 “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, poet (1807-1882)
Reading these words really resonated with me this morning. I am my own worst critic for the very reason that Longfellow states: I know what I am capable of. When I see the homeless man on the corner, I know what I’m capable of. When I see the woman with her hands full walking towards the door at the store, I know what I’m capable of. When that person on the road pulls in front me of as if I wasn’t even there, I know what I am capable.
Through it all is GRACE. God, too, knows what I am capable of and yet He still loves me. Not only does He love me, but he provides me even more opportunities to demonstrate the goodness that I have inside. No, the GREATNESS that I have inside. May you and I live each day in such a way that what we have already done is but the tip of the iceberg* of what we are capable of doing for the glory of His kingdom.
“Dear brothers, warn those who are lazy; comfort those who are frightened; take tender care of those who are weak; and be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18, The Living Bible
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
- Ephesians 2:10
In His service,
Keith
*PS – Did you know that 70% of an iceberg is hidden under water? I had that read to me by a fourth grader this week from a book I was helping him read. The goodness that I see in others might only be 30% of what they’re capable of? WOW! WOW! WOW! If I must judge others, may it be by the 70% unseen, God-filled potential.
“What other people think of me is becoming less and less important; what they think of Jesus because of me is critical.”
–Cliff Richard
 I’m not going to break out into a chorus of “They will know we are Christians”. Does it really matter that someone knows whether or not I am a Christian? Let’s say that is important. Then how will they know? “By my love”? Simply put, yes. People are going to watch the way that I (and you) treat other people, how I handle certain situations, what I say and how I say it, what I do when I don’t think anybody is watching…
My responsibility while on this earth is to be a reflection of Jesus. What people think of me is a direct reflection on what I think of Jesus. Hmm, maybe I should not be so much a mirror as a transparent piece of glass. May I live myself in such a way that I do not tarnish someone’s view of Jesus.
So, let me ask the question again, is it import that someone knows I am a Christian? YOU BET. If someone just thinks I’m a nice guy, then what good is that to God? I should live so that people want to know what makes me tick. It isn’t about me or you being the BEST Christian, it is about living in such a way that people WANT to know the reason why I live as I do (1 Peter 3:15).
I leave you this morning with these additional words, from 1 Peter 4: 7-11 -
“Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
“We are always in the presence of God, yet it seems to me that those who pray are in his presence in a very different sense.”
–Teresa of Avila
As I read this moments ago it occurred to me that I can do not greater work than to remind others that “we are always in the presence of God”. Does it always seem like God is right next to me? No. Do I always think that He hears my cries, or even my shouts of joy? No.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5
WOW! Reading these versus reminded me so much of the song ‘Strong Tower’ by Kutless. You can watch the video on YouTube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NawddLbdqLA
Of course it is hard for me to say that God is always near me, even as I suffer through trials and hardship. Or as I watch others struggle. But then I think to my earthly parents, and how they supported me from a distance as I stumbled at times. How much more did I learn because of the stumbles, versus if they had placed a hedge around me? How is it possible that I could encourage others if I had not been encouraged myself or if I had not struggled myself?
All that said, Christ is the ultimate encourager. The true giver of hope.
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” – 1 Peter 3:15
The HOPE that I have is there because God gave it to me. He gave it to me that I might share it with others, and that you might share it with others who need it. There is no shortage of people who need even a glimpse of hope, a modicum of compassion. May God, who is always with me, bless me eyes to see, a ears to listen, and heart to touch. And if I may be so bold, may I pray the same for you?
 “Could we pierce the veil, and were we vigilant and attentive, God would reveal Himself continuously to us and we should rejoice in His actions in everything that happened to us.”
