The Tent: A safe place for shepherds to reflect together
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corinthpastorbob
Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Posts: 42 Location: Hickory, NC
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:19 am Post subject: Different Forms of Wandering |
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My personality is to be loyal, to a fault. Although I certainly realize it can happen to anyone, I am among the least likely to hop from church to church, to let my heart and body wander off and break my marriage vows, to abandon something I started or even shift a timetable once it is established. Even these journal postings. If I set a goal to read the book one chapter a day and post something, I will do all I can to finish on the 40th day of the year, unless something catastrophic intervenes. I even started a day early just to be sure!
But the older I get, the more I realize that’s more of my personality than it is any great spiritual triumph or discipline. That realization opens at least two windows for me. First, I need to recognize that I am equally “prone to wander†as anyone – just in different ways. My wandering is more passive than active. I am among the most likely to read the Bible, pray, sing a hymn, visit the lonely, write a note, perform an act of service, just to check it off my mental or actual “list.†I find myself wandering when my love for God and others is perfunctory, external, going through the motions. This must be my constant reflection and confession.
Second, I need to give grace to others whose wandering takes different forms. I need to understand they are not wired like I am. I need to notice their early signs of wandering. I need to be ready to welcome them home. I need to go looking for them sooner than I do.
It all reminds me of the story of the Lost Sons in Luke 15. One was lost because he left home. The other was just as lost – even though he stayed home. My sins are far more likely to be his – self-righteousness, judgmentalism, hardness of heart. God help me not to wander, and to love those who do. _________________ Bob Thompson |
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