Many of you are most likely saying ..duh!
Yes, yes I know, but it hit me, you know really hit me. It hit me in ways I can't explain, but I don't see things the way I did before.
Why I believe and others don't is not up to me or them. No amount of proselytizing on my part is going to force them to believe, if it is His will, anything I say or do to plant a seed will grow. This doesn't mean I stop evangelizing (for lack of a better term), but this has freed me somehow. Freed me to love, yes to actually LOVE people.
As I've said a couple of times, it was our kids learning to memorize 1Corinthians 13 that got me to really thinking about this thing.
He has chosen to give me faith, and it IS a gift. I will accept it with gratefulness.
Yes, yes I know, but it hit me, you know really hit me. It hit me in ways I can't explain, but I don't see things the way I did before.
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| ...for by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you -- of God the gift,not of works, that no one may boast ~Eph 2:8-9 |
Why I believe and others don't is not up to me or them. No amount of proselytizing on my part is going to force them to believe, if it is His will, anything I say or do to plant a seed will grow. This doesn't mean I stop evangelizing (for lack of a better term), but this has freed me somehow. Freed me to love, yes to actually LOVE people.
As I've said a couple of times, it was our kids learning to memorize 1Corinthians 13 that got me to really thinking about this thing.
He has chosen to give me faith, and it IS a gift. I will accept it with gratefulness.
Yes! When I first realized that even my faith was a gift of grace it began to change my life.
ReplyDeleteDuh is right! LoL!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, though, and no amount of my trying to pound it into anyone's head is going to do any good, in fact it may do the opposite and have them running to the law for familiar comfort!
I had a nice chat with a student tech (about my age) at work. We were talking about school, education, degrees, etc, gave a quick run down of the class I'm taking, and how the Bible is giving me so much insight into the things we are studying about Egypt and Mesopotamia, and a brief testimony of things God has done for me. She stated that she had worked with a Christian group a while back whose leader was very legalistic and that she's had more than her fill of it. When I had told her what God had done for me, she said "That requires faith, doesn't it?" I said "yes" to which she said she doesn't have it... but she wasn't hostile toward me, nor did she say she was in opposition to what I said. At that point I had to run to another place in the hospital, because in my position I go to various departments and fill in as needed. I am praying for her that God will give her a blessing of that special gift. ;-)
The gift of faith and the gift of grace have been hitting me in the face lately...and I have walked with Him for 45 years, but somehow it is being planted in a new way in my heart.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent I think it is freeing me up from guilt and thinking I have to do it "right"...they are His children, and I am just to be faithful and leave the rest to Him.
Great simple and yet thought provoking post.
Hi Mama Hen, It has been there all along:)
ReplyDeleteSusan,
A man in our fellowship group was saying the same thing, that the "hard sell" is very often counterproductive. We can never ever be the Spirit. He is patient and kind and knows each of us ...He created us...duh again:) I hope you can have some more contact with the student tech if it be His will.
Janette,
Planted a new way, I like that a lot.
It's more than amazing to be hit by the sheer liberating force of God's free grace! This truth sets us free! This truth! His truth! Not man's lies because he wants a part in what God has done through Christ. Alleluia!
ReplyDeleteAnd you know, Eph 2:8-9 has been floating around in my head today as I reflected again (as I often do because it's so mind-blowing) on the sheer liberating beauty of God's grace!
Hi Ma,
ReplyDeleteI love it when something strikes home. :) Like...I know God loves me and sometimes it just hits me...God love me! Wow.
Faith is a gift truly. I had a chat with an atheist a while back and nothing I said made sense to him. I said to him you have to have faith in order to believe and he, well, thought I was nutso. All I can do is pray for him, pray that God will open his eyes and instill faith.
It is said that if faith comes from man it will not last but if it comes from the Spirit of God it will only grow and grow.
Blessings,
<><
Petra,
ReplyDeleteLiberating yes! Galatians 5:1
Child of God,
You are right, unless God opens their eyes, they won't see it. All we can do is pray!
I'm finally "getting" this truth too! I used to feel so guilty that certain family members aren't saved. Thought my sin created a bad witness that turned them away from Jesus! What arrogance!
ReplyDeleteSo true. We can't make or force people to have faith in Christ. Yes, we can tell people about Christ, but it is God that calls them. It reminds me of the scripture in 1 Corinthians 3, where it states that Paul and Apolos may be the ones who plant the seeds, but it is God who makes the seeds grow.
ReplyDeleteSo you are right, it should be like a "duh moment," but maybe not for some. :)
Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteWorrying that our sin is a bad witness? I never thought of it that way. I used to just be so unhappy around my unsaved family, almost in a way that I couldn't even really relate to them. I'm going to be a decent person now, and try to love and see how that effects our relationships.
Hi WC,
God gives the increase indeed.
Beautiful post! And Amen!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joanne