Every morning when I visit the "Half Bath" in our house, to sit a while, for some reason I reach for a hand-sized bottle of hand cream that lays in a basket with extra hand towels and rolls of paper, under the sink.
The hand cream in that bottle is thick and sticky and clings to surfaces with a vengeance. I could say "there is only half of the contents in that container," or I could say "there is still half of the contents available." It depends on how I view it.
I can roll that bottle around in my hands, and because of the stickiness of the contents, I can make the bottle appear as if it was completely full. It would stay that way for a while, before finally settling back to its true level, revealing the truth about the product. Someone else coming into that room fairly soon after me, could be fooled into thinking that the hand cream in that container is as you would likely find it on the shelf at the store............full.
It might seem silly to contemplate a bottle of hand cream at first, but I as I look at it, I do just that. Looking for Spiritual principles in all that I go thru, all that I see and all that I hear. There is a hope and trust in me, based on past experiences, that has taught me that our Heavenly Father, is offering us His Wisdom every day and every moment, and all I have to do is listen & observe.
Every day, it is possible to view what's going on around us as either gaining or losing, succeeding or failing, coming or going, strengthening or weakening. There may be truth in both perspectives in fact. It's not so much that viewing the bottle of hand cream as half empty is false; but rather that the way we view it, affects the way we respond to it.
One side of me might say, "I guess I'd better go to the store and buy another bottle, because this one is almost gone." Or I might say, "I've got plenty yet; this should last a while." Both perspectives might be valid.
What was bothering me about this hand cream scenario, was that I found myself flipping the bottle around every morning, to make it look full, and by the next day, it was back to being (in reality) only HALF full. No amount of "window dressing" (if I can use that term here) could permanently change the condition.
In my desire to be filled to overflowing (in fact) as is stated in the Psalms:
("Psa_23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.")
I find myself wondering if I am doing what God desires, with my view of things, and the actions I take. Like the virgins whose lamps were likely to run out of oil, they were not prepared. When I think of the container of my life as having enough to last a while, and rest on that (Selah) am I in fact, setting myself up for trouble, because I am not setting my mind and heart to the task of preparation?
On Sunday mornings at Church, I wonder how many folks are rolling the hand cream of their lives around, making it appear that they are "full" and plentiful in their walk with God; when in fact they are not, and it is only a false impression. That is an issue of honesty, isn't it. It's an issue about being "real," if you will.
My manipulations of that hand cream bottle, may give off an impression of fullness to the next person who views it, but it constantly needs to be re-manipulated, to continue that impression.
The idea of repeated refreshing is not the one being discussed here. I would agree that we should be in a constant state of desiring the refreshment of Gods Holy Spirit, on a daily basis. This is about how we view our lives with God, and what we do about it.
What is this life with God all ABOUT after all? Isn't it to love and serve Him with all that we are, in everything we do? Yes. Does it matter if we are "being" filled -vs- full?
I'm sure you would agree that we should not attempt to fool others, by trying to appear full, when we are indeed not. Being honest is of course a fundamental principle of truth. How many times we ("I") might do that, perhaps even in some seemingly justifiable viewpoint, to be a light to others in trouble (like visiting someone dying in a hospital bed, and we attempt to shine for them), when it would be better that I wept with those who weep (for example).
Each day I face a choice. Each morning when I pick up that bottle of hand cream, I ask myself...........am I going to live as though I'm half full and seeking more; or am I going to set my mind to viewing things as failing, drying up and diminishing. Lately it's been the later.
God help me, help us all, to be willing receptacles of your Holy Presence within us, by the Power of the Holy Spirit; anticipating a real Filling, sufficient for the day, so that our lives might not simply be an impression of you that is not truly valid; but that my (our) lives might be honest representations of our current condition, and that I (we) might have an honest hope of filling that is contagious to others around us, building them up, for the Glory of your Name.
The hand cream in that bottle is thick and sticky and clings to surfaces with a vengeance. I could say "there is only half of the contents in that container," or I could say "there is still half of the contents available." It depends on how I view it.
I can roll that bottle around in my hands, and because of the stickiness of the contents, I can make the bottle appear as if it was completely full. It would stay that way for a while, before finally settling back to its true level, revealing the truth about the product. Someone else coming into that room fairly soon after me, could be fooled into thinking that the hand cream in that container is as you would likely find it on the shelf at the store............full.
It might seem silly to contemplate a bottle of hand cream at first, but I as I look at it, I do just that. Looking for Spiritual principles in all that I go thru, all that I see and all that I hear. There is a hope and trust in me, based on past experiences, that has taught me that our Heavenly Father, is offering us His Wisdom every day and every moment, and all I have to do is listen & observe.
Every day, it is possible to view what's going on around us as either gaining or losing, succeeding or failing, coming or going, strengthening or weakening. There may be truth in both perspectives in fact. It's not so much that viewing the bottle of hand cream as half empty is false; but rather that the way we view it, affects the way we respond to it.
One side of me might say, "I guess I'd better go to the store and buy another bottle, because this one is almost gone." Or I might say, "I've got plenty yet; this should last a while." Both perspectives might be valid.
What was bothering me about this hand cream scenario, was that I found myself flipping the bottle around every morning, to make it look full, and by the next day, it was back to being (in reality) only HALF full. No amount of "window dressing" (if I can use that term here) could permanently change the condition.
In my desire to be filled to overflowing (in fact) as is stated in the Psalms:
("Psa_23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.")
I find myself wondering if I am doing what God desires, with my view of things, and the actions I take. Like the virgins whose lamps were likely to run out of oil, they were not prepared. When I think of the container of my life as having enough to last a while, and rest on that (Selah) am I in fact, setting myself up for trouble, because I am not setting my mind and heart to the task of preparation?
On Sunday mornings at Church, I wonder how many folks are rolling the hand cream of their lives around, making it appear that they are "full" and plentiful in their walk with God; when in fact they are not, and it is only a false impression. That is an issue of honesty, isn't it. It's an issue about being "real," if you will.
My manipulations of that hand cream bottle, may give off an impression of fullness to the next person who views it, but it constantly needs to be re-manipulated, to continue that impression.
The idea of repeated refreshing is not the one being discussed here. I would agree that we should be in a constant state of desiring the refreshment of Gods Holy Spirit, on a daily basis. This is about how we view our lives with God, and what we do about it.
What is this life with God all ABOUT after all? Isn't it to love and serve Him with all that we are, in everything we do? Yes. Does it matter if we are "being" filled -vs- full?
I'm sure you would agree that we should not attempt to fool others, by trying to appear full, when we are indeed not. Being honest is of course a fundamental principle of truth. How many times we ("I") might do that, perhaps even in some seemingly justifiable viewpoint, to be a light to others in trouble (like visiting someone dying in a hospital bed, and we attempt to shine for them), when it would be better that I wept with those who weep (for example).
Each day I face a choice. Each morning when I pick up that bottle of hand cream, I ask myself...........am I going to live as though I'm half full and seeking more; or am I going to set my mind to viewing things as failing, drying up and diminishing. Lately it's been the later.
God help me, help us all, to be willing receptacles of your Holy Presence within us, by the Power of the Holy Spirit; anticipating a real Filling, sufficient for the day, so that our lives might not simply be an impression of you that is not truly valid; but that my (our) lives might be honest representations of our current condition, and that I (we) might have an honest hope of filling that is contagious to others around us, building them up, for the Glory of your Name.
