Today in church we were discussing the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. For those of you who may not be familar, the story of Mary and Martha is goes like this...
Martha invited Jesus to stay at their house when He was passing through their village. Her sister Mary is sitting in the living room at Jesus' feet, listening to Him talk. Meanwhile, Martha is busy in the kitchen trying to make all the preparations for His stay. Martha comes to Jesus and asks if He would tell Mary to get up and give her a hand. Well, instead of Jesus commending Martha for her hard work, He commends Mary for choosing what was most important--sitting at His feet.
I started thinking about how recently I've been very "Martha-like." Right now, I'm at a point of really wrestling with what God may have in store for me for the rest of my life. I want to know my "calling" and what I should be doing with my life long-term. Where will I be in 10 years? How can I best serve His kingdom with my gifts, skills, and passions? Well, I recognized that a lot of my questions were about me. Although I want to serve Jesus and ultimately be doing what He wants me to, the questions in themselves are about ME. What should I be doing? Where should I be going? Like Martha, I have been "anxious about many things" and perhaps neglected the One thing that is most important--sitting at the feet of Christ.
After thinking about my "Martha tendencies," I began to think about what kind of disciple I would be like if I lived in Jesus' time. You have Peter who put his foot in his mouth a lot. Then there's the infamous "doubting Thomas." John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. What would I go down in history as? Well, I decided that if I were to be appointed the 13th disciple, I probably would've been known as Cara the planner. I would have been the one that was portrayed as trying to keep Jesus on top of His agenda. As soon as I learned that Jesus had a purpose to fulfill, I would've been right there with the planner and timeline making sure He got it all done. The problem is that my focus would've been in the completely wrong place. First of all, Jesus doesn't need anyone to help keep Him in check. :) Secondly, my mindset can't be on the task at hand, but the One who is above all of it. The tasks at hand may be important, but they aren't the "end all, be all"--Jesus is.
So, let us sit at His feet and remember the things that are most important--the "good portion that cannot be taken away from us."
What type of disciple would you be?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
reflections...
Ever have one of those days were certain themes just seem to echo throughout? This morning I read John 4 and the story of the Woman at the Well. I was struck by how she gets so caught up in certain aspects of her conversation with Jesus that she almost missed the big picture. She had a very clear need: She had been living an unfulfilling life, bouncing around from one guy to the next. She was given a very specific promise: Christ would satisfy her and fill her with streams of living water. And she almost got really caught up in a Jew vs. Samaritan theological debate about where the best place for worship is instead of recognizing the Messiah right in front of her. (Thank goodness Jesus is gracious and she finally gets it!)
Later, at work one of my co-workers is telling me about her friend who is struggling right now. Her friend recognizes that Jesus is the only way and believes the truth about certain aspects of God. Yet, she is so caught up in her own life and desires that she is afraid to surrender. Yet again, we have a very clear need and a very specific promise...but the nitty gritty is getting in the way of the big picture. Her friend is so caught up in the specifics (which are for her what she might lose by becoming a Christian) that she neglects to see the living water that is offered right in front of her.
Tonight I read Augustine and this passage stood out to me:
"'Return, sinners, to your heart' (Isaiah 46:8) and adhere to Him who made you. Stand with Him and you will stand fast. Rest in Him and you will be at rest. Whear ater you going along rough paths? What is the goal of your journey? The good which you love (the earthly pleasures, things, relationships, etc) is from him. But it is only as it is related to Him that it is good and sweet. Otherwise it will justly become bitter; for all that comes from Him is unjulstly loved if He has been abandoned. With what end in view do you again and again walk along difficult and laborious paths? There is no rest where you seek for it. Seek for what you seek, but it is not where you are looking for it. You seek the happy life in the region of death; it is not there. How can there be a happy life where there is not even life?"
How can the good really be all that good without Him? For those of us who have "tasted and seen" we recognize that all the pleasures in the world amount nothing in comparison to Christ.
