Friday, December 16, 2011

December16, 2011 So Simple

Micah 6:8 No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good,and this is what he requires: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

I have been using Cheri Fuller's One year Book of Praying Through the Bible, this year, and part of the entry today was so to the point that I wanted to share it with you, and preserve it for me.

"Though the requirements may sound simple, they are an important key to pleasing God:
  • First, do what is right; this means not only rendering just decisions but also discovering our particular work and doing it faithfully.
  • Second, love mercy. God expects us to practice steadfast love, pursue and value kindness,and act mercifully toward others, from the greatest to the least.
  • Third, walk in obedience and humility with the Lord....in Jesus, he gave us the ultimate  model of how to live."
It is the end of the year, and campus is quiet, except for the wind whistling cold around my window.  A time for reflection, this is not always a time of joy.  I think of three students in particular:  one I know lied to me.  I am grieved for her because I know I am not the only one she lies to, and because I know her lies also separate her from God, or are a symbol of her separation from God.  I have tried to render a just decision for her, even though the real consequences of her sin have yet to be seen.

Another student rejected my offer of mercy, saying to me, "I don't want your second chances, your mercy.  I guess I won't be back." She left my office telling others I kicked her out, though I hadn't.  She told me she would not live as other students were required to so she would not be back. It's funny because she even asked me to kick her out, and I told her I was not going to do that. I wanted to extend mercy to her and she must choose, accept the mercy and live within BBC standards or choose otherwise.  And mercy rejected, I grieve for what must follow for her.

A third student has lied and practiced deceit, and then has pleaded ignorance and innocence.  In reality, she is neither ignorant nor innocent.  She will not be permitted to return, a choice she made by disregarding the conditions earlier discipline required. And I grieve for her...all the advantages and mercy and kindness given her, hurled back at us.

Walk in obedience and humility, the latter being the more difficult right now. I want to right my name. I want to be respected, not disparaged in front of other students, their friends and families.  I write these things here, knowing none of those people will read this. But here I confess my own weakness: humility can be a struggle. Oh, I have no trouble knowing that God has  called me and equipped me and enables me daily for this, but I think it is a human thing, to want others to think well of you.

As I review the year, I am challenged in regard to my own desire for respect, my grief for these students who have made such costly choices, and further challenged by the temptations they all face.

A friend just reminded me that we all learn many of our most valuable lessons as the consequence to our own wrong choices, but as I said to him, that idea brings us little comfort when we love people, when we long for them to be at peace with God...and we know by experience the pain of those wrong choices.

So, I guess my reflection today must drive me to my knees, to remember these students, and others on my mind, to, in complete humility, trust God that He does know what is best and is able to place others in their lives to bring them along.

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