I read an article on line and really couldn't ignore it. It demanded an answer. I read some of the responses that were posted and just couldn't agree with the ones I read.
When I look at a gift that has been given to someone, the first question that comes to my mind is, who gave the gift? I ask this because part of the personality of the 'gift giver' is reflected in every 'gift' that is given. That said, the frailty of the article's title, is more than obvious.
I wonder how many people agree with my response? I am, of course, open to correction. Blessings
IS THE GIFT BIGGER THAN YOU?
BELOW IS AN ITALICISED ARTICLE THAT I READ ON LINE;
You wouldn’t give your 5-year-old a 12-gauge shotgun or a big Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Shotguns and motorcycles are great – but they’re for adults. You need maturity to handle them. Giving such gifts to your child would endanger them, and everybody else around them. The gifts just don’t fit the person.
Perhaps you’re a talented individual. God’s given you some large gifts like the ability to speak well, or organize things, or create and design. But we sabotage ourselves when our gift becomes bigger than we are. How does this happen? When we begin to lean on the talents God gave us and don’t mature emotionally and spiritually – we ruin our chance to use those talents as God designed them. When our character doesn’t keep up with our talent, we learn to “wing it” through life. We live on the surface but lack real strength underneath. And it shows up when the crisis hits, the storm comes, or we are under pressure. You can’t “wing it” when it comes to character building.
The greater the size of your gifts, the more you must dedicate time to developing your character. The writer paraphrases the Psalmist in The Message: “God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. Don’t hurt your friend, don’t blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe. You’ll never get blacklisted if you live like this” (Ps 15:1-5 TM).
So, do you live that way?
Scripture Of The Day: "O Lord, who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with Integrity." - Psalm 15:1-2 (NAS)
MY ANSWER TO THE ABOVE ARTICLE
THE VERY FIRST SENTENCE OF THE ABOVE ARTICLE DREW MY ATTENTION. WHY? BECAUSE, WE HARDLY UNDERSTAND WHY GOD DOES THINGS. THE WORD OF GOD SAYS THAT GOD'S WAYS ARE HIGHER THAN OURS, AS ARE THE HEAVENS HIGHER THAN THE GROUND. GOD DOES NOT THINK LIKE US, NOR DOES HE MOVE LIKE US. GOD DOES THE ‘IMPOSSIBLE’. HE DOES NOT ALWAYS DO THINGS THAT WE, AS HUMAN BEINGS, UNDERSTAND OR AGREE WITH. THIS IS UNDERSTANDABLE...WE BEING FINITE, ‘HE’ BEING INFINITE. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE THIS GREAT ‘SCHISM’ IN THE WORLD TODAY. BECAUSE THERE IS A LACK OF BELIEF IN WHAT GOD CAN AND CANNOT DO. HOW COULD A VIRGIN HAVE A BABY!? HOW COULD JESUS BE THE SON OF GOD!? HOW COULD A SEA DIVIDE AND BECOME A DRY PATHWAY?! HOW COULD THE SUN STAND STILL FOR HOURS AND NOT MOVE?! HOW COULD THE FIRE OF A LARGE OVEN NOT BURN?! HOW COULD THE MOUTHS OF LIONS BE UNABLE TO OPEN?! HOW COULD UNEDUCATED FISHERMEN AND FAR FROM NOTABLE MEN BECOME CARRIERS OF A MESSAGE THAT WOULD TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN?! IN OTHER WORDS; TO COMPARE WHAT WE WOULD NOT DO, TO SOMETHING THAT GOD WOULD DO, BASED SIMPLY ON THE FACT THAT WE DON'T AGREE WITH IT OR CAN'T UNDERSTAND IT, IS A GROSSLY ERRED COMPARISON. REMEMBER, "...FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD,THAT HE GAVE HIS ‘ONLY’ BEGOTTEN SON…” AND I ASK...COULD ANY OF US DO THIS? OF COURSE NOT! BUT THEN, WE ARE NOT GOD!
NOW PLEASE, DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME. OF COURSE, NONE OF US WOULD GIVE A MOTORCYCLE OR A FIREARM TO A 5 YEAR OLD. BUT, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT GOD, AT HIS DISCRETION, WOULDN’T PLACE CERTAIN GIFTS IN A VESSEL THAT HE HAS CHOSEN. THUS, HOW DARE WE DECIDE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING ‘AMISS’ WITH ANY VESSEL THAT ‘HE’ HAS CHOSEN? REMEMBER THE YOUNG SHEPHERD BOY WHO SPENT HIS TIME WRITING POETRY? REMEMBER ALL HIS WEAKNESSES AND SHORTCOMINGS AS KING? REMEMBER WHAT GOD CALLED HIM? (‘…A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART…’1 SAM 13:14). DID GOD NOT KNOW THE FRAILITIES AND SHORT COMINGS OF THAT VESSEL? YET, HE CHOSE TO USE DAVID ANYWAY. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT DAVID WAS THE GREATEST BELOVED KING OF GOD’S PEOPLE, WHO NEVER…‘QUITE’ GOT IT RIGHT!
