Crossing the River

We congratulate people on being "near the Kingdom of God". We use the 'stepping stones' across the river to avoid inviting the one, who needs to cross, into the river, where the Lord himself will perform a miracle and part the waters for him, but he must first step in; he must descend the bank of the Jordan in front of the whole of Israel and its teachers to meet God in the middle, where the gentle dove will descend. There is no other way but through; there is no 'around' or 'over', that is left to the Lord who will passover us and surround us.

We use the praises of men to avoid this. We throw rocks into the water from those in our heart to help others to cross in the same way we did; rather, let him who wishes to cross into God's country step in deeper and then, after he has crossed, take the rocks out of the river and set them up as a lasting memorial to what the Lord has done for him. Let him take 12 rocks, one for each tribe of Israel, one for each Apostle of God's true church. Then let him say he is IN the Kingdom of God and not just near it, for those who will be weeping and gnashing their teeth in the final judgment were once near it.

The Careful Builder

A clock measures a man's time, tick-by-tick, but it is I who measure a man's life - every beat of his heart is mine and it is where I lay my plumb line in the inner most place. I look at the straightness of his ways.

You are the temple of God and what is it that your life's work builds if it is not the temple of God? Therefore be careful how you build; build not with temporal and flammable things. Rather, build with those things that are eternal, that which is hewn from my quarries and mined from the deeps of the earth. Once I have measured it, I will test it with fire. And what is left will be to the praise of God. That which is done through God will stand and be seen; that which is accomplished in the strength of the flesh and the power of the soul shall perish. Build carefully then - meticulously - not to gain time or honour with men. Do not despise doing the small thing well, for in that day all things shall be built upon this foundation - the foundation of Christ.

The Hidden Question of My Heart - Part 3

So, the rock and the sand and the flood: the wise and the foolish builders. What a picture! Such drama. I was an enthralled seven-year old at Mass.

From then on I made a vow to myself and all my future selves: I wanted to build my house on the rock and nothing else. I didn't want to be stupid; I didn't want my life to come collapsing around me. I wanted to be right. That story has shaped all the searchings and seekings for the rest of my life right until this very day.

I simply had to find out how to build my house on the rock, but I hadn't listened to everything. In missing that small detail I had missed everything. I had just heard what I wanted to hear. I hadn't listened; I was too interested in the spectacle of the story to hear its true meaning. I wouldn't find it for another eight years.

The Crucible of the Heart

The Lord doesn't take the dross from the furnace of our heart continually, otherwise there would not be enough dross to take and some of the gold would be taken with it. Seeing as it is the gold that is preciouos in his sight and that the pruification of our faith is His goal, it would be counter-productive to do it continually. Yes, we are continually pruified, but even a rose, if it is to produce a pleasing bud, must be pruned in-season, not on whim. Rather, the Lord allows for the dross to accumulate and, from a willing and obedient heart, He takes it in one fell swoop: minimising the pain and maximising the benefit. Why submit a believer to continual disaster and trial? For most of us, the only thing that will reduce will be our faith - not our impurity. He knows our frame; he remembers that we are but dust. Thus there is a rhythm to His dealings, there are seasons and we cannot force his hand - nor should we. If this were the case then we would be trying to purify ourselves - not the Spirit of Holiness.

However, there is the trial of Job that looms like a mount out of the darkness. I do not say we shall all take that path but the closer you walk with Him then the closer that Mount gets. Abraham took it with Isaac and the Lord took it with His cross to Golgotha.

As He walked, so must we.

The Hidden Question of My Heart - Part 2

I can well imagine that enraptured seven year old boy, sitting in the front row at mass, all ears as the the Priest spun the story of the 'House Built on Sand'. It was so obvious, wasn't it? How stupid of that guy to build his house on sand! Even my soft seven year old brain could get it. He was so vain, so lazy. I could get the hard-working one, it took time to build his house on the rock; it was painstaking attention to detail, it was back-breaking work. It wasn't easy. As a good catholic boy, I could understand that.

In short, I wanted to be that man who built his house on the rock. I wanted to do things properly and right but I missed something even at that early age. I knew what I wanted but I didn't know how to get it. That little something was hidden right at the beginning of the parable before we got to the exciting bit about the flood knocking down the house built on sand. It was the still small voice that I had missed and wouldn't find again for another eight years. Missing it sent me off on a wild goose chase until I was 15 but even so now and again that wild goose keeps running past my door.

Now . . . what was that little I missed? Ummm . . .

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. (Matt 7:24)