The First shall be Last...and the Last shall be First
Whatever you might think this means, it definitely means a change to the status quo.
I've had this happen recently. Oh, say, this week. It stung. There is a tendency in Christian circles to go for extremes. We can lay it all out there or we can shut it so deeply within that only the Holy Spirit knows it there. Trying for balance here, I'm having the start of many adolescent debates with my 12 and 10 year olds. I remember the time when I was 'number one'... and their world revolved around me. While this was a grand sensation, the ultimate wisdom is to engineer yourself out of the job. If you try to hold onto that number one spot, you both thumb your nose at God and demolish their newfound capacities for leadership.
This isn't just a nostaglic look at the cycle of life, although that is part of what I'm saying. There is a greater matter here with people interacting with people. We may not know that the guy sitting next to us is a Spiritual Heavyweight. The woman at the gym we barely know could be so devout in her walk that angels form a heavenly entourage about her. New eyes are required.
What if God reveals to you that you are about to be promoted? Your friends and family are not likely to get that memo. They will not see the new you. They will remember the old, familiar version of you not the upgrade. Changing your status will impact theirs. We'd like to think that we are happy when good things happen to other people. The German word for "Bad Joy" is part of the stock and trade of all situation comedies on television. Part of us enjoys the spectacle.
What am I hoping for? Please! Enjoy your own promotion! The hope is that you won't get so down about the lack of enthusiasm from others that you miss your own party! There is the verse about Jesus coming back to his old hometown where the neighbors grouse "ISn't that Joseph's son, the Carpenter? And aren't his sisters still living here?...." One wonders what Jesus thought when he heard that. Did his heart hesitate? Did he want to hang back and NOT fulfill God's calling on his life for a moment? Am I talking to anyone here ?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Martha L Shaw on -
This is awesome! I can relate to it in so many ways in my life right now. Thanks for writing this! I think the Lord placed me just where I needed to be to hear Him through your words.
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Permalink Reply by Juline Bruck on -
Awesome! It's been good to read your blog. What I liked about it was it was short and yet had depth. I usually end up with something rather wordy.
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Permalink Reply by Tami on -
Yeah, you are, and we all have to work at not letting others get us down.
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Permalink Reply by Juline Bruck on
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Hey there Tami! It IS work, isn't it! I thought if we gave each other some encouragement, it might not feel so bad. What I like about you, Tami, is that no matter what is going on in your life, you still have love for other people at a high level. Remarkable! That's the Lord, shining through!
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Permalink Reply by Martha L Shaw on
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Juline Bruck said:Awesome! It's been good to read your blog. What I liked about it was it was short and yet had depth. I usually end up with something rather wordy.Thanks! You know, that has always been a challenge for me as well, but then I got into writing poetry freelance and suddenly the habit of being brief was a new reality and so sometimes (there are those who would laugh if they heard this) I have trouble being wordy - never before experienced that. I just posted a piece on my church's VBS. It'll be a multipart subject as we're setting up for next week's 5 day VBS.Thanks again for sharing this post! -
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Permalink Reply by Martha L Shaw on
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I got an email from a friend who is also my priest. I had vented some at how elated the Lord is making me with blessings of late and how frustrating it is to be roadblocked in some ways from the attitudes of my closest family members and people near me. He reminded me of what Christ went through and all to save us and to take on our sin for us so that we could join Him in the Heavenly kingdom. Not what I wanted to hear, but true. He's actually a sweet guy, this priest of mine, so he did add some softer words to the email after that part.
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Permalink Reply by Tami on
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Hate to have to admit it, but sometimes we do need to be thumped in the head with reality. It is annoying, but it does make you step back and re-evaluate those blessings and think about why we might be roadblocked.
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Permalink Reply by Juline Bruck on
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Some doors are closed for guidance purposes. Some doors are closed because the gatekeeper is not spiritually 'in the will'. Other doors (options) are closed because we have sabotaged ourselves. Wisdom is rare because the price is so high. We tend to hold onto our agenda until the bitter end. Realizing that you are being roadblocked is actually wisdom circulating through your thoughts. Most people just go on doing the same things until they fall off the cliff. Getting curious about what is behind the curtain beats getting upset every time!
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Permalink Reply by Rosemarie Vest on -
Juline,
The "spiritual heavyweight"resounded with me this week. A dear lady from church met our Lord and Savior the week before Thanksgiving. A maintenance man came in during his break and prayed with my friend and her family. He appeared very serious and soft spoken. His prayer was powerful and comforting.
And Tami, yes, I've had the promotion 4 X 4 moment as I've accepted God's call to serve the ministry of the elderly. I would have been miserable staying in the comfort zone of the previous job but was to comfortable to raise the blinders and see it. Now I can't imagine doing anything else.
Have a blessed evening,
Rose
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Permalink Reply by Juline Bruck on
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Hello there Rose!
You surprised me by responding to this discussion-- thank you for such a powerful response. God is still saving, isn't He? It's a blessing to be a witness to such events. Your ministry is so necessary--so vital. I want to encourage you to get refreshed often so that you don't wear out. This is not a ministry for the faint at heart. That God has equipped you to be faithful says a lot about your depth and capacities whether you know it or not.
Thanks again for taking your valuable time to let me know how you are doing. I've got a huge smile on my face!
Juline
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