Most mornings Doug and I read (well, he reads to me while I drink my coffee and try to wake up) selections from a couple of books of daily readings. Every day is full of good stuff, though I may not be fully awake enough to appreciate it all. But I must have been wide awake this morning, because it was so good that I wanted to post it up for you. It’s from C.S. Lewis (A Year with C. S. Lewis, Daily Readings from His Classic Works) called “Love Your Neighbour as Yourself.” It’s really supposed to be read on July 25, but we press on. It’s a quotation from Mere Christianity. (Don’t be confused by the British spellings and punctuation. It’s the way they do it over there.) Here it is:
Well, how exactly do I love myself?
Now that I come to think of it, I have not exactly got a feeling of fondness or affection for myself, and I do not even always enjoy my own society. So apparently ‘ Love your neighbour’ does not mean ‘feel fond of him’ or ‘find him attractive’. I ought to have seen that before, because, of course, you cannot feel fond of a person by trying. Do I think well of myself, think myself a nice chap? Well, I am afraid I sometimes do (and those are, no doubt, my worst moments) but that is not why I love myself. In fact it is the other way round: my self-love makes me think myself nice, but thinking myself nice is not why I love myself. So loving my enemies does not apparently mean thinking them nice either. That is an enormous relief. For a good many people imagine that forgiving your enemies means making out that they are really not such bad fellows after all, when it is quite plain that they are. Go a step further. In my most clear-sighted moments not only do I not think myself a nice man, but I know that I am a very nasty one. I can look at some of the things I have done with horror and loathing. So apparently I am allowed to loathe and hate some of the things my enemies do.”
I love that we have a feast day called Thanksgiving. And I also love that it’s entirely American and that every where across America everyone is serving up the same basic menu on the same day. It’s just such a funny thing to think about: millions of people feeling culturally obligated to cook a turkey and serve it with all the culturally expected side dishes and pies. Pretty fantastic!
I also love making the side dishes and pies and cooking the turkey bird. Love it all, start to finish. But I have to confess that my very favorite part of it all is setting the table. I will probably set it early on, maybe even Wednesday night, so I can feast my eyes on it. I will enjoy putting every fork and spoon and goblet in exactly the right spot designated for such things. Ah, cultural expectations galore! Tradition galore!
I love making the table look beautiful. I’ve been thinking about what tablecloth or runner I’m going to use. This year it’s a Thanksgiving runner from a few years back over a pale green tablecloth from a few years back. Sounds weird, but it looks so Continue reading ‘Thanksgiving Prep’
Yesterday’s sermon, in preparation for our Thanksgiving celebrations, contrasted the virtue of gratitude with the sin of covetousness. God doesn’t mind us wanting stuff, but He cares about what we want (not our neighbor’s stuff) and how we want it. Righteous wanting is ordered and in submission to God. Ungodly wanting is disordered and covetous. But the Good News is that with our regeneration comes the death of disordered wanting and the birth of ordered wanting. When we are born again in Christ, our covetous wanting is put to death, and thanksgiving is born. Covetousness is thanksgiving’s mortal enemy.
Back when I was learning how to lead a Bible study (before I was married), I remember a little booklet my father-in-law wrote called “Too Many Opinions.” It’s been a while since I read it, but you can read it on his blog (as I linked above). It discusses how easy it is to get off the point in a Bible study, and rather than looking at the clear meaning of the text before us, we can lurch into “Well, I think it is saying….” or “I think it means….” etc. The point was to not ask, “What do you think this means?” but rather to ask a question that could be answered by looking at the text. Continue reading ‘Opinions’
Years ago when my children were small, I knew that someday I would be sitting at their feet learning from them. That day arrived some time back, and I couldn’t be more blessed by how God is blessing them. Here’s the latest:
Loving the Little Years now has a website, which will hopefully grow into a handy resource site.
And here’s Nate on NPR’s “All Things Considered” which aired today!
Spurgeon (in his entry for today) discusses Deut. 33:27, that God is our refuge. He points out that “refuge may be translated ‘mansion,’ or abiding place,’ which gives the thought that God is our abode, our home.”
Then he goes on to draw connections between our own earthly homes and what it means to dwell in God as our home. I was particularly struck by his idea of home. Here’s a summary of his comments on home.
1. “At home, we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day.”
2. “Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness.”
3. “It is also for home that we work and labour.”
4. And here’s my favorite: “At home, also, we let our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued.”
What a lovely image! And what a good thought for mothers and wives. We should labor to make our homes all these things and more. And our children and husbands should find that home is where they can let their hearts loose without fear!
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