Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


4.01.2004  

Lingering

I've had this nagging impression on my mind. No, check that...not nagging..."nagging" doesn't fit in this case...try lingering. Yeah, lingering works. So. I've had this lingering impression on my mind. It's a good impression to be lingering, especially for a pompous bible college student such as myself. When I talked to Boss last...Saturday? Sunday? Our conversation did a ton of good for my soul. It humbled me, encouraged me, and it's stuck with me. That's a rather stupendous thing, considering that there's so much that doesn't stick, you know?



"But," you ask, "what stuck?" Aaahhh...that's what I was just getting to!



It's like this. God has given me a certain level of talent, a degree of ability that allows me to think and articulate those thoughts in a rather pleasing and effective manner. (I say that, mind you, not to be making a big deal out of myself, but simply to give you a backdrop for my thoughts.) Now in light of that, it's easy to get the idea in my head that I when I speak, people should listen, or should gain something out of what I say.



Why should they?



I have no good reason to expect that of people. Nor, mind you, do I have any good reason to expect God to use me as I think He ought to. Or, for that matter, to use me at all. But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases..."I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion." If God decides to use me, to pour me out for His sake, it's up to Him to decide the means. Furthermore, it's up to Him to decide if and when I see the fruit of the ways He uses me.



It's sobering to think upon those things. I told Jim the other night that all my talents and all my own traits aren't a good reason to expect any "effective ministry." God is in the heavens, and He does whatever He pleases. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and His ways are higher than my ways. If I speak anything other than the Truth, may God be gracious and correct me. If I say anything that bears fruit, may I see it as God's grace upon my words.



One last note. A wise man recently told me, "You will have many godly teachers in your life. I am humbled that I can be one of them. Take the gold, get rid of the dross, and teach others." Yeah...that's a thought worth lingering over.



posted by Bolo | 10:22 AM
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