Living from Overflow

As I read over my weekly notes this morning one idea rose to the surface.  That idea is that our self-sacrifice should come from fullness.  Here these words from L. William Countryman's book, Living on the Border of the Holy after he dispels the value of martyr or co-dependent self-sacrifice:

"That is not to deny the reality or the value of genuinely self-giving love, generosity, and altruism.  It exists, and when we find ourselves in its presence, we are moved with wonder that this splendor could be a part of human existence.  This is the kind of self-sacrifice that flows from a sense of great fullness, of having riches to share-riches of energy, wisdom, property, even life itself.  It is not pale, helpless, or self-pitying, but impresses us with its vitality and openhandedness."

As I sat reflecting on such an wonderful idea, and of course wanting to experience this kind of giving in my own life, I thought of the old hymn  "Spirit of the Living God" and looked up the lyrics of the chorus:

"Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.  Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.  Spirit of the Living God fall fresh on me."

I thought about Jesus and how he left the riches of heaven to come to earth.  Did he not lose in a sense his place next to the Father (melt me), and become a man (mold me), determined to do the Father's will (fill me), and walk on the earth doing good to all (use me).  Surely the self-sacrifice of Jesus was of the healthy type Countryman talks of. 

This week I had an awesome opportunity to spend time with a younger woman I have known since she was in utero.   I could recognize during our conversation that I wasn't just shooting from the hip, the conversation overflowed from a fullness of the life I have lived.  You can't plan out conversations like this.  It overflowed the borders of my soul and yet I left her house all the more overflowing.  I thanked her for the life-giving conversation.

In contrast I had a woman over this week who is about my age.  She told me of growing up in a Christian home and going to church each week.  And yet, there was no overflow of God into her home life.  How I'd describe it is God was tacked onto life but did not pervade life.  And today that woman wants nothing to do with religion. 

My conclusion of thought for this post is this:  Keep reading, keep thinking, keep getting with people, keep asking God to melt you, mold you, fill you, and use you.  You will overflow with Him to others. 

I want this to be happening all the time, don't you?

 

 

 

Comparing Robs Life of Contentment

I have not posted on my blog in almost two years!  That doesn't mean I don't have anything to say.  Far from it.  In the last two years I've been saying quite a bit to family and friends to mixed reviews - they run the gambit from "just what I needed to hear" to "rude". 

"YES" to Don's status update question, "Does the world really need more gurus?"  (I almost want to ask, "Is this a trick question?"  "Do we need more wisdom in the public square?"  "Yes, Yes, a thousand times Yes!"

If God has given me insights it is my responsibility to share them with those I believe can benefit from them.  If one cannot come to faith unless they hear and not come to hearing unless there is a voice (my paraphrase of Paul in Acts) then how can people make good choices and live well without input and feedback? 

I get most of my input from books, you? 

What if one does not read?  Maybe watch the lives of others and take note of what they are doing and what they aren't doing?  Or maybe just make up the rules of the game as you go?  I have to believe that we need more gurus, people willing to put themselves out there even if only a few will take the gift they offer to heart.

This year my goal is to read more slowly and think about what I'm reading more deeply.  I'm hoping to make more connections, have more original to me thoughts, and then pursue a response to what I am reading.  The response may take the form of a blog post, like today, or it may show up as a Facebook status or some snail mail to you. 

Unfortunately the writing will not be polished as I don't want to use my time in that way.  So think of these writings as you and I having a talk over coffee, happy hour drinks, or a good chat in the hot tub at the Y.

Happy New Year 2020! 

While reading The Pursuit of God today, Tozer was talking about people who compare. He was talking specifically about how people tend to compare their material possessions to the possessions of others.  If I compare my lovely house to your house and your house is bigger, or nicer, all of the sudden my lovely house is small or dated. 

The idea of making comparisons threw me right back to a few years ago when I was sitting in my chair and my eyes looked up at a Van Gogh print of sunflowers.  What I sensed in my spirit was God saying to me - after I had spent a moment picking out the prettiest and then the ugliest sunflowers was, "What if one of the not-prettiest sunflowers was in a vase on your table?  How would you describe it?"  I thought a moment and said, "Pretty."  It was an Oprah "AHA!" moment for me.  "STOP COMPARING!"

Want to know what I thought today about that specific epiphany?  I thought what an important lesson to teach our children and I didn't learn it till I was 60. For a moment I was sad about that because I so wanted to pass all the important life lessons on to my kids.  But I didn't know anything about how comparing robs life of contentment.