As I
prepared to do my daily scripture reading tonight, I brought up one of my
favorite books of scripture on the internet.
I admit, I
rarely open the actual volume, though I have several versions of the Bible on
the first row of my bookcase. I simply prefer the easy access of the e-version.
(I have even been known to put on an audio tape of a portion of God’s Word, set
back in my recliner, and ‘listen away’).
In the
second chapter of the Book of 1st Peter, I came across the following
verses, and realized, once again, that His “words are spirit and they are
life.”
For you see,
these familiar verses never impacted me quite the same way as they did tonight.
4 As you come to Him,
the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him— 5 you
also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to
be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.
(and)
9 But you are a chosen
people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,
that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His wonderful light.
And it occurs to
me that the ‘there there’ of this passage of scripture was very much akin to
the time our pastor invited the congregation to step forward at the end of the
final service of a visiting evangelist, and to stretch out their hands and
prayerfully send him on his way.
It was our
congregation’s custom to place a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of
us, and enter into joint prayer. And as I did so, I realized the person behind
me had done much the same thing.
However…
when the prayer
concluded,
…the weight of the hand remained.
Somewhat hesitant
to look around, I finally did, and by this time
…there was no one
directly behind me.
And yet, the
seeming weight of that hand remained on my shoulder long enough for me to
return to my seat, listen to the benediction, walk out the door, get in my car,
drive home and lay back in my recliner!
As I have
previously inferred, reading the passages from Peter’s 1st epistle
was strangely like that invisible, yet very tangible hand upon my shoulder.
Pt. 2
As a
counselor, I have long since realized that human beings struggle with the issue
of self-worth, (or self-esteem).
Among
thousands of clients whom I have been privileged to serve over the course of
two and a half decades multiplied hundreds have recounted stories from their
nuclear home, and circumstances in their adult lives which have contributed to
feelings of inadequacy. And, of course, there are any number of professionals
and programs out there designed to enhance that which is nigh on to being lost
forever.
I have
always found it to be interesting that our ancient scripture passages contain
such modern concepts, and might easily have been ripped from the pages of
today’s newspaper.
Note the
passage of scripture from which I previously alluded.
“Rejected by
humans, but…”
Among all
men, Jesus understood rejection. He was rejected like no man or woman who ever
drew breath, and in so doing took all the sin and rejection ever visited upon
mankind upon his back, and submitted Himself to the death of the cross.
“But…
The word,
‘but’ is a conjunction which connects two considerations in the body of a
sentence. The word, ‘but’ tells us that there is something we don’t yet know or
understand and which is about to change.
“But
… chosen
by God and precious to Him.”
(and)
“you also
like living stones.”
“Also…
Amazingly,
almost in one breath the inspired words of the Apostle Peter draw a comparison,
and accent what appears to be a vital connectiveness between the holy, sinless
God-man and His creation.
“But…
(There’s
that word again)
“But…
You are a chosen
people.”
“Chosen…”
The same
word which was used for God the Father’s relationship with His Son, Jesus
Christ is now used for our Savior’s relationship with you and me.
Pt. 3
Speaking of
the way the circumstances of our childhood shape the people we ultimately become,
and the persuasion we develop about ourselves, I have been reading a book
titled, “Forever Liesl” by the late Charmian Carr; the young lady who portrayed
‘Liesl’ on “The Sound of Music.” (Sadly, she left us in her early 70’s).
In one
chapter Charmian offers us a poignant look into her relationship with her
mother, and relates one especially difficult memory:
“When I was
cast in ‘The Sound of Music,’ my mother told me Sharon (her sister) was
devastated. I felt terrible, but I didn’t talk to Sharon about it for years. My
mother’s comment ate at me. Sharon had worked so hard. She deserved to play
Liesl, not me.
I could have
saved myself years of guilt if I had discussed it with my sister back then. I
should have known that Mom fabricated that story. Our mother’s increasing
bitterness-and her drinking-had given birth to many new traits, one of which
was to divide and conquer her daughters. The older we became, the more we grew
outside her sphere, the more she tried to push wedges between us. It was, I suppose,
her way of having some control over us.”
Charmian’s
mother had convinced her to believe a lie, had woven a distorted mindset within
her which contradicted reality, and, no doubt, caused her to feel badly about
herself. (I can only presume she offered this reminiscence after her mother’s
passing).
Scripture
assures us, however, that,
“Though my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will
receive me.” (Psalm
27:10)
(and)
“You have been
adopted into the very family of God and you can say with a full heart, ‘Abba’
(Daddy) Father.” (Romans
8:15)
Talk about
affirmation! The God of the entire universe has chosen us, has adopted us, and
welcomed us into His family! We are, as scripture assures us, His special
possessions!
Will we
continue to believe a lie that others have consciously or unconsciously
instilled within us, and which we ascent to on a continual basis?
I love the
quotation in the volume, “Captivating,” as it incorporates what the entire body
of scripture has to say about God’s opinion of His creation, and His desire for
an intimate relationship with us.
“You’re
heard that in the heart of every man, woman and child is a space that only God
can fill.
But did you realize that in the heart of God, Himself is a
space that only (insert your own name) can fill.”
Pt. 4
My
co-counselor of 10 years, Sherri Nicely, and I once had the task of turning an
upstairs Sunday School classroom into a counseling office. After painting the
room it occurred to Sherri to add a ceiling border. Promising she would stop by
a local home improvement store on the way home, we parted ways with the
expectation of meeting the next day.
I came across
a few feet of the unused border recently, and smiled.
For you see,
printed in color across the length of the wallpaper were multiple representations of Da Vinci’s
“Creation of Adam.” (I hasten to add, however, that one particular feature of
Adam’s anatomy contrasted with the original, and had been ‘feminized’ in order
to guarantee his modesty).
God and Adam
almost touching fingertips. Whereas, the painter of the Sistine Chapel had
labeled his masterpiece, “The Creation of Adam,” for the sake of my counseling
clientele I referred to it as, “Man Cooperating With God.”
As I
previously inferred, the passages I alluded to in the initial segment of this
treatise were so much like that invisible, but very tangible hand on my
shoulder. I can tell you, it definitely got my attention!
Not only did
the ‘chosen’ and ‘special possession’ parts of the scriptural passages ring
true, but equally so, the strong allusion to our joint responsibility to work
with God for a common outcome.
“Offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.”
(and)
“That you may declare the praises of Him who called you
out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Each and
every believer has been called to service. Each and every believer has been
called to holiness. Each and every believer has been called to 'sing His
praises;' which is best evidenced by the life we choose to live. Each and every
believer has been called to fulfill the destiny that God dreamed for him or
her… before He made the worlds.
While scripture is clear that only the
shed blood of Christ is sufficient to save us from the penalty of sin, we have
been given the inestimable privilege of
…cooperating with Him.
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 47. Copyright pending
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