This week I have been reading a great book entitled, "The ragamuffin gospel," by Brennan Manning, a Korean War veteran and former Franciscan priest.
It's a wonderful read concerning God's grace, that a lot of us believe in God's grace, but only in theory. Somehow we need to get God's grace into our daily lives, or daily routine.
Many see God as a small-minded book-keeper, tallying our failures and successes on a score sheet.
Yet God gives us His grace willingly, no matter what we've done. As Brennan manning says, "we come to him as ragamuffins - dirty, bedraggled, and beat-up. And when we sit at his feet, he smiles upon us, the chosen objects of his "furious love."
However, I digress, for there is a great quote that I want to give to you in his chapter entitled, "Magnificent monotony."
He writes, "In essence, there is only one thing God asks of us - that we be men and women of prayer, people who live close to God, people for whom God is everything and for whom God is enough."
"That is the root of peace. We have that peace when the gracious God is all we seek. When we start seeking something besides Him, we lose it. As Merton said in the last public address before his death, "that is his call to us - simply to be people who are content to live close to him and to renew the kind of life in which the closeness if felt and experienced."
Is God enough? Great question. If everything were taken away from me, my family, our church, my house, car, health, would God be enough?
I would suggest to you that it's not a question that we can answer at one moment and then go on with the rest of our lives. It is a question that NEEDS to be answered on a daily basis. Jesus said, "each day brings enough trouble of it's own."
Each day we must ask ourselves - is God enough?
What's your response today?
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2 comments:
As I read this, I could not help but think of all those people in the South dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...I wonder how many of those who lost their lives knew the grace of God before the end. That's always a big question for me when I see or hear of a disaster such as this... how many are headed to the promised land and how many are not? And will the survivors see this as an(other) opportunity to come to God or as an excuse to curse Him? Those are the questions that go through my mind.
Those of you who know the story of our oldest son Jared know how far we had wandered from God prior to Jared coming into our life, with all of his medical, alleged mental, and social problems. God can turn bad to good through His grace...not just during major times of storm or difficulty, but through the daily lives of people, of things, of nature...all we have to do is ask for it and find it in our hearts to accept it. God is so good to us and yet, there are times when we treat Him so badly. Whether that treatment is through neglect or through intent doesn't really matter...what matters is that we are breaking His heart. Why won't we all come to God and keep Him in the fore front of our minds and our hearts?
God is enough for any situation. He is the maker and controller of all things...He only wants to prosper us and keep us in His arms. I, for one, choose to let Him...for His love is sufficient unto all days.
May the love of God cover and protect you
Jon
I am saying yes today that God is enough. I have said yes before, and I pray I believe it just as much should something happen in the future. Usually once a year I recommit all that I have to God. It is not an easy, off-the-cuff statement or task. It takes hours of prayer to come to a place of sacrificing all I have and a willingness to lose everything. It comes only from surrendering to His perfect will and knowing He really does know what is best for me. I use to feel guilty for what I have. A great friend at church said, “Never feel guilty for what God has given you.” However, like Rick said, it would be difficult, there would be hardships and trials losing everything when I have not had that experience before, but would I make it – only because I know God has walked with me through many other trials and is always there for the next one (should that happen). People often look at what we have, what we wear and think that defines us. They have no idea where we have come from and what we have gone through and what we have gone without. And because they see only the “now” they have impressions of who I an without really knowing the real me. In fact, the only ones who really know me are God and my husband. Please think they know us, but do they really? There is so much for people to look at and judge how I would handle a situation. They have no idea the times I have lived in loneliness and with God alone. I love my home because God is the one who provided for us to build it. I pray I am faithful to use it for His purposes while I have it. I love fashion, shoes, travel, fun, food, but I know these are pleasures of today and there is no eternal value in them. I know if I keep my eyes on eternal things, the Lord will walk with me through every situation, just like he has my entire life. Is God enough? Yes, because He truly is the only one I need in this world!
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