Finally I got a window seat on the last leg of my trip to and from Missouri last weekend and I looked at the landscape passing by from thirty-thousand feet. The Mississippi river course lay below amidst a quilt work of fields, towns and roads, a lake here and there accented the view. What interested me though was the riverbed which in some places had changed course and left a closed circuit of an Oxbow lake. In other places the river had almost doubled back on itself on its journey finally to the sea, the Gulf of Mexico. Ancient glacial moraine has tumbled down this valley in these muddy waters and contributed to the very mass my home rests on today.
It was among other things a picture of the journey I've had as a believer; of going about getting there in a circuitous routing my failures and weaknesses as a Christian gouging out a course in life. My record as a believer has been one of as much downs as ups, maybe more. I've shredded the Ten Commandments, from the avarice of coveting to murder in the form of character assassination of a foe, to adultery and fornication in the desperate hope of finding acceptance. I could tell you about grace and God's love at this juncture, of how He's sustained me which would all be true and significant.
What I find remarkable about the Father is that He knows about the sharp bends, the pain, the undercurrent of motivation, the eddies of fidelity, in short that which causes pain. Brennan Manning remarked that Jesus was attuned to the pain of humans in His earthly ministry and was drawn to it. He ministered acceptance to the woman at the well, He allowed the worship of a notorious town prostitute in a Pharisee’s home, Simon was wise and well connected, she was considered disposable. The lepers He healed and sent to the elders of that city not only cleansing them of their disease, but relieving them of their disgrace and rejection by the religious system of the day.
Fortunately for us He's equally well tuned to our pain and places of anguish and shame, and moved to reach out to us and embrace us in a healing posture. I hope to tell more of my story in the time to come and thanks in advance for your companionship!
John
It was among other things a picture of the journey I've had as a believer; of going about getting there in a circuitous routing my failures and weaknesses as a Christian gouging out a course in life. My record as a believer has been one of as much downs as ups, maybe more. I've shredded the Ten Commandments, from the avarice of coveting to murder in the form of character assassination of a foe, to adultery and fornication in the desperate hope of finding acceptance. I could tell you about grace and God's love at this juncture, of how He's sustained me which would all be true and significant.
What I find remarkable about the Father is that He knows about the sharp bends, the pain, the undercurrent of motivation, the eddies of fidelity, in short that which causes pain. Brennan Manning remarked that Jesus was attuned to the pain of humans in His earthly ministry and was drawn to it. He ministered acceptance to the woman at the well, He allowed the worship of a notorious town prostitute in a Pharisee’s home, Simon was wise and well connected, she was considered disposable. The lepers He healed and sent to the elders of that city not only cleansing them of their disease, but relieving them of their disgrace and rejection by the religious system of the day.
Fortunately for us He's equally well tuned to our pain and places of anguish and shame, and moved to reach out to us and embrace us in a healing posture. I hope to tell more of my story in the time to come and thanks in advance for your companionship!
John
posted by John R. Jones at 6:16 AM
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