“Whatever the agency, let children be assured that the work is the work of God, to be accomplished in the strength of God, according to the laws of God: that it is our part to make ourselves acquainted with the laws we would work out, and that, having done all, we wait for the inspiration of the divine life, even as the diligent farmer waits upon sunshine and shower.”
– Excerpt from <Parents and Children> by Charlotte Mason
“God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us.”
“By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done.”
– Excerpts from <Celebration of Discipline> by Richard J. Foster
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. – 1 Cor. 15:10
The deeper our understanding of God’s grace goes, the deeper we go into diligence, into the working out of spiritual disciplines, into working harder. We do this not because we are better than others nor because we want to gain God’s approval. We do this because God’s grace compels the sinner to respond to such amazing love in what we can: simple and humble faith and obedience.
Often times I am appalled at how little I seem to understand God’s grace when I harbor grumpiness, lust, greed, pride, or ‘how could they do that?!’ thoughts. And that makes God’s continuous forgiveness and kindness all the more compelling. The more I receive, the more I am bound to give. And oh, have I received much from my Abba Father. And I continue to receive so much.
I’ve been reading the passages in Mark that talk about Jesus’ crucifixion as part of my freelance work. The more I read those passages, the more I am struck with how humiliating and unfair everything–from the verbal and physical abuse to the spiritual-realm-level battles that must have gone inside Jesus–was. When I see glimpses of this pain, it makes me never ever want to sin again. The price Jesus paid is the greatest that could ever have been paid. I don’t want to grieve the Father, the Holy Spirit, nor my Savior Jesus in going back to drink poisoned water. How can I do this?
Be like a diligent farmer. While the farmer cannot provide sunshine and shower at his beck and call, he can work the land, plant seeds, take the weeds out. Diligently wait upon God in the quiet, still place. Show up at the place where I can receive His grace.
A closer look into Eli's special thoughts 