 Spiritual: May 10, 2017 Issue [#8263] |
  Spiritual
This week: What Would Jesus Do? Edited by: Shannon  
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Welcome to the Spiritual Newsletter. My name is Shannon and I'm your editor this week. |
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meek
[meek]
adjective, meeker, meekest.
1. humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others.
2. overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame.
3. Obsolete. gentle; kind.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." ~ Matthew 5:5 (KJV)
According to dictionary.com's first two definitions, I am not meek. I can be (and usually am) gentle and kind, but I'm no pushover. I used to be, and it's something I worked very hard to overcome.
Yes, I manhandled my meekness like a defensive tackle at the line of scrimmage. I didn't see it as a positive thing, and here's why: I was raised to do what I was told, no questions asked. After all, God said children should honor their father and mother. It's one of the ten commandments.
Quiet obedience and servitude were all I knew growing up. Add private school followed by homeschooling later on, not to mention isolation in the middle of nowhere Alaska, and that made me easy pickings for an abusive, controlling relationship by the time I reached my late teens and early twenties.
Little did I know it at the time, but I wasn't a servile abnegator after all. Unfortunately, it took me three years to figure that out, but I got there eventually.
Having grown up when and how I did, there was always someone else, inevitably a man, telling me what the scriptures said and meant. Of course, we read selections in Sunday School and in church, and at the private school my brothers and I attended we were assigned lengthy verses to memorize and recite in front of the rest of the school (there was a total of 35 students from kindergarten to twelfth grade), but we were kids. We weren't really paying attention to what we were reading or taking any of it to heart. We were simply obeying--memorizing sections so we got a passing grade. I was an adult before I realized my whole thought process, my whole belief system was based on a book I'd never read cover to cover or bothered to study for myself. I'd simply believed everything I'd been told.
Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." ~ Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV)
I bought myself a little pocket-size King James New Testament, red-letter edition. After everything I'd been through I was done listening to men tell me how to dress, what to think, and how to behave: no makeup, only wear clear nail polish, shoes must be closed-toe, skirts must touch the floor when you kneel to pray, remember the six-inch rule (no coming within six inches of the opposite sex), etc. Between all that and my miserable, abusive first marriage I was sick to death of it. I was twenty-something years old, and the only man I was interested in listening to was Jesus. I believed my desire to know the truth was enough, and that reading His words would reveal everything I needed to know. He was here for thirty-three years. If it's important, Jesus will have mentioned it. If it's a deal breaker, He'll have said so.
So I read. I didn't read the whole New Testament; I was only interested in hearing what Jesus had to say. I read the red letters and bypassed the rest. I did find answers, but I also found much more than I expected, oftentimes by noticing something's complete omission. I won't get into what I learned or what I believe; I think instead of listening to others one should read His words for him- or herself.
The Sermon on the Mount is beautiful, and The Beatitudes are well known by believers and nonbelievers alike. Jesus embodied kindness, grace, mercy, and love ... an ideal worth aspiring to. At one point Jesus says "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) Easy for Him to say! I thought. He's like ... Jesus!
I was--am--far from perfection.
My upbringing was all I knew, so it took time for me to realize it wasn't the norm. Eventually, I was able to open my heart to another. This one, to whom I've been married twenty-eight years, was a gift from God. He says I saved him, but what really happened is we saved each other. In addition, he restored my faith in men. Of course, we've had our ups and downs like any other long-married couple, but we've stuck it out and weathered the storm by putting each other's feelings before our own.
I still believe everything, spiritually speaking, that humanity needs to know can be found by reading Jesus's words and following His example to the best of our ability. Whether you believe Jesus was God in the flesh or simply a masterful teacher--the epitome of humanity's potential, His words and actions illuminate the quintessential goal.
Have you studied Jesus's teachings? Did you find answers that seem to differ from what you were taught? Share your experiences, comments, and thoughts about this week's newsletter and I will include them in next month's edition.
Peace and blessings.
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The following is in response to "A Guided Meditation" :
Quick-Quill  writes: I meditate. Its called praying. Keeping my mind focused on those who have asked for prayer guides my prayer life. Being comfortable is critical. Having your "WAR ROOM" devoid of distraction is a must. Keeping a list of those who need immediate answers and those who need another mention of their affliction to the almighty is comforting to me as well as those who have asked for prayer.
A couple of weeks ago my husband ended up in the ER. His lungs full and almost drowning. I got a call from him in desperation as I was in Oregon and he was in Utah. I typed out a call for prayer on FB. Immediately prayers went up. As the the situation became more stable I again asked for prayer as I flew to SLC. My FB friends came to our rescue and he's fine and back to work already. I love my prayer warriors on FaceBook.
Ugh, that's so scary! I'm glad to hear your hubby is okay. It's wonderful to have such close family and reliable friends to turn to in times of need.
For me, prayer and meditation are two separate things:
"Although prayer relies upon the meditative mood, it is none the less a goal-directed activity. In prayer, a person calls upon a deity in some manner. They give praise or offer thanks; seek forgiveness, consolation or assistance; or enter into some other relationship with the deity. This goal-directed form of praying, by far the most common type, is quite different from the non-striving, relatively goal-less absorption of meditation." 1
I was raised Southern Baptist, and how we prayed did anything but quiet the mind. We asked forgiveness, prayed for others, thanked God for our blessings, etc. We had a list and mentally checked things off as we went. Our minds were active, thinking, processing, formulating. During meditation, if a thought pops into my head I simply acknowledge it and let it go, going back to mental silence and as little thought as possible. Does that make sense? Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.  |
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