I have been hesitant lately to share my heart - the verse in Jeremiah comes to mind:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Indeed, I do not know my own heart - it seems to sway and change with the wind - and deceitful does seem to be the right word for it. But that's not really what's on my heart today. I've been pondering this verse lately: Each one should use whatever gift she has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
This verse struck something in me - like striking a gong or one of those huge bells - the reverberations are still going. I want this - I want to administer God's grace in it's various forms - this awakens something in me, stirs me. Unfortunately I have no idea what it means. I don't know how to administer God's grace. Peter didn't really give any examples. Or, rereading, maybe he did - in the same paragraph he also says "Love one each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." Those are verses to ponder on their own, aren't they? I believe my constant complaining that my apartment is not good enough for visitors probably qualifies as grumbling. But I believe there is more to administering God's grace than just hospitality, and I am determined to let God teach me what it means and how to do it.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Indeed, I do not know my own heart - it seems to sway and change with the wind - and deceitful does seem to be the right word for it. But that's not really what's on my heart today. I've been pondering this verse lately: Each one should use whatever gift she has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in it's various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
This verse struck something in me - like striking a gong or one of those huge bells - the reverberations are still going. I want this - I want to administer God's grace in it's various forms - this awakens something in me, stirs me. Unfortunately I have no idea what it means. I don't know how to administer God's grace. Peter didn't really give any examples. Or, rereading, maybe he did - in the same paragraph he also says "Love one each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." Those are verses to ponder on their own, aren't they? I believe my constant complaining that my apartment is not good enough for visitors probably qualifies as grumbling. But I believe there is more to administering God's grace than just hospitality, and I am determined to let God teach me what it means and how to do it.
Does this tie in with the gifts the small group was talking about? Its so hard to see the pickled plum in your own back. :sigh: