Wednesday, December 09, 2009

capable of being

Whatever else may be said of man, this one thing is clear: He is
not what he is capable of being.

-- G. K. Chesterton

thank You, Lord, for that truth!

granted, i do not know the context of this quote. and i believe it to be true, but not (i assume) in the manner it was intended.

i assume it is intended to mean that we've fallen far short of what we are capable of being in God's Kingdom. with that i would disagree: we are capable - outside of Christ - to only do evil and are slaves to sin and satan. so there is no 'capability' involved when it comes to meeting God's standards. that was the purpose of the Law - to tutor us to show us that we are definately not capable of that.

what i see is the flip side: because of God's restraining grace, i am not the evil beast i could be - what i am totally capable of becoming if left to myself (were God's restraining hand and sanctifying Presence not at work in my life).

....and for that i am thankful.

and i praise God that all the good things that He works in and through my life is from Him, to Him be all glory and praise, as there is no good thing in me aside from Him. :)




"and i am Yours... what does that make me?" :)

Clover
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1 comment:

  1. TimW8:28 p.m.

    Isn't it great that we have not been forsaken by the One that sees the beginning from the end... that knows exactly what He created us for... that sees our glorious end from our tragic beginning... the One who is faithful to complete...

    ReplyDelete

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Outcast, Adopted.

THIS BLOG IS IN NEED OF AN OVERHAUL. there are posts from years back i would not be able to post in good conscience now. i plan to overhaul the blog, and either delete or add a disclaimer to those posts. but that is gonna take time....

The Radical Summons: "Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp and bear the reproach He endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." Hebrews 13:13.

"The Spirit never loosens where the Word binds; the Spirit never justifies where the Word condemns; the Spirit never approves where the Word disapproves; the Spirit never blesses where the Word curses." —Thomas Brooks

‎"God receives none but those who are forsaken, restores health to none but those who are sick, gives sight to none but the blind, and life to none but the dead. He does not give saintliness to any but sinners, nor wisdom to any but fools. In short: He has mercy on none but the wretched and gives grace to none but those who are in disgrace. Therefore no arrogant saint, or just or wise man can be material for God, neither can he do the work of God, but he remains confined within his own work and makes of himself a fictitious, ostensible, false, and deceitful saint, that is, a hypocrite." --Martin Luther (W.A. 1.183ff)

i will not let You go: "Jacob's sense of his total debility and utter defeat is now the secret of his power with his friendly Vanquisher. God can overthrow all the prowess of the self-reliant, but He cannot resist the earnest entreaty of the helpless." --Albert Barnes

i will not let You go: "Jacob's determination did not flow from his strength, it flowed from his weakness." --Charles Leiter