Sep 24, 2012

Thoughts On Jesus, Henri and Me...



compassion, prayer, meditation, heart
 “I have found it very important in my own life to try to let go of my wishes and instead to live in hope. I am finding that when I choose to let go of my sometimes petty and superficial wishes and trust that my life is precious and meaningful in the eyes of God something really new, something beyond my own expectations begins to happen for me. (Finding My Way Home)”
Henri J.M. Nouwen

My heart is full. 
In recent days, My eyes have seen His faithfulness.
As I trust, He delivers. 
As I step forward, He draws wide the door.
He welcomes more. More of Him, through His people, His plans. Oh that I would remember today. Seeing Him this way... clear as the crisp morning sky.

I think of the words to a favorite song. 
Forever Reign by Hillsong.

You are good, You are hope, You are peace, You are true, You are joy, You are life, You are more, You are here... You are God.
Thank you Jesus.

I am reminded that I seek the wrong direction... most days.
I seek big things. He offers important things, that appear small.
I want to prove, conquer, take hold of and change.
He says, "Follow me, feed my sheep." 

I am reading Henri Nouwen, In The Name Of Jesus.
Henri, a priest, taught at Notre Dame, Harvard, Yale.
He lived among the poor in Peru, the disabled in France. 
After 20 years a Professor he moved to Canada to join a group of men with special needs. Here, no one cared who he was, where he was educated, or that he had penned over 40 books.
 He was Henri to them. All that mattered was that he loved them. 

Not so different from what matters to you and I.

Henri wrote...
"The question is not: How many people take you seriously? How much you are going to accomplish?
Can you show some results?
But: Are you in love with Jesus?"

If I cannot answer this question with a resounding yes, then I am useless, like a clanging symbol...
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."
1 Corinthians 13:1

I must love... God first, then others well.
He draws near to me everyday. Will I remember Him, my first love and draw close, hiding in His shelter?
That is what I seek, but there will be times, my flesh will pull me away, to things of no eternal value.
Oh God, draw me back in those moments. Let me remember my value, as Henri wrote...

"I was suddenly faced with my naked self, open for affirmations and rejections, hugs and punches, smiles and tears, all dependent simply on how I was perceived at the moment." 

Let me not be afraid to be my vulnerable self, with nothing to offer ... but Jesus.

You are good. You are hope. You are peace.
 You are true. You are joy. You are life. You are more.
 You are here... You are God.

How do you stay vulnerable to others, letting them see Jesus in your life?




No comments:

Post a Comment

Don't be shy...