a cornerstone of Christian teachinG
One of my favorite books, The Road Less Traveled, contains a truth that I have “rediscovered” several times. M. Scott Peck is talking about the discipline of being truthful to ourselves.
“To have such discipline, we must be totally dedicated to truth. That is to say that we must always hold truth, as best as we can determine it, to be more important, more vital to our self-interest, than our comfort. Conversely, we must always consider our personal discomfort relatively unimportant and, indeed, even welcome it in the service of the search for truth.”
I think it is interesting, although Dr. Peck was an atheist at the writing of this book, (I understand that in writing, he came to Christianity.) that he pounced upon a point of truth that is also a cornerstone of Christian teaching.
The truth is, we are not called by God to be beautiful, or wealthy, or happy, or comfortable, or popular. We are called to be obedient. If that obedience leads to problems or pain, it is no less vital to our spiritual growth and walk. Indeed, the saying attributed to Mother Teresa,
““I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!””
could be heard echoing in the hearts of nearly all Christians. But sometimes we forget He knows all about us, and He knows what we’re made of, and He really won’t give us more than we can bear, because we are not bearing it alone. We have Christian brothers and sisters who are helping, and we have the Holy Spirit to intervene on our behalf. He really doesn’t have to trust us all that much, with help like that at our disposal.
Sierra Leone image by Muhammad Shah Jaman from Pixabay
When we were running Feed My Lambs International, and my husband took trips to the war-torn country of Sierra Leone (along with 20-some-odd other African nations), you might be surprised at how many good church-going Christians would say to me, “I can’t believe you support his going into such dangerous territory. How can you allow that? (Laughingly, as though I had any control over him anyway!) I merely smiled and said, “Yes, it is dangerous. And we truly appreciate your prayerful intersession to God on his behalf. But if God sent him there, he’s safer there than he would be staying here.”
“If God commands something, that is the highest evidence that we can do it.””
Has God been talking to you lately about something which might seem a bit too “radical”, too dangerous, too involved, or too burdensome? Maybe He has more confidence in you than you have in yourself.
Following the footsteps of the fathers of our country may not find us stepping onto dangerous territory, as they did. But as we celebrate Independence Day here where we are safe and protected, let’s remember those who are in harm's way.
Image by Zack Culver from Pixabay