March 14, 2006

Meditation:
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment
on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat
everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only
vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on
him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must
not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who
are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he
stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to
make him stand.
-- Romans 14:1-4 (ESV)

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Quotation:
I am persuaded that some have scarce any better or more
forcible argument to satisfy their own minds that they are in
the right in religion than the inclination they find in
themselves to hate and persecute them whom they suppose to be
in the wrong.
... John Owen (1616-1683)





march 10th



Meditation:
Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks : so longeth my
soul after thee, O God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even
for the living God : when shall I come to appear before the
presence of God?
-- Psalm 42:1-2 (Coverdale)

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Quotation:
When we look out towards this love that moves the stars
and stirs in the child's heart and claims our total
allegiance, and remember that this alone is Reality and we are
only real so far as we conform to its demands, we see our
human situation from a fresh angle; and we perceive that it is
both more humble and dependent, and more splendid, than we had
dreamed. We are surrounded and penetrated by great spiritual
forces of which we hardly know anything. Yet the outward
events of our life cannot be understood, except in their
relation to that unseen and intensely living world, the
Infinite Charity which penetrates and supports us, the God
whom we resist and yet for whom we thirst; who is ever at
work, transforming the self-centered desire of the natural
creature into the wide spreading, outpouring love of the
citizen of Heaven.
... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The School of Charity
[1934]





March 3, 2006

Meditation:
[Jesus:] Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that
was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When
it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the
good into containers but threw away the bad.
-- Matthew 13:47,48

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Quotation:
"The Kingdom of Heaven," said the Lord Christ, "is among
you." But what, precisely, is the Kingdom of Heaven? You
cannot point to existing specimens, saying, "Lo, here!" or
"Lo, there!" You can only experience it. But what is it like,
so that when we experience it we may recognize it? Well, it is
a change, like being born again and relearning everything from
the start. It is secret, living power--like yeast. It is
something that grows, like seed. It is precious like buried
treasure, like a rich pearl, and you have to pay for it. It is
a sharp cleavage through the rich jumble of things which life
presents: like fish and rubbish in a draw-net, like wheat and
tares; like wisdom and folly; and it carries with it a kind of
menacing finality; it is new, yet in a sense it was always
there--like turning out a cupboard and finding there your own
childhood as well as your present self; it makes demands, it
is like an invitation to a royal banquet--gratifying, but not
to be disregarded, and you have to live up to it; where it is
equal, it seems unjust; where it is just it is clearly not
equal?as with the single pound, the diverse talents, the
laborers in the vineyard, you have what you bargained for; it
knows no compromise between an uncalculating mercy and a
terrible justice--like the unmerciful servant, you get what you
give; it is helpless in your hands like the King?s Son, but if
you slay it, it will judge you; it was from the foundations of
the world; it is to come; it is here and now; it is within
you. It is recorded that the multitudes sometimes failed to
understand.
... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (1893-1957), The Poetry of Search
[1963]