Unearthing Joy

Who's Joy?

2009-08-13T01:14:00.007-04:00

It started somewhere back at that last post I think. And then last week Pastor Matt spoke of the church as "the joy set before [Jesus]"...

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

When I heard him speak about that the gears started to churn in my brain...
The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord. The joy of the Lord is my strength...

What does that mean after all?
It comes from Nehemiah when, during the reading of God's Law, the people began weaping. The priests encouraged the people and told them not to grieve, but instead to celebrate:

"Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them."

They had been in unbelief and exile for a long time and had not heard God's Laws. There would certainly be reason to grieve upon hearing all that had been expected of them that they had been ignorantly and even willfully neglectful of for so many years. Yet they are told "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

While enlightening in a way, this still leaves me wondering about this mysterious prescription of joy. When I connect it up with Hebrews though my heart begins to warm. You see, I had always imagined that somehow MY joy in the Lord was my strength. Utterly hopeless! But if I begin to see God's joy in me, as an inextricable part of his beloved, then I have confidence to face anything; then I have strength. Just a simple twist of perspective changes everything. The joy of the Lord is my strength. His joy is my strength. Praise God!

I was also struck some time ago by the expression in Ephesians 5:1 (and also Colossians):

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love...

"As dearly loved children." A curious little expression that I had skimmed over countless times. It is clearly meant as a motivator though and also stated as absolute fact. We are dearly loved as the children of God. It smacks of the same encouragement from Paul, "He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) What shall separate us from the love of God then?

I am wandering here a bit, I know. Forgive my scatter brained approach to this - it's 2AM and in between feedings I couldn't escape these thoughts...

If I can get away from the notion that I have to drum up joy in God and instead bask in the fact of his joy in me, perhaps I would discover that there will be strength for the pain and confusion of this sin-cursed life and maybe even joy in me after all. I want to fix my eyes on Him and all He is for me as Paul prayed:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21)

So here I embark on a mission to explore God's joy.

The Mystery of Joy

2009-06-29T22:00:00.006-04:00

I found myself immensely encouraged last Sunday in our morning worship service when we sang "The Joy of the Lord." It was the beginning of a mite-size-sense within that it was possible and acceptable to hope again. I am not even sure at this point what the joy of the Lord is, but the thought of it stirs my soul in a way I don't even know how to describe and even just THAT is a huge encouragement to me right now. Additional proof that truth, even when we don't know how to believe it, is good medicine for the soul.

The Joy of the Lord
The joy of the Lord will be my strength
I will not falter, I will not faint
He is my Shepherd, I am not afraid
The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord will be my strength
He will uphold me all of my days
I am surrounded by mercy and grace
And the joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord will be my strength
I will not waiver, walking by faith
He will be strong to deliver me safe
The joy of the Lord is my strength

The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord,
The joy of the Lord is my strength

(All words and music by Twila Paris, © 1991)

Seeking: Green Pastures

2009-05-21T04:22:00.003-04:00

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters.
he restores my soul. Psalm 23:1-3a

Our small group did a study of Genesis 29 last night. We were looking for lessons we could draw from the experience that Jacob, Rachel and Leah had of God. I was recalling to the group my experience as a young girl of wanting desperately to find that one man who would make all my dreams come true. A pursuit that consumed my life for many years. I recalled the lesson I had learned the hard way of God's dealings with Leah. He mercifully provided part of what she longed for but withheld that "one thing" she sought most. For many years I bitterly struggled with why He would withhold such a "good" thing from me. Only to later learn that that good thing had been all twisted up with idolatry in my heart and would never have satisfied the deeper need that I had for God's love and approval.

As I lie there awaiting the return of sleep early this morning it occurred to me that I still identify with Leah's struggle in that I find myself perpetually waiting for green pasture, that change in circumstances that will make everything suddenly right with my life. But doesn't Psalm 23 promise that God will bring us to these green pastures? I do believe that there are more literal green pasture times in our life. Times where things are where you would like them to be and everything seems "right" with your little world. But my experience is that pining away for these times is, in the best case, counter-productive and, more often, dis-heartening and even a slippery slope to idolatry. The green, restful pasture I ought to be seeking and the quiet waters that are most assuredly needed are those of the soul, not of my circumstances. Perhaps if I focus more on the pursuit of green pasture within (i.e. growing in knowledge of God and resting in his promises in the midst of the valley of the shadow of death) my faith would not be so ship wrecked on every treacherous, rocky path that the Lord leads me down (or would "up" be a better summary of my felt experience?).

