Living Deeply

Embracing Brokenness (Alan Nelson)

Brokenness is like manure in our lives. At first it seems anything but appealing, but it fertilizes our souls so that they will bear fruit for serving the Lord. In the context of fruitfulness, Galatians 5:24 says, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” The Scriptures are teeming with similar verses, mandating the death of the old self land the deeds of the flesh. Fruist of the Spirit grows out of soil fertilized by the decaying old nature. The very source of our frustration with a self-centered lifestyle actually becomes the humus for spiritual growth.

Pride: The Deadliest of Sins (Martin Israel)

Jealousy is probably the most important factor leading us to give false evidence against a neighbor.  What we ourselves have failed to achieve we begrudge in the life of someone more favored than we are.  That we may in fact be less worthy than the other person is too intolerable to consider, and instead we conjure up fantasies of intrigue and subversion to explain how others always fare better than we do.  That underhand manipulations do sometimes allow us less worthy contenders to win the accolade of public esteem is well known.  That secret cabals may play a part in misdirecting justice is no idle thought, but in the end those who work subversively earn their reward of exposure and humiliation.  People attaining spiritual mastery do not patronize these circles.  The false accusations leveled at Christ were an amalgam of jealousy and fear.  His opponents could not bear his effortless spiritual superiority and they were afraid that he would expose their weakness to the crowds.  In fact, had they trusted Jesus, he would have supported their frailty and given them strength to face the darkness within them.  But pride prevented them from either opening themselves to him or permitting his healing love to suffuse their distorted personalities with new life.  Pride is certainly the deadliest of sins because it will neither yield itself nor receive love from anyone else.  Therefore it leads to absolute stagnation, until its proverbial departure before the inevitable fall:  only a major calamity can force it to be relinquished, and then at last the power of love can penetrate the bereft personality.  Rancor, jealousy and the fear of being exposed in one’s naked impotence all feed pride, which in turn will plot to put an end to anyone who may threaten its tenuous security. 

God Looks Through Sin and Evil (Kathleen Norris)

God can look right through whatever evil we have done in our lives and get to the creature made in the divine image.  I suspect that only God and well-loved infants can see this way.  Peter denied Jesus, and Saul persecuted the early Christians, but God could see the apostles they would become.  Maybe that’s why we worship—to respond to this grace.  We praise God not to celebrate our own faith but to give thanks for the faith that God has in us and in others.