On Zeal in Amending our Lives
Be watchful and diligent in God's service and often think of why you left the world and came here. Was it not that you might live for God and become a spiritual man?
When a man reaches a point where he seeks no solace from any creature, then he begins to relish God perfectly. Then also he will be content no matter what may happen to him. He will neither rejoice over great things nor grieve over small ones, but will place himself entirely and confidently in the hands of God.
It is an excellent reminder to remember why I decided to follow Jesus. I can recall the situation, I can recall the sights and smell and retrace the actual route I took physically as I came to that realization. But it is a good exercise to remind myself what it was I had hoped to leave behind in deciding to throw my lot in with Jesus. I chased the pleasures of the world, chased the approval of man and found nothing and then I felt someone telling me that nothing would suffice except a relationship with God.
Where am I now? why does my bosses approval of my work matter so much? Or my approval of her? Or that of my colleagues? I have found some brick walls when trying to bring faith into the scope of work involving departments, processes and institution - even in a Christian school. I am the Queen of my classroom so that is some consolation. I have found that some approval and affirmation from work, translates itself to money. And it is a useful tool (a very personal, tangible result) to temper one's perception of the work one does (if I keep doing this 'right' thing, I will continue to have such 'results') - but I have found that to be utterly illusionary. Then it can become a burden as well (I received good results, I did something well - so why am I having such difficulty now when I was apparently good at what I was doing?)
But this devotion serves as a reminder that the good result, doesn't come from my work - it comes from God's hand in it. And while man rewards us on earth, God's hand is moving in that too. So, I seriously need to work on pleasing my audience of one and not everyone.
And that's the end of The Imitation of Christ. It's back to the Good Book on monday!
When a man reaches a point where he seeks no solace from any creature, then he begins to relish God perfectly. Then also he will be content no matter what may happen to him. He will neither rejoice over great things nor grieve over small ones, but will place himself entirely and confidently in the hands of God.
It is an excellent reminder to remember why I decided to follow Jesus. I can recall the situation, I can recall the sights and smell and retrace the actual route I took physically as I came to that realization. But it is a good exercise to remind myself what it was I had hoped to leave behind in deciding to throw my lot in with Jesus. I chased the pleasures of the world, chased the approval of man and found nothing and then I felt someone telling me that nothing would suffice except a relationship with God.
Where am I now? why does my bosses approval of my work matter so much? Or my approval of her? Or that of my colleagues? I have found some brick walls when trying to bring faith into the scope of work involving departments, processes and institution - even in a Christian school. I am the Queen of my classroom so that is some consolation. I have found that some approval and affirmation from work, translates itself to money. And it is a useful tool (a very personal, tangible result) to temper one's perception of the work one does (if I keep doing this 'right' thing, I will continue to have such 'results') - but I have found that to be utterly illusionary. Then it can become a burden as well (I received good results, I did something well - so why am I having such difficulty now when I was apparently good at what I was doing?)
But this devotion serves as a reminder that the good result, doesn't come from my work - it comes from God's hand in it. And while man rewards us on earth, God's hand is moving in that too. So, I seriously need to work on pleasing my audience of one and not everyone.
And that's the end of The Imitation of Christ. It's back to the Good Book on monday!
posted by The Chilibuddy @ 4:44 pm ::
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