Blue Marks
(1 Peter 5: 5-7)
A three year old was spending time with
her grandmother when the grandmother discovered the child drawing lines all
over her legs with a blue marker.
The grandmother asked “Why are you
doing that? Why are you putting blue lines all over your legs?”
The granddaughter answered “Grandmother,
I want to have pretty legs like you.”
After that, the grandmother then looked
at her varicose veins differently and through the eyes of someone who loved
her. (Readers Digest (9/2016)
We are
told to clothe ourselves in humility. Most people will try to hide their
imperfections. Varicose veins are hidden by pants or something to cover them.
Most
people are humbled by their imperfections, illnesses, financial problems, family
conflicts, emotional issues, or whatever crisis they face. These marks on our
life bring us back from arrogance. Trouble punches a hole in the bubble of pride;
no matter how much we try to be in control, we are not in control.
In bad
times is when people find their knees. They become humble. They bow humbly
before God, turning to Him in prayer. Scripture tells us God shows kindness to those of us who are humble.
Through
our prayers, God will lift us up.
God’s will
is done: when we pray humbly, when we pray faithfully, and when we pray with
expectation. He answers our prayers.
How do we
pray like this? Remember the tax collector’s prayer “God
have mercy on me a sinner.” Today there is a little different version of
this prayer. It is the Jesus prayer. It is a prayer of humility. “Lord Jesus
Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
What are
your blue marks? Look at them with the eyes of the one who loves you. Then in humble
prayer, “Cast all your cares on him because he cares
for you.”
God have
mercy on me, on all of us. Amen
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