May 13, 2014
Focus
Twice a week I go to an
exercise class for seniors and the instructor has us stretching, marching in
place, and keeping time to oldie-moldy music. I’ve learned that if I keep my eyes
on the instructor I do pretty well following the sequences of moves. However,
if I look at fellow participants and they happen to make a misstep, I
wind up following their example. Something similar can happen in the Body of Christ when
we start watching others. Even though we are all in the same spiritual exercise
class, if we lose focus of the Shepherd’s voice we’ll be out of sync. “The
watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has
brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him
because they know his voice” (Jn 10:3-4 NIV).
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1 comment:
Gail;
-----Then again, it is interesting that the instructor is just another other. In fact, if you think about it, where is the Lord such that we have His examples before our eyes to follow? He is in the instructions of the Scriptures, but have we learned from the Scriptures to cover our mouths when we cough? Have we learned from them the difference between chuckling off the pressure of a difficult situation and outright laughing in a funny situation and which is appropriate when?
-----I first heard of Erik Erikson from a political book that turned out to be more of a psychology book. He was the first psychologist I stumbled across who did not strike me as predominantly psychotic. In fact, I love his explanation of the eight phases of development in the human life and the importance of interaction with the family and other close knit relationships for proper development through those phases. And when you think about what the Bible is saying you see it advocating proper interaction with people and more interaction with people and always careful interaction with people.
-----What gets my hackles up the most about the destruction wrought upon civilization by the feminist movement is that God ordered the affairs between men and women as He did because humans have to grow up in almost total human environments without God or angels visibly and physicly moving amongst us as our examples. So Christ is the head of man and man is the head of woman for a good reason, whether liberal theologians wish to mess their diapers over it or not. Children would be raised in a situation exemplary of an authority structure. And by reflection of what they would see they would come to the proper blending of the volition/submission duality of human nature that causes so much turmoil within the untamed soul. The husband and the wife together are a most beautiful living picture of the relationship between Christ and the church when they live according to the Word. The man sacrifices himself to the care and pleasing of the wife who submits to the care and pleasing of the man. And for a child to develop his trust and initiative and volition and industriousness developing within the examples of that picture, his identity will not fall into a rats nest, his love will become warm and genuine, he will contribute to the welfare of the community, and then he will finally grow old into a sense of integrity.
-----I’m not sure if ever my heart more brimmed with praise, adoration, and irresistible attraction to the Lord than when it dawned upon me that the examples the Lord lives before us He lives through the aggregate obedience of people acknowledging Him. We are little picture snippets before the reflective eyes of everyone nearby. This reflective nature that we are is a big reason God calls us to good behavior which makes us all examples and encouragement to one another.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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