What Men Live By

The title of this post is the title of a short story by Leo Tolstoy. Short stories are great because they can be read in a single setting and can be re-read frequently. This particular short story is one that I discovered last week. I plan on reading and sharing it many times--it's a good one.

So, if you have a bit of time, do yourself a favor and read this work of beauty. I feel sure that it will bless you. If you don't have time now, you can copy, paste, and print it. Then you may read it later at your leisure.

So, here's What Men Live By, by Leo Tolstoy.
(Click the title for the link.)

Enjoy!

Advent (2)

This Sunday begins the second week of Advent. The candle we lit at our table this evening represents love.

Isn't that what the incarnation of God is all about? Isn't that what motivated Jesus to become one of us? Christmas is all about the amazing love of God.

We erred. We were lost. And He came...what love!

The most unlikely, amazing Rescuer ever. An embryo in the womb of a teenage girl was entrusted with saving the world.

"I light this candle on the second Sunday in Advent to remind us that Jesus came to earth to 'show and tell' us of God's love" (Celebrating the Christian Year, Zimmerman--see last week's post).

Thank You, Lord, for Your Gift of Love. May we love one another as we revel in it.

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5, NAS)

And may the Lord make your love to grow and overflow to each another and to everyone else, just as our love does toward you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12, TLB)

Have a great week. Make room for the Love of Christ to come anew in your hearts and homes. Continue to wait with hope and expectancy.

Spread the love!

He loves us! It's what Christmas is all about.

All Saints' (19) John Chrysostom

"When we do not love a person we do not wish to be with them, no matter how great or noble that person may be. But when we love someone, we want to be with them, and we view their love for us with great honor even if they are not a person of great rank. For this reason--and not because of our great rank--God values our love. So much, in fact, that he suffered greatly on our behalf.
Let us, then, incur dangers for him, running as if for the greatest of crowns. Let us have no fear of poverty, or disease, or hardship or even death itself. For what is there to fear? Losing all of your money? If you bear it nobly, it will be as great a reward to you as if you gave it all to the poor--as long as you freely lose it because you know that you have a greater reward in heaven.
What else is there to fear? Having people revile and persecute you? If so, those people have weaved a great crown for you if you bear it meekly. Rejoice and be glad, Jesus said, when people speak evil against you falsely, for great is your reward in heaven. And even if they speak the truth against us, it is to our advantage if we bear it humbly, just as the Pharisee spoke rightly about the publican, but only the publican went home justified because he bore it in humility.
Why do we seek profit? What did Judas profit for being with Christ? Or what profit was the law to the Jews? Or paradise to Adam? Or the promised land to the Israelites? We should keep our mind fixed on one point only: how we may do what is best with the resources we have been given."

All Saints' (12) Brother Lawrence

"In the way of God, thoughts count for little, love does everything. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God; when it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and adore my God, Who gave me the grace to make it, after which I arise, more content than a king. When I cannot do anything else, it is enough for me to have lifted a straw from the earth for the love of God.
"People seek for methods of learning to love God. They hope to arrive at it by I know not how many different practices; they take much trouble to remain in the presence of God in a quantity of ways. Is it not much shorter and more direct to do everything for the love of God, to make use of all the labors of one's state in life to show Him that love, and to maintain His presence within us by this communion of our hearts with His? There is no finesse about it; one has only to do it generously and simply."

--from The Practice of the Presence of God (a wonderful little book that, in my experience at least, surprisingly few have read)

All Saints' (5) Julian of Norwich

"Just as our flesh is covered by clothing, and our blood is covered by our flesh, so are we, soul and body, covered and enclosed by the goodness of God. Yet, the clothing and the flesh will pass away, but the goodness of God will always remain and will remain closer to us than our own flesh.
God only desires that our soul cling to him with all of its strength, in particular, that it clings to his goodness. For of all of the things our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon his goodness that pleases him most and brings the most profit to our soul.
For we are so preciously loved by God that we cannot even comprehend it. No created being can ever know how much and how sweetly and tenderly God loves them. It is only with the help of his grace that we are able to persevere in spiritual contemplation with endless wonder at his high, surpassing, immeasurable love which our Lord in his goodness has for us.
Therefore we may ask from our Lover to have all of him that we desire. For it is our nature to long for him, and it is his nature to long for us. In this life we can never stop loving him."

