10.25.2010

dressing up as Christ this season?

hi!
i got back from my trip last night.
lets be honest, there are probably about 376 things i ought to be doing besides blogging,on this monday after my trip.
but i just wanted to share one quick (i'm lying it's not quick) thing.
during that mysterious time, after i left my family in other people's capable hands and began to embrace simply being in charge of my own body and mind, i felt like God new, "I have gotta get in there fast!".
He knew there were only limited hours where i was not all crazy and mommy-ish, so He went for it.
when i got onto the plane, all of my "leaving" stresses melted away and I felt that God directed me to this tiny chapter in a book i have been reading called "The Business of Heaven" daily readings from C.S. Lewis.

click the picture to find it on amazon.


this is the part that really just hit me:

"....you are probably interested enough to take a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord's Prayer. It's very first words are Our Father... Do you see what those words mean? They mean, quite frankly that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like you are pretending.  Because , of course, the moment you realize what those words mean, you realize that you are not a son of God. You are not being like the Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of self-centered fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death.  So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek.  But the odd thing is that HE has ordered us to do it.... 
There are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where the pretence is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is going to help you instead of really helping you.  But there is also a good kind, where the pretence leads you to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly, but you know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you are a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few moments, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already."

i just love that guy.
C.S. Lewis, i mean.
he is so right.
that just stuck with me through the weekend.
i really want to be someone who is content with what i have.
Jake and Ty would tell me, "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit"
i want to apply this idea to my contentedness and even when i wish my circumstances were different, "behave as if" i had that contentedness. 
i am gonna try.
i can really be a bundle of self centered fears, hopes and greeds.
i want to fight that.
here is one sneak peek of my AMAZING weekend with my little sis.....more to come!

6 comments:

  1. Oh man...this is so hard....especially when you are surrounded by all the things you want...I have a hard time looking at blogs...I see great ideas...but do I really need new frames?? Not really...its hard....I feel you...

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  2. such a good reminder! Comparison is the hardest part of contentment for me. I am always comparing others to me & the things I have, or the way I look. That often causes me to feel UNcontent. I love this reminder and I love CS Lewis.
    P.S. You and your sis are rockin some awesome boots!!! Love em!

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  3. This is so great...love the thought-provoking Reed Life! The thing I have to ask, since I'm an asker, is does the believer really have to pretend? Or do we have to (get to) instead remember that we are a redeemed version, then act that way..."in a manner worthy of our calling?" Maybe its the same thing, looking at it in a different way.

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  4. LOVE C.S. Lewis...and it is so hard "in" this world not to struggle with wants based on what WE think we need...I'm working daily to make the desires of my heart soley Him, and to be completely content with all He has Blessed me with...
    Beautiful post!
    Many Blessings!
    Jill

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  5. Also I think your title is really funny every time I look at it.

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  6. Ooooo - I love that! CS Lewis is awesome!!

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