This windows-open, sunshine-in, breezy kind of day; my little girl playing peekaboo from her Pack-n-Play; Caedmon's Call on iTunes; poetry before me; friends flooding my thoughts...
Suddenly, I'm overwhelmed by a deep sense of contentment mixed with humility. Why does God allow these moments for one such as me? Certainly not because of me--Nothing I have or do is anything I've obtained myself, nothing is worthy of boasting about; it is by His grace that I am given such reminders of His goodness. I will boast only in the Lord, that He chooses to shower me with His love. Praise be to Him on this intoxicating day!
Jeremiah 9:23-24:
Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
Amen!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Just Be...
As Americans especially, we are cursed from the start with the need to understand our "identity." What am I supposed to be doing in this life? What is my role? Who am I?
If I may suggest, often there is rather too much emphasis on the "I" in that last question; when we ask "Who am I?", we are focusing on our individual identity, searching for the qualities that make us as individuals stand out from the rest of the crowded world. In asking "Who am I?", we are really asking, "What makes me unique?"
But is that really what we are to be searching for? On the contrary, let us emphasis the "am": "Who am I?" drives us to a great mystery, for it emphasizes the idea of "being"--a less familiar concept for Westerners--rather than that of "doing" or "having." To meditate on what it means simply "to be" is to concern ourselves with the spiritual, for it demands a dissociation of one's identity with one's job, or of one's identity with one's possessions. We cannot work our way into an identity. Nay, we cannot even think our way into it, for to think is an action as well. No, the only way to come to an understanding of identity is to be our way into it.
I am, of course, speaking from a Christian point of view, so let us start at the beginning: God.
God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' Exodus 3:14 ESV
"I AM" is God's self-given name and demonstrates his self-existence. That is no easy concept to grasp--but then again, that is God. Moreover, in John 8:58, Christ says to the Pharisees, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." He knew this would be blasphemy to the ears of the Pharisees, and with the tiny word "I am", he invited a stoning. He later did it a second time in John 10:30 by saying, "I and the Father are one."
When we finish off the Trinity with the Holy Spirit, that's where things get exciting for us. The Spirit who dwells in us, sent by Jesus from the Father (John 14-15), reveals to us the heart and character of the Father. That is, if we know Christ, we have the Spirit and know God--God who was, is, and will always be "being" itself! He is the Beginning and the End because he has no beginning nor end. And it is because I rest in him that my identity of ten years ago, my identity of today, my identity of many years from now--none of them matter if I have dissolved my individual self into the perfect unity of the great I AM. He is unchanging, so though my personal circumstances change throughout my speck of a life, my identify remains the same:
I am a child of God.
The more I meditate on this simple thought, the more joy swells within me, the more praise I wish to offer, and therefore, the more heaven I glimpse--God enjoying man enjoying God. Truly, there is nothing greater than being in the presence of Being.
For God is not interested in what we do; He is interested in who we are as we do. He has given us freedoms galore; no matter our season of life or daily task, what is our heart attitude? Are we being spiritual creatures? That would be signified not by outward accomplishments but by the inward bearing of spiritual fruit, which we accomplish by increasing our knowledge of the Lord Jesus:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These are Peter's words in 2 Peter 1:3-8. I've quoted them before but read them now afresh. If we truly desire Christ, then will we not also desire the complete obliteration of a separate, personal identity? Yet how does that reconcile with church life, with good deeds, with spiritual giftings? Glory be to the King of the absurd! 2 Peter 1:9-11:
For whoever lacks these qualities [faith, love, etc.] is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I don't feel as though I've said this at all like I should (the need for sleep is heavy now), but essentially, the more we desire Christ, the more we will be like him--our prominent gifts will be used, our lesser gifts developed; our actions will be pure, purposeful, fruitful. Regardless of my uniqueness, in the end I find that who I am is a pathetic creature saved by the grace of all-powerful God, and still--He must become greater; I must become less.
If I may suggest, often there is rather too much emphasis on the "I" in that last question; when we ask "Who am I?", we are focusing on our individual identity, searching for the qualities that make us as individuals stand out from the rest of the crowded world. In asking "Who am I?", we are really asking, "What makes me unique?"
But is that really what we are to be searching for? On the contrary, let us emphasis the "am": "Who am I?" drives us to a great mystery, for it emphasizes the idea of "being"--a less familiar concept for Westerners--rather than that of "doing" or "having." To meditate on what it means simply "to be" is to concern ourselves with the spiritual, for it demands a dissociation of one's identity with one's job, or of one's identity with one's possessions. We cannot work our way into an identity. Nay, we cannot even think our way into it, for to think is an action as well. No, the only way to come to an understanding of identity is to be our way into it.
I am, of course, speaking from a Christian point of view, so let us start at the beginning: God.
God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And he said, 'Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' Exodus 3:14 ESV
"I AM" is God's self-given name and demonstrates his self-existence. That is no easy concept to grasp--but then again, that is God. Moreover, in John 8:58, Christ says to the Pharisees, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." He knew this would be blasphemy to the ears of the Pharisees, and with the tiny word "I am", he invited a stoning. He later did it a second time in John 10:30 by saying, "I and the Father are one."
When we finish off the Trinity with the Holy Spirit, that's where things get exciting for us. The Spirit who dwells in us, sent by Jesus from the Father (John 14-15), reveals to us the heart and character of the Father. That is, if we know Christ, we have the Spirit and know God--God who was, is, and will always be "being" itself! He is the Beginning and the End because he has no beginning nor end. And it is because I rest in him that my identity of ten years ago, my identity of today, my identity of many years from now--none of them matter if I have dissolved my individual self into the perfect unity of the great I AM. He is unchanging, so though my personal circumstances change throughout my speck of a life, my identify remains the same:
I am a child of God.
The more I meditate on this simple thought, the more joy swells within me, the more praise I wish to offer, and therefore, the more heaven I glimpse--God enjoying man enjoying God. Truly, there is nothing greater than being in the presence of Being.
For God is not interested in what we do; He is interested in who we are as we do. He has given us freedoms galore; no matter our season of life or daily task, what is our heart attitude? Are we being spiritual creatures? That would be signified not by outward accomplishments but by the inward bearing of spiritual fruit, which we accomplish by increasing our knowledge of the Lord Jesus:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
These are Peter's words in 2 Peter 1:3-8. I've quoted them before but read them now afresh. If we truly desire Christ, then will we not also desire the complete obliteration of a separate, personal identity? Yet how does that reconcile with church life, with good deeds, with spiritual giftings? Glory be to the King of the absurd! 2 Peter 1:9-11:
For whoever lacks these qualities [faith, love, etc.] is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I don't feel as though I've said this at all like I should (the need for sleep is heavy now), but essentially, the more we desire Christ, the more we will be like him--our prominent gifts will be used, our lesser gifts developed; our actions will be pure, purposeful, fruitful. Regardless of my uniqueness, in the end I find that who I am is a pathetic creature saved by the grace of all-powerful God, and still--He must become greater; I must become less.
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