Sanctification
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV)
STORY
Is it so wrong to be the Charlie Browns of the community? Linus and Charlie are standing behind what they refer to as their “thinking wall.” Charlie, with a profound look of despair on his face, causes Linus to ask, “You seem bothered by something, Charlie Brown…” To which he receives this oration, “I keep having this daydream, I see myself years from now at a huge banquet…..The master of ceremonies is introducing the head table, and when he gets to me, I am introduced as a ‘former great’…..” To which Linus with insight replies, “Before you can be a ‘former great,’ Charlie Brown, you have to be a ‘great’” Perplexed, Charlie answers, “That’s what bothers me!” So what is great?
DEVOTION
Great, it is just being a good person? Not a perfect person, just a kind person. It is a person with flaws and faults, coupled with goodness and graciousness. Isaiah reflected upon who we are and who we would like to be. He begins by describing the shortcomings of his people. They are quarrelsome, jealous, at times lazy, and at worse display injustice. Yet, they have not entirely forsaken their God and they have not closed their hearts to receiving the preaching of the prophet. And in time, there was a transformation in their behavior. Did they become perfect? No. Though, they did become better. This restoration to righteous behavior is testified to by Isaiah when he says, “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
So, was Charlie Brown great? Are either you or me great? At times yes; at times no. So what is great? To answer Charlie’s question from a Christian perspective, it means to constantly struggle to be obedient to the scriptures.
Points to Ponder
> What is your understanding of what it means to be great?
o For me: It is to live a compassionate life. In the scriptures only Jesus, and Jesus alone, had the attribute of compassion. The Greek word splanchnitzomai, “to have compassion,” is solely reserved for Jesus. Whenever Jesus acted with compassion or spoke the word in his teaching it became the turning point in the life another, bringing reconciliation and restoration, wholeness and healing. Judaism associates maternity with compassion. The Hebrew word for compassion rachamin is derived from rehem which means “womb” or “uterus.” If one becomes engaged in a compassionate act the womb – the sacrosanct nurturer of life – is pained. Compassion, for the Jewish community, expresses a feminine characteristic of God. The English word for compassion is derived from two Latin words, com “with” and pati “to suffer.” Compassion means “to suffer with.” It means total and complete solidarity with another individual in which his or her suffering becomes that of my own. The suffering of the afflicted one is transposed into the soul of the caregiver. The suffering of one can no longer be distinguished from the suffering of the other. I, and the other, have now become one and the same. Realizing that Jesus was the only truly compassionate person to walk the earth, it is my Christian endeavor to emulate the compassion of Jesus the best that I can.
> What can you do to be great?
o For me: As I have just written, it is to be a compassionate individual.
> Who have you known in your life that you would consider to be great?
o For me: It would be my Uncle Bud, who was my father’s older brother. We lived in Lorain, Ohio, and Uncle Bud lived in Massillon, Ohio, yet from birth to my late teenage years my family would visit Massillon one weekend a moth. Even limited to monthly encounters, Uncle Bud had a profound influence on my life. This was because I so much admired his life-style and disposition. I came to appreciate his values and his quiet though very evident Christian orientation. I also saw him to be a very kind and gentle individual, who really cared about others.
Please share other Points to Ponder so I can update my list
Please share your thoughts with me – if you desire I will publish them for others to read anonymously or first name only or your entire name as you choose