Reading Micah’s Blog Again

Friends,
I recommend that Micah’s blog be visited often. I saw him again this week and he gave me a paper copy of the article he had posted on the 15th. It is really insightful! It’s possible that I may have misunderstood his 9/8 article, or maybe he is simply sharing with us his thoughts as he grapples with spiritual concepts. Certainly he shows himself much more perceptive than most young men his age, and the rest of us could undoubtably learn much from his writings. Here is his link:

http://clothedwchrist.tumblr.com/

I also like what Micah says, especially at his 9/13 post, about our love for God becoming our joy in Him which then becomes our obedience to Him. I agree with that and have been privileged to have been experiencing this for many years. However, I also know that it works the other way too, for as I obey God, even when I don’t feel strong enough or adequate enough, or when I feel too tired, too timid, too apprehensive, too preoccupied, or too whatever, my immediate response to adhere to my predetermined choice to always obey everything I hear the Spirit nudge me to do, does bring me joy in the Lord, in His work, in His will, and so turns into more excitement over Him, and more knowledge of Him, and thus more love for Him.

Micah writes about our purpose, and if I understand him correctly, he is emphasizing that God’s purpose for us is to find our joy in Him, which then glorifies and delights God. I agree to some extent, but would say it the other way around: Our purpose is to honor and delight God, though in so doing, we will also find our joy in Him. This joy does then result in us being and doing that which causes our Lord even more honor and delight.

Being that our union with God through Christ is often symbolized with the concept of marriage, I would explain it like this: Many people get married for the purpose of finding delight in their spouse. That is their main purpose for getting married –to receive delight for themselves. But I do not believe that that should be our main motivation, or that it is the most honorable one. Instead, if we truly love someone, we should want to unite our life with that person in order to bring that other person joy and delight and good to the best of our ability. Yes, we know that if that other person responds to our desire and efforts to do this, then we ourselves will find joy and delight in that individual precisely because we see that our beloved is finding enjoyment in who we are and what we do for him or her. But what is our main incentive? Is it a selfish one, or a selfless one –primarily? We know what the answer would be concerning a lover perfect in heart. The focus would be on delighting the other, and our own delight would only be a bonus, not our primary incentive. Finding joy for ourselves is only our secondary motive –not nearly as important to us as making sure our loved-one is happy. This is true love.

Well, I am continuing to recommend Micah’s blog, for I believe he has some very provocative insights that are good for us to consider and/or understand.

Sincerely,
with love,
Rachel