“Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!”
Job 26:14
The infinite, immenseness of God as Job describes; makes even a whisper of Him often more than we can bear. He cannot be measured. He is beyond massive. We simply do not have the capability.
Lord, please ready us to receive deeper and deeper revelations of You. And here’s a simple poem . . .
*
“Your Slightest Touch”– A Poem from the Heart
Source – brilliancemastery.com
Your whisper fills the valleys overflows the mountains and pours out on the plains.
At Your glorious glance high places crumble, seas dry and clouds roll back their rain.
Your slightest touch levels me breaks open my heart and my soul alive to all You proclaim.
88
#
“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
Job 11:7
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.”
Jesus, looking at the man, loved him and said, “There is one more thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” Mark 10:21
We must understand exactly how deeply that Jesus Christ loves us. There is no diminishment, no reluctance in how He He handles each of us. But in Mark 10 we see that there was a man whom Jesus picked out. He was special because of the special work that was being done in him.
This man in particular became the focus of His concentrated love. It drills into his heart with an intensity, a laser beam of happy holiness that penetrated and exploded inside. However– the love of Jesus wants this man to take things deeper. It’s funny but God loves us so much, that He refuses to leave us alone.
Obedience to Jesus becomes the step in which this man must take. He hears the words, and evaluates the next step for himself. Jesus tells him, that he must sell everything, and he must take every penny and give it to the poor. Perhaps you think there should be gradients in grace? But there are none. We must make the stand, alone.
He was very sad to hear Jesus say this, and he left sorrowfully, because he was rich. Mark 10:22
For me, there is a disconnect someplace. I think he was so close, and that he had a whole lot working for him. And he turns away, unable, or unwilling to do was Jesus had ordered. This young man was not far from the Kingdom of God– so close, and yet so far.
There was pain in his heart. But he knew what he was doing. The unique love that Jesus had for him should’ve acted as an anesthetic, and eased him through this pain of letting loose of his possessions, his credit, his wealth. The love of God must always take us to a place far beyond ourself.
It is necessary for us to know exactly how deeply Jesus loves us. That love is the only thing that will enable us to step out of our closest attachments. His love is necessary for us to accept the things that are closest to our hearts that we must sacrifice. Perhaps that is the word that sums all of this up–sacrifice. We must give up the things which are closest to us. Only this can touch us where we are most tenderest.
With a little bit of forethought, we can create an atmosphere where love, and all that follows it will flourish. We predetermine all that goes into “love” and makes an impact on all those around us, who savor and appreciate its presence. This you might say, makes us authentic believers–but it’s joy, and most certainly not a burden! We were born to love others!
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” Augustine
^
ybic, Bryan
kyrie elesion.
P.S. I’m thinking of getting a tattoo on my left shoulder, “Born to Love Others”. (Think it will help?)
I am not worthy, Master and Lord, that thou shouldst come under the roof of my soul: yet, since thou in thy love toward all men, dost wish to dwell with me, in boldness I come. Thou commandest, Open the gates– which thou alone has forged; and thou will come in with love toward all men, as is thy nature; thou will come in and enlighten my dark reasoning.
I believe that thou will doest: for thou didst not send away the harlot who came to thee with tears; nor cast out the repenting publican; nor reject the thief who acknowledged thy kingdom; nor forsake the repentant persecutor, a yet greater act; but all of those who came to thee in repentance, didst count in the band of thy friends, who alone abidest blessed forever, now, and unto the everlasting ages.
St. John of Chrysostom, c. 347-407
Bryan’s Note:
Unquestionably, the use of archaic English is a bit of a linguistic speed bump for us. But the essential content develops for us to see a hungry heart; a heart that understands the Gospel. And mercy. And grace. John has a fascinating understanding of the purposes of Jesus, and seeks to honor Him before all who hear the Spirit’s voice.
His time, allotted to him by God was about 60 years. He would remain faithful and pass a blazing torch to the next generation. He was a link from the Apostles to a more modern generation. As a bipolar believer, I sometimes will struggle with clarity; of both words and thought. I value anyone who can concisely touch on the things that concern me. I think St. John does that, if we are patient and work it through, we will be blessed and enriched.
Our very unsteadiness is often detrimental. As our moods shift around we still carry the hope that we might just wake up tomorrow solid and strong. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and clinical depression has completely messed with us, we are ravaged as broken believers. Often, we make very bad decisions that only inflame our mental illness.
Becoming simple can often cool things down. We become aware that as we embrace the simplicity we find the “eye of the storm.” In the chaotic and confused (often self-inflicted) we just might find peace.
“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” — William Wallace
*
Broken Believers 