… until you’re dead. Actually, there are plenty of souls in purgatory who might disagree with that. They would say, ‘you don’t arrive until you’re in heaven. When I talk about our lives being steeped in humility, please, don’t misunderstand that I think I’ve arrived. In fact, I’ve been so proud, I was proud of my humility. Now that’s proud! As long as any one of us is breathing, we still have stuff to learn. As long as we’re breathing, we are still subject to pride. As long as we’re breathing, we must continue to strive to be humble because it doesn’t come naturally.
If we ask the Lord to show us where we need to grow, He’s more than happy to show us. But we must want to see it. We must want to change. We must want Him more than we want to think we’ve got it all together.
I heard somewhere that there are two kinds of people. Journey people and destination people. Journey people enjoy the process. They like scenic route. They don’t mind stopping and looking around, just because.
Destination people, on the other hand, want to get there. No stopping for potty breaks unless absolutely necessary and only when getting fuel. And absolutely no sightseeing for any reason, much less “just because.”
I am definitely a destination person. I’m the one that doesn’t want to stop long enough to get directions. Total waste of time! This was before GPS, of course. How did we ever live without it?
So, when I ask the Lord to change me, I mean business! No messing around. Let’s get down to brass tacks and “git ‘er done!” So when the Lord shows me something particularly trepidatious, I swallow hard, close my eyes and take the leap. I can’t tell you how many times I think of the scene in Indiana Jones where he is stepping off the cliff into nothing. That’s how it feels sometimes. Then, I’m proud of myself (in the good way). I’m stronger than I was. I’m freer than I was. I love Jesus more than I did before because freedom from sin is so much more pleasurable than freedom to sin, which is actually slavery, but that’s another subject for another day.
Lest that good pride turn into bad pride, it’s not very long before I come up to another obstacle where the Lord again tests my willingness to trust. I swallow hard, close my eyes and take the leap. As long as I cooperate with what He wants me to do, I get stronger, love Him more and have more peace.
It can be done. Try it.
Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. ~John 8:31-32, 36
