interesting.
We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and
pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain
magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to
live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery,
and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple
of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things
for God-- but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things
of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people-- and
this is not learned in five minutes.
o.chambers.
the whole thing:
There was nothing of the nature of impulsive or thoughtless action
about our Lord, but only a calm strength that never got into a panic.
Most of us develop our Christianity along the lines of our own nature,
not along the lines of God’s nature. Impulsiveness is a trait of the
natural life, and our Lord always ignores it, because it hinders the
development of the life of a disciple. Watch how the Spirit of God
gives a sense of restraint to impulsiveness, suddenly bringing us a
feeling of self-conscious foolishness, which makes us instantly want to
vindicate ourselves. Impulsiveness is all right in a child, but is
disastrous in a man or woman—an impulsive adult is always a spoiled
person. Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through
discipline.
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural
grace of God. Walking on water is easy to someone with impulsive
boldness, but walking on dry land as a disciple of Jesus Christ is
something altogether different. Peter walked on the water to go to
Jesus, but he "followed Him at a distance" on dry land ( Mark 14:54 ).
We do not need the grace of God to withstand crises—human nature and
pride are sufficient for us to face the stress and strain
magnificently. But it does require the supernatural grace of God to
live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery,
and living an ordinary, unnoticed, and ignored existence as a disciple
of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things
for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things
of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and
this is not learned in five minutes.
jude 20
o.chambers
