Hello dear
Eons ago, when Biology made a mockery of me, I remember one characteristic of humanity was described as irritability. I’m confident that the confusion the term caused as well as the the mischief it created is what sent them scurrying to find the alternative term, ‘sensitivity’. By whatever name, it simply means response to stimulus. In biology that would be light, heat, water … And in human terms, our nerves send messages to tell us what is happening or if we are at risk of danger somewhere.
As living sacrifices we ought also to be blessed with sensitivity, and today’s Holy Nougat shows how
“Thy word have I laid up in my heart, That I might not sin against thee. … I have refrained my feet from every evil way, That I might observe thy word.” Psalms 119:11, 101 ASV
In the story of Pinocchio, Pinocchio was a puppet brought to life by the love of the puppet maker Geppetto. Pinocchio was even more special than the ordinary puppet. His wooden heart was sensitive to lies and each time Pinocchio lied, his nose grew. But he was unconscious of the fact and sometimes he would keep lying. To help him keep his nose in order, Jiminy Cricket was assigned the task of keeping Pinocchio’s conscience clear. It didn’t always work that way. They had loads of adventures, which often included them both being in danger, and occasionally Pinocchio would remember his promises to his dad.
There is a sense in which we are each Pinocchio and God’s Spirit is our Jiminy Cricket, our conscience. When we accept God as Lord of our lives, we promise – just like Pinocchio – to keep God’s Word. It is God’s Spirit Who helps us keep our promises. When we listen to our God’s Spirit, when we hide God’s Word in our hearts, we are less like to partake in wrongdoing. That is our ‘sensitivity’ at work.
Unfortunately, since our noses don’t grow when we sin, if we ignore God’s Spirit for too long; we may find that our resistance to sin decreases and our antagonism to and resisting of God increases!
And that’s why we NEED Gods Word to help us remain attuned to God’s Spirit. Of course, it is not simple. Or we’d simply will ourselves Holy. Hence us being sacrifices. To refrain our spirits (feet) from adopting the path of evil. We resist sin by reading the Word of God and heeding God’s Spirit. Praying for God’s re-sensitizing our consciences so that we are attuned to God’s will goes in tandem with reading and heeding. Of course, while we pray for re-sensitivity, it is hoped that we preface the prayer with acknowledgement of our sin. It is easier for us.
I pray that our irritability to anything that is offensive to God will increase like Pinocchio’s nose, and that God’s Word will keep us aware of God’s Spirit guiding us.
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
