June 21, 2010
Little Black Book
I have a family member with a very long memory when it comes to slights, grudges and vendettas. I can’t imagine how much time and effort it takes to mentally file away all those perceived injustices, let alone the ability to retrieve them at every opportunity. Recently I came across an associate who has a similar personality, but a different filing system. She records infractions by others in a little black book - person, date, time and place. I suppose that’s one way to compensate for having a short term memory. Love… “It is not rude, it is not self–seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Cor 13:5 NIV)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Gail;
-----When you meet someone new, among the first things you will note are those aspects of physical appearance and style of clothing. So our concept of knowing another is highly skewed towards outward appearances because these traits are most readily apparent. But the deeper levels of knowing are eventually reached the more we become involved with each other. We next begin learning of skills, physical abilities, and things that have been done, both accomplishments and follies. We may come to know the guy down the street as the one who organized the food bank, and the lady up the street as the one who started a little restaurant, or the guy across the way as the one who can kayak the white waters. But it is only after we have lived around someone for a while before we begin to know him by his personal characteristics, his irritabilities, sense of humor, sympathetic nature, aesthetic sensibilities, etc. We may certainly hear tell of these at first, but what they really are most always does not become known until they have been experienced.
-----But Jesus will deny ever knowing many who say, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many works in your name,” (Mat 7:22) . It is not that He never saw these folks or learned who they were. The eyes of the Lord see everything. But again, Jesus makes a play upon a concept, taking it deeper than we usually think of it. These folks have perceived knowledge no deeper than what they have and what they’ve done. They have failed to grasp that being known by Him is less about these things and more about matching His sympathies. More problematically, His not knowing them is that He never experienced them being or even trying to be like His characteristics.
-----This is why Jesus said that we must forgive to be forgiven; He must experience it coming from us. Forgiveness is the most fundamental characteristic of relationship God has towards us. Nothing of a relationship begins with Him until His forgiveness has begun. And that forgiveness was planned from the foundation of the world even though the physical act working its possibility did not happen until Christ’s death upon the cross. He planned forgiveness and worked it to be a basic characteristic of relationship, and therefore, of life. In that planning and working, the things of this physical world and the acts thereof are disposable. Therefore, to match Him we must also perceive our physical things and all the events of our personal histories as disposable. This opens the possibilities for us to forgive. But the things He does not want disposed are us of our godly characteristics. And He knows us only from the happenings of our hearts which are like those of His, whether they have just begun within our desires or have actually become finished in our practices. So a black book of offenses accurate to person, date, time, and place can please Him if it is used as a scheduler for planning, accomplishing, and remembering our forgiveness. For we will be known by Him no further than we will be forgiving others.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
Post a Comment