April 02, 2009
Fading Radiance
In my experience when service in a particular area comes to an end, or is taken away, it can be a real downer. It’s hard to see a teacher who no longer teaches or a preacher who no longer preaches. For many of us, our service in the Lord is a projection of God’s glory and some day that glory will fade away. I can empathize with Moses, “… who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.” (II Cor 3:13 NIV) Regardless of which side of the veil you find yourself on, it’s painful to see the radiance of our service for Christ fading.
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Gail;
-----Being somewhat analytical, my first response to fading service is to search for the answer to why it is fading. The conclusion could fall into one, another, or a mix of three categories: the Lord is withdrawing His involvement from the service; I am withdrawing mine; or the field receiving the service is withdrawing itself. Whatever category, or mix of categories, I find contains the conclusion, there are further matters to probe. Is the withdrawal desired? If it is my withdrawal or the field‘s, is the desire right? If it is the Lord‘s, is it because I must learn to ride without training wheels, or is He shifting my duties? If the withdrawal isn’t desired, then what outside circumstances might be pressing? Have my abilities diminished? Has the field been satisfied by the service? It’s like shaking nuts out of a tree. You beat the trunk and branches with relevant questions until some of the nuts fall to the ground. They will come together into patterns of their own natural fit, if you have enough of them. If you need more, you can shake the tree more, keeping in mind that if it is not the season for answers the green nuts will not turn loose of the branches. We are not in full control of our opportunities to acquire information, so we must be humble enough to realize that if it is not the season for information, then neither is it the season for answers.
-----But the answer is worth the bother because if the service fades by good cause, the pain of the fading can be dismissed by the joy of the cause. If the cause is not good, its effect might be removed by a good solution so the fading will reverse. And if there is no solution, one is excused to sidestep the pain for the joy of knowing the Lord is pleased by what we can do, not by what we can not.
-----I try hard to see myself and others as I best understand God sees us. I don’t see teachers who no longer teach or preachers who no longer preach. I see people whose skills and interests have made them available for certain services at one time, and different services at another. I see people who have moved through life by cause and effect, sometimes their cause, sometimes the Lord’s. And I remember past causes are important only to the past. Today is just another time at which a humble servant is relevant only to the service he now finds requested of him. Tomorrow will be yet another time, God will be the same, and the servant will be more experienced.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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