I got bored so I changed things up a bit. This picture is of the beach in St. Andrew's, Scotland, just off the golf course. The opening scene to Chariots of Fire was filmed here, and when we walked on it I swear I could hear the orchestra.
There is something magical about a quiet morning by my window; the steam rises from my tea cup, the flowers are in bloom, and my Bible is open on my lap. I generally prefer a good sleep-in, but this is deeply good.
I am still up to date on reading through the Bible this year! Amazing, truly amazing. With major changes in my life this summer I have managed to keep up. I miss some days and have more to read, and some days are harder than others because I don't always like what I read, but I am pressing on toward the goal.
This week I read an old favorite and was challenged in a surprising way. I have this verse colored with light red pencil and there are notes next to it. I go to it often because it reminds me that I am loved with a divine love. I am precious.
"I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Thy works,
And my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14
This time, as I read it, in my minds eye I had a picture of a woman I never want to see again. She didn't just hurt me, she did so deliberately, with great planning, care and painful consequences. She was reading the same verse, and finding the same peace and comfort that I receive. It surprised me and then I heard the Lord ask me, "Is this verse true for her too?"
Wow and ick.
He did make her too. She was formed in her mother's womb with the same love care as I was. I should be spiritual enough to rejoice, but I am ashamed to say that I am disappointed. I can pray the part about being fearfully and wonderfully made for her, but the thanks for her still sticks in my throat. I am working on it.
Funny how, after all these years, the same verse that has brought me so much comfort, brings conviction. God's word is alive and still challenges me. It's a good thing; hard, but good.
3 comments:
"I should be spiritual enough to rejoice, but I am ashamed to say that I am disappointed" Is it a sign or requirement of spirituality to rejoice for everyone? Must we rejoice for those who order genocide or torture the innocent? Must I rejoice for someone who has unrepentantly turned their back on God and embraced evil? Does Christ rejoice for the child molesters? Certainly he loves them, but does he delight in them? Do they bring him joy? Or is he grieved? After all, love "rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Cor. 13:6a). I'm not trying to be snippy, I am genuinely asking your take on the matter.
Good points. No I don't believe we have to rejoice over the evil people in the world. I was challenged to stop assuming that someone I really don't like, is still unrepentant. Maybe I need to stop holding her sin against her and move on, which I thought I had done, until God challenged me again. Maybe she isn't beyond His reach ... I am not the one to judge, in this case anyway.
I hear ya. I've always been one to struggle with God's grace being offered to those who have done me wrong. Of course, I have no problem accepting that grace for myself... double standard, anyone :)
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