On good days I am convinced that I don't have room in my mind or heart to consider whether, by helping someone, I am enabling the one asking for help - just making their problem worse. There is no room for me to wonder whether the one asking is deserving or not.
I honestly don't believe that God calls us to judge people,, but to serve them.
Then there are other days when I fail to see with God's eyes, and look instead, with my own. My sin-stained, faulty human eyes that see laziness or squandered opportunities; selfishness and desire for instant gratification more clearly than need.
When I can think clearly, that is, when I allow God to speak to me, I understand that I see those things more plainly because I have witnessed them in myself. I have known each of those motivations. I am guilty, guilty, guilty! But then I remember that I am also forgiven, forgiven, forgiven! And never have I been deserving. Praise God!
So, if I want to be like Jesus....
I am reading Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.. If you are ready and willing to move closer to the likeness of Christ, I highly recommend this book. Simply by defining 'spiritual formation' he opens the whole can of worms; "Spiritual formation is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others."
I have always thought it was all about me and Jesus, how about you? Mulholland makes a pretty compelling arguement for it actually being about others more than ourselves. I am now convinced that my spiritual growth is directly affected by how I interact with others as much as how I interact with others is directly affected by my spiritual growth.
Something to think about.
1 comment:
Great post Joy. Thanks for sharing.
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