Matthew 10. Lessons from our Lord in life.
Matthew 10:34-42
"Characteristics of Generation Me
Not every generational researcher agrees on the definition of Generation Me. Most commonly, Generation Me is simply another name for Generation Y, which includes everyone born between the early 1980s and the turn of the century. However, some sociologists extend Generation Me back into the 70s to include a portion of Generation X, because many of the cultural factors that created Generation Me were taking effect at that time. Also, note that the term "the Me Generation" is sometimes applied to Baby Boomers to contrast them with the self-sacrificing Greatest Generation that came before them. If that sounds awfully similar to the way we describe Generation Me, then it may be true that the older generation always thinks the younger one is self-serving and spoiled. To make things more confusing, sometimes "the Me Generation" and "Generation Me" are used interchangeably.
On the other hand, if you've met a lot of Generation Me people, or happen to be one, it's hard to deny an element of truth in the Gen Me identity." from people.howstuffworks.com
Today's meditation is about things that the above person does not understand much. A key word is worthy in this reading. áksios (an adjective derived from aksō, "to weigh") – properly, to weigh in, assigning the matching value ("worth-to-worth"); worthy, i.e. as the assessment in keeping with how something "weighs in" on God's balance-scale of truth.
This seems to be the thought we should weigh in on literally. How we view things here must be seen in relation to " God's balance scale of truth." Opinions come and go. The Word of the LORD is from everlasting. It is settled in heaven as the Psalmist says forever. Why argue with that?
I noted that our scale at the house was weighing me at a lighter weight. I was not using a perfect scale. I thought I had lost several pounds, but now I find I was cheating myself. Don't people do that when they assume they know the truth without consulting the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life?Hebrews 1:1 says that God spoke in time past through the prophets but in these last days He has spoken through His Son Jesus.
Secondly we see " And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." What does it mean to take our cross? " We cannot be reckoned his disciples unless we are prepared to endure many afflictions. If we are vexed and tormented by the thought, that the gospel should set us at variance with our father, or our wife, or our children, let us remember this condition, that Christ subjects all his disciples to the cross Yet let us also bear in mind this consolation, that, in bearing the cross, we are the companions of Christ, -- which will speedily have the effect of allaying all its bitterness. " John Calvin
This definitely is the opposite of meism religion that only looks out for one's own interests and not the interest of Christ and others.
Thirdly, we find our lives and do not lose them with Christ. " He that loseth his life for my sake will find it." 10:39 Those who are trusting in Christ can probably tell you of a day when they did not. It is interesting how God uses situations, circumstances and people in our lives to bring us to realize we cannot save ourselves. Our religion is so poor compared to the religion of Christ. What brought you to realize you are not your own and that as the Apostle said " You are bought with a price, so glorify God in your body."
I have known a few WW II vets and there are not many left. They were inspiring souls that were self-sacrificing. At one of my churches one of these strong men led the church, and when he left this earth, we were all poorer. He seemed to look at things with the understanding that little issues were small but the conflict he had to endure was so great , and out of it he came home a different person.
That may be what we need as well to know that out of our loss we can find the true meaning of life. We lose the little things so that we may see the big picture , of God's loving control of the details of our life . We thought they were just never going to work out, but somehow in the middle of it all we realized that there was a plan, a plan that we could never imagine, and that God was making a rainbow after the rain.
He allows us to go through trials and difficulties so that our hearts and knees may be bowed and we would look for His guidance in the midst of our struggles here that actually in time are so small compared to that glorious life here after where we shall enjoy His presence forever and see Him face to face. All will be clear. All will be known. Now our duty is to but trust that as we acknowledge Him in all our ways He will direct our paths.
In conclusion, I found this excerpt from a book by Elihu Root in 1920 about Lincoln as a leader of men, and it applies to us as well in how we handle problems:"
He had three qualities of the highest value. The first was sympathy–genuine appreciative sympathy for all his fellow men. Contemplation of human nature furnishes nothing more encouraging than the general response of mankind to such a quality; it cannot be simulated; it must be real; and then it begets its like in others. Secretary Stanton used to get out of patience with Lincoln because he was all the time pardoning men who ought to be shot; but no one can tell how much the knowledge of that quality in him drew the people of the country toward him and won their confidence and support. Above all, that quality enabled him to understand men, to appreciate how they felt, and why they acted as they did, and how they could be set right when they were wrong.
The second quality was a sense of proportion, with which is always associated humor, or a sense of humor. He knew intuitively what was big and important and must be insisted upon, and what might seem big, but was really small and unimportant, and might be sacrificed without harm. Such a statement may seem a matter of course and of little consequence; but, if we look back in history, we can see that a large part of the most bitter controversies in politics and religion and statecraft and opinion in all fields have been about matters which really were not in themselves of the slightest consequence; and we may realize how important it is in great crises to have leaders who can form the same kind of judgment about the relative importance of questions at issue that future generations may readily form in the reading of history.
