Saturday, June 13, 2015

Christ Impels Us


The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.  Matthew 5:34-36

Piety
GOD, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.  Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen (Reinhold Niehbur)

Study
The love of Christ “impels us.”  It drives us forward.  We do not run on a treadmill for Jesus – staying in one place.  We do not focus on the rear view mirror.  Once we have taken the lessons of His life to heart, we have to move forward on the work to which He has commissioned us.  Our work is to share in His mission – as co-missionaries with Christ and His apostles, disciples, and other followers. 

We do so because we have come to the conclusion that “the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence.” (2 COR 4:14)  Yet that gift is not without its demands. 

Faith – and the Cursillo way -- recognize this need to be “impelled” through our focus on what lies ahead – what goes onward – “ultreya.”  We cannot live in the past but must live in the present moment to prepare for the future. We cannot be stuck to some nail in history but rather must see where that nail drives us. Jesus did indeed pass through life.  Jesus did indeed pass through the Cross.  However, he did so in order to allow us to live in the future.  Impelled.  Not impaled. 

In one sense, the Gospel follows with an acknowledgement about how powerless we really are.  We cannot change a single strand of hair from turning white or grey or black.  However, we can acknowledge that there is a greater power at work impelling us forward to change the things we can change.

Action
What is driving you?  Where are you headed? What order do you have in life and how are you unifying the order of your life with the mission? 

We are NOT used to surrendering control.  Even when we take a picture these days, we are not content until we adjust it.  One tool in Photoshop is called “levels” where we can adjust how the black, white and grey tones appear.  Here is a sample of how we think we can change how something appears.  But no matter what color this picture is rendered to show, it is still a Hawaiian bad playing at a dance.  Few clicks in Photoshop does not change anything.

Jesus does not want us to Photoshop our spirituality – our piety – our study – or our action.  He wants the real thing in living color.  

Original from Camera
Corrected in PhotoShop

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