Later, at work one of my co-workers is telling me about her friend who is struggling right now. Her friend recognizes that Jesus is the only way and believes the truth about certain aspects of God. Yet, she is so caught up in her own life and desires that she is afraid to surrender. Yet again, we have a very clear need and a very specific promise...but the nitty gritty is getting in the way of the big picture. Her friend is so caught up in the specifics (which are for her what she might lose by becoming a Christian) that she neglects to see the living water that is offered right in front of her.
Tonight I read Augustine and this passage stood out to me:
"'Return, sinners, to your heart' (Isaiah 46:8) and adhere to Him who made you. Stand with Him and you will stand fast. Rest in Him and you will be at rest. Whear ater you going along rough paths? What is the goal of your journey? The good which you love (the earthly pleasures, things, relationships, etc) is from him. But it is only as it is related to Him that it is good and sweet. Otherwise it will justly become bitter; for all that comes from Him is unjulstly loved if He has been abandoned. With what end in view do you again and again walk along difficult and laborious paths? There is no rest where you seek for it. Seek for what you seek, but it is not where you are looking for it. You seek the happy life in the region of death; it is not there. How can there be a happy life where there is not even life?"
How can the good really be all that good without Him? For those of us who have "tasted and seen" we recognize that all the pleasures in the world amount nothing in comparison to Christ.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Taking What I Want...
I recently read 2 of the books from the series by Stieg Larsson, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” After reading some of the books, I decided to watch the first movie. (FYI—I am not recommending this movie per se. It is very violent and graphic if you decide to check it out). There was an interesting line that struck me towards the end of the movie. A guy who was a murderer and a rapist was asked why he killed innocent women. He responded back with a striking comment—“I was just doing what every man wants to do—to have exactly what he wants.”
Interesting motive. He was just taking “what he wanted.” And after all, this is every man’s dream? Although it really disgusted me at the time, I realized that what he said was true in one sense. Every man (and woman) at the core of our beings has a desire to “have” what we want.
I thought back to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Wasn’t that their desire as well? “You can eat of any tree except…” And what did they do? They weren’t satisfied with all the other trees in the Garden. They had to “have” the one that they wanted.
Augustine reflected on one aspect of this in his book "Confessions." I happened to read this section right after I watched the movie. Let’s see what he has to say…
Augustine is reflecting upon a time in his youth when he and his friends stole a bunch of pears (comparable to breaking into a video game store in our day :)). His act of stealing was a way of “imitating God.” He acknowledges that as humans we take pleasure in “imitating” God—who is all powerful and is over all things. We put ourselves in a position of authority and choose to take what we like. We like to try to exert our autonomy and “freedom,” yet must come to the realization that “there is no place where one can ultimately escape.”
Our “freedom” in taking what we “want,” will only lead to bondage and fear. The man in the movie found this out. I can personally attest to that as well. Freedom apart from God is not freedom at all. The objects that we covet for the “taking” will end up “taking” us instead.
As Paul says in Romans 7: "For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Yes, thanks be to God who rescues us from this body of sin and death!
Interesting motive. He was just taking “what he wanted.” And after all, this is every man’s dream? Although it really disgusted me at the time, I realized that what he said was true in one sense. Every man (and woman) at the core of our beings has a desire to “have” what we want.
I thought back to Adam and Eve in the Garden. Wasn’t that their desire as well? “You can eat of any tree except…” And what did they do? They weren’t satisfied with all the other trees in the Garden. They had to “have” the one that they wanted.
Augustine reflected on one aspect of this in his book "Confessions." I happened to read this section right after I watched the movie. Let’s see what he has to say…
“So the soul fornicates (Ps. 72:27) when it is turned away from you and seeks
outside you the pure and clear intentions which are not to be found except by
returning to you. In their perverted way all humanity imitates you.
Yet they put themselves at a distance from you and exalt themselves against
you. But even by thus imitating you they acknowledge that you are the
Creator of all nature and so concede that there is no place where one can
entirely escape from you…Was it possible to take pleasure in what was illicit
for no reason other than it was not allowed?”
Augustine is reflecting upon a time in his youth when he and his friends stole a bunch of pears (comparable to breaking into a video game store in our day :)). His act of stealing was a way of “imitating God.” He acknowledges that as humans we take pleasure in “imitating” God—who is all powerful and is over all things. We put ourselves in a position of authority and choose to take what we like. We like to try to exert our autonomy and “freedom,” yet must come to the realization that “there is no place where one can ultimately escape.”