The third quality of Lincoln’s was his subordination of himself to his cause. He liked to get on in the world, of course, as any normal man does; but the way he got on was by thinking about his job, not by thinking about himself. During all these years he was not thinking about making Abraham Lincoln famous; he was thinking about putting an end to slavery and preserving the Union. It is interesting to observe that the two who have attained the highest pinnacles are not to be found among the millions of Americans who have dreamed of power and fame for themselves. Washington and Lincoln reached their preeminence by thinking about their work and forgetting themselves."M
"Characteristics of Generation Me
Not every generational researcher agrees on the definition of Generation Me. Most commonly, Generation Me is simply another name for Generation Y, which includes everyone born between the early 1980s and the turn of the century. However, some sociologists extend Generation Me back into the 70s to include a portion of Generation X, because many of the cultural factors that created Generation Me were taking effect at that time. Also, note that the term "the Me Generation" is sometimes applied to Baby Boomers to contrast them with the self-sacrificing Greatest Generation that came before them. If that sounds awfully similar to the way we describe Generation Me, then it may be true that the older generation always thinks the younger one is self-serving and spoiled. To make things more confusing, sometimes "the Me Generation" and "Generation Me" are used interchangeably.
On the other hand, if you've met a lot of Generation Me people, or happen to be one, it's hard to deny an element of truth in the Gen Me identity." from people.howstuffworks.com
Today's meditation is about things that the above person does not understand much. A key word is worthy in this reading. áksios (an adjective derived from aksō, "to weigh") – properly, to weigh in, assigning the matching value ("worth-to-worth"); worthy, i.e. as the assessment in keeping with how something "weighs in" on God's balance-scale of truth.
This seems to be the thought we should weigh in on literally. How we view things here must be seen in relation to " God's balance scale of truth." Opinions come and go. The Word of the LORD is from everlasting. It is settled in heaven as the Psalmist says forever. Why argue with that?
I noted that our scale at the house was weighing me at a lighter weight. I was not using a perfect scale. I thought I had lost several pounds, but now I find I was cheating myself. Don't people do that when they assume they know the truth without consulting the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life?Hebrews 1:1 says that God spoke in time past through the prophets but in these last days He has spoken through His Son Jesus.
Secondly we see " And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." What does it mean to take our cross? " We cannot be reckoned his disciples unless we are prepared to endure many afflictions. If we are vexed and tormented by the thought, that the gospel should set us at variance with our father, or our wife, or our children, let us remember this condition, that Christ subjects all his disciples to the cross Yet let us also bear in mind this consolation, that, in bearing the cross, we are the companions of Christ, -- which will speedily have the effect of allaying all its bitterness. " John Calvin
This definitely is the opposite of meism religion that only looks out for one's own interests and not the interest of Christ and others.
Thirdly, we find our lives and do not lose them with Christ. " He that loseth his life for my sake will find it." 10:39 Those who are trusting in Christ can probably tell you of a day when they did not. It is interesting how God uses situations, circumstances and people in our lives to bring us to realize we cannot save ourselves. Our religion is so poor compared to the religion of Christ. What brought you to realize you are not your own and that as the Apostle said " You are bought with a price, so glorify God in your body."
I have known a few WW II vets and there are not many left. They were inspiring souls that were self-sacrificing. At one of my churches one of these strong men led the church, and when he left this earth, we were all poorer. He seemed to look at things with the understanding that little issues were small but the conflict he had to endure was so great , and out of it he came home a different person.
That may be what we need as well to know that out of our loss we can find the true meaning of life. We lose the little things so that we may see the big picture , of God's loving control of the details of our life . We thought they were just never going to work out, but somehow in the middle of it all we realized that there was a plan, a plan that we could never imagine, and that God was making a rainbow after the rain.
He allows us to go through trials and difficulties so that our hearts and knees may be bowed and we would look for His guidance in the midst of our struggles here that actually in time are so small compared to that glorious life here after where we shall enjoy His presence forever and see Him face to face. All will be clear. All will be known. Now our duty is to but trust that as we acknowledge Him in all our ways He will direct our paths.
In conclusion, I found this excerpt from a book by Elihu Root in 1920 about Lincoln as a leader of men, and it applies to us as well in how we handle problems:"
He had three qualities of the highest value. The first was sympathy–genuine appreciative sympathy for all his fellow men. Contemplation of human nature furnishes nothing more encouraging than the general response of mankind to such a quality; it cannot be simulated; it must be real; and then it begets its like in others. Secretary Stanton used to get out of patience with Lincoln because he was all the time pardoning men who ought to be shot; but no one can tell how much the knowledge of that quality in him drew the people of the country toward him and won their confidence and support. Above all, that quality enabled him to understand men, to appreciate how they felt, and why they acted as they did, and how they could be set right when they were wrong.
The second quality was a sense of proportion, with which is always associated humor, or a sense of humor. He knew intuitively what was big and important and must be insisted upon, and what might seem big, but was really small and unimportant, and might be sacrificed without harm. Such a statement may seem a matter of course and of little consequence; but, if we look back in history, we can see that a large part of the most bitter controversies in politics and religion and statecraft and opinion in all fields have been about matters which really were not in themselves of the slightest consequence; and we may realize how important it is in great crises to have leaders who can form the same kind of judgment about the relative importance of questions at issue that future generations may readily form in the reading of history.
The third quality of Lincoln’s was his subordination of himself to his cause. He liked to get on in the world, of course, as any normal man does; but the way he got on was by thinking about his job, not by thinking about himself. During all these years he was not thinking about making Abraham Lincoln famous; he was thinking about putting an end to slavery and preserving the Union. It is interesting to observe that the two who have attained the highest pinnacles are not to be found among the millions of Americans who have dreamed of power and fame for themselves. Washington and Lincoln reached their preeminence by thinking about their work and forgetting themselves."M
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