The Inside, not the Outside!

     I had planned on how to avoid being a Christian Grinch today, but I will save that for next week. I am writing today while fighting off an infection, and I don't have the brain space required to write down all of my thoughts about how de-Grinch oneself.
     So today I mostly share from some of my journal entries along the general theme of focusing on the internal rather the external. Why do that? Because focusing on the less important, external things seems to be the human condition--one that believers in Jesus too often remain stuck in even after many God encounters. In spite of Jesus' many words about the "heart," motives, thoughts, and the like, it just seems easier to deal with externals at times, eh? (behavior, healing the body without regard to the soul or relationships, getting financial relief without learning deep confidence in Papa's kindness, etc.).
     So here are a couple of journal entries wherein I reflect about this. Maybe they will serve you in some small way. I will add a couple of comments along the way, but they are mostly as they were written at the time--a good view into my relationship with Papa, if nothing else.
     Regarding "Doing the Right Thing," an entry from June 1 this year. (Kate is one of our nine very special grandchildren--a charming 3 1/2 year who regularly captures her grandpa's attention and heart!): "Papa, I smile a little as I remember your reminder early this morning to heed my own counsel, posted on Twitter yesterday: 'Real change happens when we shift our focus from doing the right thing to becoming the ‘right person’ by being with the right Person and the right people.' It hit me that a lot of my struggles of late derive from my extreme desire to do the right thing. That has always been my main point of stumbling and vulnerability to attack from the accuser, Papa, but I thought I had placed it in the proper perspective. Perhaps the train wreck knocked it loose, eh? But it’s more likely that the painful journey just exposed deeper roots. So here I am, Papa, aware of my great and continuing need to have you work even more change in my heart and thinking. It is important, of course, to do the right thing, but making doing the focus instead of having it flow from a transformed heart always seems to lead me to sadness and stuckness. And seeing Kate’s childlikeness this morning: her innocent and truly joyful and carefree smile, pierced me deeply. That’s what childlikeness really means! Ah, Papa. And knowing you as Father, truly knowing you, will lead to that same kind of childlikeness in us, won’t it? Help me to keep that picture in my mind a lot, please."
     Regarding "Healing what really matters in the way that matters," another entry on the same day: "Ah, Papa. Wisdom flows from you this morning. I think of ministering healing to stress-related diseases, and you show me that people often settle for asking only to end of the symptoms instead of asking you to heal their hearts and thinking (paradigms which power perspective which powers emotion, as suggested in The Shack.)
     "Yes, you give me yet another big thought! We keep asking you to change circumstances, change external things, and you want to give us a much greater gift: changing us so that circumstances no longer dictate how we live life! And then I 'just happen' to see the quote posted on FB from The Unhurried Life! “The way of Jesus is too slow, inefficient and painful. Jesus’ resourcefulness is love, ours is money ...we want Jesus to step it up to make things happen at our pace rather than slowing down our pace to match His. His is the pace of caring and concern not an arbitrary pace of productivity or so-called efficiency." (p. 77). Ah, Papa. (but slow is scary, Papa!)"

     One final thought, not from my journal but from God's journal (The Bible). Take a look at Jesus' model prayer and the prayers of the Apostle Paul and see what you find. My sense is that you may find a clear emphasis upon praying to/from the inside. Consider just this one example: "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge –that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV1984)

Looking for the heart of the matter…

Tom, one of Abba's children