Tags
darkness, experience, first commandment, following Jesus, heart, idolatry, Jesus Christ, light, Martin Luther, mind, other gods, the cross
Rose Hips above the Rhine-Main-Danube-Canal
(Photo by Susanne Schuberth)
Actually, I do not want to convey the impression I was into law keeping here since we live in New Covenantal times. Instead, I think we could use the OT law at times as a mirror that shows us what might be still wrong in our hearts and minds.
It appears to me that keeping the first commandment that says we should have no other gods beside our God tells us to somehow look through everything of which we think it is good around us as being blessing from God only. As soon as we cling to a person or a blessing they gave us as if he, she, or it represented the ultimate good that could make us happy or unhappy if we lost it, we have another god. I just thought I could share some thoughts on this topic from my fellow countryman Martin Luther with you on here.
But let this be said to the simple, that they may well note and remember the meaning of this commandment, namely, that we are to trust in God alone, and look to Him and expect from Him naught but good, as from one who gives us body, life, food, drink, nourishment, health, protection, peace, and all necessaries of both temporal and eternal things. He also preserves us from misfortune, and if any evil befall us, delivers and rescues us, so that it is God alone (as has been sufficiently said) from whom we receive all good, and by whom we are delivered from all evil. Hence also, I think, we Germans from ancient times call God (more elegantly and appropriately than any other language) by that name from the word good as being an eternal fountain which gushes forth abundantly nothing but what is good, and from which flows forth all that is and is called good.
For even though otherwise we experience much good from men, still whatever we receive by His command or arrangement is all received from God. For our parents, and all rulers, and every one besides with respect to his neighbor, have received from God the command that they should do us all manner of good, so that we receive these blessings not from them, but, through them, from God. For creatures are only the hands, channels, and means whereby God gives all things, as He gives to the mother breasts and milk to offer to her child, and corn and all manner of produce from the earth for nourishment, none of which blessings could be produced by any creature of itself.
Therefore no man should presume to take or give anything except as God has commanded, in order that it may be acknowledged as God’s gift, and thanks may be rendered Him for it, as this commandment requires. On this account also these means of receiving good gifts through creatures are not to be rejected, neither should we in presumption seek other ways and means than God has commanded. For that would not be receiving from God, but seeking of ourselves.
Let everyone, then, see to it that he esteem this commandment great and high above all things, and do not regard it as a joke. Ask and examine your heart diligently, and you will find whether it cleaves to God alone or not. If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing but what is good, especially in want and distress, and that, moreover renounces and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God. If on the contrary, it cleaves to anything else, of which it expects more good and help than of God, and does not take refuge in Him, but in adversity flees from Him, then you have an idol, another god.
http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/catechism/web/cat-03.html
As for me, I can tell you honestly that I have always had other gods beside God and I do know that He alone can make me fulfill the first commandment since, by nature, I do not love God, neither do I love my neighbors as I love myself. I remember in my very beginnings with Jesus, I was so in love with my own “feelings” regarding God that I stumbled very often like Peter did who had thought he had loved Jesus and would have been able to do everything for Him. Today I know I cannot love, I cannot do anything (good) for God unless He nudges me to do so, and thus I can only wait on Him. This is not the most comfortable position for a human being that wants to do something. 😛 But alas, it seems to me being the only one in which Jesus wants to see us since He said,
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (Jn 15:5-7 ESV)
Being (read: abiding) in Him eventually leads to doing the works God wants to be done, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13 ESV). Only if we obey Him in these things, then it is Christ who acts through us, and that even completely and blissfully unaware of Him doing anything in us or even through us. In contrast, everything we do apart from His tender nudges after we have listened to His still small voice leaves us restless and destroys that precious peace His permanent presence offers. Also, as soon as our eyes do not longer look to God, they automatically turn to others and to ourselves, quasi in turns. Thus comparison and judgment begin like a ping-pong game which is a vicious circle Jesus came to destroy on the cross. Regarding this, I found an interesting quote yesterday that reads,
When you judge you project your shadows onto others, when you love you project your light.~ Aine Belton
Since our Lord came to set the captives free, even the captives of their own minds and hearts, we may trust Him that He will fulfill His promises, here the following in particular.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (Jn 8:12 ESV)
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 5:14-16 ESV)
Hmm… 🙄 I was just wondering how I got on this rabbit trail, beginning to write about the first commandment and then ending with THE LIGHT, i.e. the Christ? I have no idea of the how and why, but I hope it will at least make some sense to some of you. 😉
It is not a rabbit trail at all–we should have no other gods before God, who is light, and in Him is no darkness, at all. 🙂
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Thank you very much for saying this, Dimple! ❤ That was very encouraging for me to read. 🙂
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Well when you look at the law and then it beats you up–thank God you can look at Jesus and He heals you up!
