ok, here and some of my thoughts about what I read the other day:
"Of the Excellence of a Free Mind, Which Is Sooner Gained By Humble Prayer Than by Reading"
hmm, I was pretty baffled when I first read this. What is a "free mind", and what is "excellence of a free mind" After reading through the whole entry, I decided the "free mind" is mankind's original mind before the Fall. It is a mind not tainted or bogged down by sin, thus "a free mind". "Excellence of a free mind" means the superiority of this state over our other states.
Then how can this state be "sooner gained by humble prayers than by reading"? I was pondering this, as to shouldn't we be reading the Scriptures to gain insight and wisdom? Then I realised I read it all wrong - Thomas was writing about the source from where we get our free mind, and not the activity per se i.e. we asked in humility for a free mind from God rather than reading the Scriptures through our our own efforts. Basically the "ask, seek, knock" principle.*
"O Lord, it is the work of a perfect man, never to relax his mind from attentive thought of heavenly things, and so to pass amid many cares, as it were, without care; not as one destitute of all feeling, but by the prerogative of a free mind, adhering to no creature with inordinate affection."
First thought that pops to mind when i read this is Jesus as the "perfect man" - only He is perfect. I am reminded that even as Jesus walked the earth in His 33 years,** amidst the many troubles can injustice and evil He saw in the land, His eyes are focused on the Heavenly Father's will. Yet Jesus was not a man without emotions or "destitute of all feeling". He chose ("by the prerogative of a free mind") to fix His focus to the Creator, rather than to His surroundings. And this is to be an encouragement, that I should likewise do so, as a disciple and follower of the Way.
"2. I beseech thee, my most gracious God, preserve me from the cares of this life, lest I should be too much entangled by them; also from the many necessities of the body, lest I should be captivated by pleasure; and from whatever is an obstacle to the soul, lest being broken with troubles, I should be overthrown."
The last line struck me the most - if I'm not careful, I'll be overthrown. Literally the image that comes to mind is that of a suplex move in WWE***, getting thrown out of the ring. If I don't have a firm foundation and anchor in Christ, when trouble come, I'll probably just come tumbling down like a pile of uncemented brick.^
"I speak not of those things which world vanity so earnestly covets, but of those miseries, which as punishments, and as the common curse of mortality,1 do weigh down and hinder the soul of thy servant, that it cannot enter into the freedom of the spirit so often as it would.
1Gen. 3:17; Rom. 7:11"
haha, just when I thought this was about asking for "a Lamborghini car or supermodel wife". 
Thomas was writing to say he's not writing of all the extreme luxurious things we can pined for. The very ordinary stuff, or the "mundanities of life" can already weigh us down. From these cares of what we will eat and what we will wear, we will not have freedom of our spirit, which God has already given to us from the start.
"3 O my God, thou sweetness ineffable, make bitter for me all carnal comfort, which draws me away from the love of eternal things, and in evil manner allures me to itself by setting before me some present delightful good."
I laughed when I read "make bitter for me all carnal comfort". Basically this will mean for me "make my nap time uncomfortable by burning my quilt 
; make my mom nag at me everytime I surf online for more than an hour
; make my snacks all sour and bitter when I taste them
; make the water full of screaming kids and men in pink or white speedoes when I swim at the public swimming pool 
; make me have sore eyes when I see beautiful women
" You get the drift. 
And the best part is in the latter part, "...allures me to itself by setting before some present delightful good." I guess this brings to mind of the earlier portion, where we are to set our thoughts to heavenly things. Sometimes we get so caught up in the present, that we fail to plan and live for the future. Do not focus overtly on the good things in the present (as it may distract us from working for the future), nor focus overtly on the bad things ("Aiya, Lord, why me? Why only the bad things?" Don't whine like a childish brat, nor complain of bad things in our lives - remember the Israelites in the book of Numbers! *dramatic music score* ) Also, what may be good for us now may not be good for our future, if we are not careful with our responses. Guard your heart!
" Let me not be overcome, O Lord, let me not be overcome by flesh and blood;2 let not the world and the short glory thereof deceive me; let not the devil and his subtle craftiness supplant me.
2Rom. 12:21"
This part is quite depressing. As if I don't have enough to plague me already as it is. Thomas is saying I should look out for my own sinful nature from the start. How easily my own carnal nature is working against me to keep me distracted from heavenly things. Then, even if I can win my self, I need to guard against the world and all the things the world is throwing against me. And even after I can win against these two, I'll still need to look out for the devil, who has eons of practice and enticing man away from God. That's just great news, ain't it?
But that's more of reading the above with a negative mindset. If we turn our hearts back to God, and cry out with our whole being, He will hear us and deliver us Himself. Ergo, pray the above with a confident desperation.
" Gives me strength to resist, patience to endure, and constancy to persevere."
Three of the best things we can pray for ourselves and any brother- and sister-in Christ: Strength! Patience! Constancy! Super 3-in-1 formula from God! 
" Give me, instead of all the comforts of the world, the most sweet balm of thy Spirit, and instead of carnal love, influence with the love of thy name."
This one really puts me to shame. Many a times, I pray for better jobs, better colleagues, better environments, better friends etc. etc. I actually prayed very little for the sweet balm of God's Spirit. To those who are wondering "Why balm?", well according to Wikipedia^^, a balm is a kind of liniment, which is a "medicated topical preparation for application to the skin". It is "applied with friction, that is a liniment is always rubbed in". The chief purpose is to "relieve pain and stiffness". So all in all, it's like getting a massage from God, if we take the analogy far enough.
The next part is also an often-neglected area in my name. How many times have I ask from God to have influence with the love of His name. Too less to boast about...
"4 Behold! meat, drinks, clothes, and other necessaries for the maintenance of the body, are burdensome unto a fervent soul."
Yeaps, a return to the earlier idea that it's not the big attractive luxuries that stumbles us, but the mundane cares of eating ("meat"), drinking ("drinks"), what to wear ("clothes") and other stuff ("other necessaries").
" Grant me to use such refreshments moderately and not to become entangled with an over-great desire for them. "
Yet Thomas did not denied these as frivolities. Instead, he labeled them as "necessaries" and "refreshments" for us. The idea is to consume just enough, and not to overdo it. Sadly, that's not what the world is teaching these days.
" It is not lawful to cast away all things, because nature is to be sustained; but to desire superfluities, and those things that are merely for delight, the holy law forbiddeth us; for then the flesh would rebel against the spirit. Herein, I beseech thee, let thy hand govern me and teach me, that I may not exceed the due bounds."
To me, the first line basically teaches about don't go to extremes. We shouldn't gorge ourselves as mentioned earlier; neither are we to starve ourselves and practice asceticism for asceticism's sake. Anyway, we are supposed to take direction from the Almighty, and let Him guide us in whatever we do.
*Matthew 7:7-8
** debatable. Some say he walked 30 years, some say 36. see the arguments on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
*** Man, I feel old. I still remember when "WWE" was "WWF", before all the buff bodies came and you have a bunch of weirdos in costumes pummelling each other. Names like King Kong Bundy, Yokozuna, Bushwhackers...
^ Matthew 7:24-27, Like 6:46-49
^^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liniment
No comments:
Post a Comment