–Jean Pierre de Caussade
Oh, how I wish that I knew the origins of the game hide-and-seek. My wager would be that in the earliest scientific/anthropological records of peoples and cultures there is evidence of hide and seek. It seems almost natural to play hide and seek with infants from the earliest age. Where did that start? Part of me doesn’t want to say it started in the Garden of Eden, because then there’s the snake, and then my perception of hide and seek isn’t a good one. But I digress slightly. I wonder if there was hide and seek in the Garden before the snake.
It is our nature both to hide and to seek. Does that mean it is in God’s nature to hide? I know He seeks, but does He hide Himself? In asking that question this morning I found these verses:
“Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
–Psalm 10:1
“Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!”
–Isaiah 45:15 (New King James Version)
And in seeking an answer I found this quote by Christopher Esget, a pastor in Virginia – “God hides Himself in order to reveal Himself in weakness and suffering, in sacrifice and the cross.” (which was from part of a larger thought on his blog). You can agree or disagreen, but his words got me thinking that the power and emphasis is not so much on the hiding, but on the revelation.
When I see an amazing sunset, I stand in awe of God. When I hear of someone’s selfless act, I am in awe. When someone thanks me for my emails, I am dumbfounded (not that I am on par with the sunset). These are but simple ways God reveals Himself to me. God wired me, He knows how to get my attention.
But is God truly hiding, or is it is my ability to see Him, my desire to seek Him, my inability to “pierce the veil” that stand in the way?
I leave you today with these words from Romans 1:20 (though their true power lies comes from Romans 1:21-32) -
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. “
 “Never allow the thought–’I am of no use where I am;’ because you
certainly can be of no use where you are not.”
–Oswald Chambers
Last week Lori and I had a visit from our friend Brett and he shared this quote with us (thank you, Brett). Right away, when I heard I was like, wow, this is good. This is a no-brainer. Now, days later, and re-reading it, it becomes even more power-filled in its simplicity.
I will let you wrap your own thoughts around it.
There might be some research needed on my part to find out if it is acceptable for me to have one of my first thoughts of the morning being of Justin Bieber singing ‘Baby’. Not sure where that came from and I’m still having trouble erasing the image and audio.
More importantly, I also got to thinking about waste. It started out with my recollection of throwing out some old salad yesterday from our fridge. Then I thought about waste from those salad bars in grocery stores. Which expanded to the waste that goes on in groceries stores in general. A lot of waste comes from making sure that you and I have only the finest, freshest produce and groceries. Really, where does all that unbought egg nog go? Those peeps from Easter?
From grocery store waste then I thought about the waste from manufacturing processes. Not just the physical waste that is a byproduct of the endless manufacturing a given product, but also the less measurable waste of time, or motion. The Japanese call it “muda” but that brings up a whole ‘nother discussion for some other day.
Where I ended up was thinking about my spiritual waste. If I could assess all of yesterday, how much energy and effort and time did I use that is of no benefit to the building up of His kingdom? Can I measure that? Would I want to measure that? Would I want to know?
My answer is “no”. What I think of wasted energy and effort and time probably has some merit and validity. Yet I must not underestimate His omnipotence and omniscience. Yesterday I know I spent time in what may have been idle chatter with clients, potential clients, and friends. Maybe God desired that idle chatter to build or strengthen a bond. The time I spent waiting for my dog to decide if he wanted to go out, or if he was ready to come in? Maybe that was a reinforcement of my own patience. Time in the car? The time in front of the TV?
One of the challenges before you and I is to let go of trying to justify not only our actions but also our “wasted” time before God. I’m sure God weeps at many of the things I do that I think are useful to Him, just as much as He is disappointed when I interrupt some of His other, long range efforts that appear to me only as small, irrelevant moments of time, energy and effort. That appear to me to be waste. To be idle moments. The best I can hope for is the ability to discern when and where He wants me. And I can’t do that without daily asking for GRACE and assistance from His spirit, and seeking His Word and the fellowship of saints.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
– Reinhold Niebuhr (American theologian, 1892-1971)
But Bieber at 5:00am? Still wondering.
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“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”