LET ME EXPLAIN WHERE I AM COMING FROM. SINCE WE KNOW FROM SCRIPTURE (JAM 1:17) THAT GOD IS THE 'ONE AND ONLY' GIFTGIVER, COULD GOD MAKE THE 'MISTAKE' OF PLACING 'GIFTS' IN THE WRONG VESSEL? NO, OF COURSE NOT!!! AND THAT IS THE FULL GIST OF THIS REBUTTAL. DOES GOD MAKE MISTAKES? SINCE WE KNOW, HE DOESN'T - THEN WE KNOW THAT 'GIFTS' ARE ALWAYS PLACED EXACTLY WHERE HE WANTS THEM TO BE. THUS, GOD, WHO HAS ALREADY SEEN THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF HIS CHOSEN 'VESSEL', WANTED THAT PARTICULAR VESSEL TO HAVE THOSE GIFTS. THE ‘GIFTS’ WERE PLACED AND ARE KEPT BY GOD...TO BE USED AT ‘HIS’ PREROGATIVE.
SO THEN, WE COULD ASK OURSELVES...WHY? WHY WOULD GOD PLACE 'GIFTS' THAT APPEAR TO US TO BE ‘TOO BIG’...IN A PARTICULAR VESSEL? WHY WOULD GOD PLACE GIFTS IN A VESSEL THAT ‘WE’ DEEM UNWORTHY? WE REASON THAT THEY ARE NOT WALKING RIGHT, NOT TALKING RIGHT, NOR ARE THEY USING THE GIFTS AS WE THINK THEY SHOULD BE USED. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE 'VESSEL', JUST AS IT IS, IS BEING USED BY GOD TO(JER 6:27)”…TRY THE HEARTS OF THE POPULACE…”?
WHAT IF THE VESSEL IS, WHAT SOME TERM, A 'SINNER'? SINCE WHEN DOES A PERSON BECOME SO 'HOLY' AND ‘JUDGMENTAL’ THAT THEY FORGET FROM WHENCE AND WHERE THEY CAME? DO WE NOT ALL SIN? THE WORD OF GOD SAYS, "…FOR 'ALL' HAVE SINNED AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD..." WHICH MEANS THAT IN SOME WAY, EACH AND EVERY DAY IN THOUGHT(PERHAPS EVEN NOW AS YOU ARE READING-SMILE)WORD OR DEED WE ALL DO SIN! WE ALL ARE KEPT THROUGH MERCY AND GRACE…ONLY! THERE ARE NO 'PERFECT' PEOPLE ON EARTH. THEY DON'T EXIST!
CERTAINLY, WE BECOME 'NEW' WHEN WE ACCEPT JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND MASTER OF OUR LIVES. BUT, LET US NOT FORGET THAT ‘JUSTIFICATION’ IS INSTANTANEOUS. BUT ‘SANCTIFICATION’ IS RECONSTRUCTION- THAT IS LITTLE BY LITTLE, OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. SO, AT THE POINT OF ACCEPTING GOD, WE BEGIN A 'JOURNEY', BY WHICH WE 'TRY' TO REACH PERFECTION. BUT LET US NEVER THINK THAT WE ALL DON'T CONTINUALLY 'NEED' THE BLOOD OF JESUS ON OUR JOURNEY. 'NEED' FORGIVENESS ON OUR JOURNEY. 'NEED' TO DECREASE THAT 'HE' MIGHT INCREASE ON OUR JOURNEY! FOR, NONE OF US ARE WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN GOD! “…FOR IN ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, WE ARE AS FILTHY RAGS BEFORE HIM…(IS 64:6)”. WE CANNOT KEEP OURSELVES. THAT'S WHAT CALVARY WAS, IS AND EVER WILL BE ABOUT...MERCY AND GRACE(2ND CORN 12:10)! AS JESUS SAID, HE DIDN'T COME TO SAVE THE 'RIGHTEOUS' BUT SINNERS TO REPENTENCE. WE, THEN, 'DEPEND' ON GOD TO ENABLE US TO DO 'DAILY' WHAT WE CANNOT DO OF OURSELVES. "...WE DIE DAILY...", WHICH MEANS, WE ALL SHOULD 'REPENT' AND START AFRESH EACH EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES(1CORN 15:31).
