I wonder how our prayers for the saints would change if, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we lived the words found in John 12:25. “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
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“We who follow the Crucified are not here to make a pleasant thing of life; we are called to suffer for the sake of a suffering, sinful world. The Lord forgive us our shameful evasions and hesitations. His brow was crowned with thorns; do we seek rose-buds for our crowning?
His hands were pierced with nails; are our hands ringed with jewels? His feet were bare and bound; do our feet walk delicately? What do we know of travail? Of tears that scald before they fall? Of heartbreak? Of being scorned?
God forgive us our love of ease. God forgive us that so often we turn our faces from a life that is even remotely like His. Forgive us that we all but worship comfort, the delight of the presence of loved ones, possessions, treasure on earth.
Far, far from our prayers too often is any thought of prayer for a love which will lead us to give one whom we love to follow our Lord to Gethsemane, to Calvary – perhaps because we have never been there ourselves.”
– Amy Carmichael, Gold by Moonlight
Very beautiful thoughts, sister. Thank you for sharing.
“perhaps because we have never been there ourselves.”
These words are both sobering and frightening in light of our comfortable American Christianity.
And such convicting words considering they came from a woman who suffered severe physical affliction while serving as a missionary in India for 55 years!!
I’m just too soft and spoiled!!
Thank you Christina!
You know what, Christina? I don’t want to read this. In fact, I hate reading this. But it’s too late, because, like it or not…I’ve lived this.
I can look now, that I am on the other side of the mountain (there are more mountains in the distance I assure you, however, now I know they are mountains), and I can see the heart breaks, the wounding, the discouragement were tools used to shape me. At first, the Sculptor did not use soft or delicate tools, but does a sheep skin, buffing wheel remove large chunks of rock? There were chisels and hammers to roughly hewn the beautiful shape the Sculptor saw in the rock, there was fire to refine me and sand paper to smooth edges too, and all of these things were needed for God to sculpt me, into a sculpture worthy of being in His Palace. It’s a darn good thing, God is God and chose for me, because if it were left up to me, I would still be a shapeless boulder, blocking the path for others. As it is now, I am a magnificent, spiritual, sculpture pointing the way to my most magnificent Scupltor.
Dear Christina,
Today I was listening to a song while driving, about laying out life at Jesus’ feet and taking our cross to follow Him.
Today I could not sing it.
My heart sometimes feels so full of faith, ready to go no matter what, other days, my faith seems weak, just as a bruised reed…
I love you.