Humble beginnings

I am feeling inspired to write again. I recently read through a Christian homemakers blog from Vancouver, tips and tricks to making a home sustainable. I enjoyed it but I thought hey,what about the twenty-something, dating, student? She has stuff to say too right :) Anyway, Fall is coming and I am more than excited. I started my morning on the bench under the tree and my coffee and Bible. It doesn't get much better than that except maybe when I can wear a sweater and scarf as well. I love the consistency of early morning coffee, reading and prayer, I really look forward to it.

Lately I have been doing a lot of reading in Proverbs. It seems as though Solomon and God for that matter think that seeking wisdom and speaking gently are pretty important.

Lately something that has stuck with me is a verse I have seen twice now in the scriptures. ....This verse begins "The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor" Proverbs 15:33. Lately I have felt considerably humbled. This has come in me feeling out of control, something I strive for, often times without even realizing it.

I can think of honor in terms of parents. We are told we must "honor" our mother and father. We are to "honor the king". It seems a bit more difficult when our king is a tyrant and our parents have abandoned us. What do we do then. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 2:1 that "if anyone has caused pain"....that we should "turn to forgive and comfort them...and to "reaffirm our love for them". This is one of those times we see the wonderful uniqueness of God's design, when we consider the world and the sordid ways in which it has trained us. It is against our nature to turn, forgive and to comfort.

This same shift is evident when we are told that before we may stand honored, we are first to be humbled. Is this not what we see in Christ's life and resurrection to the right hand of the Father. "And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him." (Daniel 7:14)

I guess this is a comforting truth when I am in the midst of being humbled, but then again I don't want to live my life waiting for my honor. I have heard people in church talk about waiting for their "crowns in heaven" but I don't typically consider that. I guess my hope in the midst of change and development of my character lies in the truth that God is making me more like Christ..."from glory to glory until the day of Christ Jesus." He will not let me stay the same, not let me live in sin without knowing it, and he will not leave his daughter to be captured again by the world and her flesh. In this I am comforted.

"For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" Galatians 5:1