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

What is the path of righteousness and how could that possibly be comforting to me? The path of righteousness is ALL of God's providence in my life that He chooses and leads me on for HIS name's sake. And that includes the long, difficult, barren and lonely paths of suffering. God's treatment of Leah in the Genesis account wasn't what she would have preferred but it was compassionate. Yes, he mercifully filled her house with the pitter-patter of lots of little feet, male feet at that! But what she longed for was the love and acceptance of her husband. Couldn't he have just as easily given her that? Yes. Of course he could have. But in his tender and mysterious mercy, he chose instead to lead her on a path that led her in the end to satisfaction in Him alone. How would she have come there if He had just given her that inherently good yet allusive desire of her heart?

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, This time I will praise the Lord." So she named him Judah.

And in God's good and sovereign plan, Judah would be the son through whom the whole world would be blessed.

'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

" 'In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness.' ~Jeremiah 33: 14-16
Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. ~Revelation 5:5

His ways are definitely not our ways. Praise the Lord indeed!

A Turning Point in War

2009-04-26T14:25:00.008-04:00

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
(Proverbs 16:9)

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
(Proverbs 19:21)

After completing a mini-study on spiritual gifts last year I began to examine my life and my heart to see if there was something that the Lord might be calling me to do; an area of giftedness that perhaps I could be using more productively for “kingdom work.” However, I find of late that all that is in my heart to do, the Lord says, “No” to.

My first thoughts, what seemed most prominent in my heart at least, were concerning my driving passion for the care of moms of newborns. My experiences with Lilian all the way up through Marshall’s birth seemed to be pressing me toward serving other woman in this area. The idea for Growth for Life was a product of that 4 year process. I set out on an exploration mission to see what might come of this burning desire, but it still seems to allude me. In order to move to the next official step I need two things: 1) about $150 to legally establish a business entity… I decided that from the outset I did not want to incur personal debt in order to accomplish this. I thought that if the Lord’s desire was for me to continue pursuit of the project He would provide the necessary capital. To date that has not happened. 2) A commercial printer capable of textile printing on canvas. All my internet searching has failed to produce one company that does this, although I know they exist, and so, for lack of any further ideas on how to find one and other more pressing issues to be dealt with, I set aside my research efforts.

The next area for potential investment and growth was the area of writing. This was something I was already doing by mere compulsion as I felt inspired. At first I decided to try to be more purposeful in the writing, to make it more public in order to draw out some specific feedback from others. Through that process the writing element was going well, but the specific feedback was lacking. I then decided to make my whole mission more public and made a request to people for feedback. Ever since then the trail has run completely cold. Life circumstances seem to have completely emptied my head and heart of any meaningful, thought-provoking insights into anything.

As 2008 began to wind down another area rose to the surface for consideration. We had started to feel some financial pressure to secure an alternative source of supplementary income. Given the fact that I had 2 children now and that working outside the home seemed next to impossible if not simply impractical, we tried to think outside the box. What did I enjoy doing? What do people need? Handy-Mom was the brainchild of that line of thinking and so I offered my home repair services to families I knew in exchange for a reduced service charge if they were willing to watch my children during the repair. Again, this idea garnered a lot of positive verbal support from others, but no physical fruit. Of course, the fact that I found out weeks later that I was pregnant and began to melt down under the weight of that information combined with a good dose of hormones, didn’t help the endeavor.

I must confess that this pregnancy has been such a source of confusion for me. Why now, Lord? This was our first unplanned pregnancy. The timing could not have been worse from my perspective. Yet, God makes no mistakes. He obviously has different plans than I do. Knowing this I was still left with the nagging question of what to do in the “mean time”? My bout with post-partum symptoms has left me weak and vulnerable both physically and emotionally, so that if I attempt too much on any given day, I pay for it over the next several days. I find myself perpetually fighting all the desires that are waging war within me to get busy “doing” something, anything… And yet here I am, 10 weeks to go and still despising the waiting. My heart is sore, tired and scared. Scared that in my frustration I would despise God. Scared that in my fretting and attempts at finding this illusive “something to do” I would alienate and scar my children, from the combination of both neglect and the lashing out that inevitably comes with frustrated desire.

Aha! My head says reluctantly… What is it that you are fretting about at this late hour today? Is it not the condition of my relationship with my children and my fear over their rebellion? It seems Mary-Jane and Peter and I are at constant odds these days. James asks rhetorically, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.” (James 4:1-2)

What then does he say?

