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A Probing Quote Worth Considering

I love to collect quotes from those who are so much better with words than me.  Almost without fail, the ones which speak to me are succinct, simple and yet powerful.  Furthermore, most have more than one application.  Such is the case of one I want to share today.  It was written a long time ago by William Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet.

He once wrote, “We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”

Isn’t that such a penetrating thought?  Consider it in the light of husband, wife and children issues.  What about how it affects the supervisor and worker relationship or even friendships.  But perhaps as true in any light, it says something about our spiritual journey.  As a minister I keep hearing from people about what they intend to do one day all the while knowing that to their church family, the perception is what they are doing and have already done.  Certainly none of us are perfect or are able to do all we wish for the Lord.  Neither are we to spend our time pointing out the faults of others.  However, just as importantly we must be careful across the different relationships of life not to live in the “I’ll get around to it one day” syndrome.

While outside of us is not the place to get ultimate guidance, it does help sometimes to stop and reflect on how others perceive us.

The best understanding and application of this little word of admonition from the poet of long ago is this.  Work at not letting there be too much distance between what we think of ourselves and what others see in us.

Here’s wishing you a great day and approaching Christmas!  I will always be glad to hear from anyone in response or with questions you may have about faith and following our Lord.

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FOCUSED

One of the casualties of aging to which I find myself a victim is the dimming of the eyes.  Ecclesiastes 12 counsels the young person to remember God, their Creator, in their youth before the aging process takes over and various faculties, as listed in verses 1-7, are diminished.

Clear eyesight when we are young may be something we take for granted. However, as we age the realization that our vision is not as sharp as it once was takes hold. “Readers” become standard fare for all intricate tasks. Our once keen laser sharp focus is now blurry and in need of help to restore its youthfulness. That restoration is found through glasses or some sort of rejuvenating surgery. Especially in the early stages of this degenerative eye problem we may be able to fake it and get by, but eventually we must relent and do something to correct the problem.

There is a parallel between physical and spiritual vision. “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” was written in the early 20th century. The hymn writer, Helen Lemmel, was strongly influenced by the artist and later little-known missionary, Lilias Trotter. Miss Trotter started off as an aspiring artist but early on felt a call from God to reach the lost. She began her ministry by rescuing prostitutes from the streets of London. Later she went to Africa, without missionary funding, and served for over forty years. While there she penned a poem that would greatly influence the writing of the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.”  The poem was entitled “Focused: A Story and Song.” 

The poem centers around focusing one’s attentions fully and completely upon God. She writes that Satan knows that if a person uses all their powers of concentration on being led by God’s Spirit, they will have a great intensity and impact upon those to whom they are called to minister. Lilias Trotter, writing in a more formal use of the English language than we are accustomed, shares some timeless insights which could very easily have been written today but with a different accent. She writes: “Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen good harmless worlds at once—art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the ‘good’ hiding the ‘best’ even more effectually than it could be hidden downright frivolity with its smothered heartache at its own emptiness.”

The “good” hiding the “best” leads us to emptiness.  Could this be true of us today especially as American Christians? Have we sought the “good” while missing the “best”? The chorus of the hymn, which we will be singing in worship this Sunday, says it best.

                Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,                                                                                                                                        And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Keith Pate

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