For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. JOHN 2:24-25
Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly.
Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone.

[Boaz]

A good lesson in respect to understanding ourselves and what is of him we aspire to represent . Thank you .

[Blackwater]

Thanks, RL. So many of us pass by some wayward and dissipated man or woman, and just look down on him or her, and blame her for her own situation. She or he may indeed have wrought despair and misery upon themselves, but it's God's place to judge them, and NOT ours! If we who call ourselves by His name, are to follow in His footsteps, then we must follow ALL His principles, and not just the ones that give us pleasure or make us "look good" (in worldly terms) by comparison. We always seem to be "too busy" to stop and give thanks for all the blessings He's bestowed on us. It's been said that we tend to not value things until we lose them. There's a lot of truth in that. We take our health for granted. We think things will always be the same, or maybe even a little better with time. But if we fail to follow the good advice and wise counsel that He has given us, things fall apart and crumble, and sift away between our very fingers.

As Shakespeare said, "What fools men are!" We've had Christ, the prophets, and good and faithful men tell us again and again, about the value of simply applying the known Truths Christ gave us to think on, and humbly accept. But what do we do? We rush around making rash decisions about what to do in our lives, and in so doing, lose the inestimable value of life itself, and the simple and humble search for the real Truth. God didn't make the Truth just to confuse us. It's right there in front of us, and easily accessed, if we'll but simply humble ourselves before God, and earnestly and honestly seek it. It cannot be found or understood by the proud or the profane. Whenever you've seen a truly, deeply Christian man or woman, weren't they the humblest people you've ever met? Why then do we seek self promotion and one-upmanship, as is promoted and recommended by the profane among our people?

The simple answer is we try to be like those around us, so we'll "fit in." And indeed, we need to be well received by our fellow men. How else can we spread the word, than by earning others' acceptance and respect? They'll listen to us if we have that, won't they? Providing, of course, that we drop the judgmentalism that so pervades the ranks of us professing believers.

And as Sonny and Cher sang so long ago now, "The Beat Goes On."

[Blackwater]

Thanks, RL. So many of us pass by some wayward and dissipated man or woman, and just look down on him or her, and blame her for her own situation. She or he may indeed have wrought despair and misery upon themselves, but it's God's place to judge them, and NOT ours! If we who call ourselves by His name, are to follow in His footsteps, then we must follow ALL His principles, and not just the ones that give us pleasure or make us "look good" (in worldly terms) by comparison. We always seem to be "too busy" to stop and give thanks for all the blessings He's bestowed on us. It's been said that we tend to not value things until we lose them. There's a lot of truth in that. We take our health for granted. We think things will always be the same, or maybe even a little better with time. But if we fail to follow the good advice and wise counsel that He has given us, things fall apart and crumble, and sift away between our very fingers.

As Shakespeare said, "What fools men are!" We've had Christ, the prophets, and good and faithful men tell us again and again, about the value of simply applying the known Truths Christ gave us to think on, and humbly accept. But what do we do? We rush around making rash decisions about what to do in our lives, and in so doing, lose the inestimable value of life itself, and the simple and humble search for the real Truth. God didn't make the Truth just to confuse us. It's right there in front of us, and easily accessed, if we'll but simply humble ourselves before God, and earnestly and honestly seek it. It cannot be found or understood by the proud or the profane. Whenever you've seen a truly, deeply Christian man or woman, weren't they the humblest people you've ever met? Why then do we seek self promotion and one-upmanship, as is promoted and recommended by the profane among our people?

The simple answer is we try to be like those around us, so we'll "fit in." And indeed, we need to be well received by our fellow men. How else can we spread the word, than by earning others' acceptance and respect? They'll listen to us if we have that, won't they? Providing, of course, that we drop the judgmentalism that so pervades the ranks of us professing believers.

And as Sonny and Cher sang so long ago now, "The Beat Goes On."