“…You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

I see MJ daily losing this war with her raging desires but do I see my own war? In this pursuit of purpose have I really been seeking the Lord’s will, or just my own? The answer seems plain by my own deeds, as James makes clear- the fruit reveals the tree. Yet, even now, upon this revelation my heart turns away downcast, not unlike the infamous rich, young ruler. “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

James’ conclusion to the matter in the verses that follow is instructive to me:

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

In response to this I can only pray that my God will love me despite my self-love, pride, desire for vain-glory and stubborn rejection of his good, though mysterious, purposes in my life and that He will turn my heart wholly toward Him with joy. As Solomon prayed long ago:

May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. (1 Kings 8:57-60)

Little Children

2009-03-06T11:42:00.002-05:00

I hesitate to write at all this morning, knowing that I have spent so little time in the word lately... But why do I write? Not to prove something to myself or anyone else, but to work these truths into my heart that I might love the Lord more and perhaps, along the way, help someone else see something anew.

All that said, in my reading of the word this morning (I've been trying to use the BibleGateway Reading Plans Daily Readings - I find reading online tricks my kids into thinking I am just working and so they are not as inclined to keep interrupting me, like they do if I'm trying to sit quietly and meditate on scripture with just the bible open in front of me)... I saw an interesting connection between the story of The Little Children and Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10).

The disciples are trying to prevent some children from crowding around Jesus. He rebukes them sternly and then says, "Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Right after this conversation (at least Marks version seems to connect them this way. Matthew is more vague) a man comes along and passionately throws himself at Jesus feet, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" To which Jesus responds, "You know the rules, follow them." The man responds innocently, "I always do!" The text then interjects this comment: "Jesus looked at him and loved him."

Jesus' indignant response to the disciples' treatment of the children and his tender expression of affection for this young man struck me this morning as a couplet. The first account seems to set the stage for the next. How are they related? At first glance I just see the repetition of a theme - who will enter the kingdom of God? At closer examination I see that the man, though he went away initially downhearted, had the zeal and naivete of a child. His heart was ripe for the Lord's instruction. It took a while for his intellect to catch up, but I believe the Lord saw his heart which is why he loved him. (Of course there is evidence that Jesus loves even those who are turning away from him as in Matthew 23:37, "...how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.". However, the simple and specific statement, He "looked at him and loved him," seem to indicate an endearing and hopeful connection.)

So who will enter the kingdom of God?
Out of His tender love for the man Jesus goes on to strike right at the core of the man's problem - his self-reliance. The man had to see the flaw in his own measuring system (a superficial keeping of the law) in order to begin to see his real need for Jesus (for salvation and not just good teaching). His downcast face was a sign that Jesus had hit his mark. The fact that the man did not leave indignant or outraged makes me think that there was tremendous hope that he later might turn to Jesus in faith.

In hearing all this the disciples are shocked. How could a seemingly righteous man be turned away from the kingdom (1 Samuel 16:10 "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.")? It is ironic that they are shocked at the rich man being turned away yet they wanted to turn away the children and Jesus rebuked them. Jesus responds to their dismay, this time using the tender term children to address them (perhaps another repetition of theme), and gently expands on his previous statement, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ... With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." He points to the solution to the man's problem - God-reliance.

I'm still not completely sure of what it means to come to Jesus with the heart of a child, perhaps just an openness to being helped and a willingness to be dependent on another. The connection to the rich young ruler story though makes me think about it in the context of Jesus' words to him and then the disciples. Man can not rely on his own works, strength or riches to enter the kingdom of God. Only in giving up our reliance on these things can we enter in and receive Jesus' works, strength and riches. The child-likeness cannot be some modern-day notion of purity or innocence but rather a heart that desires so much to be with the Lord that it is willing to consider anything it brings as "rubbish" (to borrow Paul's words) in comparison and willing to entrust oneself completely to another.

Thanks be to God that, though we cannot despise our own selves- for no man ever hated his own flesh, He gives us an entirely new self by which we can see that it is really nourishing and cherishing ourselves to give up all and follow Jesus.

Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:28-30

A Proverbs 31 Church?

2009-02-03T18:57:00.008-05:00

Our church recently voted to embark on an exploration mission to determine if we can make renovations to our current facility that might better meet our needs as a church body and at the same time make a better, more accurate, impression on visitors. Those of you who know me will not be surprised that the thought of renovations and new construction is very exciting to me in many worldly ways. I love building things, from the thoughts first jotted down on paper to the final touches of paint, fixtures and fabric. However, this prospective project at the church is even more thrilling to me. I am excited at the prospect of finally being equipped to provide for some of the most basic of human dignities. To be able to have easy and un-embarrassing access to restrooms, water fountains or even just the service itself is such a blessing, and one we often take for granted. We all desire to reach the lost and broken with the gospel of Christ. Yet we often forget that, many times, lost and broken spirits come with lost and broken bodies! What a testimony of love and compassion it could be to thoughtfully attend to these most basic and rudimentary needs as we gather for worship and fellowship!

