Tag: Dallas Willard

Missing Meekness

Humble, or meek, is the way that Christ self-identified in Matthew 11:29. “For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” There is also the incredibly poetic prophecy of Christ in Isaiah 42:3. “A bruised reed he shall not break, and the smoking flax he shall not quench; he shall bring forth justice faithfully.” Somehow, Christ can bring forth justice so gently that even an already bent stalk or the last little spark on a candle’s wick will not be snuffed out in the process.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines meek as “having or showing a quiet and gentle nature: not wanting to fight or argue with other people.” I wonder if anyone else misses the days when followers of Christ were known for their meekness?  When did it become acceptable by Christians on social media to treat “stupid people” (defined as anyone who disagrees with the person posting) with mockery, contempt, and even cruelty?

Numbers 12:3, describes the Old Testament hero Moses in the following manner: “the man Moses was very humble, more than all the men on the face of the earth.” The single incident when Moses took it upon himself to straighten out the unruly bunch of whiners he was leading did not end well for him. If God punished him by refusing to allow him to go into the promised land for lashing out verbally at the people and for striking the rock; how much more grieved He must be by our angry outbursts and name-calling.

Moses was certainly correct in his assessment of the character of the people he was leading. That becomes the problem when we are so certain that we are right and the other party is wrong. Dallas Willard has this incredibly applicable perspective on being “right” from his book Hearing God.

“Indeed, being right is one of the hardest burdens human beings have to bear, and few succeed in bearing up under it gracefully. There is a little placard I have seen that reads, ‘Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change, and when we are right, make us easy to live with!’ A very wise prayer.”

It is also extremely difficult not to retaliate when we are the one that is being attacked. But even angry, accusatory unjust words do not have to change who we are. Just because someone is throwing mud does not mean we have suddenly become a pig and must go wallow in the pigpen.  As Thomas `a Kempis states in his Imitation of Christ,

“Don’t have your peace depend on what other men may say about you: whether they interpret your actions rightly or wrongly, you are still what you are.”

What we are is the vessel that holds the light and love of God that he wants to pour out to a hurting frightened world. 2 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, the excellency of the power being from God and not from ourselves. Ultimately, what is at stake in our actions is the very reputation of Christ. To follow him and to be identified with him is counter-cultural to what is considered to be acceptable behavior at the moment. Oswald Chambers says it so well,

“The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not, “Do your duty,” but is, in effect, “Do what is not your duty.” It is not your duty to go the second mile, or to turn the other cheek, but Jesus said that if we are His disciples, we will always do these things. We will not say, “Oh well, I just can’t do any more, and I’ve been so misrepresented and misunderstood.” Every time I insist on having my own rights, I hurt the Son of God, while in fact I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I will take the blow myself. That is the real meaning of filling “up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). A disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor.

Never look for righteousness in the other person, but never cease to be righteous yourself. We are always looking for justice, yet the essence of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is— Never look for justice, but never cease to give it.”

The way to give justice in a Christ-like manner is so gentle that it doesn’t break the bruised reed, it is spoken so softly that the last tiny spark of the smoldering wick is not extinguished.

Need a Guide?

Best ever guide in Mongolia

Anyone who has ever gone on a tour to a place of historical or cultural significance will be familiar with following a guide. We have had numerous encounters both good and bad throughout the years we have traveled.  The best are passionate about their history and/or religious perspective. The worst drone on through hours in the hot sun just doing their job.

The point is, that without the guide -my chances of getting lost, committing some horrible social faux pas, wandering into restricted areas and getting shot or jailed, increase dramatically. Without a guide, there is also simply the failure to be able to communicate with the locals and the inability to understand and appreciate their culture.

God knows that we need guidance!

We need guidance to meet our basic physical needs. (Like the wonderful driver in Northern India who could always seem to find me a bathroom in remote locations. Bless him!)

That’s the driver- on the left

Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Isaiah 58:11 “And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

We need guidance to keep us out of trouble. (Like the helpful guides who tell you ahead of time what NOT to take pictures of before the authorities confiscate your camera.)

Psalm 121:7-8 “The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

We need guidance to know truth from lies. (I always appreciated the guides who told me when vendors were scamming me.)

