Getting Started (2 of 8)
Series: Getting Back to What Matters Most
Wyman Richardson
Haggai 1:8
Read Haggai 1:8
Of all the stories surrounding the amazing life of Francis of Assisi, I think the most compelling is the story of his efforts to restore the little church of San Damiano. In the year 1205, Francis, a young man in the midst of a spiritual crisis, wondered into the ruins of a little church called San Damiano. While there, he says he heard the voice of God speaking to him through a suspended crucifix. The voice said, ''Francis, can't you see that my church is in ruins? Build my church!''
Many people would have interpreted these words to be a call to become a great reformer in the church across the world. But not Francis. On the contrary, he interpreted it with all the literalness of a child. He took it to mean to that he should literally rebuild that church, the church of San Damiano. So, one stone at a time, Francis starting building. He would go out and beg for stones. In fact, Francis started working on rebuilding a number of churches that had fallen into ruin.
Eventually, Francis would become known as ''Saint Francis'' and would, indeed, be used by God as a worldwide church reformer. But I like to think that Francis became so great precisely because Francis had no notion of greatness. I believe that Francis was used to build something amazing precisely because he was willing to build something small.
Of all the lessons we can learn from Francis, I think the lesson of how to start is one of the greatest.
Once you have become convinced of the need to get back to what matters most, how do we begin? Once we desire to see the temple of God built in our lives (to use the analogy we are using to interpret the book of Haggai), how do we start? Where do we begin?
Let us remind ourselves of what matters most. What matters most in life is an authentic and viable union with God's person, God's plan, and God's priorities. For Israel, this w ...
Series: Getting Back to What Matters Most
Wyman Richardson
Haggai 1:8
Read Haggai 1:8
Of all the stories surrounding the amazing life of Francis of Assisi, I think the most compelling is the story of his efforts to restore the little church of San Damiano. In the year 1205, Francis, a young man in the midst of a spiritual crisis, wondered into the ruins of a little church called San Damiano. While there, he says he heard the voice of God speaking to him through a suspended crucifix. The voice said, ''Francis, can't you see that my church is in ruins? Build my church!''
Many people would have interpreted these words to be a call to become a great reformer in the church across the world. But not Francis. On the contrary, he interpreted it with all the literalness of a child. He took it to mean to that he should literally rebuild that church, the church of San Damiano. So, one stone at a time, Francis starting building. He would go out and beg for stones. In fact, Francis started working on rebuilding a number of churches that had fallen into ruin.
Eventually, Francis would become known as ''Saint Francis'' and would, indeed, be used by God as a worldwide church reformer. But I like to think that Francis became so great precisely because Francis had no notion of greatness. I believe that Francis was used to build something amazing precisely because he was willing to build something small.
Of all the lessons we can learn from Francis, I think the lesson of how to start is one of the greatest.
Once you have become convinced of the need to get back to what matters most, how do we begin? Once we desire to see the temple of God built in our lives (to use the analogy we are using to interpret the book of Haggai), how do we start? Where do we begin?
Let us remind ourselves of what matters most. What matters most in life is an authentic and viable union with God's person, God's plan, and God's priorities. For Israel, this w ...
There are 16554 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
