113465745278200073
The interesting thing about two people working through or reading the same book is that they will both choose to emphasize different things. Not on purpose, necessarily, but invariably we will relate to differing thoughts.
Like observers at an accident scene, we are going to have our different points of view. Not that we would disagree with the viewpoint of the other, it’s just that we will notice different things. Hair color, height, how the jacket didn’t go with the pants, oh and they were driving too fast.
From Henri Nouwen’s The Return of The Prodigal Son:
At issue here is the question: “To whom do I belong? To God or to the world? Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.
I wish I could say “I read this and thought others needed to hear these words this morning.” I read this and thought “I sure needed to hear these words this morning.” I’m processing through the ways in which the words I hear toss my boat around on the worldly waves of identity.
Highs and lows in my life come Sunday to Sunday. One day you are the hero the next day you are the goat. I say to myself, “don’t worry about, what difference does it make what someone else says?” Nice, rational argument perhaps but I know very well the difference it makes. “Great message today, one of your best,” and my spirits raise. “If the elders would bring back (name of a former preacher) I would start coming back to church,” (yes, an actual comment) and I get angry. “The Saturday Night Praise was so much fun, it was too short,” and I get excited about the success. “We don’t like what you’re doing . . .” and I get depressed.
I remember a time in my life where my focus was completely centered around God’s reaction to what I was doing. I think in many ways I have drifted from this core principle:
Colossians 3:23-24 (NCV) In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ.
My immediate challenge is to refocus my efforts and my energy so that my service and ministry, my gifts and abilities are God directed. If I truly want success and praise for His glory, and I do, I need to continue doing the best that I can – working in such a way as if for the Lord. I need to remember that serving others is serving the Lord Christ.
9 Responses to “113465745278200073”
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Thanks, Randy. Exactly what I needed this morning…
…and, Cecil, you o.k., buddy? You’re scarin’ me.
Randy, that passage in Colossians is one of my favorites. It has kept me focused many times, in the business world, although not as much as it should, because I lose the focus. Thanks for sharing. And hang in there. All of us act like thermometers instead of thermostats (or is it the other way around?) sometimes. I’m so glad our Lord is a God of do-overs!
Cecil, if you are going to dream, dream big. Sounds wonderful. I’m in with all of the bgqcfh I can muster.
First, GULP! That passage from Nouwen hits right between the eyes!
Colossians has, for years, been one of the mainstays of my faith. I need the message of that letter so much … that Jesus is supreme in everything and his is sufficient for my every need. That is the message, isn’t it?
I’ve made some progress in these areas but have a long way to go. It’s a journey that requires a lifetime.
I’ve read who knows how many excerpts from Nouwen but have never read any book by him. I guess I’ll be on amazon.com looking for this one. Now I just have to come up with 9 more books for ‘06.
Sorry Sandra. I just took some mjmddp and the effects seem to be wearing off.
I have got to get that book!
That was a powerful selection you chose to share with us. I’m right there with you Brother with respect to the Sunday to Sunday roller coaster that Satan can put us on.
I know your heart Randy and the Lord does as well. Keep striving for what you feel the Holy Spirit is directing you towards. Be God’s man in your church. May God bless your ministry.
Thought just blew in my head. I don’t play the lottery, much. But if I did and I was a winner, I would love to hire you and Greg. Heck with the hiring, lets plant a church. I know some prime property just south of us in a planned community.
What do you think Steve and Sandra? You could still root for “FSU” if you wanted to convert to being my fellow Seminole fans. Judy could visit us and Brady could be our missionary.
Hey Keith, you want in on this action?
Sorry guys, I was just fantasizing. Have a great day.
lbdzeer (Something Cecil must be on this morning.)
Sounds pretty good to me right now, Cecil.
Randy, I remember reading that passage and getting hit between the eyes with it as well. I’m glad you’re sharing your thoughts from this book.
It only recently came to me that there is a word for the sort of behavior you are describing here. There is a word for putting somebody else’s opinion of us, or even our own, above that of God. There is a word for allowing the approval or disapproval of someone else to influence what we do.
It’s idolatry.
Wow a beach ministry! Just don’t know if I could handle that!
As for that passage, are there ample words to describe how that touches our lives.
We find ourselves being dictated by the wolrd around us so much. Reminds me of Peter in the waves, walking on the water. It was great until he turned his eyes away from Jesus. You know what happened next, but my hope is still in the fact that while he was sinking, he cried out, “Save me Lord!” That is our only hope–to cry out to Him!
Thanks for the challenge Randy!
hftdo - A job given to me by my wife that requires a garbage bag.
Am I crazy or what?
Hi Randy: I got to catch up on your posts. Thanks for writing. Yes, the Nouen is significant. I’ve got that quote in my sermon data-base. It didn’t make me better, but I did feel a bit guiltier.
BTW, in Ternopil, the mice eat steel wool for breakfast.
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