I feel stuck in a rut of spiritual failure from which I can't escape. Most mature Christians, I think, would admit to times in life when they simply got tired of trying. I'm there.The sermon Sunday was on contentment and perserverance: two things I'm struggling with. It was very timely and yet, come Monday, Sunday is oft quickly forgotten. I need a second wind.
"We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity-like perfect charity-will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection." C.S. Lewis
-never settle-
11 comments:
Sarah Jo, you might find this message by my pastor from a week ago encouraging...
http://www.newhopechurchmn.org/audio/messages09/2009-01-25%20Jesus%20and%20His%20Firm%20Handshake.mp3
It's funny that I just left this verse in a comment on Dana's blog and then read your post and thought that was the perfect verse... =P
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. " 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
If it was possible to be content while not being perfect, I know I'd take it. I guess none of us is really content...and I guess we're not supposed to be...yet...
SIGH.
That's fascinating because I was journaling about contentment just the other day. I've been listening to music lately that prides itself on "wanting more than this generation." I speak to junior highers on Sunday morning and evening and encourage them to set their sites on the more incredible things.
But with all that I've been given, where do I get the gall to "want more?"
I do think the Christian ought to yearn for the glory of Christ to resound in his or her life. But I think that, for those of us who have caught the bug that states we ought to want more than we have, in regards to changing the world, being part of peoples' lives, truly serving him... I think sometimes we need to peter out of our enthusiasm and realize that God does speak in thunderous mountains of fire.
But, most of the time, he speaks through whispers and the sound of widow's mites, too.
We ought to yearn for more. We ought to yearn that we drink from an overflowing cup. But we ought not yearn for more than God has poured into the cup, as if we could drink his oceans dry if offered.
I've gotta disagree about the contentment comment. We are supposed to be content!
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Phil 4:11
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Tim 6:6
Okay I'm not trying to be feisty but this came to mind reading the other comment.
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:38
We have the Spirit - out of us flow rivers of living water. We don't need to be asking for water to drink! We not only have the water to drink, we have it to be poured out of us for others. We experience that by faith.
I suppose that is true. We should be content. And lots of times when I think of "contentment", I think of satisfaction...you know, complete fulfillment. But contentment is not that. Being content is having satisfaction in a limited way. So I suppose we CAN be content without perfection, but we will never be satisfied.
What about this?
My soul shall be satisfied as [with] marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise [thee] with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, [and] meditate on thee in the [night] watches. Psalm 63:5-6
I'd say we are to be satisfied in Christ.
About the original post:
Galatians 3:3 "This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
The flesh here isn't your skin/body, it is living out of your own resources - a lot of people have called it the "self-life." The church at large has been duped into believing that God wants to help US live the Christian life. This sounds godly, but it is still flesh/self-life. It's a lie. 2 Pet 1:3 "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness" (In other words, we don't need to keep asking Him for help - he has already given us all we need in Christ.) He wants us to allow HIM to live HIS life through us. (Gal 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.) Again, the experience of this comes about by faith. (flesh here being the body)
Oh, oh, oh! Okay here this is what I've been wanting to say:
"Set your mind on things above, not things on the earth. For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2-3
Take your mind off of yourself and evaluating everything you do. When you are resting/abiding in Christ, you will produce fruit. (the vine & the branches, the fruit of the Spirit, John 6:28-29...)
Here is the John 6:28-29 passage: "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
This kind of went in a circle because I think that Colossians 3 verse is grounds for complete satisfaction. We WILL be unsatisfied if we are living according to the self-life - and it's a good thing. God didn't design it that way so we could learn to be more determined to do better the next time around. I think that's what the Lewis quote is trying to say. That it's God teaching us perseverance. No, God lets us fail and fail and fail until we feel stuck in that rut so he can awaken us to the truth of Scripture - that He is our life, that we are dead, that we can rest in Him and allow His life to flow through us, that we already have that life in us, we have all things for life and godliness, and that we experience it by faith. We need to stop trying. It's the difference between eating from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (self-life) and eating from the tree of Life (Christ-life).
He came that we might "have life," and that we might "have it more abundantly." John 10:10
Is abundant life unsatisfying?
How stinkin' long of a comment did I just write? I will sheepishly say... Talk to ya later! =P lol
Hi Kate! Thanks for you comments.
There is a tension that exists between groaning for our redemption (I Cor. 15) and being satisfied with Christ. I think its important to realize that BOTH are true, both contentment and longing - for the longing is the very setting of our minds and hearts on things above and things to come - this is what our longing is. And it's a different question than that of perserverance - which is what my post was mainly about. I think I threw everyone off with the 'content' word in there - two huge principles are at play here. Contentment and satisfaction we have been given, perserverance by its very implications states that there is more to receive. :-)
Ooh, I love people that make me think. =) Hmm, I think there are two different issues that relate to satisfaction/contentment...
There is the issue of being satisfied with ourselves - our relationship with God.
And then there is the issue of being satisfied with the world - oppression, persecution, destruction on a fallen earth.
I think we can be completely satisfied in our relationship with God. So longing for the New Earth would be because of situational sorts of things. Is that crazy?
I'm thinking of the verse that says "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better" Phil 1:23
Certainly it will be better... But does that mean we have less than complete satisfaction now? (I know that's not what you were saying, I'm just thinking... And since my kids are completely unsupervised atm I better not think more right now, lol. Yesterday while I was posting Lainey dumped a whole box of spaghetti noodles in the kitchen and living room and stomped on them, lol.)
When I hear perseverance, I think either being able to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint or enduring (as in still having faith when rottenness happens). Or the 'try and try again' kind of perseverance, which is what I was responding to.
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