As I was thinking through this building decision again recently I could not help but recall my thoughts when I saw missionary photos of the facilities of blossoming churches in Switzerland and France. By any American standard their facilities were less than adequate in both function and appearance, yet their seats were full and their hearts appeared even fuller! In a strange but stirring way it brought to mind the Proverbs 31 woman…

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies…
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her servant girls.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple…
She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."
Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
(Proverbs 31:10,13-22, 24-31)

It may be an obvious stretch of the intent of the text but the emphasis on and demonstration of fear of the Lord over outward adornment could readily apply in the context of the church. As I think about setting aside a large amount of money and making a great effort to improve the appearance of our facilities I can not help but also think of the many ways we continue to need grace to grow in faith and faithfulness as a church. My heart, first rejoicing at the thought of the praises lavished on the faithful service and beauty of the Proverbs 31 woman, was then thrust into prayer that in our efforts to increase our outward adornment as a church we would just as diligently and joyfully be adding to our inner beauty, as Peter instructs wives in 1 Peter…

“so that, if any of them [speaking of husbands] do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit…” (1 Peter 3:1-4)

My hope and vision as we begin this journey is that, as the bride of Christ, we might be the same kind of woman these passages describe - bringing praise and glory to our husband, the Lord, and winning over the hardened hearts of those we love and strangers in our midst as they see the faithfulness and beauty of the Lord alive in our hearts by the evidence of our lives.

Hiding Treasure

2009-02-02T20:49:00.001-05:00

“…to each according to his ability.”

In the parable of the talents Jesus tells us that the master entrusted his servants with money according to their ability; trusting them to faithfully, and profitably, work the money for his purposes. His anger at the unfaithful servant is that he did not trust his master’s judgment. The servant doubted his own ability to use the gift profitably and feared a wrathful response from the master if he botched the job. But Jesus tells us that what was given to him was according to his ability. He tells us that the master’s judgment is not faulty. The master must be wise with his money and his servants else he would not be so wealthy. We can assume then that the servant did in fact have the ability to use the funds properly yet he did not do so. Initially we see him as just fearful and we buy the accusation that the Master is a harsh and unreasonable man. But on closer examination we see the servant as lazy, even a coward and a liar.

What is Jesus saying to us about the kingdom of God?
God is our master and he gives us gifts according to our ability. He wants us to trust his judgment in giving them. He wants us to be faithful in using them wisely and profitably for his name’s sake.

Then I think…are these “gifts” as I usually think of them? What is it the Lord is entrusting me with? Money? Skill? What if I imagine more creatively…Trials, Hardship, Pain? What about that difficult relationship I have to persevere in or that burden I am being asked to bear year after year? Do I, in my laziness, refuse to attempt to live as Christ calls me to and instead sit on my hands and blame God for asking too much of me? If I attempt nothing; if I love little and forgive even less; if I permit myself to drown slowly in self-pity, all the while deceiving myself about the hidden treasure in my backyard…What will the master say when he comes to settle accounts?

One talent doesn’t sound like much compared to 5. What difference could it possibly make? Yet 2 became 4 and 5 became 10… A mustard seed becomes one of the largest plants in the garden and an acorn becomes an oak. If the acorn stays in my pocket it never becomes anything but proof that I am unfaithful. The psycho-babble about self-actualization has it all wrong. I don’t need to be sure I am an oak and insist to everyone else that it’s so. I need to be willing to die as an acorn and trust that God is powerful enough to transform me completely from what I am to what he wants in order to accomplish all he has planned.

I want to trust the master’s judgment and live as he calls me to. I want to prefer to risk failing, risk going bust, rather than wasting my life hiding these treasures, if only to stand the chance of catching a glimpse of what God can do in this frail life he’s given me.

God, help me to recognize the talents you have entrusted me with- both cherished and feared. Help me to exercise faith by putting them to work that you might be glorified in me and through them in the lives of others. Lord, remember that I am but dust and help me to remember that I am a dearly loved child of a perfect Father. Make me a faithful servant.

