Disappointment

Lent 2012           A Clean Heart, Create in Me      C.S.Lewis

Thursday March 8                                                     Jeremiah 17:5

If you depend on me, rest your full weight upon me; I will crumble.  It is because I embrace what it means to be human that I can promise you that if you rely on me alone, you will be disappointed.  However, seek that divine spark in me, fan it and nurture it and be surprised.  Recognize that God purpose that drives me and impossible dreams will come true.  To quote a Casting Crowns song “not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done; Not because of what I’ve done; but because of who You Are.”  C.S. Lewis reminds us, “It is equally natural for us to see the person who helps us without seeing the Christ behind them.”  Hence is the origin of disappointment.   He says that it is “madness not to recognize the Real Giver.”  It is false humility to debase ourselves to the point of believing that we are nothing but sin.  It is the height of arrogance to believe that we are solely responsible for any success.  It becomes madness when we fail to recognize the basis of all life, the Real Giver.   We need to recognize the One who spoke all life into being and then called it good.  It was not good because of us, but in support of us.  Lord, let us grow in maturity.  As we remember that we are but frail beings of dust who are here but for a moment, let us also be strengthened by the fact that we are not alone.  You have empowered us with Your Love to act as the Body of Christ to be a part in the redemption of the world.  While we may disappoint the world and its people, we will never be a disappointment to You when we choose Your Way.