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Contemplating
God's greatness and goodness:
1.
Read Psalm 24 ("The earth is the Lord's . . .")
and then take a walk outside. Look around you
giving attention to what you see. The creation
is constantly doing the will of the Father, so
look and see the will of God in wind and sky,
leaf and flower, and the little creatures that
creep upon the earth. If you are in an urban setting,
know that the power of God is over it too, even
though we see it in a fallen and rebellious state.
2.
God's greatness is revealed to us primarily in
his goodness. With this in mind, contemplate Luke
7:36-50, the story of the woman who washed Jesus'
feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
Ponder Jesus' acceptance and goodness toward her.
Then, consider who in your life experience is
like that woman and what attitude and actions
you will want to take toward him or her.
Serving
our family, neighbors, friends, colleagues, enemies:
1.
For seven days at the beginning of each day pray:
"Lord, send me someone today I can
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serve".
Now, watch carefully who comes into your path
in need of an act of genuine service.
2.
Instead of the world's program of "random acts
of kindness," plan out specific acts of
kindness
to each family member, once a week for a month.
Understanding
ourselves in light of a more proper relationship
to God and others:
1.
Write out a list of the attributes of God. Study
yourself—your deeds, actions, and accomplishments—in
light of that list. This exercise is not meant
to devastate you but to give you a more proper
sense of place where you can rest easy under the
rule of God. You are not the ceo of the universe,
nor do you have to be.
2.While
you are serving others, watch yourself and see
how the actions themselves begin to temper your
own sense of self-importance and even your need
to be recognized. Service is its own reward.
—Richard J. Foster
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| Following
is an excerpt from the three versions of The
Imitation of Christ that we are featuring. In
the left column is a more traditional work edited
by Harold C. Gardiner that has been available since
1955 (New York: Doubleday/ Image). In the middle
column is a translation by William Creasy that is
described as using the reader-response theory which
brings |
forth the fifteenth-century reader's response to
major themes (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria, 1989).
And in the right column is a contemporary translation/paraphrase
by William Griffin that uses linguistic idioms and
literary devices peculiar to American culture (San
Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 2000) . |
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Of
Bearing Other Men's Faults
Such
faults as we cannot amend in ourselves or in
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Of
Putting Up With Others' Faults
What
we cannot change in ourselves or in others
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Putting
Up With
Putting Down
Some
things you just aren't strong enough to change
either in yourself or others. What can you do
but
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