Our “freedom” in taking what we “want,” will only lead to bondage and fear. The man in the movie found this out. I can personally attest to that as well. Freedom apart from God is not freedom at all. The objects that we covet for the “taking” will end up “taking” us instead.
As Paul says in Romans 7: "For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
Yes, thanks be to God who rescues us from this body of sin and death!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Book of Eli
This weekend I watched The Book of Eli for the first time. (As a side note, if you haven't seen the movie yet, don't worry--I won't fill my post with spoilers!) Generally after watching a movie, I don't leave feeling convicted (unless the conviction is for watching the movie to begin with!). However, the Book of Eli was a different story.
For those of you who haven't seen the film, here's a brief synopsis:
The main character Eli, lives in an America that has been destroyed. There was a great war and the land was scorched by the sun. There aren't many people who survived and of those who did, many of them turned to cannibalism to survive. People live off of whatever they can find and as a result society is pretty much non-existent. Eli is in possession of a "very important book," which we discover is the Bible. He feels like it is his purpose in life to survive and transport this book to a safe place. (I'll leave the rest up to you to watch.)
After watching the movie, it hit me how Eli is a representative of every Christ-follower. We have all been given an important task--to be Christ's ambassadors and carry His truth to this world. We are all carriers of His Word and light. Sure, we don't live in as dire circumstances as Eli. Or do we? Are we just as disease-ridden and desperate as people were in his time? It's probably safe to say "yes." In our culture, our disease is comfort. Our desperation comes as a result of recognizing our over-pleasuring, over-filling, and over-quenching never left us satisfied. Our needs are the same.
So, what do we do? Do we recognize the reality of our situation and choose to obediently carry this truth to a lost and dying world? Or do we sit back and think that everything's "alright?" Are we compelled to do whatever it takes to fulfill God's call and purpose? Or do we get lost in opulence and comfort, therefore, refusing to recognize the dire circumstances we are all in?
I don't know about you guys, but I want to be an Eli. I want to be resolute and focused on the task at hand. I want to be a soldier in Christ's army, carrying light, love, and Truth. I don't want to get so lost in what I "see" that I neglect to truly see what is going on around me. My hope is that I can be faithful to the commission given to me so that at the end of the journey, I can resonate with Paul's words in 1st Timothy--"I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (1 Timothy 4:7)
For those of you who haven't seen the film, here's a brief synopsis:
The main character Eli, lives in an America that has been destroyed. There was a great war and the land was scorched by the sun. There aren't many people who survived and of those who did, many of them turned to cannibalism to survive. People live off of whatever they can find and as a result society is pretty much non-existent. Eli is in possession of a "very important book," which we discover is the Bible. He feels like it is his purpose in life to survive and transport this book to a safe place. (I'll leave the rest up to you to watch.)
After watching the movie, it hit me how Eli is a representative of every Christ-follower. We have all been given an important task--to be Christ's ambassadors and carry His truth to this world. We are all carriers of His Word and light. Sure, we don't live in as dire circumstances as Eli. Or do we? Are we just as disease-ridden and desperate as people were in his time? It's probably safe to say "yes." In our culture, our disease is comfort. Our desperation comes as a result of recognizing our over-pleasuring, over-filling, and over-quenching never left us satisfied. Our needs are the same.
So, what do we do? Do we recognize the reality of our situation and choose to obediently carry this truth to a lost and dying world? Or do we sit back and think that everything's "alright?" Are we compelled to do whatever it takes to fulfill God's call and purpose? Or do we get lost in opulence and comfort, therefore, refusing to recognize the dire circumstances we are all in?
I don't know about you guys, but I want to be an Eli. I want to be resolute and focused on the task at hand. I want to be a soldier in Christ's army, carrying light, love, and Truth. I don't want to get so lost in what I "see" that I neglect to truly see what is going on around me. My hope is that I can be faithful to the commission given to me so that at the end of the journey, I can resonate with Paul's words in 1st Timothy--"I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (1 Timothy 4:7)
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