October 16, 2001
When golf balls were first manufactured, they had smooth covers. Someone soon discovered that after they were roughed up, they could get more distance. That is why golf balls are now dimpled.
I can imagine the first time these dimpled balls appeared on the market. No doubt a few golfers took one look and snickered: “Why anyone knows, a smooth ball goes faster and farther than a rough one. This thing is flawed!”
“Flawed” golf balls cannot hog the spotlight. When it comes to surprises, God’s people can go farther with imperfections too. In fact, God says our weaknesses are useful. When my husband became a Christian, he decided to sign up for a particular ministry in a large church, although he told the leader that he felt totally inadequate for it. He didn’t know anything about it and was not sure he had any skills in that area.
To his surprise, the leader replied, “Good. That is just the kind of attitude we want you to have.”
What Bob didn’t know then is that God tells us when we are weak, then we are strong. This seeming contradiction is found in 2 Corinthians 12. Paul talks about having a problem in his life that he asked God to remove, but God did not remove it. Paul tells the reason: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
At that, Paul was able to say that he would boast gladly about his weaknesses so that the power of Christ would rest on him. He could even delight in his inabilities and troubles because “when I am weak, then I am strong.”
This can be explained. When a person becomes a Christian, we are given the Holy Spirit who adds a new dimension to our life and character. Yet we have the same personality as before. Scripture calls it the “old nature.” God exhorts us to put off the old, which is not only sinful and selfish but also unable to obey God. He says we need to put on the grace and power of our new nature so we can do His will.
It sounds good but there is a trick to it. When we are living in the power of the old nature, we strive for superiority, self-confidence, and a sense of power. We even try using this self-sufficiency to enable ourselves to do the will of God, but it doesn’t work. That old nature cannot obey God no matter how confident it feels.
The problem is this: when we yield to the Holy Spirit as we should, we feel our inabilities and weaknesses rather than a great flush of power . . . and who wants to feel weak? Nevertheless, in weakness we learn to trust God and ask for His help. Our difficulty is that we expect that along with His help He will remove that sense of weakness but He doesn’t. He knows if He did, we would quickly stop trusting Him.
So the Christian who walks with God discovers that a power-filled walk might look powerful to others but we ourselves do not feel powerful. Instead, there is a huge sense of helplessness. In faith, we learn to trust He is helping us but it doesn’t feel like it.
Such irony. The life that feels ‘flawed and dimpled’ becomes a great instrument in the hands of the Lord. We become people who can go the distance. We need to abandon our typical human trait of wanting to appear smooth and flawless and realize that by welcoming a sense of feeling useless and without power, we become people who can accomplish the will of God.
Showing posts with label yielded to God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yielded to God. Show all posts
Monday, April 30, 2018
Friday, May 19, 2017
Ambitious? ................ Parables 590
(No tear sheet)
Alexander the Great was a man of ambition. However, after completely subduing the known world, he was not satisfied and wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. He died young — in a state of debauchery.
Hannibal was another ambitious man. We remember him as the leader who crossed the Alps with his elephants. Most do not know that the gold rings taken from those he slaughtered filled three bushel baskets. Like Alexander, his end was ignoble; he killed himself by swallowing poison. Few even noticed his death and he left this world unmourned.
Julius Caesar ambitiously conquered 800 cities, “staining his garments in the blood of one million of his foes” but he too found no lasting reward for his ambition. Instead, he was stabbed by his best friend at the scene of his so-called greatest triumph.
Napoleon, once feared as the scourge of Europe, spent his last years in banishment. His ambition and many victories did not bring lasting honor or lasting rewards either.
These men did not dedicate their lives or their ambition to God, but for people who have the outcome is quite different. God’s people may have great ambition or be less enterprising. Nevertheless, their lives have surprising results.
For example, a woman once poured expensive oil on Jesus’ head. The disciples thought the money paid for the perfume should have been given to the poor. Were they right? This woman’s oil was worth about a year’s wages. Wouldn’t God reward her for an act of generosity that benefitted many people instead of wasting it on one person?
Today, movie celebrities donate money to charities that feed and clothe thousands. Other wealthy people give a portion of their millions to people less fortunate. Jesus did not say giving to the poor was wrong, but in the case of this woman, He said, “Leave her alone. . . . She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” A small and costly ambition, but she was given an eternal legacy.
