Driving Home a Point

I am so loving having my laptop here at camp. I seem to process things so much quicker, and more in depth, when I can type them out. So...I guess you will just have to put up with another wandering post of what I feel like God is teaching me this weekend.

My worlds are colliding again. God is making a point of making a point. I guess it just confirms to me that many lessons in life are never just a one time thing. That if God were to teach us everything we needed to know at one time, we would be overwhelmed and possibly blow a circuit board, if you catch my drift there. So, each day, God is painting another layer of His direction upon my heart. Maybe in the end, there will be a beautiful painting with depth of color and perspective.

I started my solo time today continuing to read about Jesus and the claims that He made while He was here on earth. Today's readings asked me to look at the violent responses to His claims. Of the scriptures that I read today, the responses were amazingly emotional and extreme. He was accused of blasphemy. People tore their clothes at His claims. Twice, they made the attempt to stone Him. They called Him demon-possessed and raving mad. (I found "raving mad" to be particularly descriptive!) The people even attempted to drive Him out of town and over a cliff.

Then my study took me to the claims of Jesus' followers. To them, Jesus was the image of the invisible God, maker of all things, the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of God's being. He was their Lord, their God, their blessed Hope, and their great God and Savior. Isn't the contrast amazing? From the depths of hell.....to the glorious reaches of Heaven. That was the response of the people of Jesus' day.

As I contemplated this, I began to wonder what my response would have been if I had been walking the streets of Jerusalem in Jesus' day. Would I have been one of the skeptics who cried blasphemy and tore my clothes as I reached for a stone? Or would I have been His devout followers who declared the wonders of who He really was? As I contemplated my doubts in regards to my anger, I took pause at that though. What would my real reaction have been?

Also, as I was reading, I was drawn to some more scriptures that I had highlighted in previous readings. Wow. Another layer to add to the pictures of my life. It was in 2 Peter 1:3-7.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowlede of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has give us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self control, and to self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As is often true when we reread scripture, I saw something new that I had seen before. If you notice, there is a progression in these scriptures. First, we start with faith. And then add to faith, goodness. Then add to goodness, knowledge. To knowledge, is added self control. Do you see it? A progression. A layering effect. A process. That was why I made the word "add" so large. For me, it needed to be emphasized.

For me, I think that my progression needs to dwell on the self control and perseverance. I want so badly to have my anger completely eradicated to never be that thorn in my side again. Yet, there is a progression that probably needs to occur in my life. A development of my self-control and my ability to persevere.

As I read these scriptures, I looked below at the footnote comments on this particular scripture. I had to underline a statement in the comments. It said: "These actions do not come automatically; they require hard work." Part of me wilted at the thought of hard work. But then I remembered the sense of satisfaction I often have after I tackle a particularly difficult home project. I am so proud of it. I will often go back and admire the fruits of my hard work, time and again.

I hope that someday, I will be able to look back, and admire the fruits of the hard work that Jesus and I will do together.