Wisdom of Age

Friends of Faith:

Wisdom of age says to “Know Him, Love Him and Serve Him.”

Marriage is the core reflection of God’s wisdom because He created marriage with a purpose to unify and procreate—to know each other, to love each other and to serve each other within a family.

Beyond this core are all other relationships – especially those of our neighbors and the “stranger.”

The wisdom of God is handed to us through Scripture and the 2014 years we have known Christ in our world.

 

So I found it interesting how the wisdom of 153 years of marriage (4 couples) without planning and yet profoundly developed the same theme in our Date Night panel discussion last night for our relationships—to know, love and serve each other in marriage.

The parallels from the following 6 wisdom of age “pointers” tie directly tied to our personal relationship with Christ – to know, love and serve each other AND Him.

1)Life isn’t about me – life is about we! When we marry we can no longer think just about doing something for ourselves, but rather if we are going to strengthen and build our relationship we need to make each decision based on the WE – how will this decision impact us, and how this decision serves our mutual purpose and each other. Likewise if we truly believe in Christ’s presence in our lives, then we will make our decisions based on how it impacts our relationship with Him—making our decisions based on Him, loving one another as he loved us.

2)Make Time for Each Other: You don’t build a bond with someone without taking time to be with them, physically, mentally and spiritually, so take and make time to continue to date your spouse for a lifetime. Likewise if we don’t make time for Christ for a LIFETIME then at some point our relationship with Him will falter. How much quality time do we spend with our spouse? And is spending time with God a priority?

3)Know Them—Communication and Education: In any relationship, but especially in marriage, we need to learn what matters, what impacts, and what is important to our spouse through continuing education and constant communication. By paying attention to details we learn what is important to each other because it probably isn’t the same as what is important to us because of male female differences and our life experiences. Likewise we need to grow comfortable with Christ to build a lasting relationship with Him. If we don’t know what He/She/They/Christ wants and needs from us then serving and loving them/Him is almost impossible. Knowing, loving and serving our spouse will bring us peace and joy, just as knowing, loving and serving Christ brings peace and joy to the world.

4)Let God lead you: Prayer for and trust of the circumstances God places us in. Marriage mirrors and strengthens our bond with God because it is the very bond that God initiated in Genesis to teach us about His love for us. When our faith is our stronghold then we are allowing God to take charge of our lives and through him all things are possible. Do you value the opinion of your spouse? Does God lead you in prayer together?

5)Expect Good: Too many times we blame, don’t take responsibility, or forget the reasons and purpose of our marriage. Likewise it can be in our faith or lack of it. We may blame God for our circumstances instead of looking to Him to help us make our choices in life. We can try to do marriage and life on our own, but without God our focus will become blocked by life’s circumstances instead of revealing to us the beauty God has created. If we have faith in God and accept Him and His creation as good, then he must have a purpose for the spouse and family He has given us.

6)Support of Others: Every couple who spoke of hard times in their relationships (illness, broken dreams, accidents) spoke of the faith and family communities who supported them and made those difficult times not only bearable, but true learning and enriching experiences. That is what Church is all about – a community of support—of knowing, loving and SERVING each other.

"Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen. For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.” 1 Thes 1: 1-5

Heavenly Father Your wisdom is beyond all ages. Grant us Your mercy when we fail to know You, love You and serve You, especially when we fail to know, love and serve you through our spouse . Give us wisdom to learn through our marriages and our relationships the reasons for which you have created us. Thank you for the blessings of the bonds of marriage, family and the Church who You created as our community of support. Amen.

God is all knowing so it makes sense that He would teach us about Himself through others. Allow us to show our love for Him by the way we know, love and serve others.

Reflect upon what the wisdom of all age looks like—know him, love him, serve him,

Blessings,

Charlotte

www.morningreflection.blogspot.com

I Don't Want to!

Women of Faith:

I wonder how many times during my lifetime I have said or thought “I don’t want to do that.”

I wanted healthier, happier, richer or better. I wanted more. I wanted something different than what I had at the moment. I didn’t want to serve. I didn’t want to suffer. I didn’t want to give up anything of my own.

But as Curtis Martin says in the book, ‘Made for More,’ it isn’t “my more,” it is “God’s more.” It is not “my will” but “thy will be done.”

I am here to serve Him. What I have is not mine, it is “His.” I am here to live as He did, that may mean I must suffer as He did. That means I must give my life for Him as He did for me. What would have happened had Jesus said, “I don’t want to?”

As I sat in church yesterday morning I was thinking about the rest of my day. Actually almost angry that it wasn’t going to go as I wanted because I had been given a job I didn’t want and didn’t ask for. I thought my job should have been assigned to someone else so that I could do what I wanted instead of having to do what “they” wanted.

And then it was as if God had chosen the bible readings for the morning especially to speak to me; specifically to remind me of why I was “put here in this place.”

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” Rom 12:1-2
He said, “Make the most of it.” “It is not about what you want, but what I want.” “I have a purpose for you today.” “You may not personally feel happier, healthier or richer, but by doing what is my will, by serving Me, by serving others, someone else may come to find Me in their own life.” “You are made for more.”

He reminded me that my life is about the choices I make for Him, not the choices I make for myself. He might ask me to do something I don’t want to do. Right now I am not supposed to know the reason because He does. He has a mission for me. If I am doing “His will” then I will be living His purpose for me. I will be serving someone that needs a kind word, sharing my gifts with someone who needs them more than me, or working because someone else can’t.

“You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life." Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct." Mt 16: 21-27

I don’t know who I touched or who I might have served yesterday that needed to “feel” Him. But God does. It is not for me to know. It is God’s will, not mine.

Heavenly Father, in Your name I give You praise. Thank you for giving me healthy hands and feet which can work and stand for Your greater glory. Help me to accept that everything in my life will not always be better and that I may have to do something I don’t necessarily want to do; that I may even have to suffer as You did for me. Conform me to Your will. Make me More for You. Amen.

Today may be our day to serve our spouse, our children, our parents or a friend—with a kind word, patience or a hug. It may not be “convenient” to do so but we are made to serve Him, not ourselves. We are made to “live for more!”

May you be richly blessed for doing God’s will,

Charlotte