The art of photography is now so advanced, that a whole page of a newspaper can be taken in miniature so small--as to be carried on a little button, and yet every letter and point be perfect.
Just so, the whole life of Christ is photographed in this one little phrase, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:28
He did not come to be served--if this had been His aim, He would never have left heaven's glory, where He lacked nothing, where angels praised Him and ministered unto Him. He came to serve. He went about doing good. He altogether forgot Himself. He served all He met, who would receive His service. At last He gave His life in serving--He gave it to save others, to redeem lost souls.
You say that you want to be like Christ. You ask Him to print His own image on your heart. Here then, is the image: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."
It is not a vague dream of human greatness which we are to think of, when we ask to be like our Master.
The old monks thought that they were becoming like Christ--when they went into the wilderness, away from men, to live in cold cells. But surely, such a dream of uselessness is not the thought which this picture suggests. "To serve--to give our life" that is the Christ-like thing! Instead of fleeing away from people--we are to live with others, to serve them, to live for them, to seek to bless them, to do them good, to give our lives for them--that is the meaning of the prayer for Christ-likeness.
(J. R. Miller, "Devotional Hours with the Bible" 1909)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
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6 comments:
Sam, thank you for reminding us that our Salvation is a free gift from God. We do not deserve it and we can not earn it. May our Lord continue to work through you and your blog. God bless, Lloyd
Hi,
Here's a blog that serves for your spiritual needs, and will surely be a blessing for you.
It has messages from the Holy Scriptures, taught by the Spirit of God.
These messages teach us how to have God in all the aspects of our lives and have God's rule over every matter :
www.holyoneofisrael-reconciliation.blogspot.com
Have a blessed reading and gladly write back if you need any prayer help.
God bless you and your family.
Hello, Sam.
I've stumbled upon your blog this evening and read your testimony; praise God for delivering you from darkness! Christ is the true Light and I'm glad He has illumined your soul.
What originally caught my attention was this excerpt:
"The old monks thought that they were becoming like Christ--when they went into the wilderness, away from men, to live in cold cells. But surely, such a dream of uselessness is not the thought which this picture suggests. "To serve--to give our life" that is the Christ-like thing! Instead of fleeing away from people--we are to live with others, to serve them, to live for them, to seek to bless them, to do them good, to give our lives for them--that is the meaning of the prayer for Christ-likeness."
It is a mistake to believe that the monks of old, and the current ones today, cloister themselves outside of humanity and are not serving Christ and His Church.
Monastics are beacons of Light in this world, offering spiritual advice and help to those in need... praying ceaselessly for the many troubles in the world. They, above all, understand the true nature of sin and its completely devastating effects on the soul. It was St. Seraphim of Sarov who said,
"Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved."
His life was filled with wonders and miracles..and many came to know God because of him.
May God bless your journey always.
I don't think your god is a particularly nice deity. How well do you really know him? Perhaps He is just a manifestation of what you need him to be. After all there have been many, many gods in history. Gallons of blood were spilt in their honour and children and virgins were sacrificed to appease them. Where are they now?
Your god was the Jewish god of war. He was one mean son of a bitch. It got cute when he sent himself down to earth as his son to atone for the design faults in the people that he created in His image. What was he doing when he should have been keeping an eye on the tree of knowledge?
Anyway, the gospels spread and the church was established. Trouble is, it hasn't spread quite far enough and god seems to be rather silent these days. He may speak to you but my guess is, you imagine it.
All those people dying in religious wars and conflict when god could do something, anything to show thast he is the one true god. His silence is deafening.
Indeed it was a great gift exchange "For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." and it was a gift of Non reciprocity.
It was all by grace (unmerited favor)
I enjoyed looking over your blog. I found your profile on another blog I follow and I added myself to follow you. You are more than welcome to visit my blog and become a follower if you want to. If I have posted this on your blog before please forgive me. Sometimes it ain't easy being an Old Geezer.
God Bless You, Ron
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