Good morning, dear folk.
Surprise! I’m not dead yet! Not quite!
The last couple weeks have been a kind of wild, delightful, and unforgettable ride. It reached a peak last Saturday when Becki and I were totally surprised by a surprise 50th anniversary party that our kids orchestrated—primarily spearheaded by our daughter Jill from New York. That which helped to underscore the surprise is the fact that our 50th anniversary was 6 months ago—leading us to believe that it was all over and done with.
Just for the fun of it, I’ll stick on a couple photos—one surrounding Katherine and our Missouri-based family, the other of Jill and our New York-based family. Fun times.
Blessings on your day. Ray.
ME-CENTEREDNESS (ego-centricity) is a major affliction of the NATURAL SIN NATURE. It doesn’t seem to be easily eradicated even after conversion. The worldview of an infant/adolescent, for example, includes the misconception that “I am the most important thing in the universe.” Sadly, many of us adults never really seem to outgrow that mindset. So a true conversion experience is best understood as being not so much an EVENT as it is a PROCESS—one of discovery, growth, and refinement. It’s a matter of relationship—walking in the light as He is in the light and finding fellowship and cleansing (1 John 1:7). It’s a matter of continuing in His Word as true servant/followers so that we discover TRUTH—corrective TRUTH that sets us free from the misconceptions of ME-CENTEREDNESS (John 8:31-32).
We visited the beach at Seaside last week. My own sense of significance was again challenged as I pondered the significance of one of those tiny grains of sand that makes up that expansive beach. There has to be multiplied trillions of them. How can I legitimately claim greater significance in relation to the expanse of human history?—just one little grain of sand on the shores of time. Big deal!
If I can at least measure up to being a “true servant,” my micro-significance is both clarified and expanded. I just need to understand what is “required,” what is “commanded,” what is “expected,” and what my “duty” is. In other words, I need to know my basic job description. To avoid getting entangled in too much complication, I’m judging that the most basic description of these essentials is in Jesus’ own words where He sets forth the most important essential as TO LOVE GOD PASSIONATELY. The second most important essential is TO COMPASSIONATELY LOVE THOSE GOD LOVES (Matthew 22:36-40). There you have it! These are the two basic requirement qualities that define a “true servant.”
“Go thou and do likewise!”—and your truest and best significance will be confirmed.