I read this today, from Basil Pennington work, Living in the Question.
“(Jesus) has said: ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find. Unfortunately we ask for the ephemeral which isn’t really satisfying. We seek what is passing and will leave us empty—until we come to realize in truth we do not know what we truly want, where our true happiness lies. We need to seek a teacher, a prophetic voice—the guidance of one whom the Lord has sent, the Church who makes Jesus present to us today, Jesus who is all that our hearts seek. Until we seek and find the Truth we will in fact be in a desert chasing mirages, encountering delusions, finding all swaying and unstable.”
That is a wonderful description of what the Church is to be and do…a prophetic voice to help keep us from chasing mirages...because that is our tendency…to chase mirages. The preacher, the teachers, the leaders, the classmates who hold us accountable, the folks who sit beside us in the pew as we worship…all these make up the body that helps us discern Truth in a world that screams lies from every corner. In Proverbs 8:17 God offers us this promise: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” Praise God for the Church as God intended it to be; a congregation of pilgrims each seeking while guiding others to Jesus Christ.
“(Jesus) has said: ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find. Unfortunately we ask for the ephemeral which isn’t really satisfying. We seek what is passing and will leave us empty—until we come to realize in truth we do not know what we truly want, where our true happiness lies. We need to seek a teacher, a prophetic voice—the guidance of one whom the Lord has sent, the Church who makes Jesus present to us today, Jesus who is all that our hearts seek. Until we seek and find the Truth we will in fact be in a desert chasing mirages, encountering delusions, finding all swaying and unstable.”
That is a wonderful description of what the Church is to be and do…a prophetic voice to help keep us from chasing mirages...because that is our tendency…to chase mirages. The preacher, the teachers, the leaders, the classmates who hold us accountable, the folks who sit beside us in the pew as we worship…all these make up the body that helps us discern Truth in a world that screams lies from every corner. In Proverbs 8:17 God offers us this promise: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” Praise God for the Church as God intended it to be; a congregation of pilgrims each seeking while guiding others to Jesus Christ.
It's a beautiful thing, the way that only God puts just the right person in our path just when we need them for our unique Christian walk! And then the icing on the cake is that when in time, maybe we are able to help that same person with their walk! Again, our God orchestrates beautiful plans!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with JW. What I've found to be a realy blessing is to recognize those moments. So many people just think they are coincidences. No such thing. It's GOD!
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