John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

However most important, we need guidance simply because we do not know the way.

Isaiah 42:16 “And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.”

Luke 1:79 “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Some people find discerning God’s guidance complicated. Here are some helpful principles from Dallas Willard quoting F.B. Meyer.

“Look for three lights: circumstances, impressions of the Spirit, and passages from the Bible. Rick Warren adds ‘the godly wisdom of Christian counsel.’

‘God’s impressions within and his word without are always corroborated by His providence around, and we should quietly wait until these three focus into one point…If you do not know what you ought to do, stand still until you do. And when the time comes for action, circumstances like glowworms, will sparkle along your path. You will be so sure that you are right, when God’s three witnesses concur, that you could not be surer though an angel beckoned you on. ’F.B. Meyer”

I have always imagined it was easier when the Angel of the Lord did show up for the Abraham, Israelites, Joshua, Gideon, Zechariah, Peter, Philip. In a surprising number of these cases, the humans involved continued to question, negotiate, and argue.

So much so, that by the time Gabriel gets to Zechariah, one gets the impression he has had enough of obstinate, unbelieving humans.

Luke 1:19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

We also sometimes are asking God for directions because we don’t like the ones he has already given us.

“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person’s seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.” Elisabeth Elliot

Whatever you do, don’t lose sight of your guide! (My husband teases me that when we are traveling in remote locations, I often abandon him and stick with the guide. Hey! He knows the way out!)

The great part about following our Guide is that even if we get it wrong, He can make it right.

“Guidance, like all God’s acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us his way, that we may tread it; he wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make, we shall come safely home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God’s promise; this is how good he is.” J.I. Packer

Love this old hymn,

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.

2. Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
be thou still my strength and shield.

3. When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell’s destruction,
land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.  
Text: William Williams, 1717-1791

Back to Nature

Having lived in a huge city of concrete towers and masses of people, I think I appreciate even more the opportunity to live closer to the natural world. Up here on our windy hilltop with the birds at the feeder and the deer walking through the forest, I am so much more at peace with the world. Feeling the earth as I dig and plant, listening to the rain, even petting the cat connects with some deep place in my spirit that was missing amid the materialism of malls and mass transit systems.

I did not attribute any great spiritual significance to my love of nature, I just thought as a child of the 60’s I was a bit of a hippie at heart. Recently I have discovered that there may be more to this.

Why did God when he responded to the angry questions of Job, point him first to the natural created world? It was almost as if God was saying, “Have you looked around? How can you question a God who is capable of speaking into existence all this magnificent, intricate, overpowering living and life-giving planet?” Go back to nature Man! It’s all there in the rhythm of the seasons, the tides, the creatures and in the very soul and mindfulness of man.

Dallas Willard states, “Paul himself explains that all human beings remain responsible, no matter how far they fall, because of the clear way in which God stands forth in natural reality. ‘Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible nature is clearly presented to their understanding through what has been made.’ Romans 1:19-20.

The question is frequently asked regarding the people who have never heard the gospel of Christ. To which Paul answers in Romans 10: 17-18 from the Amplified Bible

17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God’s message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Yes, this world received the curse of the fall; as a result natural disasters are a part of our existence. However, the scripture indicates the burden of this on the earth with almost sentient descriptions.

Romans 8:19-22

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Jesus Himself pointed people to creation,

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!…27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

The purpose of this blog is not to gloat over those of my friends who still live in the steamy, smoggy overcrowded cities of the world. It is rather to say, take a break! Stop and watch the birds. Smell the flowers. Sit and listen to the waves. There is within the chaos that man creates to drown out the call of his creator, a still small voice and sometimes it is in the fragile face of a flower or the call of a bird.

If the very act of petting a cat has been shown to lower blood pressure, God must be saying something through the natural world. Maybe He is saying there is peace and praise when we pause long enough to appreciate the world He gave us.

Canticle of the creatures by Saint Francis of Assisi

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

all praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.

No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through all you have made,

and first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;

and through whom you give us light.

How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor;

Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon

and the stars; in the heavens you have made them,

bright, and precious, and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy,

all the weather’s moods,

by which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,

so useful, humble, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom you brighten up the night.

How beautiful is he, how cheerful!

Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister

Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.