All Hallow's Eve

So...this is my one and only post for October. I guess it's not surprising, seeing as how I'm a creature of starts and spurts. It's not what I had intended when I began this blog, but it was bound to happen.

I plan to continue exploring the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134), but who knows how long that will take.

This evening, as I write, there is a candle burning in front of my house. It burns as a witness and a commemoration. In my own small way, I wish to say that I have put on Christ. He has claimed me as His own. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

At the same time, I'd like to reclaim All Saints' Day. So, the candle burns to remember the faithful who have gone before and to announce my solidarity with them in Christ.

During the month of November, I intend to post a small quote daily from some of my favorite men and women who have loved the Lord (and others) heroically and given themselves fully to the task of loving.

Kate Tristram says:

The life of a saint is not the life of a great man or woman,
but of God's life in an ordinary man or woman.
Saints' days are not all about that saint:
but about a celebration of Christ. ...
Remembering the saints
gives us a bigger idea of the things of God.
When Elisha's servant saw the enemy chariots
(2 Kings 6:15-16), he had to have his eyes opened
so that he could see God's chariots of fire.
It was such a big view of God that Elisha had,
and now his servant could share in that.
This is exactly how the saints can help us:
if ever we feel outnumbered,
remember that we never get to see the whole church.

Thank you, God, for showing Yourself in the lives of these--Your children. May Your life flood into me, and may I too be conformed to the image of Love through the power of your Spirit.

Shema

Shema is the first word of Deuteronomy 6:4--"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." This verse precedes the 'greatest commandment' of Matthew 22:38, which is originally given in Deuteronomy 6:5--"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

"Hear" is a strange way to phrase a command. Often we think of listening as a more active form of hearing. But in this case, it seems that hearing may be a more profound way of listening. Hearing is more than acknowledging. It is accepting, affirming, and owning what is said. It means actualizing. Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Mark 4:9)

Faithful Jews say the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9) every morning and every evening. I have begun praying a prayer every morning in which I ask myself, "Do you seek Him with all your heart? Do you seek Him with all your soul? Do you seek Him with all your mind? Do you seek Him with all your strength?" I don't read Hebrew that well, but it's the skill I will be most adept in upon graduating from seminary. One of the few verses I have memorized is Deuteronomy 6:4-5. While this is in no way a word study, I do want to comment on the little I know about 3 words in 6:5.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart..."
The word 'heart' is the Hebrew levav. It basically means your inner being. Holladay's lexicon lists it as: 1)physical organ; 2)seat of vitality; 3)inner self, seat of feelings & impulses; 4)mind, character, disposition, inclination, loyalty, concern; 5)determination, courage, (high) morale; 6)intention, purpose; 7)mind, attention, consideration, understanding; 8)mind & mood in its totality, the self 9)conscience, etc. The point is, our heart is the core of our being. Do we love God there?

"and with all your soul..."
The word 'soul' is the Hebrew nephesh. It is often equated with one's life, and is thought to be situated at the throat (where breath enters the body). In fact, the word means: 1)throat; 2)neck; 3)breath; (4 & 5 entail phrases concerning living beings); 6)personality, individuality; 7)life; 8)'soul' as seat & support of feelings & sensations: a)desire, b)mood, state of mind, c)feeling, taste, d) will; etc. (Holladay's Lexicon). The point is, we have been given life. Every breath is a gift. Are we loving God with what we've been given?

"and with all your strength."
The word 'strength' is the Hebrew me'od. It literally means "muchness." As a substantive noun it means: power, might. As an adverb: very, in the highest degree. (Holladay) We have spoken of our inner being, our moods, feelings & desires, now we speak of physical ability. Do you love God with your physical actions? Do you, in "whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"?

When I ask these questions, I think of it like this:
Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Do you seek him with the very core of your being?
Love Him with your very self.
Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Do you seek Him with your emotions?
Surrender your feelings to God's control.
Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Do you turn your thoughts to Him?
Think about Him. Excel intellectually for Him.
Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Do you physically honor God with your body?
You have strength! Use it for Him.

Inner self/will, feelings, intellect, physical abilities. I want to do one thing each day to make a difference for the Kingdom--just one thing each day. My avenues are via my will, my feelings, my intellect, and my physical abilities. If I am in tune with God and in step with the Spirit...it will happen.

Amen, Christ have mercy.