had ever known a man after God's own heart? I've read about them, I could recognize them by the joy in their eyes or the quiet and confirming way in which they spoke. Yet, as a child or a teen I was not given access to them within my home. Awhile later, I heard the phrase: "A daughter of Zion," who were daughters of Zion? I began searching the Bible for stories of these types of believers. And as always, God had a plan. So many speakers, so many books began to be published. The was a wealth of models for me to discover. Biographies of great men and women of God began flowing across my night stand. In total astonishment, I began "seeing" those flickering moments in which God had placed such men and women through out my life. They may have been patient neighbors, they were some of my teachers, they could have been those that were always the helping hands at church. They were, in fact, my baby doctor and his nurse and parents of my childhood friends. Many were those who were the consistent employees of our neighborhood businesses who greeted me my name and always seemed interested in how I was doing. Some were strangers, who crossed my path at just the right moment and gently reminded me that I was valued. They were those who offered an invitation to join their path, like an open door... welcoming me into their lives but unfortunately I did not feel "good enough" to follow their lead. For one moment in time they were in my life... here and then gone... no names... just like a "hit and run," God's blessing given without any strings of attachment. Those encounters might not have had any strings of attachment but they definitely had seeds of expectations. Expectations of God that would become "seeds" in which He would "water" and "prune" and "make ready" for His harvesting, at just the right time, in a future moment of my life.
Within that season of my life, it was as if God was revealing a "self-centered" blindness in which I had been experiencing life. The word of God speaks of "scales falling from the eyes of new believers," of those He was transforming. Those "scales" hurt as they were being "scraped" from my eyes. I had to "see" and "experience" who I was... how God could "see" within every moment, every thought and action, every single word that I have spoken. In spite of the excruciating pain of self discovery, there was a deep internal peace of humility that cried out forgiveness for those missed opportunities, for those "non-acknowledged" moments of grace, and for those "freely made" choices that led me from His directed path.
In today's reading, Our Daily Bread, it is guiding us to consider the following scripture:
For I know that in me nothing good dwells.
Romans 7:18
In our quest of becoming a "good" person (a man/women after God's own heart), our first step is to stop pretending that we are "good" on our own. That it is only through His amazing grace... His goodness... His son our Lord Jesus Christ... His cross and precious blood... His desire for us to know Him... His power... and His eternal hope that we will seek and accept His forgiveness with a repentant heart... that we are made whole, made new, and given goodness. His word promises us that we can "feel good about ourselves," with confidence, because the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. The Holy Spirit will reveal the depth of God's truth... that we are greatly loved children of God (John 3:16).
Did you know that John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace," suffered dementia and the loss of his memory? He confided,
"I do remember two things: I am a great sinner, and Jesus is a great Savior."
No comments:
Post a Comment