Receive It…
How are you about receiving – gifts, praise, correction, criticism? For me, all of those are hard. For the sweet ones like gifts, I’m awkward, wanting the giver to feel special. For the hard ones like correction, oh I must admit I don’t like being wrong.
How about how we receive love, acceptance? I like those ones, warm and cozy. So when God lavishes that rich love of His on me, I’m arms open wide. But when He lays on a bit of conviction to show me my wrong thinking, arms crossed.
What is something you do well? For me, I like to think, it’s writing. Yet how wounded I feel when there’s constructive criticism. Maybe for you it’s singing, or cooking, or teaching, or ______? But how to accept that we don’t always get it right?
It’s the same with God’s love and correction. I want to have His love flow through me to others and I want to mature in my relationship with Him. But how often do I not receive, or maybe perceive, the instruction in His Word or the prompting of the Holy Spirit. “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6 NLT)
Call out – that’s what changes everything. Just saying ‘Oh, Father’ usually changes my whole perspective. There are so many things Jesus tells us to receive: His love, grace, mercy. His provision, constant presence, truth. His peace, freedom, inheritance. Also His correction, rebuke, reminders.
When it comes down to it, we really don’t have all that much to offer. That’s an ego buster. But truth is, Christian or not, anything we have, we’ve learned from those who’ve gone before; wisdom from previous pioneers. Who we are is simple: children of God. As His children all we offer needs to flow from Him.
There is no greater honor than to be called by Him. A high calling it is – and so whether it’s love surrounding us at the moment, or a bit of much needed discipline, let’s receive it. For those He calls he also equips: “Now may the God of peace…equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20a-21 BSB)
parisrenae 