A Goody From Woody

In high school at graduation, I received an award – the W.W. Sebald Self-Reliant Award. It was money to be spent on my college education. When they gave me this reward I thought to myself (a young Christian), I really deserve this—I worked hard in school, played sports and worked after school and on weekends.

I really was self-reliant and self-sufficient.

But Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Jesus also said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).

Am I self-made, self-reliant, self-sufficient? No! No! No! That is a fantasy world. That type of self-world is empty of God completely.

The opposite view is a world where people are poor in spirit and deeply aware of being God-made and God-sufficient—everything comes because of the goodness, mercy and grace of God.

As a teenager I thought I was independent and could do it all by myself. I no longer believe that. As a Christian, I believe differently now. Everything comes from God. He is independent. I am dependent. He is complete. I am incomplete. I am nothing without Him.

To be able to receive anything from God, I must choose Him and my attitude must be to see myself in all dimensions—physically, spiritually, mortally as “poor in spirit”.

That’s the way I see it!

What does poor in spirit mean to you? Where’s your focus? Self or God? My challenge to you today is simple: empty yourself of you. See yourself as nothing, so that whatever God gives to you, you can be open to everything from His hand.

I am nothing today but I am also lost in wonder and praise for all God is to me and in me.

“To conclude, in one word; as often as we call God the Creator of heaven and earth, let us remember that the distribution of all the things which he created are in his hand and power, but that we are his sons, whom he has undertaken to nourish and bring up in allegiance to him, that we may expect the substance of all good from him alone, and have full hope that he will never suffer us to be in want of things necessary to salvation, so as to leave us dependent on some other source; that in everything we desire we may address our prayers to him, and, in every benefit we receive, acknowledge his hand, and give him thanks; that thus allured by his great goodness and beneficence, we may study with our whole heart to love and serve him.” [Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin translated by Henry Beveridge; Book One, Chapter 14, Section 22]

God bless,
Woody