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


7.18.2005  

What a Banana

Banana's turning into more than just a job. Well, it was always more than just a job; it was the job that would let me address the fashionable social butterfly within my soul :) Getting paid for it was just an added bonus.

Last week I was talking to Linda, a chronologically advanced coworker of mine, about the latest book she's been reading: Piper's When I Don't Desire God. She said that she'd been having some trouble understanding it. It was, as she put it, "out of her league." I laughed and agreed that Piper can be like that for those who've not been previously exposed to his writings. She went on to say that it made her uncomfortable, mainly it seemed to make God so much bigger than she could handle. I smiled when she said that; I told her that I often don't like God being bigger than I can handle, either. She continued to talk about how Piper's book made her think about the Lord in ways that astonished and frustrated her, all the while knowing it was for her good. It made her realize that God was challenging her. I kept smiling; what she shared reminded of all the ways the Lord has made known to me how uncomfortable His goodness can be.

But then she told me something interesting. Linda said that she'd been afraid of telling me and Bruce (who goes to Southern and also works at Banana) about struggling so much with Piper's book because she feared we might look down at her. I shook my head and laughed even harder when she said that. I told her that my sins were far too big for me to even consider looking down upon someone else, especially when it was so obvious that she was seeking the Lord. Of course, looking down upon someone else who isn't seeking the Lord is not excused, but I say that to point out the obvious (and delightful!) working of God's grace in her life. Besides, the Lord knows how often I still look down upon "sinners"...hypocrite that I am.

That little conversation was good for my soul. She reminded me to press on, and to soberly consider the many, many blessings the Lord has placed in my life. Such musing is necessary; I told Scott that it seems like I have a big target painted on me, and that Satan takes every shot, cheap or expensive, subtle or overt, that he can take at me. Whether or not they get through the defenses, they seem to wear me down. It's quite tempting to give up, all too easy to want to lay down and not fight the good fight of faith. *Sigh*...but that's not an option. Never was, never will be. All the wiles of the enemy only serve to magnify the glories of the Lord's grace all the more, and strange as that may seem to my shortsighted soul, it nevertheless is true.

Life is hard, and it won't get any easier. I feel beat down at times...most of the time, it seems...but I'm not out. Scripture reminds me of this over and over again. I can't give up; why should I, when Christ has already won? Over two and a half years ago, I remember thinking that coming here would be an incredibly sanctifying step of obedience. I knew I wouldn't be comfortable at first, and I knew that I didn't want to become comfortable. At least, not in the sense that Linda and I spoke of. If I look back over the time I've been here, I can see how I've become comfortably complacent, and how God graciously takes me out of that comfort and places me back where I need to be: begging and pleading for His grace. He created me to yearn for Him, to trust in Him, and to glorify Him. I won't pretend to understand all the ways and purposes He employs to these fit together, but I have a feeling that this lesson is part of it.

posted by Bolo | 11:42 PM
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