Book Review Part 2

I want to share more from the book Adam; God's Beloved. This book is about a handicapped friend of Henri Nouwen's.

Nouwen writes, "Adam was sent to bring Good News to the world. It was his mission, as it was the mission of Jesus. Adam was--very simply, quietly, and uniquely--there! He was a person, who by his very life announced the marvelous mystery of our God: I am precious, beloved, whole, and born of God. Adam bore silent witness to this mystery, which has nothing to do with whether or not he could speak, walk, or express himself, whether or not he made money, had a job, was fashionable, famous, married or single. It had to do with his being. He was and is a beloved child of God. It is the same news that Jesus came to announce, and it is the news that all those who are poor keep proclaiming in and through their very weakness. Life is a gift. Each one of us is unique, known by name, and loved by the One who fashioned us."

I think that Adam's gift to the world was his helplessness and vulnerability. He helped others to see that in their weakness, vulnerability, and helplessness, they are loved by God and precious to Him. He showed people that they are beloved and valuable apart from their productivity. This is very powerful truth, and we all desperately need to get this, because it sets us free and gives our hearts rest.

As I was reading Psalm 145 today, I was struck by the indiscriminate love that God has for EVERYBODY: "The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works....The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due time. The open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing."

Our wonderful God is kind and gracious to everyone, and we don't have to earn it!

Book Review

I am reading a book by Henri Nouwen titled Adam; God's Beloved. It's about a handicapped friend of Nouwen's named Adam. Adam had epilepsy, was in a wheelchair, and couldn't talk. Yet here's what Nouwen says about him: "He was becoming a friend and a trustworthy companion, explaining to me by his very presence what I should have known all along: that what I most desire in life--love, friendship, community, and a deep sense of belonging--I was finding with him. His very gentle being was communicating with me in our moments together, and he began to educate me about love in a profoundly deep way. I am convinced that somewhere deep down Adam "knew" that he was loved. He knew it in his very soul. Adam was not able to reflect on love, on the heart as the center of our being, the core of our humanity where we give and receive love. He could not talk with me about the movements of his heart or my heart or the heart of God. He could explain nothing to me in words. But his heart was there, totally alive, full of love which he could both give and receive."

So evidently words are not necessary for communicating love. Maybe sometimes not even desirable.

My Favorite Frog and Toad Story

When my girls were little, we used to read the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. My favorite was a story titled "Cookies". In this story, Frog and Toad make cookies and eat a lot of them. They decide that they shouldn't eat so many cookies, so they put them in hard-to-get-to places, but then they end up eating more cookies anyway. In the end, Frog feeds the cookies to the birds.

Toad says, "We don't have any cookies."

Frog says, "No, but we have lots of willpower."

Toad says, "You may have it all, Frog. I'm going home to make a cake."

This story makes me laugh! I also like the message: willpower doesn't get us very far. The only powerful thing about our will is that we can use it to choose dependence on Jesus. Then we're plugged in to the Power!

Beauty

Guys, this may give you a glimpse inside the female mind, but this post is really for the ladies.

I've been thinking a lot about this verse:

"...the King will desire your beauty;

Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him." -Psalm 45:11

I find within my heart a great desire to be highly esteemed, to be valued because of the beauty in my heart. I think that's what this verse is saying. The Lord has surely given us inner beauty, because His Spirit is in us. The outer beauty fades over time, then eventually gets an extreme makeover. The Lord desires the beauty He has put within you and me; it is precious to Him. This means a lot to me.

Grace

Sometime in the past I began to believe that I had to do everything perfectly, in other words, I was never going to be good enough to please myself or others. Not a happy frame of mind. First John 1:2 says that when a Christian sins, Jesus is for them, not against them. Romans 16:10 says that we are approved because we belong to Christ. Ephesians speaks of "His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." My mind understands grace, but my heart sometimes is crying out for acceptance from Abba, even though He already does accept me. I have thought of myself as a flawed human instead of a recipient of the gift of righteousness (Romans 5:17). At the heart level I still find myself on the treadmill, striving to earn approval. This is hard on me and others. Please pray with me that God will help my unbelief. I'm so thankful that He's happy to grant that request.