SITTING in a café, annoyed by the chatter of two older men
who are speaking a language I don’t understand and using loud mannerisms, and I
realise afresh:
“The
problem is in you.”
SITTING in a café, annoyed by the interaction of one of the
staff and her boyfriend, and I gain another perspective:
“The
problem is in you.”
SITTING in a café, reflecting over two interactions at home
earlier in the day, where my lack of patience and tolerance came to bear, and I
see it again:
“The
problem is in you.”
I am a sinner so
in need of God, but my Lord is helping me, even as I sit in this café, “Steve,
the problem is in you… but so, too, is my grace… my grace is sufficient for
you; my power is made perfect in your present weakness.”
As I take a look
at these three situations, circumstances in my observation that grate at my
pride that I cannot attune my environment perfectly, I recognise there is also
something more to see.
The two older
men are free to exchange their fondness for life with each other. They are
uninhibited by others and they are breaking no law. They are enjoying life, in
the midst of what could otherwise be anything other than happy.
The lady making
the coffee seems a little loud, but she is enjoying her work, and the
interaction with her boyfriend is not abusive to anyone.
My earlier
interactions with my wife and my son lacked the love I’m otherwise known for.
(We are all known, hopefully, as lovers of our families.) I missed an eternal
moment and failed to reconcile what boiled within me.
I failed in all
these circumstances to understand, the problem is in me.
There is, in most
if not all these times, awareness that I am being tested. The test is of my
flesh. The test is, can I comprehend, in the moment, that the problem is in me
and not the other person or situation.
Can I surrender
to the peaceable flow of the Spirit of God’s grace in me?
***
“The
problem is in you — sin. Yet, so is the solution — God’s grace.”
The contented
life lives knowing there are vexations all about. Grace helps.
Living contented
in chaos is possible simply through knowing the problem is in us.
When we are
moved to annoyance and anger because of what others do, we miss the opportunity
to love them.
We miss the
opportunity to love people when we fail to recognise our problems exist within
us and not them.
Seeing the
problem is in me and not others helps me see others are not the problem.
Accepting others
is the way to contented living. Grace helps.
© 2015 Steve
Wickham.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.