Missionary pioneers Hudson Taylor and William Carey provide more contemporary examples. Respectively, these men determined to take the gospel to China and India. Because of their selfless efforts, millions of souls will spend eternity with God, another priceless legacy.
While not evil in itself, the Bible warns against selfishly motivated ambition: “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”
Selfish ambition and neglecting a commitment to godliness are characterized by wanting what other people have — even to the point of depriving them — and calling it “ambition.” In contrast, the ambition that God approves is like that of Mary of Bethany. She did not cling to what she had but “wasted” it on Christ.
So did Taylor and Carey. They could have stayed home and put their skills to making money or fame for themselves. Instead, they poured out their lives for the eternal well-being of others. Whatever they missed out on in this life, they did not miss out on God’s promises. He affirms that those who serve Him will enjoy His eternal rewards.
Alexander the Great was a man of ambition. However, after completely subduing the known world, he was not satisfied and wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. He died young — in a state of debauchery.
Hannibal was another ambitious man. We remember him as the leader who crossed the Alps with his elephants. Most do not know that the gold rings taken from those he slaughtered filled three bushel baskets. Like Alexander, his end was ignoble; he killed himself by swallowing poison. Few even noticed his death and he left this world unmourned.
Julius Caesar ambitiously conquered 800 cities, “staining his garments in the blood of one million of his foes” but he too found no lasting reward for his ambition. Instead, he was stabbed by his best friend at the scene of his so-called greatest triumph.
Napoleon, once feared as the scourge of Europe, spent his last years in banishment. His ambition and many victories did not bring lasting honor or lasting rewards either.
These men did not dedicate their lives or their ambition to God, but for people who have the outcome is quite different. God’s people may have great ambition or be less enterprising. Nevertheless, their lives have surprising results.
For example, a woman once poured expensive oil on Jesus’ head. The disciples thought the money paid for the perfume should have been given to the poor. Were they right? This woman’s oil was worth about a year’s wages. Wouldn’t God reward her for an act of generosity that benefitted many people instead of wasting it on one person?
Today, movie celebrities donate money to charities that feed and clothe thousands. Other wealthy people give a portion of their millions to people less fortunate. Jesus did not say giving to the poor was wrong, but in the case of this woman, He said, “Leave her alone. . . . She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” A small and costly ambition, but she was given an eternal legacy.
Missionary pioneers Hudson Taylor and William Carey provide more contemporary examples. Respectively, these men determined to take the gospel to China and India. Because of their selfless efforts, millions of souls will spend eternity with God, another priceless legacy.
While not evil in itself, the Bible warns against selfishly motivated ambition: “But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”
Selfish ambition and neglecting a commitment to godliness are characterized by wanting what other people have — even to the point of depriving them — and calling it “ambition.” In contrast, the ambition that God approves is like that of Mary of Bethany. She did not cling to what she had but “wasted” it on Christ.
So did Taylor and Carey. They could have stayed home and put their skills to making money or fame for themselves. Instead, they poured out their lives for the eternal well-being of others. Whatever they missed out on in this life, they did not miss out on God’s promises. He affirms that those who serve Him will enjoy His eternal rewards.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Biblical Oxymorons .......... Parables 514
June 11, 1996
Ever wonder about terms like an original copy? Or a loud silence? Or sweet sorrow?
These figures of speech are called oxymorons, from two Greek words meaning sharp and foolish. In the first example, a copy is so true to the original that they call it an original. In the second, silence is so profound it seems loud. In the third, sorrow is mingled with joy so even its pain has a sweetness to it.
These contradictory word pictures are found in many pieces of literature as well as throughout the Bible. In one instance, two experiences that are not normally associated with each other describe the pain of death as “birth pangs.” Other Bible oxymorons include “living sacrifices,” “their glory is in their shame” and “you killed the author of life.”
Someone told me this week that “self-esteem” is also an oxymoron. Those who do not have it simply cannot give it to themselves because no one can rate themselves favorably when they are convinced their own opinion is worthless!
What about “self-control?” Is it also an oxymoron? From the Bible’s definition of self-control and what I know about human nature, it seems so.
Human nature has a built-in perverse tendency to say “no” to God and to all that He is and represents — but says yes to everything else. For instance, God is a Being of order and arrangement but we resist being ordered and arranged. Even when we try to work at it, it is just that, work! Drawers, desks and closets are a constant battle. Those who win the battle do so with less than saintly motives. We are not trying to glorify God, we just do it so we can find our socks.
