I finished reading C. S. Lewis’s book, Mere Christianity. Maybe that is why I am struggling with jumbled thoughts. I know it was a good thing to have read the book, but I am simply can’t seem to find the words to speak about it.
Of course, I am continuing to read the Bible through that year-long plan that incorporates an Old Testament reading with a New Testament reading. And that plan has me reading Ezekiel and John, the gospel of John. And all adds up to jumbled thoughts.
Therefore, I am going to just share some of these thoughts in a “stream of consciousness” format. I know it is not the wisest way to communicate ideas, but today it makes sense to me.
Yesterday, I visited with a nurse at a long-term facility and was moved by her testimony. How easy was it for her to share her passion for Christ, and how it affected her daily life.
As she shared some of her evidence of God’s work in God’s time, I found myself lifted up. There are times I worry that I cannot be effective in the lives of those I love using prayer and modeling, but she shared her understanding:
“The Lord strips away everything from those who just cannot believe or live in a Christ-like manner in order for them to learn how to trust God.”
Wow! As much as I read, study and observe, I never considered that stripping away everything from someone may indeed by God’s way of getting their attention and then to build up the relationship with them, bringing them back to God.
I shared with her that I had read Mere Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia. She had not, but she knew of a school that was established based on these books. Amazing. I have thought so much how using these books to teach young people about faith, and here I learned was a private school based on them.
C.S. Lewis has left us so many words to read and to dwell upon. The book Mere Christianityis a publication based on radio broadcasts during World War II in England. Consider the setting to which he refers to in the book: the proximity of battling Hitler, answering the call to serve in combat leading to a likelihood of death, and the threat, imminent threat, to one’s own home or property.
Lewis said he did not believe, but then came to believe. He speaks to others who do not believe in hopes of explaining some of the truths. He talks to those who see life in concrete terms, through scientific lenses, and the cold reality of war. And the result is a common sense argument for life with God/Christ at the center.
A few weeks ago, I shared that I feel I have failed to ‘teach’ my own children how to live a Christ-centered life in a direct, honest, and disciplined manner. I also have not done my best to testify about my faith to others that I meet along the way.
This week, I did share my testimony; but only because the listener shared hers.
This week, I continue to follow the discipline of study scripture.
This week, I week I pray that I am modeling the very commandment that guides my daily life in a way that speaks volumes:
Love one another as you want to be loved.
Or in a slightly different way, using Jesus’s words in the gospel of John:
Love one another as I have loved you.
Think about those two different ways of saying the same commandment. My jumbled thoughts are just the way our lives are. We live jumbled lives, but if we keep Christ at the center and remain faithful, we always seem to end up unjumbled.
Please join in prayer:
Father God,
The days are filled with jumbled thoughts,
with jumbled calendars,
with jumbled relationships.
We turn to you for the words we need
to unjumble our lives.
The ideas that are shared between one another,
from the books we read, and
from the scripture you provide;
Serve as guidance for us in doing all that we can
to love one another
as you loved us.
In the name of you, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
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