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


10.29.2007  

Pride Purging

Today, I had a friend offer me, as he put it, a "gentle rebuke." I think I took it well, and, in hindsight, it was not at all a wound I would like to have gone without. As I thought about it later, I realized why such things are so hard to accept, yet so darned good for us: they crush our pride and remind us of our need for a Savior.

Today we had an ordination service for three of our newest elders. I have the privilege of knowing all three comparably well, all things considered. Jeff preached to us of the need to crush pride and embrace humility, and how God often humbles us in ways we do not expect, and that such ways that show us, both pointedly and poignantly, how infested with pride our flesh still is.

In reflecting upon my gentle rebuke, in both its delivery and reception, I realized that such a grace is not something to be happy about merely because it becomes another notch on my spiritual chart of accolades. That would be stupid. No, the reason for joy in this case is that the LORD, in His promised goodness to us in Christ, was pleased to form His children more and more into the image of His Son today, and He did so through that humbling interaction.

If that's not our motivation, what is?

posted by Bolo | 1:12 AM
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