Have you ever heard it said that a picture of someone doesn’t do them justice? Only so much of the human essence can be captured on film. If you know someone personally you are connected with them on a human level which is greater than can be captured in a two-dimensional image. Have you seen pictures of me? You know that there are no photographs of me and I never sat for a portrait, so the pictures you see of me are artist’s impressions.
Have you ever heard the phrase, get over yourself? Have you ever spoken it to others, or had them speak it to you? This is commonly used when someone is expressing behavior that indicates inner turmoil or issues that interfere with a full life or even a true understanding of the world they live in. Do most of your problems come from external circumstances or from unresolved internal issues? Understanding this is the first step in the process of resolution and being transformed into my likeness. If you can get over yourself what else is left for you to overcome?
Does your church take credit for divine favor? Do your members get preferential treatment, and more blessings, and fewer afflictions than others? Wouldn’t this be a great marketing device if it were true? But I send blessings to everyone, making my sun to shine and rain to fall on the just and on the unjust, on the wicked and the righteous. This says more about me than it does about them, but it is still true. Does this make it harder to make a case for gospel evangelism in general and recruiting for your church in particular?
Have you heard of people who are hard to please? This is not meant as a compliment. Do you think it applies to me? You think of me as perfect and holy, and the standard given to you is to be holy as your Father in heaven is holy. Do you struggle with this and fall short? Do you live with a sense of my favor toward you or my displeasure? If people who are hard to please are not gracious and loving, and I am, then this cannot apply to me. Your concept of me will determine the way you live your life.
Does my word speak to you? How else do you learn about me, and the things of my Kingdom? I taught from the scriptures, but I also taught from the natural world. I told my audience to consider the lilies of the field, to consider the ravens, and to consider the grass as illustrations in my spiritual lessons. These things are visible to everyone. Do you consider them? Do you draw the same spiritual lessons from them that I did? The visible world is a testament of truth. One of the most important things you learned was to read written language.
Do you like to go for a walk? Do you prefer to go by yourself or with others? Have you ever gone for a walk with me? Adam and Eve walked with me in the garden, and I taught my disciples while I was in the way with them. Enoch walked with me and never came back, and two of my disciples got a special lesson on the road to Emmaus. So there is a connection in the Bible between motion and communion. Not all who wander are lost, but you can wander with a sense of awareness and intention. Your daily activities require you to move from one place to another.
When you pray do you come to me with a list? You may think of this as an agenda for your prayer time. I’m always happy to see you and take your requests seriously. Do you know that I have intentions for our time together as much as you do? How would you structure your prayer time to follow my agenda instead of, or in addition to, yours? In a conversation each person speaks in turn, alternating with the other party. If only one person speaks it is a monologue rather than a dialogue. Would you like to have a real dialogue with me? It is as easy as alternating speaking and listening.
Do you have a sense of entitlement? Do you have a stronger sense of what is owed to you than your duties toward others? Those who are entitled are grasping and ungrateful. They feel that the resources developed by others are due to them with no humility or appreciation. This attitude is opposite to that of the Son of Man who came not to be served, but to serve, and give his life for others. I called you to follow me, so consider me as your example. It is still more blessed to give than to receive. Do you understand this? Do you know any people with a sense of entitlement? Are they happy?
Do you need to be held? Babies die if deprived of human contact and adults learn to cope, or develop compensation behaviors, but this is an essential human need. What is holding you? Is your hunger for being held satisfied? You have my promise that I hold you in the palm of my hand. Do you have a conscious and continual awareness of this? For I can hold you in a way that you still feel alone, yet my promise is true that I am with you always, even to the end of the age. My presence with you is an objective spiritual reality.
Have you ever shopped at a clearance sale? Have you ever held one? You might call this a garage sale if you held it, but stores hold clearance sales to move old merchandise to free up display space for new merchandise. You follow the same principle to remove clutter from your home. Have you ever held a spiritual clearance sale? Have you acquired beliefs or practices that no longer serve you even if they were useful at one time? Don’t let you faith practice be dominated by the traditions of your ancestors.
