Well, I must say I'm pretty darn excited about life right now for so many reasons. It feels almost odd to me to feel so incredibly blessed, but I'm thankful!
And, there have been some things I've been learning and re-learning that excite me. Mostly, it's been through Bible study. We're reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell right now, and the last few sessions have been marvelous. I wanted to write down one of the ideas, mostly so that I come back to it and remember. Really, it's how life should be lived. More-or-less, it's a spin on following Jesus that I have never heard before, but makes complete sense in my mind.
This is how it goes (ha- good thing I read this over before I posted... I continually misspelled "rabbi" as "rabbit"):
Religion was the center focus of a Jewish child's life. They started going to school around 6 years old and was taught by the local rabbi. They memorized the first 5 books of the old testament. Everyone knew the Bible... Jesus could quote things and everyone knew what He was talking about. Students that did well in these first 4 years would go on to memorize the rest of the old testament, and study the oral tradition around it. The others would learn the family trade. At 14 or 15 years, those remaining in school would apply to become a disciple of a rabbi. This was more than being a student: the goal "wasn't just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like the rabbi." They would ask: "Rabbi, I want to follow you."
At this point, the rabbi would question the student about everything he had learned, finding out if this kid had what it took to do what he does - if he would ultimately be able to do what the rabbi did. If the rabbi thought the kid had what it takes, he would say "Come, follow me."
The student would leave his home, his dad and mom, his village, his friends, and devote his entire life to learning how to do what the rabbi did. He gave up his whole life to be just like his rabbi. He would follow his rabbi everywhere, and "cover [himself] with the dust of [his rabbi's] feet."
Peter and Andrew were fishermen. They didn't have what it took to continue following a rabbi; they were working in the family trade. And then Jesus calls them to follow Him. A rabbi told them that they can be like Him. If a rabbi calls you to be his disciple, then he believes you can actually be like him. When the disciples lose faith, Jesus said "You did not choose me, but I chose you."
Jesus sees us as capable. AND He gives us the ability to do it... to be like Him. He's the one who makes us like Him. And He has confidence that we can become like Him.
I never really got the point that God chose me... I would say to Him "God, it must be true because it's in the Bible, but it doesn't make sense to me... I'm the one who has decided to follow You, I'm the one who came to You for forgiveness..." But, in reality, He's the one who chose me... a simple little human being... He said "come, follow Me" and that means that He knows that I can become like Him. That makes following Him so much more beautiful and exciting. And worthwhile.
And, there have been some things I've been learning and re-learning that excite me. Mostly, it's been through Bible study. We're reading Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell right now, and the last few sessions have been marvelous. I wanted to write down one of the ideas, mostly so that I come back to it and remember. Really, it's how life should be lived. More-or-less, it's a spin on following Jesus that I have never heard before, but makes complete sense in my mind.
This is how it goes (ha- good thing I read this over before I posted... I continually misspelled "rabbi" as "rabbit"):
Religion was the center focus of a Jewish child's life. They started going to school around 6 years old and was taught by the local rabbi. They memorized the first 5 books of the old testament. Everyone knew the Bible... Jesus could quote things and everyone knew what He was talking about. Students that did well in these first 4 years would go on to memorize the rest of the old testament, and study the oral tradition around it. The others would learn the family trade. At 14 or 15 years, those remaining in school would apply to become a disciple of a rabbi. This was more than being a student: the goal "wasn't just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like the rabbi." They would ask: "Rabbi, I want to follow you."
At this point, the rabbi would question the student about everything he had learned, finding out if this kid had what it took to do what he does - if he would ultimately be able to do what the rabbi did. If the rabbi thought the kid had what it takes, he would say "Come, follow me."
The student would leave his home, his dad and mom, his village, his friends, and devote his entire life to learning how to do what the rabbi did. He gave up his whole life to be just like his rabbi. He would follow his rabbi everywhere, and "cover [himself] with the dust of [his rabbi's] feet."
Peter and Andrew were fishermen. They didn't have what it took to continue following a rabbi; they were working in the family trade. And then Jesus calls them to follow Him. A rabbi told them that they can be like Him. If a rabbi calls you to be his disciple, then he believes you can actually be like him. When the disciples lose faith, Jesus said "You did not choose me, but I chose you."
Jesus sees us as capable. AND He gives us the ability to do it... to be like Him. He's the one who makes us like Him. And He has confidence that we can become like Him.
I never really got the point that God chose me... I would say to Him "God, it must be true because it's in the Bible, but it doesn't make sense to me... I'm the one who has decided to follow You, I'm the one who came to You for forgiveness..." But, in reality, He's the one who chose me... a simple little human being... He said "come, follow Me" and that means that He knows that I can become like Him. That makes following Him so much more beautiful and exciting. And worthwhile.
4 comments:
Wow, such a good thought. Candice, I always enjoy reading your blog. You tend to have a lot of good, challenging, thought provoking entries. It is a real encouragment to read what God is teaching you.
I am really happy for you that your so excited about life right now.
Hello Lovely;
Thanks for studying with me last night...you are a very bright cookie, and too much fun to be with. Thanks, also, for the tetrazzini...mmmmm!
Have fun on your C & C retreat!
Hey there Candice!
Thanks for that post... I'd learned that before... but it's exactly the encouragement I need right now. It actually choked me up a little.
Love you a bunch, hey!
And OF COURSE I want to see you! I can't believe you might really be coming!
give me a call! six-o-four, eight-one-three, nine-five-four-seven. YAY!
xoxo
Ashley.
ps. who's peter?
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