Maybe it's the fact that I have 2 teenagers; maybe it's a book I'm currently reading entitled, "Generation Me" - either way I've been thinking about what authority is, was - what it means...authority figures are (or more accurately, used to be) parents, bosses, coaches, the law...but that doesn't seem to be the case today...for many young people it seems that either they themselves or their peers are the authorities in their lives...thinking a bit further on that, I wonder whether, if I'm truly honest with myself, I'm not the authority in my life? I can say I live by rules or under God's authority, but if I look at the way I make decisions, I decide...sometimes those decisions are congruent with laws, God's ways or even in the best interest of others. But more often than I may like to admit, my decisions favor my best interests...if I want to follow the guy I claim to follow I have to ponder again his words...If you want to find your life lose it...I had someone ask me this week what that meant...what would you say it means? For me, that means I must put others' interests ahead of my own...Jesus summed up what he called the law and the prophets by saying we should love God and love people...love acts in the best interest of the beloved...I've caught glimpses of the joy that comes when I set my agenda aside and live for others' interests...glimpses that are pretty amazing...that prove that it is more blessed to give than to receive...I have a LONG way to go, but I'm catching glimpses...I catch a lot more glimpses of this in my wife than I do in myself...I'm thankful for those glimpses...
1 comment:
Mark, you are still thinking!
Your comments about how you (we) make decisions reminds me of CS Lewis' poem As the Ruin Falls,
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through.
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
Now that's an honest, though not particularly encouraging assessment! But there may be hope for us yet. We do always follow our desires. We always do what we (most) want. But what if He will really give us desires if we ask? What if our desire for His smile could really overrule our wouldas and shouldas.
More than you know, those glimpses are glimpses of who you really are -- who you are becoming.
DR
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