Saturday, February 3, 2018

Joy and Rest While Being Blamed and Misunderstood…


Joy and Rest While Being Blamed and Misunderstood…

The other day I posted a quote of Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), to my Whatsapp contacts. This was the quote: “If the praise of others elates me and their blame depresses me; if I cannot rest under misunderstanding without defending myself; if I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.”

One of my colleagues asked me: “Isn't it normal to be happy when appreciated, sad when criticised, defend self when accused? Aunt Amy's view should also be seen in the light of cultural zeitgeist of her age”.

This is the answer I gave him:
We can, of course, be happy and encouraged when appreciated, giving all glory to Jesus. But what Amy Carmichael is saying, is about being elated and puffed up and proud.

A disciple living in the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Most Holy Place beyond the veil of the flesh (self will) (Hebrews 10: 19, 20), need not be depressed when criticised, because there is FULLNESS OF JOY in His presence (Psalm 16: 8, 11; Acts 2 : 25, 28). And nothing or no one of this world can take away that joy! (John 16: 22).

What Amy is saying is that we need not lose our inner rest of the soul when others misunderstand us, because when we cast our burdens unto the Lord (1Peter 5: 7) and take His yoke upon us and walk in His footsteps, we will find rest for our souls (Matthew 11: 28-30).

Without losing the inner rest, we can try to explain what happened if the Lord leads us so. On the contrary, self justification is a restless, agitated effort of the self to prove ourselves right in the sight of men in order to get man’s honour and approval and applause.

And this is not a cultural zeitgeist, but rather something countercultural, going against the tide and waves of the world and the majority…. (Matthew 7: 13, 14). I do not mean running away from the culture around us, but rather transforming the unChristlike aspects of the culture as Amy Carmichael did!

Yes, we are called not to walk like mere men (1Corinthians 3: 3), but like the Lord Jesus Christ (1John 2: 6; 4: 17)!


No comments:

Post a Comment