Shutting The Door On Grace - Spiritual Schizophrenia
This quote came in by CQOD last week, and I really liked it...thought I'd share it here.If the Christian penitent dares to ask that his many departures from the Christian norm, his impatience, gloom, self-occupation, unloving prejudices, reckless tongue, feverish desires, with all the damage they have caused to Christ's Body, be set aside, because--because, in spite of all, he longs for God and Eternal Life: then he must set aside and forgive all that the impatience, selfishness, bitter and foolish speech, and sudden yieldings to base impulse by others have caused him to endure. Hardness is the one impossible thing. Harshness to others in those who ask and need the mercy of God sets up a conflict at the very heart of personality and shuts the door upon grace.
Some good things to think about there. When we expect God to forgive our failings, yet are unwilling to forgive others, we have set ourselves up for a spiritual schizophrenia.
Posted On Feb 18, 2006 at 7:37 AM
On Feb 18, 2006 Doug wrote: On a completely unrelated subject, I had an amusing story from this morning. I went to the grocery store, and as I was checking out, I noticed the person bagging my groceries was a young lady named Dylan. So I commented that was an interesting name, and she said, "You wouldn't believe all the questions I get...Is that someone else's nametag? Were your parents hippies? Are you really a girl?"
I said, "Maybe I can give you a new question to add to your list. Were you named after Dylan Thomas?"
"Oh! That's a new one!"
"You know who Dylan Thomas was?" I asked.
"Um. No."
"He was a poet. He's the guy that wrote:
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
As I was leaving the store, I found myself thinking, "It takes a really very odd personality to start reciting poetry about death to an unknown woman in the grocery store..."
On Feb 18, 2006 Laura wrote: I love that poem! But yes, it does take a very odd personality to recite it to an unknown person - are you implying something there?
Doug Replied: you mean, like, I have a very odd personality? I don't think I was really "implying" that.
On Feb 18, 2006 BackStage wrote: She probably has learned to enjoy comments and questions about her name about as much as you appreciate questions like, "So, which one's the dummy?"
Doug Replied: Heh. Yeah, that was kind of the impression I got.
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