Glimpsing an immortal view from a mortal perspective.
I often wonder about the future, and try very hard to grasp eternity. I speak often that eternity, or infinity for the more secular types, is very hard for mortals to grasp. I mean, we deal constantly with the finite. Day, night. Birth, death. Beginning, end. We are granted agency in this life by our Father in Heaven. to learn, to grow, to make mistakes, to gain faith, then knowledge. We can repent. We can come to our Father in prayer, and through the Atonement of his Son, we can overcome the natural man, and ultimately return to live with Him for eternity. This agency was granted to all who have been, or will be, born on this earth. That includes his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ was not born with knowledge of his Deity, he learned it over time, as the scriptures tell us "from grace to grace".
Our Father in Heaven knows us completely. He knows us so well, that while we are free to choose our path, (based on choices made previously), he knows what those choices will be. He knew his own Son so well, that when the time came for Christ to offer himself up, that he would, and that he would follow through. We were all counting on that moment. Those who believed that came before and looked forward to his time on earth, to those of us who now look at that moment, and realize that it has happened. and we need to lean on that.
The first thought, I am somewhat embarrassed to say, was the scene from Spaceballs, where they were trying to find Lone Star, so they went to the video library, and put the movie in, and fast forwarded to where the video had them looking at the video, and so on. I know, that is a very irreverent thought, in what is, to me, a very serious meandering. I honestly believe that while I can choose, Heavenly Father already knows my choice. This, by the way, should not be considered predestination, because that term, by definition, eliminates our choice in action. We are not destined to make the choices we make, we freely choose them. I argued often with my older brother several times over this, only to have to admit to him that he was probably right.
Should I add that the opinions expressed here are my own? It is done.
When Abraham took Isaac to the mountain to offer him up as sacrifice, the Lord knew that Abraham would do it. He wanted Abraham to know that he, Abraham, would be obedient in all things. He was.
When Nephi (of the Book of Mormon) was commanded to make a second set of plates, he didn't know why, he just obeyed. At the break in the Book of Mormon before the Book of Mosiah, Mormon writes that he was inserting that set of plates in the abridgment, even though he didn't know why. it would be some 1400 years later, that while translating the plates, Joseph would allow his scribe Martin Harris to take the translation to show his wife, which translation was stolen, and altered to disprove the translation. The Lord commanded Joseph to not re-translate that part of the book, and because of that second set of plates, the history was unbroken, WITHOUT re-translating.
So, the name of the post? I wrote on facebook a little while ago about feeling as somewhat of a failure as a parent. If you are close to me, you probably know the reason that I feel that way. I don't want to enumerate the reasons here. I am trying very hard not to judge, to know that I CAN'T judge. Only Christ can. It doesn't mean that I can't hurt for what I see. It doesn't mean that I can't pre-judge myself over how I have been as a parent (see how I avoided the specific judgmental, by using pre-judge?) I have to learn to throw out that garbage, but it is buried so deep, that I am not sure that I can. All I know is that those thoughts hold me back from being what God wants me to be.
So what is the real peril to not letting all that go? Here is my opinion. Satan, who knows us also, uses every effort to drag us down. He knows our weaknesses. He challenges our faith in Christ. He wants to chain us sown, however possible, to keep us from progressing.
I really don't think that I am the only person that has thoughts like that. I wish I were, but I know that I am not really all that special, and there are many others that Old Scratch needs to focus on. Me? I will try to put the past behind, to trust in my Lord. and to go forward. This life is but a moment in eternity for all of us, and we don't have time to do any thing but have faith, and to go forward. Take this, if you will as my testimony of Jesus Christ, and for the undying gratitude that I have for Him willingly making the choice to follow through, to perform the Atonement, that we may live again, both physically, and spiritually. I know that all I have to do is let go everything that is holding me back, My faith is not perfect, but it is sure, and will try to enliven that faith with the action of putting my load on Him who has already carried it.
Our Father in Heaven knows us completely. He knows us so well, that while we are free to choose our path, (based on choices made previously), he knows what those choices will be. He knew his own Son so well, that when the time came for Christ to offer himself up, that he would, and that he would follow through. We were all counting on that moment. Those who believed that came before and looked forward to his time on earth, to those of us who now look at that moment, and realize that it has happened. and we need to lean on that.
The first thought, I am somewhat embarrassed to say, was the scene from Spaceballs, where they were trying to find Lone Star, so they went to the video library, and put the movie in, and fast forwarded to where the video had them looking at the video, and so on. I know, that is a very irreverent thought, in what is, to me, a very serious meandering. I honestly believe that while I can choose, Heavenly Father already knows my choice. This, by the way, should not be considered predestination, because that term, by definition, eliminates our choice in action. We are not destined to make the choices we make, we freely choose them. I argued often with my older brother several times over this, only to have to admit to him that he was probably right.
Should I add that the opinions expressed here are my own? It is done.
When Abraham took Isaac to the mountain to offer him up as sacrifice, the Lord knew that Abraham would do it. He wanted Abraham to know that he, Abraham, would be obedient in all things. He was.
When Nephi (of the Book of Mormon) was commanded to make a second set of plates, he didn't know why, he just obeyed. At the break in the Book of Mormon before the Book of Mosiah, Mormon writes that he was inserting that set of plates in the abridgment, even though he didn't know why. it would be some 1400 years later, that while translating the plates, Joseph would allow his scribe Martin Harris to take the translation to show his wife, which translation was stolen, and altered to disprove the translation. The Lord commanded Joseph to not re-translate that part of the book, and because of that second set of plates, the history was unbroken, WITHOUT re-translating.
So, the name of the post? I wrote on facebook a little while ago about feeling as somewhat of a failure as a parent. If you are close to me, you probably know the reason that I feel that way. I don't want to enumerate the reasons here. I am trying very hard not to judge, to know that I CAN'T judge. Only Christ can. It doesn't mean that I can't hurt for what I see. It doesn't mean that I can't pre-judge myself over how I have been as a parent (see how I avoided the specific judgmental, by using pre-judge?) I have to learn to throw out that garbage, but it is buried so deep, that I am not sure that I can. All I know is that those thoughts hold me back from being what God wants me to be.
So what is the real peril to not letting all that go? Here is my opinion. Satan, who knows us also, uses every effort to drag us down. He knows our weaknesses. He challenges our faith in Christ. He wants to chain us sown, however possible, to keep us from progressing.
I really don't think that I am the only person that has thoughts like that. I wish I were, but I know that I am not really all that special, and there are many others that Old Scratch needs to focus on. Me? I will try to put the past behind, to trust in my Lord. and to go forward. This life is but a moment in eternity for all of us, and we don't have time to do any thing but have faith, and to go forward. Take this, if you will as my testimony of Jesus Christ, and for the undying gratitude that I have for Him willingly making the choice to follow through, to perform the Atonement, that we may live again, both physically, and spiritually. I know that all I have to do is let go everything that is holding me back, My faith is not perfect, but it is sure, and will try to enliven that faith with the action of putting my load on Him who has already carried it.
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