July 23, 2016

“But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence. Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:13-18

“Why can we not be content with the secret gift of the happiness that G-d offers us, without consulting the rest of the world? Why do we insist, rather, on a happiness that is approved by the magazines and TV? Perhaps because we do not believe in a happiness that is given to us for nothing. We do not think we can be happy with a happiness that has no price tag on it.” Thomas Merton (The Pocket Thomas Merton, p. 58)

Too many people are losing heart in our world today. Too many are losing heart because they are looking in all the wrong places for meaning and sustenance and substance. We see our outer natures wasting away, wrinkles appearing, dark spots forming, love handles expanding, and we freak out. Our youth is disappearing right in front of our eyes, and so we will do anything to prevent it, slow it down, if not reverse it. We will spend lots of money trying to recapture what has already been lost, and it will be all for naught. And if that is what we are basing our whole understanding of ourselves, then we are in for a terrible reality check.

No matter how many TV programs or magazines give us “10 Easy Steps to a Slimmer more Beautiful You”, most of us will never get past step 2. And then we will think life has pooped upon us once again. Merton says, “Why can we not be content with the secret gift of the happiness that G-d offers us…?” That secret gift is the love of G-d that is unconditional and unending. When you tap into that love, you soon realize that you are perfect just as you are, because G-d loves you just as you are.

Pastor Dave