Thank you for your prayers. Decided to take a week leave just to relax and gather my strength and thoughts. The operation went very well accept for the nausea I experienced after the anesthetic. As a friend pointed out yesterday that the actual surgery like so many things is not the big thing, it’s the 6-8 months of post-op physio that will be the challenge. A bit like justification and sanctification.
While justification is instantaneous, in other words, those who trust Jesus Christ for justification by faith alone receive a perfect righteousness that is reckoned to them. Sanctification on the other hand is the work of a lifetime as we cooperate with God to transform us from the inside out. This brings me to the topic I spoke about yesterday, the need to humble ourselves.
I received a letter yesterday from a person that I hurt (not physically) but with words which in my opinion has far more long-term effects and consequences than a physical injury like a torn ACL ligament. We got into an argument over the telephone which escalated with both of us saying things we should not have. Somewhere in the discussion I felt a need to get even and win the argument. But pride always ends in humiliation (Proverbs 29:23).
All around us we are nurtured by the way of the world to always have the last say, to win the argument if you prefer. This is what most people want in life to be number one, to be successful, to win the discussion. That was the topic of discussion among the disciples one day when they asked Jesus, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” (Matthew 18:1).
I just love the way Jesus handled conflict. Jesus basically bypassed the question and did something completely unexpected. He called a little child over and then set the child among them. Imagine the scene: there was a little child, looking around at the disciples who had just been arguing amongst themselves trying to be wise and clever. Then Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt. 18:3–4).
The point Jesus was trying to make is not that we should be childish (See Eph. 4:14), but that we should always seek to have a childlike faith. There is a big difference between the two.
Once again I have been reminded of how much I need God in my life, how much I need to grow up spiritually if I am going to correctly represent God in the world. How I need to have the humility of a child for God to transform my life and make me more like His Son Jesus Christ.
God bless
Berny