VIII.
Do you think the remarks from Monday on “practice” were too thin or unsatisfying? I still wonder about that.
Yesterday, on the drive to work, I heard a selection from Oswald Chambers that in my mind connected with what I was trying to get at when I mentioned “practice.” These paragraphs are from the January 14 reading in “My Utmost for His Highest.” Why not read it over slowly and let me know if you see a connection …..
“Called Of God
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. — Isaiah 6:8
“God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying — “Who will go for us?” The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God’s call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. “Many are called but few are chosen” that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time — “Who will go for us?” It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, “Now, you go.” God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom — “Here am I, send me.”
“Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His “Follow Me” was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say — “Here am I; send me.” “
https://utmost.org/classic/called-of-god-classic/
Did you notice –
“… Isaiah overheard God saying …”
“… Whether or not I hear God’s call depends upon the state of my ears …”
“… what I hear depends on my disposition …”
“… come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time …”
When you look over Chambers final paragraph in the reading, what do you notice about disposition and practice?
charles
{ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est}