Father, would your Spirit rush on this generation of believers, more capable would you make us, more of a glimpse we yearn for. Would you rush like a waterfall, rush like the wisdom transcended to Solomon, rush like your calling to Samuel, rush like your blinding and leading and restoring of Paul, rush like the foundation of history until now in blessedness from the King of kings, rush like horses and chariots that swept the man of God off his feet, rush of Jesus, oh incomprehensible, inconceivable Spirit, oh infinite and gracious God of peace. Grace and peace. Thank you oh Jesus.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
PARENTING
"And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 'My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.' It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of Spirits and live?"
Hebrews 12:5-9
Such imagery is given in this passage, such sensations trickling down to the more specific emotions being felt; of course, we can never know exactly, but the analogy is enough to give us an image, a reflection. Aside from many convictions and desires in which I've already put into words, this passage simply reveals a great yearning of mine for the sake of the greatest yearning. Being a father. This does not dumb down the many other desires I possess, but just raises up to a higher level this very specific one. Let us establish something very simple in the exploration of this scripture.
The position we are placed at is the helpless, belittled, and humbled stature of an adolescent; our might minimized to the lowest degree yet amidst the weakness, there are the joys we discover in being highly absorbent, and truly genuine whether we like it or not. When we are referred as sons in this passage, we are in one light described with such a state, but yet in a different situation. For one, discipline is not spoken of when we learn in an absorbent way, whereas discipline is spoken of more when learning becomes a part of the chipping away of an imperfect sculpture; there's nothing absorbent about picking and chipping. Through the enduring and persevering process of such pain, we become refined. Let's refer to such discipline as the alternative contrasted to the less effective technique in certain specific situations or maybe the former is the alternative; that is only realized when experienced, but yet is not explicitly spoken of in the passage. Sometimes, we are a sponge, other times, a sculpture, and many more as we discover, but whether this or that, it is a form of learning.
The specificity of this particular imagery shows that what seems to be painful at the time, a time that can be seen as a testing in the fire possibly, is intended for the good. What is this good? Can this be considered the same goodness we treat our mother or father with as if it is pleasurable to serve them for all they've done for us no matter the cost; possibly we can consider a sacrificial goodness out of a fruitful love, but I would say not exactly at all. Can it be a deed displayed through action for our daycare children by simply teaching them the simplicity of the dynamics of reciprocity; this can display portions, but nothing close to the exact. This goodness is the very treatment to your own vessels, which I personally can describe only through observation as a nurturing and painful love, but at the same time can deliver potentially the greatest joy. But yet, I can not perfectly fit myself into these shoes. None such goodness seems to fit into the covering of this specific type of goodness; where there is full participation, there is also full legitimacy, whereas seems to be the qualification to our sonship.
Now, this is not even close to half the maximal representation of this scripture, for God not only seeks to show us our place, but he seeks to show us his place. There is a drenching amount of intimacy within not only our name as sons, but his referring to "my" sons. I want to give us a picture of parenting here. Children love their parents, or so they believe they do in the highest spirited moments, yet like faith, love is shown in the greatest depth at the highest level of perseverance. Children do not understand the meaning of justice and righteousness, nor would they understand how it is visualized in practice or how it should be to their appealing to search for it, but parents do. And when it can be found through training, and when training leads to developing, parents will do that which, to their discernment, appears just and right. Children, at the point of a sponge, can present themselves in the greatest joy for the parent, and yet at the point of training through discipline, can become the deepest level of brokenness in the heart of the parent. When we utterly rebel against the significant hierarchy and the parent who cares for us for the sake of our good, not only are we in a state of disillusion of the distinctness of good and bad, but we exclaim to our caretakers that they need to listen to our wrong unknowing justice. Children reprove our reproves in the most selfish and, at that point, unconditional manner. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" scripture says; and it is through a good intended pain that at the moment pains the feelings of the children only because the parent does not abide to their selfishness. Yet it destroys the caretaker when the child does not abide to their justice and righteousness; not only so, but when the child neglects all the blessings graced upon them from everlasting to everlasting since the moment they gained their first breath.