Self-control is a biblical term in many English translations. It is from two Greek words: one means “temperance” and the other refers to someone with “a sound mind.” Since Scripture says people are generally anything but temperate in their behavior and sound in their thought-life, this form of “self-control” is unique. It is not talking about restrained outward behavior but something far more significant.
Placing self-control alongside sinful human nature produces two pictures. One is what the Apostle Paul calls the flesh, or the old self, or the old nature. This describes someone who lives without constraint and without concern about sin. Obeying God is not their goal. Yet this also describes people who appear religious, those capable of a “form of godliness” but who “deny the power of God.” Their religion is only a show, an outward pretense.
The second picture is the new man or the new self that comes into existence when Christ forgives and cleanses a sinner and by faith, they receive Him into their life. The process is called regeneration or new birth. The new self is the new nature that the Spirit of God controls. With Christ in charge of this “self,” temperance and sound thinking are possible.
However, none of the second picture is a product of “self-control” in the sense that the person himself produced it. As the Gospel of John says, the children of God are “born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” New life and the resulting self-control happen not because we decide it should, but because God decides He will give it to us.
Paul affirms this by declaring godly thinking and godly living — self-control — is a fruit of the Spirit. He produces it, not we ourselves. This wonderful virtue is the ability to say “no” to that sinful nature, the old self. It is the capacity to live under the control of a contradictory self-discipline — it can only be ours when we are yielded to God.
With that, it seems “self-control” is one more delightful oxymoron.
Ever wonder about terms like an original copy? Or a loud silence? Or sweet sorrow?
These figures of speech are called oxymorons, from two Greek words meaning sharp and foolish. In the first example, a copy is so true to the original that they call it an original. In the second, silence is so profound it seems loud. In the third, sorrow is mingled with joy so even its pain has a sweetness to it.
These contradictory word pictures are found in many pieces of literature as well as throughout the Bible. In one instance, two experiences that are not normally associated with each other describe the pain of death as “birth pangs.” Other Bible oxymorons include “living sacrifices,” “their glory is in their shame” and “you killed the author of life.”
Someone told me this week that “self-esteem” is also an oxymoron. Those who do not have it simply cannot give it to themselves because no one can rate themselves favorably when they are convinced their own opinion is worthless!
What about “self-control?” Is it also an oxymoron? From the Bible’s definition of self-control and what I know about human nature, it seems so.
Human nature has a built-in perverse tendency to say “no” to God and to all that He is and represents — but says yes to everything else. For instance, God is a Being of order and arrangement but we resist being ordered and arranged. Even when we try to work at it, it is just that, work! Drawers, desks and closets are a constant battle. Those who win the battle do so with less than saintly motives. We are not trying to glorify God, we just do it so we can find our socks.
Self-control is a biblical term in many English translations. It is from two Greek words: one means “temperance” and the other refers to someone with “a sound mind.” Since Scripture says people are generally anything but temperate in their behavior and sound in their thought-life, this form of “self-control” is unique. It is not talking about restrained outward behavior but something far more significant.
Placing self-control alongside sinful human nature produces two pictures. One is what the Apostle Paul calls the flesh, or the old self, or the old nature. This describes someone who lives without constraint and without concern about sin. Obeying God is not their goal. Yet this also describes people who appear religious, those capable of a “form of godliness” but who “deny the power of God.” Their religion is only a show, an outward pretense.
The second picture is the new man or the new self that comes into existence when Christ forgives and cleanses a sinner and by faith, they receive Him into their life. The process is called regeneration or new birth. The new self is the new nature that the Spirit of God controls. With Christ in charge of this “self,” temperance and sound thinking are possible.
However, none of the second picture is a product of “self-control” in the sense that the person himself produced it. As the Gospel of John says, the children of God are “born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” New life and the resulting self-control happen not because we decide it should, but because God decides He will give it to us.
Paul affirms this by declaring godly thinking and godly living — self-control — is a fruit of the Spirit. He produces it, not we ourselves. This wonderful virtue is the ability to say “no” to that sinful nature, the old self. It is the capacity to live under the control of a contradictory self-discipline — it can only be ours when we are yielded to God.
With that, it seems “self-control” is one more delightful oxymoron.
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