Open Doors

2009-02-02T20:46:00.001-05:00

"Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
Isaiah 54:2

The desolate woman is told by God to get ready. Ger ready for the blessing I am bringing your way. You don't have to see it coming, just trust me. He calls her to make way for the blessing in faith that it will come. And it comes in the form of service. Normally we wouldn't see this as blessing. The steps of preparation he gives though all are about accommodating people. Being hospitable and caring for the needs of others. Strange idea of blessing? No.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Matthew 25:34-36

Laying down our lives for others is the door to blessing. And God is faithful. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Matthew 24:45-47

The Lord also says, "I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." Jeremiah 32:41

Of course this is not tit for tat. God's economy is not ours. We can not barter for favors. Yet we are assured of his pleasure in blessing his children. He is a good, perfect and generous Father. Lord, help us to faithfully strengthen the stakes of our character and lengthen the cords of our hearts. Give us lives that are stretched open wide, that your name would be glorified and we would know your power and pleasure at work in our lives and the lives of those around us.

The Compassion of God - A Servant's Search

2009-02-02T20:39:00.002-05:00

com·pas·sion /kəmˈpæʃən/ [kuhm-pash-uhn] –noun

1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

(Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1))

com·pas·sion (kəm-pāsh'ən)

n. Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.
[Middle English compassioun, from Late Latin compassiō, compassiōn-, from compassus, past participle of compatī, to sympathize : Latin com-, com- + Latin patī, to suffer; see pē(i)- in Indo-European roots.]

(American Heritage Dictionary)

compassion, noun

1. a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
2. the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it

Compassion is an understanding of the emotional state of another or oneself. Not to be confused with empathy, compassion is often combined with a desire to alleviate or reduce the suffering of another or to show special kindness to those who suffer. However, compassion may lead an individual to feel empathy with another person.

Compassion is often characterized through actions, wherein a person acting with compassion will seek to aid those they feel compassionate for. Acts of compassion are generally considered those which take into account the pain of others and attempt to alleviate that pain. In this sense, the various forms of the Golden Rule are in part based on the concept of compassion, if also on the concept of empathy.

Compassion differs from other forms of helpful or humane behavior in that its focus is primarily on the alleviation of pain and suffering. Acts of kindness which seek primarily to confer benefit rather than relieve existing pain and suffering are better classified as acts of altruism, although, in this sense, compassion itself can be seen as a subset of altruism, it being defined as the type of behavior which seeks to benefit others by reducing their suffering.

(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Revisiting past posts

2009-02-02T20:37:00.002-05:00

Just for my own continuity I want to re-post a few things from my family blog here. These were written over the past year...

Joy Unspeakable

2009-02-01T17:52:00.004-05:00

As I embark on this writing adventure I thought it fitting to let a favorite author of mine speak for me and, ironically, to speak of the speechlessness of joy in Christ. Elizabeth Prentiss had a difficult life to say the least, yet she drew nearer and nearer to her Lord through each trial and was gifted to express both her joys and sorrows in letters, poems and hymns. A collection of these was printed by Solid Ground Christian Books, copyrighted 2001, entitled Golden Hours: Heart Hymns of the Christian Life. I wanted to share the following poem (found on page 110) as a sort of anthem for this blog and my heart's desire to be "ever glancing upward".

Joy Unspeakable ...by Elizabeth Payson Prentiss

The Christian life! What is its explanation?
Is it a law of discipline and pain?
So stern a law that hearts can never carol
A cheerful, gladsome strain?

Is it set only to a cadence mournful?
A Miserere its peculiar song?
Surely we ever hear it, often vainly
For Jubilates long.

Man's grief is sacred, yet he sometimes tells it
But of his deeper joy he cannot speak;
He struggles in its mystery, and to paint it
Finds human words too weak.

The shallow brook, that its own way is taking,
Sings songs incessant, as it onward goes;
It has no depths, no waves, no hidden secrets;
It has no ebbs and flows.

We hear the ocean moaning, sighing ever,
We hear its restless tossings and its roar;
But of the "central peace" within its bosom,
It never tells us more.

Like it, majestic, human joy is speechless;
Like it, yet more, the joy divine is mute;
Speech may be "silvern," but a "golden silence"
Is rapture's attribute.

Look for the soul whose glance is ever upward,
Who sees the living Christ, who knows the grace
Of His mysterious friendship; loves Him, trusts Him;
Speaks to Him, face to face:

And you have found a soul, that though it utter
Oft times a groan, and oft times sheds a tear,
Knows of a bliss whose language is transcendent,
And cannot reach the ear.

Thrice blessed soul! It cannot tell its story-
Cannot, to mortal ear, its depths betray;
But it shall tell it, giving Christ the glory,
In His effulgent Day!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I had to look up the following words...
A Miserere: a prayer or expression of appeal for mercy
Jubilates: a song or an outburst of joy and triumph
effulgent: shining forth brilliantly; diffusing a flood of light; shining; luminous; beaming; bright; splendid.