August 08, 2007
Have It Your Way
My aunt, who was cantankerous and uncooperative, just passed away. She could have, on so many levels, lived a better life. A few weeks ago she told a family member, “You guys just don’t know how bullheaded I can be.” Trust me, we knew. For Zelma, stubbornness was like a badge of honor. Even as she neared death she did not allow anyone to help her make decisions. When I filter Zelma’s life through Christian eyes it’s sad and discouraging. Now I can only hope that her life choices haven’t kept her from Life.
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Gail;
-----We humans so much see things through our own eyes! Even though we are given two sets of eyes to see through, physical and spiritual, they are the only eyes we have, and neither sees inside another person. Every attempt we make to see through the eyes of others can only be done through imagination. Although the old adage goes, “You will never know until you have walked in my shoes,” that won’t happen because we each can only walk in our own shoes and actually see through our own eyes. That is what makes us so alone inside. That is what makes each of our standings in front of the judgment seat so personalized. That is why none of us can know the final sorting of another until we watch the Lord do it on that day.
-----But we can know some fundamentals about another person. And you knew your aunt to be stubborn. Stubbornness is an interesting character trait. It is the same process as is loyalty. However, it is called “stubbornness” when it sticks to either what it should not or to what others think it should not. When I meet stubborn people I wonder what loyalties, if any, they may have are so important that their substance has spilt over to the areas of their lives where it becomes stubbornness. I also wonder if it is God Who has made the determination that such loyalties should be so important.
-----I continuously make an effort to keep my stubbornness attached to Jesus Christ, where it becomes loyalty. Whether I let it show or not, this happens deeper in me, generally beyond the sight of others. And I hope that on branches other than the stubborn end of my loyalty it grows good fruit. I also hope that deep in your aunt the Lord had the loyalty end of her stubbornness attached to Jesus. Since we can not actually walk in her shoes or see through her eyes, we can only guess at what clues we have and hope for the best.
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