February 29,
2016 ~ Day 20
My 2016 Lenten Journey: Exploring the
Gospels to discover what following Jesus and becoming more like him would look
like? ‘And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).
Matthew
7:7-11 ~ “Ask,
Seek, Knock”. Another passage that’s often misapplied. While virtually every
resource relates the saying to prayer, its misapplication makes prayer little
more than a magical incantation: a way of manipulating God or manipulating
reality or some other means of “getting what we want (or need).”
On the other hand, I’m
remembering James 4:2, “…you covet something and cannot obtain it; so
you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask.”
And I think of a child growing through those “terrible twos”—“I do it myself.”
The child is testing his independence (as well as her parents’ patience!)
I know I can
be pretty stubborn, sometimes, and hate to give in and ask for help (or
directions).
I acknowledge
that God gives each of us pretty much all we need to negotiate life;
nevertheless, I can be pretty oblivious sometimes. Sometimes I need to seek focus, or ask for awareness or to
knock for insight into how to apply the gifts and strengths God already has
given me.
But sometimes, I experience the limit
of my abilities. In those times, I am seeking, asking and knocking for what I
need to navigate the unknown. Whether in the acknowledgement
of abilities or in the emptiness of inability, ultimately, I must acknowledge
my dependence upon God.
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John
14:9 NRSV)
‘And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32 NRSV).
That's the way it looks through the flawed glass that is my world
view.
Together in
the Walk,
Jim
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