THE APPEARANCE OF THE VESSEL IS NOT, NECESSARILY, THE CONDITION OF THE VESSEL. FOR, WHO WALKS STRAIGHT AND 'NEVER' ERRS? HAVE WE FORGOTTEN THE PARABLE ABOUT THE PHARISEE AND THE REPENTER? THE ABOVE ARTICLE REMINDS ME OF THE ATTITUDE OF THE PHARISEE IN THIS PARTICULAR PARABLE.(LK 18:10-14).
THE WORD 'DESPISE' SCARES ME. CERTAINLY, WE DESPISE THE SIN, BUT THE SINNER?!? HOW DO WE DESPISE ANOTHER PERSON WHEN THERE IS BUT A 'PRAYER' BETWEEN US AND THEM? LET ME PUT IT ANOTHER WAY; ARE NOT THE 'DESPISED' THOSE WHO ARE THE REASON FOR CALVARY? IN THAT WHILE WE WERE YET 'SINNERS'(...LOST)HE DIED FOR US. WHILE WE TRY TO TAKE A 'SPEC' FROM ANOTHER'S EYE AND DECIDE THAT THEIR 'GIFTS' WOULD LOOK SO MUCH BETTER IN US(GOD MUST HAVE MADE A MISTAKE…UH?) WE FORGET THAT THERE IS A 'BEAM' IN OUR OWN EYE.
THINKING ABOUT BEING ON GOD'S GUEST LIST, I AM REMINDED THAT HE WENT TO BE THE GUEST OF WINEBIBBERS AND FELT AT EASE AMONG THOSE WITH WHOM HE SOCIALIZED. HOWEVER, PARAPHRASING, I AGREE WITH THE ADVICE GIVEN THAT WE SHOULD STUDY TO SHOW OURSELVES APPROVED, KEEP OUR WORD AND MAKE AN HONEST LIVING. HOWEVER, WHO BUILDS ‘CHARACTER’…MEN OR GOD? AND, UNFORTUNATELY, WE ARE LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE ‘BRIBES’ ARE GIVEN EACH AND EVERY DAY…WITH EVERY DEMANDED ‘SIGN’. AND I AM SURE I DON'T HAVE TO REMIND ANYONE THAT THIS ‘DEMAND’ IS NOT AT ALL LIMITED TO WORLDLY PRACTICES BUT, SADLY, HAS BECOME THE BACKBONE FOR MANY PLACES OF WORSHIP .
LAST BUT NOT LEAST; THE WORD 'BLACKLISTED' IS A WORDLY TERM, FROM WORDLY HEARTS, INFLUENCED TO THINK WORLDLY THOUGHTS AND PERFORM WORLDLY DEEDS THAT PLEASE...THE WORLD. TO 'BLACKLIST' IS TO PLACATE THE WORLD AND SHOW NO 'MERCY OR GRACE'! AND THIS IS NOT GOD...AT ALL! WHEN WE TAKE A 'STAND' TO FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST, WE WILL BE 'BLACKLISTED'. WE WILL NOT ALWAYS BE POPULAR("…IF THE WORLD HATED ME, IT WILL HATE YOU ALSO…"JHN 15:18). WE WILL BE LIED UPON, SLANDERED, MISTREATED, OPPRESSED AND ABUSED. BUT POPULARITY AND TRYING TO PLEASE OTHERS IN THIS DECAYING WORLD, WILL NOT GET US INTO HEAVEN. THE WORLD HAS BLACKLISTS. GOD HAS ‘MERCY-LISTS’.
I WILL END WITH A SONG THAT I AM REMINDED OF. THE CHORUS GOES LIKE THIS; '…IN HEAVEN'S EYES THERE ARE NO LOSERS,IN HEAVEN'S EYES NO HOPELESS CAUSE. JUST PEOPLE LIKE ME AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND I AM AMAZED BY THE GRACE THAT CAN BE FOUND…IN HEAVEN'S EYES."
IS THE GIFT BIGGER THAN YOU? NEVER - NOT AT ALL! SOME MAY NOT AGREE WITH WHAT GOD SEEMS TO BE DOING BY FAVORING CERTAIN VESSELS. BUT THEN, THE QUESTION IS...DO YOU REALLY 'KNOW' WHAT HE’S DOING? CAN YOU UNDERSTAND IT? (PVB 3:5)THEN, LEAVE IT ALONE AND...LET GOD BE GOD. HE IS ALWAYS TOTALLY…IN CHARGE! AND, INDEED, EVEN MORE THAN CAPABLE TO FINISH WHAT HE HAS STARTED.
SO, THE ANSWER IS; NO THE GIFT IS NEVER BIGGER THAN THE VESSEL, BECAUSE GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES BUT DOES EVERYTHING ...'PERFECTLY'!
JAMES 1:17
copyright;jmsbell 10/28/10
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Peace, Christ Love and Blessings,
John Michael Domino
Love ya!
Jane