Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Ephesians 2:12-13)
In preparation for 2019, I am starting to read some of the types of books I want to read next year. For my spiritual reading, I happened to have a copy of The Renewed Mind by Larry Christenson and he mentioned these verses. The point he makes is that there are things that only God can do, and there are things that we can do in us. He uses the example of patience, but I think I’m going to try it with love. We can’t generate love toward someone we don’t like. That’s God’s job.
That doesn’t mean we can or should continue to hate that person until or unless God miraculously changes us. We can prepare the container (ourselves) for the contents (love.) We can pray for the well-being and blessing of the problem person. We can be fair to that person. This brings to mind instance in my last job when I made some treat to take to work and saw someone of whom I wasn’t fond. As much as I would rather have not shared my goodies with that person, I informed him (there were several of these folks, and they tended to be guys) of what was in the breakroom. I learned, and am still learning, that what I do for someone I like, I should also do for someone I don’t.
Mr. Christensen goes on to tell the story of a renter whose building is purchased by a new owner. The new owner tells the renter that his rent is paid up, forever. The next day, the old building manager comes along and demands the rent. The best possible answer to give to the old manager is "You'll have to discuss that with the new owner." It seems to me that I need to learn to tell the old manager that - about a lot of things.
Mr. Christensen goes on to tell the story of a renter whose building is purchased by a new owner. The new owner tells the renter that his rent is paid up, forever. The next day, the old building manager comes along and demands the rent. The best possible answer to give to the old manager is "You'll have to discuss that with the new owner." It seems to me that I need to learn to tell the old manager that - about a lot of things.
I don’t think I’m very good at these things. If I were, I think I’d have more examples. However, this is one of my goals for next year, to love better. I want to get better at loving God, others, and myself, so I’m considering ways that I can prepare my container (myself.) Some of the ideas are a little scary. I don’t want to share them because I don’t want someone to come back with “I thought you were going to ________.” It looks like 2019 is going to be a challenging year.
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