Be True from the Inside Out
Acts 1:1-11 / Eph 1:17-23 / Mk 16:15-20
Buried somewhere in our high school memories is a novel that was on everyone’s reading list, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It’s the story of a pious young puritan clergyman who becomes secretly involved with a beautiful young woman, Hester Prynne. Nature takes its course and the woman gives birth to a child. But no father is in evidence, and no marriage vows have been pronounced. So the tight little Puritan village in which she lives labels her “adulteress,” and casts her out of church and friendship and out of all kindly contact. She is alone, with the scarlet letter “A” sewn upon her dress.
Meanwhile, her secret lover, the Reverend Dimmesdale, continues to rise in the esteem of his people. From far and wide they come to marvel at the purity of his soul, and to listen to his beautiful words. But he has no words for Hester and no embrace for his fatherless child. The years pass. Hester and her child survive — alone. But Dimmesdale slowly crumples from within, crushed by the weight of the lie he is living. At the height of his career he is dying. At the very last moment — with the whole town gathered round — he takes Hester to himself and for the first time embraces his little child. Then he dies.
And what moral are we to take from this long, sad story? Hawthorne sums it up in two words — which he repeats three times: “Be true. Be true. Be true.”
I wonder if that isn’t the essence of Jesus’ last words to us before ascending to heaven. “Go out to the whole world,” he says to us all, “and tell the good news.” Now in its literal sense, telling means using words, talking. And who can deny that talking is important if we want to share good news? But talk is cheap; and, as Dimmesdale reminds us, it always has been. So if we have any hope of following Jesus’ command to proclaim the good news, we’re going to have to do a lot more than talk, a lot more than just tell the truth. We’re going to have to be true. Be true on the inside. And from that truthfulness on the inside will spring forth not only words that are true, but deeds that are true. Deeds that, in their rightness and goodness, shout to the whole world what really matters, deeds that proclaim to the whole world that God is here, living in the hearts of his people.
God has given us an immense mission, telling his good news to all the world. So we truly need to pray for one another:
May God help us become true on the inside, so that every word and deed of ours may speak his good news till that day when he will speak it to us all face to face. Amen.
-via Kuya Gelo
Why is it that when PEOPLE let us down we're so quick to turn our backs on God?
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” -Psalm 118:8
What does it mean to "Trust in God"?
In order to trust God we need humility. Humility clears our heart of pride, and opens it to the word of God. When we accept His word, we have trust in him. This brings us peace. His word also brings us wisdom; because, he is the source of all wisdom. We can therefore, never have true wisdom or peace without humility.
When we do not get what we ask for or receive the opposite of what we asked for, we doubt God. However, we should remember, that he has already given us the only gift we really need, namely, the gift of his own life. Furthermore, he always answers our prayers. He answers them in such a manner, that in the long run it will make us a people with greater faith and love. Because of this, He may not give us exactly what we asked for, or He may delay granting our petition, or may even allow tragedy to come upon us (like He did to Job). If we accept God’s help by trusting His decisions, He can help us by doing what is best for us. We should accept His will without even knowing what it is and (in our heart) allow Him to do whatever He feels is right. When we distrust his plan and want only our own plan, we reject his help."
-man-of-god
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