Romans 5:1-5 - 1Therefore, since we have been
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not
disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:1-5 is an often misinterpreted Scripture, sometimes used to support the idea that God produces suffering to teach us a lesson...specifically humility. However, a more careful reading in context tells us this writing of Paul is a discussion of the irrelevance of circumstances, because of the hope we have through God's love being poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can also rejoice in the suffering of our circumstances, because in the face of those circumstances, we continue to abide in the love of God in our hearts while He redeems the suffering through His hope.
Benedict (6th century), founder of the Benedictine Monastic order, developed a ladder of humility – including:
reverence for God, obedience to God’s will, enduring affliction, confession, contentment, self-reproach, silence, seriousness, simplicity. Notice where Benedict began his ladder (similar to Paul): reverence for God. To have reverence means "honor; profound enduring awe and respect" (Webster). Perhaps in our use of language, where love is diminished to an emotion, the description of reverence for God as something profound and awe-producing captures the feeling of being in His presence better...as long as it doesn't intimate distance or a feeling of shame. Just out of personal interest, I compared Benedict's ladder with Cody's life style and beliefs. I thought I would share my own thoughts, for what they are worth.
Cody loved (loves) God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. He certainly revered Jesus, but His relationship with Jesus also held a quality of familiarity that Benedict's "reverence" might not capture. So I choose to make the first step on Cody's ladder to "adore God with your whole being."
Cody demonstrated obedience to God's will but not in the sense of making himself go against what he felt or wanted, like obedience itself was a struggle. Instead, he found that God's love and presence in his heart produced a desire to live as God does - to be close to Him and stay there. So I choose to make the second step on Cody's ladder to "follow God in your heart and listen to Him all the time."
Cody certainly endured affliction; yet, he always disagreed with people who described it that way. In fact, he openly scoffed that he was not suffering, and fully believed nothing was "wrong" with him and he could do anything his heart desired. This belief came from living in the kingdom with Jesus instead of living as a part of this world. So I choose to make the third step on Cody's ladder to "live with both feet in the kingdom of God within your heart."
Confession, many believe, is a "requirement" of forgiveness; however, Cody saw it as something provided by God for our sakes so that our own feelings of shame could be overcome. Cody knew Jesus' blood was sufficient for all of his sins, from the beginning to the end of his life. So I agree with the step of confession being on the ladder as long as it includes the understanding that confession is for our sake, and not a requirement of God's before He will offer forgiveness. So I choose to make the fourth step on Cody's ladder to "confess in order to realize and recognize God's forgiveness so you can look Him in the eye with no shame."
Peace was Cody's constant state of being. Contentment doesn't quite capture the level of peace Cody felt, so I choose to make the fifth step on Cody's ladder to "live in the peace that passes understanding through knowing the truth of Jesus."
Self-reproach was not something I ever saw in Cody or heard him say. So I choose to change this step to one that would more reflect Cody's life and belief. Cody's sixth step would be to "realize I need God and I cannot be my own god."
Silence, in the context of listening, would be something Cody would completely agree is crucial to humility. So I choose to make the seventh step on Cody's ladder to "listen in silence to the voice of Jesus in your heart in all things."
Seriousness would not be a word I would use to ever describe Cody. In fact, his incredible joy and amazing sense of humor, the blazing smile on his face, and the depth of feeling he brought others with his wisdom, his comments and jokes and his individual perspective on life was anything but seriousness. So I choose to change the eighth step on Cody's ladder to "feel everything deeply and share yourself completely." Cody never ever hid his heart.
Finally, simplicity would be something Cody would agree was a huge part of knowing Jesus. Jesus can share truth in one image or a simple phrase that seems to encompass the universe in a word. Truth is indeed a simple thing. So I choose to make the ninth step on Cody's ladder to "live in the simple truth of Jesus."
Romans 5:1-5 is an often misinterpreted Scripture, sometimes used to support the idea that God produces suffering to teach us a lesson...specifically humility. However, a more careful reading in context tells us this writing of Paul is a discussion of the irrelevance of circumstances, because of the hope we have through God's love being poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can also rejoice in the suffering of our circumstances, because in the face of those circumstances, we continue to abide in the love of God in our hearts while He redeems the suffering through His hope.
Benedict (6th century), founder of the Benedictine Monastic order, developed a ladder of humility – including:
reverence for God, obedience to God’s will, enduring affliction, confession, contentment, self-reproach, silence, seriousness, simplicity. Notice where Benedict began his ladder (similar to Paul): reverence for God. To have reverence means "honor; profound enduring awe and respect" (Webster). Perhaps in our use of language, where love is diminished to an emotion, the description of reverence for God as something profound and awe-producing captures the feeling of being in His presence better...as long as it doesn't intimate distance or a feeling of shame. Just out of personal interest, I compared Benedict's ladder with Cody's life style and beliefs. I thought I would share my own thoughts, for what they are worth.
Cody loved (loves) God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. He certainly revered Jesus, but His relationship with Jesus also held a quality of familiarity that Benedict's "reverence" might not capture. So I choose to make the first step on Cody's ladder to "adore God with your whole being."
Cody demonstrated obedience to God's will but not in the sense of making himself go against what he felt or wanted, like obedience itself was a struggle. Instead, he found that God's love and presence in his heart produced a desire to live as God does - to be close to Him and stay there. So I choose to make the second step on Cody's ladder to "follow God in your heart and listen to Him all the time."
Cody certainly endured affliction; yet, he always disagreed with people who described it that way. In fact, he openly scoffed that he was not suffering, and fully believed nothing was "wrong" with him and he could do anything his heart desired. This belief came from living in the kingdom with Jesus instead of living as a part of this world. So I choose to make the third step on Cody's ladder to "live with both feet in the kingdom of God within your heart."
Confession, many believe, is a "requirement" of forgiveness; however, Cody saw it as something provided by God for our sakes so that our own feelings of shame could be overcome. Cody knew Jesus' blood was sufficient for all of his sins, from the beginning to the end of his life. So I agree with the step of confession being on the ladder as long as it includes the understanding that confession is for our sake, and not a requirement of God's before He will offer forgiveness. So I choose to make the fourth step on Cody's ladder to "confess in order to realize and recognize God's forgiveness so you can look Him in the eye with no shame."
Peace was Cody's constant state of being. Contentment doesn't quite capture the level of peace Cody felt, so I choose to make the fifth step on Cody's ladder to "live in the peace that passes understanding through knowing the truth of Jesus."
Self-reproach was not something I ever saw in Cody or heard him say. So I choose to change this step to one that would more reflect Cody's life and belief. Cody's sixth step would be to "realize I need God and I cannot be my own god."
Silence, in the context of listening, would be something Cody would completely agree is crucial to humility. So I choose to make the seventh step on Cody's ladder to "listen in silence to the voice of Jesus in your heart in all things."
Seriousness would not be a word I would use to ever describe Cody. In fact, his incredible joy and amazing sense of humor, the blazing smile on his face, and the depth of feeling he brought others with his wisdom, his comments and jokes and his individual perspective on life was anything but seriousness. So I choose to change the eighth step on Cody's ladder to "feel everything deeply and share yourself completely." Cody never ever hid his heart.
Finally, simplicity would be something Cody would agree was a huge part of knowing Jesus. Jesus can share truth in one image or a simple phrase that seems to encompass the universe in a word. Truth is indeed a simple thing. So I choose to make the ninth step on Cody's ladder to "live in the simple truth of Jesus."
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