The road to evil (hell) is paved with good intentions but the road to heaven is filled with good works .... Bernard of Clairvaux.
What a thought grabbing statement. It stops one in one's tracks. Slam the brakes to the floor and pay attention for the road we are on leads to either death or life. Please be careful my friends and give stern notice to your intentions in life. WOW!!! Sitting back in your easy chair or in your kitchen, living room or wherever, it may just be the time to look at your priorities, your best laid plans, your guiding motivations. I do caution you -- be very careful how you proceed here -- this could be life changing!
Quite simply, it could be that some or all of those good ideas or thoughts you are having could lead to negative consequences that were unintended. A person begins with good thoughts, wonderful thoughts, promising to themselves and perhaps even to others, their intention to do the to do the right thing, for the right(?) reasons.
However, without realizing it, all of a sudden priorities in life change, time becomes a limiting factor, and alas, the good intentions go astray. You have commit yourself and others to walk down a path at first motivated first by best intentions but in the end you realize that the outcome will only come back to bite you in a larger than life way, reflecting bad light back upon you and as Joseph's brothers found out - cost you your much valued freedom too (Genesis 50:15) and much valued control over your life.
As the brothers of Joseph are about to find out: The plans of the mind belong to mortals, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit (Proverbs 16:1-2). The Lord weighs the spirit. The Lord looks at the heart of our intentions and where there were roads paved with self motivation He causes great pot holes to form. Pot holes that will prayerfully jar and jolt our spirits into the realization that we need to turn off this road before we loose our tires, our suspensions, our shocks and our teeth.
The story of Joseph is an amazing one. The brothers are intently jealous of their younger brother. Enough so that they plot and plan with great earnest and with the very worst of intentions, to get rid of him and then justify it with lies to papa. So they sell him to traders and tell papa that he was eaten by wild animals, sending papa into a prolonged state of mourning. They figure Joseph is out of their hair for good. Eventually as the story goes, Joseph rises to the very pinnacle of power in Egypt. Now, the brothers are in Egypt seeking relief from a great famine from Joseph though they do not recognize him. Joseph reveals himself to them and this is where Genesis 50:15 picks up the story line. The brothers are cornered by all their good intentions and are trying to figure out how to survive, how to regain control.
Then that amazing statement (Genesis 50:20), the amazing end to this incredible story. Verse 20 reveals an often overlooked truth in the Bible, a truth that too many are not motivated to testify or witness to. It is this: It summarizes God's greater intention to get over yourself and what motivates you and by faith, intentionally enter into a relationship with God not based on the threat of judgement but on the promise of grace, mercy and forgiveness. It summarizes for us the entire history of faith - yours, mine and for everyone. It ties up in a neat little bow all the loose ends of the human condition and brings it under the umbrella of God's amazing story of grace. What an astounding truth! What a life changing truth! God's road paved by love! Isn't this a message that we should all be motivated to take into our hearts?
Our lives are all motivated by the very best of intentions - the love of God, the love of family, the love of our neighbors, our communities, our churches. We are motivated to be the very best and give the very best to those we love the most and sometimes to those whom we are called to love. Sometimes malevolence gets in the way and we become challenged in ways that force us to reconsider our priorities, our intentions, our choices for which road we will intentionally walk down. The fact is this: Life happens and we cannot change it. Life happens and life changes and we are compelled to make choices as to how we respond to those changes. Most times it seems pretty easy to make those choices and of course not so easy.
Whatever these choices we end up making in response to the changes thrust upon us, it is very clear that each one will result in lives being changed, lives being transformed, lives being shaped by experience for a future we cannot predict. Sometimes we find our hearts in a place that feels malevolent - these are the most difficult choices we don't like making and feel guided by the principle of 'tough love' to make. Our spirit's feel very uneasy as we follow through on our decisions. We may even enter the realm of guilt for the choices we felt we were compelled to make. Sometimes there are very unsavory consequences to making these choices. Yet we make them none the less accepting the possibility of an ending we have zero control over and the very real possibility it will or may result in a bad outcome . We have all been here we have all experienced this place in life. God knows this!!!
But there is an amazing truth here that often gets overlooked as we get bogged down in the pro's versus con's process of making these choices. There is this amazing mystery summed up by these words "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. Blind but now I see." God has this awesome ability to take our best and worst intentions, our best motivations and regardless of the outcome, and will create order from chaos. From the very first verses of Genesis, we learn that God's Spirit 'hovers' all of His creation. And that, my very good friends, means US. We are His very best intentions motivated by the desire to share in a relationship based on grace. God is in complete control of chaos. God will shape this chaos and turn it into 'good' order.
What a reason to stay positive in every single situation in life. Try to imagine how God is in the midst of the choices that you make - easy or tough, loving or malevolent. Try to place yourself into a place of 'awe' and 'wonder' where God is actively working in your life to create exits from the fowler's snare (Psalm 91:1-4). Keep in your heart that Proverbs 16:1,4 promises us that 'The plans of the mind belong to mortals, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.' 'The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.
And that is the Good News for us! God is acting behind the scenes even when we may not recognize his presence. When we struggle with our very best of intentions or are guided by moments of malevolence as Joseph's brothers were, God is nonetheless there and He makes the final determination how the outcome is shaped; how the outcome declares the true light and glory of His grace.
What motivates the choices that you make? What are your priorities and how do they change when you are confronted by both easy and difficult choices? Can you feel the presence of the Lord in the midst of those times that seem to be ruled more by chaos? Do you experience the power of the Holy Spirit to effect positive and powerful change in your life? Are you ready to transform how you choose?
Let us pray:
Lord, we thank you for the love and power of your mercy and your grace. You have brought us into this moment in our lives and our life together.
We confess to you the moments of chaos that we find ourselves in right now. We confess that our hearts have not always been guided or motivated by your divine intentions. And we sometimes make choices that we know we will come to regret later. Sometimes we feel our lives are surrounded more by the fowler than by you. We confess that we have not always wanted the best for ourselves or our neighbors. We are more motivated to please ourselves and place our needs above others. We confess that we are motivated by memories of the past that still hurt us, that the uncertainties of tomorrow makes us anxious and fearful. We further confess that we simply place more trust in our chaos and not enough of our trust in your order.
Father of grace and mercy, use our chaos to create order in our lives. Forgive us our faithlessness and help us to believe in you more. Transform us from the inside out to be a reflection of the image by which you first created us in your image. We claim before you now the blood of your Son Jesus Christ through whom we make this plea. Answer our moments of chaos with your created order. AMEN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I
No comments:
Post a Comment