From Humility: True Greatness by C. J. Mahaney:
"The call of God in the lives of believers means that God has been at work in them, and the evidences of grace reveal that He is at work in the present. And we will motivate others by grace when we perceive where and how He is at work in their lives and humbly let them know.
They need to know because so often they're unaware. Too many Christians are more readily aware of the absence of God than they are of the presence of God, and they are more aware of sin than they are of grace.
God is at work. We motivate others by grace when we help them to see this, and one of the the greatest joys we can experience is when we watch them come to that awareness.
For too many, their understanding of God's activity has been reduced to the spectacular, and it appears to them that the spectacular is something that happens only to someone else, never to them.. That's why we need to study the broad work of the Spirit so we can recognize His activity in others' lives and can point it out to them. For example, some of the greatest manifestations of power I've seen are in individuals who suffer greatly and yet aren't complaining. That is spiritual power. I try to draw their attention to that, helping them understand that this response isn't simply their natural disposition or temperament - it's God's power in action! If He were not at work, no doubt they would be bitter and angry at God in their suffering." (pp. 104 - 105)
"We mortify pride and cultivate humility by identifying evidences of grace in those around us - evidences that we become aware of only through a divine perspective that recognizes God's active work and calling in their lives and that places full confidence in His faithfulness to complete the work He has begun. Without this perspective, we'll always tend to be critical and pessimistic in our attitude toward others." (p. 109)
No comments:
Post a Comment