Rather than doing what I should be doing (housework, Bible study, budget), lately I have been reading a slew of books. One of these books is called Gilead. Hubby had to read it for seminary, and I couldn't resist. It's written by Marilynne Robinson, and is so poetic I fell in love with it.
The narrator is a man who is at the end of his life. He had been a preacher and has much to say about his calling, his life, and God. He is writing a letter to his young son. Here's an excerpt from the end of the book (p.246 to be exact)
"Theologians talk about a prevenient grace that precedes grace itself and allows us to accept it. I think there must also be a prevenient courage that allows us to be brave - that is, to acknowledge that there is more beauty than our eyes can bear, that precious things have been put into our hands and to do nothing to honor them is to do great harm. And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. It allows us to be generous, which is another way of saying exactly the same same thing. But that is the pulpit speaking. What have I to leave you but the ruins of old courage, and the lore of old gallantry and hope? Well, as I have said, it is all an ember now, and the good Lord will surely someday breathe it into flame again." (Gilead, Marilynne Robinson)
Ponder that.
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Well... that's a little too deep for me to ponder long. But the thing that sticks out on this first reading is the part, "And therefore, this courage allows us, as the old men said, to make ourselves useful. It allows us to be generous, which is another way of saying exactly the same same thing."
ReplyDeleteTo think about that... being useful means being generous, and that we need courage to be generous. I agree with that.
Billy and I have seen that in our budgeting and in our decluttering. The tendency is to want to hold on to extra clothes or pots and pans or money "just in case" other stuff we have wears out or is otherwise used up.
But to be generous... to only take what we need now, and not hoard for the future... that takes courage to put our faith in God's provision.
And it is incredibly freeing to live courageously.
That is so true about taking only what we need now. I haven't lived through a depression or a war, and yet I still want things for 'just-in-case'. As we move toward getting rid of the unnecessary stuff it does feel freeing when we unload a big pile at Goodwill.
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