At that moment, we will discover a more intimate unity with the Lord, the moment of care-taking, the moment of Fatherhood, the moment when rather we become pained in the lack of the other abiding to our flesh, that we would become sabotaged because of the lack of abiding to the justice and righteousness of the spirit. Apart from that lack of abiding, that our child would throw at us every form of grace we've ever given or shown them and hold tightly to their selfishness. Fatherhood. Lord, help us to come, and help us to go.
Hebrews 12:5-9
Such imagery is given in this passage, such sensations trickling down to the more specific emotions being felt; of course, we can never know exactly, but the analogy is enough to give us an image, a reflection. Aside from many convictions and desires in which I've already put into words, this passage simply reveals a great yearning of mine for the sake of the greatest yearning. Being a father. This does not dumb down the many other desires I possess, but just raises up to a higher level this very specific one. Let us establish something very simple in the exploration of this scripture.
The position we are placed at is the helpless, belittled, and humbled stature of an adolescent; our might minimized to the lowest degree yet amidst the weakness, there are the joys we discover in being highly absorbent, and truly genuine whether we like it or not. When we are referred as sons in this passage, we are in one light described with such a state, but yet in a different situation. For one, discipline is not spoken of when we learn in an absorbent way, whereas discipline is spoken of more when learning becomes a part of the chipping away of an imperfect sculpture; there's nothing absorbent about picking and chipping. Through the enduring and persevering process of such pain, we become refined. Let's refer to such discipline as the alternative contrasted to the less effective technique in certain specific situations or maybe the former is the alternative; that is only realized when experienced, but yet is not explicitly spoken of in the passage. Sometimes, we are a sponge, other times, a sculpture, and many more as we discover, but whether this or that, it is a form of learning.
The specificity of this particular imagery shows that what seems to be painful at the time, a time that can be seen as a testing in the fire possibly, is intended for the good. What is this good? Can this be considered the same goodness we treat our mother or father with as if it is pleasurable to serve them for all they've done for us no matter the cost; possibly we can consider a sacrificial goodness out of a fruitful love, but I would say not exactly at all. Can it be a deed displayed through action for our daycare children by simply teaching them the simplicity of the dynamics of reciprocity; this can display portions, but nothing close to the exact. This goodness is the very treatment to your own vessels, which I personally can describe only through observation as a nurturing and painful love, but at the same time can deliver potentially the greatest joy. But yet, I can not perfectly fit myself into these shoes. None such goodness seems to fit into the covering of this specific type of goodness; where there is full participation, there is also full legitimacy, whereas seems to be the qualification to our sonship.
Now, this is not even close to half the maximal representation of this scripture, for God not only seeks to show us our place, but he seeks to show us his place. There is a drenching amount of intimacy within not only our name as sons, but his referring to "my" sons. I want to give us a picture of parenting here. Children love their parents, or so they believe they do in the highest spirited moments, yet like faith, love is shown in the greatest depth at the highest level of perseverance. Children do not understand the meaning of justice and righteousness, nor would they understand how it is visualized in practice or how it should be to their appealing to search for it, but parents do. And when it can be found through training, and when training leads to developing, parents will do that which, to their discernment, appears just and right. Children, at the point of a sponge, can present themselves in the greatest joy for the parent, and yet at the point of training through discipline, can become the deepest level of brokenness in the heart of the parent. When we utterly rebel against the significant hierarchy and the parent who cares for us for the sake of our good, not only are we in a state of disillusion of the distinctness of good and bad, but we exclaim to our caretakers that they need to listen to our wrong unknowing justice. Children reprove our reproves in the most selfish and, at that point, unconditional manner. "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives" scripture says; and it is through a good intended pain that at the moment pains the feelings of the children only because the parent does not abide to their selfishness. Yet it destroys the caretaker when the child does not abide to their justice and righteousness; not only so, but when the child neglects all the blessings graced upon them from everlasting to everlasting since the moment they gained their first breath.
At that moment, we will discover a more intimate unity with the Lord, the moment of care-taking, the moment of Fatherhood, the moment when rather we become pained in the lack of the other abiding to our flesh, that we would become sabotaged because of the lack of abiding to the justice and righteousness of the spirit. Apart from that lack of abiding, that our child would throw at us every form of grace we've ever given or shown them and hold tightly to their selfishness. Fatherhood. Lord, help us to come, and help us to go.
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