What a week. Uncle James (my brother) was out for a quick visit. I don't think that we stopped moving for the four days that he was here. That was probably a good thing. With the heat we have been having I fear we would have cooked had we stood still for too long.
It was a good visit, never long enough but good. We put up the last of the fencing around the turkey paddock (finally), and they have been appreciating it ever since, and the garden has been booming. We picked and ate a bit out of there. James (my brother) taught me a new recipe for grilling squash and zucchini. Yummy!!!! We went to the beach, and we walked the freedom trail in Boston.
Of our few, but memorable talks, he reminded me a bit of a thought that I had been wrestling with sometime back . . . Who am I to criticize another's servant? And who am I to judge where another man stands or falls with God?
Chris from our fellowship echoed this sentiment in a revelation that he had this past week. "Am I supposed to be so preoccupied with others, or busying myself with my own relationship with God?" (OK, so I paraphrased BIG TIME – but it's the conveyed message that counts.)
Being more scientifically minded I tend to rely too much on 'compare and contrast' when evaluating the quality of my relationship with God. (Oddly, as I am writing this I am left to wonder if I evaluate any of my other relationships. Do I over-analyze my relationship with God or under-analyze my relationships with others?) But what do other peoples relationships with God have to do with mine? Of course we are to encourage others, but as best as I can see, that is about it. Teach the basics and leave the rest to God and the individual, not stamp out clones. Other's relationship's will probably never reach my standards (and thank God for that), but then, my own will probably never look as "perfect" as others. . .
1 comment:
I hear you on that one... I find it all to easy to judge others sometimes. It can be hard not to depending on who they are and how they make me feel when I am around them. Sometimes for me I find that my criticism comes from my own insecurities, perhaps as a way to justify my own failings. I am reminded of the verses that say:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." - Mat 7:3-5
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