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That was a striking rhyme, Ken, easy to memorize! 🙂
Thanks be to God that there is ”now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rom 8:1-4 ESV)
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Susanne, you quoted, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket…” It has occurred to me why we who actively pursue the kingdom of heaven in our midst are so scattered all over this world, God only has so many candles to light this world with and there aren’t enough to put a few of them in the same location. Jesus put it this way, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?”
It was good to meet Mike and Betty Donahoe when they came through. I pray that Father lets a few more of us meet one of these days soon. I love you all! ❤
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Hey! That was a great thought, Michael. ⭐ You said,
“It has occurred to me why we who actively pursue the kingdom of heaven in our midst are so scattered all over this world, God only has so many candles to light this world with and there aren’t enough to put a few of them in the same location.”
I believe you were right here although I could not tell you where I know it from… 🙄
Well, I hope God provides other possibilities for some of us to meet in the days ahead. Also, for those who do not know who Mike and Betty Donahoe are, they are “Done with Religion” (see http://donewithreligion.com/).
Love to you ❤
Susanne
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Not a rabbit trail at all, Susanne. But, for some reason, your mention of a rabbit trail made me think of the novel “Watership Down” by Richard Adams. If you recall, it is the story of a band of rabbits in search of a new home.
Though that premise may suggest a children’s book, the novel was actually written for adults. The book explores in sometimes lyrical language the question of leadership.
Ultimately, the leader the others choose to follow is not the strongest, the bravest, or even the wisest. He is the one who always puts the interest of the rest ahead of his own. In that way, he resembles Christ.
I think Michael is right. God spreads His candles across the globe, so that the light can be everywhere. As white light contains all colors of the rainbow, so God’s image is more complex than any one of us alone can convey. But we are each a small reflection of Him.
As white light contains all colors, God is the source of all things good. As the old hymn put it, “All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful: the Lord God made them all.”
With love,
Anna ❤
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Thank you for your kindness, dear Anna. 🙂
I am glad my “rabbit trail” reminded you of such a famous book. Alas, I heard about that story, yet have never read it. What I found inspiring was that you mentioned the fact that white light contained all colors of the rainbow. I recall it was Ezekiel in the OT who wrote about having seen God on the throne, surrounded by the colors of the rainbow and it is also written in the Book of Revelation. The rainbow on the other hand reminds us of God’s promise to never destroy all flesh (man and animals) once again as He did in Noah’s time.
Hmm… Indeed, I wanted to write something about the different colors of light and what you so perfectly said above regarding us being His reflection…about leadership and Christ…and about that wise hymn. Anna, it seems to me, I got on another rabbit trail, inadvertently. 😉
Love to you ❤
Susanne
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“As soon as we cling to a person or a blessing they gave us as if he, she, or it represented the ultimate good that could make us happy or unhappy if we lost it, we have another god.”
This was really well said. There are many, many little idols we can get tangled up in. I sometimes joke about my obsession with coffee. We are fleshly creatures and we do like our physical comforts and our emotional ones and I don’t think God minds a bit, but even the good things can come between God and us if we start to perceive them that way.
One thing I have to remember, I am seeking God’s favor first and people favor second. I can tend to be a people pleaser, but to truly love people, sometimes you may not please them at all. Also, there are a whole lot of people in the world and we are not pie, we cannot make them all happy. If I remember to always seek God’s favor, to do my best to be pleasing to Him, than the approval of others loses it’s importance.
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Thank you very much for the encouragement, dear Gabrielle. ❤
Ha! I have been a coffee lover for decades, too. Alas, some years ago, I had to switch to a less hard “drug” aka (almost) caffeine-free coffee since my heartbeat could not take normal coffee any longer (menopause probs, I think) and my stomach began to abhor its toasted aromas. So, beginning with fall until springtime you could see me sitting here in front of my computer with more cups of tea (which I do not like that much by nature) than cups of coffee. 😉
Actually, I have the people-pleaser-tendency as well and I find it is hard to get rid of it, even impossible if I do not seek His will before trying to please others. And yes, we cannot make all people happy, even though we might love to do that at times. That has been my very experience as well: when I have His approval and His peace wrapping me up closely, I do not need man’s approval that much and I can take rejection more easily.
Thanks again for your confirming words on here, Gabrielle. 🙂
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Sister, praise God and thank you for this rich solid food for meditation. Appreciate the fruit through Martin Luther’s branch as well. ❤️
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You are very welcome, dear sister. 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet words!! ❤
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