An uncanny arrival
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
-Matthew 10:34-39
These words of Christ are certainly powerful, and I know if I were there the moment he gave them, they would have sent shivers down my spine. In a way it's not only words that are powerful, but who says them that gives them a higher degree of potency.
Last night, my husband and I talked with my parents about the possibility of us moving to Mexico. It was my father who brought up this passage ... which surprised me immensely. I have thought often of this passage when I told my parents I was going to do something they didn't want me to do or go live somewhere they didn't want me to live. A common response was the fifth commandment: honor your father and mother and your days will be long on the earth. In the growing up process I've often battled with these two seemingly opposing forces. Am I dishonoring my parents if I move to another country, if I decide to follow where I believe God is leading. Jesus clears that up in Matthew, because he knows as humans we are all at fault for selfishness. If my parent's concern for me is unselfish, and if my leading in one direction has been marked with constant prayers against the prideful nature ... I believe the two biblical truths would not rub each other so distastefully. I honor my parents by obeying God. I honor God by obeying God. If my parents are godly, then I honor Him by obeying them, for they are leading me to a stronger and deeper knowledge of worshiping Him and Him alone.
For my father to say those words, CJ and I concluded: was the miracle that is supposed to happen in every parent's life. We know we will be selfish to a degree when it comes time for us to be parents ... but if we love God more than we love each other, and if we love God more than we love our children, and if we love God more than we love our parents and our friends, our careers and our life goals ... then, like my father, we have arrived. We have arrived at the place where we trust God more than we trust our income, where we trust God more than we trust the bad news on TV, where we trust God more than our society allows us to. And we trust that our children trust God as much as we've taught them to.
This arrival must take place over and over again in our lives, poco a poco, as we ascend the invisible staircase of trusting and believing in a God our physical world blocks from our thirsty sight. May we constantly arrive at new heights, deeper depths and wider widths in Christ Jesus.
-Matthew 10:34-39
These words of Christ are certainly powerful, and I know if I were there the moment he gave them, they would have sent shivers down my spine. In a way it's not only words that are powerful, but who says them that gives them a higher degree of potency.
Last night, my husband and I talked with my parents about the possibility of us moving to Mexico. It was my father who brought up this passage ... which surprised me immensely. I have thought often of this passage when I told my parents I was going to do something they didn't want me to do or go live somewhere they didn't want me to live. A common response was the fifth commandment: honor your father and mother and your days will be long on the earth. In the growing up process I've often battled with these two seemingly opposing forces. Am I dishonoring my parents if I move to another country, if I decide to follow where I believe God is leading. Jesus clears that up in Matthew, because he knows as humans we are all at fault for selfishness. If my parent's concern for me is unselfish, and if my leading in one direction has been marked with constant prayers against the prideful nature ... I believe the two biblical truths would not rub each other so distastefully. I honor my parents by obeying God. I honor God by obeying God. If my parents are godly, then I honor Him by obeying them, for they are leading me to a stronger and deeper knowledge of worshiping Him and Him alone.
For my father to say those words, CJ and I concluded: was the miracle that is supposed to happen in every parent's life. We know we will be selfish to a degree when it comes time for us to be parents ... but if we love God more than we love each other, and if we love God more than we love our children, and if we love God more than we love our parents and our friends, our careers and our life goals ... then, like my father, we have arrived. We have arrived at the place where we trust God more than we trust our income, where we trust God more than we trust the bad news on TV, where we trust God more than our society allows us to. And we trust that our children trust God as much as we've taught them to.
This arrival must take place over and over again in our lives, poco a poco, as we ascend the invisible staircase of trusting and believing in a God our physical world blocks from our thirsty sight. May we constantly arrive at new heights, deeper depths and wider widths in Christ Jesus.
posted by go2016 at 9:23 AM
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