Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."
I don't know about you but, more times than not, I don't want to do this! I don't want to give up things that make me feel good. Am I alone here? Seriously, I have lost things for the sake of my faith and, I have to say, it hurts. Don't misunderstand me, I am not having a pity party here. I guess I just needed to say this out loud and have someone else say, "I get it." Loss hurts. Period. Even if it's for my good.
I would think that most people who do not know Him would probably think that it's a crazy thing to deny yourself. Life is all about happiness and instant gratification in our culture and sometimes I just want to jump on this bandwagon. I hate that this is true. Lately, I am totally into quoting people who are smarter than me because they somehow say what I'm thinking, only much prettier. =) Donald Miller says, "The problem with Christian belief-I mean REAL Christian belief, the belief that there is a God and a devil and a heaven and a hell-is that it is not a fashionable thing to believe." Nope. Not popular, especially where I'm living, and not easy.
This last quote pretty much helps me to come to terms with why I am usually dissatisfied. I am content in my circumstances, but not satisfied. How about you?
"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world. -C.S. Lewis
I just wish I could make everyone see that we were ALL made for another world. Not just some of us, ALL of us. I think this is where most of my tears come from these days. When people walk around and don't know their Daddy, their REAL Daddy, this makes my heart sad. Believing this changes everything!
Well, I feel better now that I've gotten that out of my head. I wish I was a more eloquent writer, but perhaps I will improve as time goes on. I hope you are enjoying your December.
Here's to REAL change!
Nikki
Stick to your guns Nikki. I believe there are special moments that are scattered throughout life which make up for all of the struggles. They are not necessarily the births, the weddings, graduations, etc, that we normally think of when someone say "special moment." I think they are the less high experiences in relationships, work, belief, and family, in which we completely loose our self in that moment, and we are happy. In the present, we do not know we are going through that special experience. We do not realize it was special until minutes, hours, days, or even years later, when it hits us and and makes it all worth it.
ReplyDeleteI do not even know if what I wrote above makes sense, but I tried. I hope life is treating you well and the you keep who you are.
Nikki,
ReplyDeleteJust wrote what I felt was an erudite post, and had it disappear into the nether regions of the web cosmos! The Thursday night session was absolutely stupendous. You made two and a half hours seem like thirty minutes. Your genuine love, compassion and professionalism wrapped the kiddos in arms of love, and drew from them their best. They were ecstatic! Your deep love for the Prince of Peace, the Giver of all good things, is readily evident. Continue to "Be not ashamed....", He has given you an amazing pulpit as a preacher/tent-maker! If you have a spare three seconds, I would be honored and sincerely appreciative if you could shoot my principal a brief note about the session. Fine arts, as you well know, are under attack all across the country, and Fort Bend is no exception. barbara.whitaker@fortbend.k12.tx.us I am truly thankful Father allowed our paths to cross on this journey. How precious it is to meet other wayfarers heading in the same direction. Richest blessings on you and yours. Continue to be His hands, feet, and voice.......Shalom, Russ Clark