Here's a portion of "Mere Christianity" that I thought would be very appropriate for our venture. Let's keep in mind as we prepare for this weekend that who we have been transformed into and how we've been set apart. Let's begin a concentrated effort to pray and lift up our time together that God would change our stony hearts! "Mere Christianity (Book IV)""The thing has happened: the new step has been taken and is being taken. Already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth. Some...are still hardly recognizable: but others can be recognized. Every now and then one meets them. Their voices and faces are different from ours; stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant. They begin where most of us leave off. They are, I sat, recognizable; but you must know what to look for. They will not be very like the idea of "religious people" which you have formed from your general reading. They do not draw attention to themselves. You tendt to tink that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. They love you more than other men do, but they need you less. (We must get over wanting to be needed; in some goodish people, especially women, that is the hardest of all temptations to resist.) They will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from. When you have recognized one of them, you will recognize the next one much more easily. And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?) that they recognize one another immediately and infallibly, across every barrier of colour, sex, class, age, and even of creeds. In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society. To put it at the very lowest, it must be great fun."
Father, would you stir up in our hearts the desire to see you more fully. May this description be true of us. God help us to love others more than everyone else does, help us to need the approval of others less, help us to be kind to those who are unkind to us. And help us set aside our self-righteousness and take on Christ-righteousness which is the holiness YOU long for. Break these hardened hearts and make them flesh!
For His renown,
BenZ
3 comments:
I like that... it's very good. Amen.
I heard one pastor's thoughts last year about being "recognized" in this way. He was talking about those times when you first meet someone and they say, "You look so familiar... Have we met before?" (this happens to me all the time so I'd just assumed I had "one of those faces"). But he put forth the possibility that perhaps it's not YOU they recognize, but Jesus in you... which they recognize because they've seen Jesus before... in their crazy Aunt Gertrude who is always telling them "I'm praying for you!" or their grandfather or their Jesus-freak co-worker. It was an interesting concept.
But amen! And thanks for posting that!
Cool post, Ben! That's a great definition on what it means to be set apart. PS. I hope that the Denver snow is under control by the time I get there!
One of my favorite chapters of that book
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