Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Walking on Water: Part 2


"We are all asked to do more than we can do. Every hero and heroine of the Bible does more than he would have thought it possible to do, from Gideon to Esther to Mary."



I love the message that is in these words. I'm now writing about chapter 3 of Walking on Water and am finding wisdom in almost every page. The idea that Madeleine L'Engle is exploring here is the idea that none of us are "qualified" for the life God asks us to lead. God is ever asking us to do better, to reach higher, to love more fiercely, to overcome fear and hardship, to mimic His son Jesus Christ. And it is only by the "sheer gift" of God's love and grace that we are able to be whole and healed and to fulfill the mission God has set for each of us. She writes this:

In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there's no danger that we will confuse God's work with our own, or God's glory with our own.

The most beautiful example that I can think of, and the one that Madeleine L'Engle chooses to point to, is the deafness of one of the greatest composers who ever lived. Beethoven wrote these painful lines to his brothers, in 1802:

Born with a passionate and excitable temperament, keenly susceptible to the pleasures of society, I was yet obliged early in life to isolate myself, and to pass my existence in solitude. If I at any time resolved to surmount all this, oh! how cruelly was I again repelled by the experience, sadder than ever, of my defective hearing! — and yet I found it impossible to say to others: Speak louder; shout! for I am deaf! Alas! how could I proclaim the deficiency of a sense which ought to have been more perfect with me than with other men, — a sense which I once possessed in the highest perfection, to an extent, indeed, that few of my profession ever enjoyed!

By every earthly measure, Beethoven was "unqualified." He was asked to do more than he could do. But anyone who knows his music would be hard-pressed to deny that his most sublime, most transcendent, and heavenly works are from the years when he was fully deaf, not able to hear even one note of the music that ran through his mind and in his veins. L'Engle asks, "Could Beethoven have written that glorious paean of praise in the Ninth Symphony if he had not had to endure the dark closing in of deafness?"

On a much more humble level, I can see the truth of this in my own life. My parents still find it highly amusing that their quiet little daughter, the one who would freeze up when all eyes were on her, and become a terrified statue when the softball was hit to her, was the one who became a performer--on a stage, in front of people. No, my personality has not undergone major changes since I was 10 (though I am much less shy than I was). Like with each one of us, God has asked me to do more than I can do. He has given me a passion that requires me to do something highly uncomfortable for me, something that very much goes against my reserved nature. I don't think I will ever love to perform. But I love music and I love the piano. This is why I perform, and through the grace of God, I am able to do it.

L'Engle closes the chapter this way:

And for each one of us there is a special gift, the way in which we may best serve and please the Lord whose love is so overflowing. And gifts should never be thought of quantitatively. One of the holiest women I have ever known did little with her life in terms of worldly success; her gift was that of bringing laughter with her wherever she went, no matter how dark or grievous the occasion. Wherever she was, holy laughter was present to heal and redeem.



8 comments:

  1. Just started this wonderful book last evening. It's fun to be reading the same book, alongside you. :) After I read chapter 3, I'll read your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah, that's wonderful! I'm so excited to know we'll be reading it together. I think you're going to just love it. (In fact, let me know if you'd like to do your own guest post on one of the chapters down the road!).

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saved this to read at the very end of a frantic day. And I'm so glad I did. Now I will go upstairs and sleep, peacefully, reminded that the next time I have to do more than I think I can handle...there is a way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so very glad. It's such a comforting thing to remember.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Loved your post. God does ask us to step out of our comfort zone to do his will. And through his power is the only way we are able to do this. I have found this out in my own life too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's wonderful that you've experienced this, Myna!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kristin @ w/milk &sugarJanuary 25, 2013 at 10:16 PM

    I love how this thought returns us to complete dependence on God. In a world where independence is so highly sought after and valued, it is nice to be reminded that we should be dependent upon God and rely on him. What a lovely example you have in your own life.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kate, I just finished reading chapter 3 and promptly went to your blog to read your thoughts! Beautifully written! I agree with you that nearly every page of this book has an interesting thought to deeply consider. We live in a world that expects qualifications so it's interesting that God's glory can shine through "unqualified" people and art as well. What a freeing and loving gift from God; that we can rest, knowing He is the only truly qualified one. I loved her examples of biblical characters being flawed and unqualified, yet still teaching us through story, a truth about God. I'm also really taken with her idea of cosmos from the chaos that she talks about in chapter 2.

    Thank you for asking me to perhaps write a guest post. I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge, honestly. :)

    ReplyDelete

Your comments bring me joy! I do my best to respond to each one either on the blog or via email (if your email is linked to your comment). Thank you for visiting Something Ivory.

Designed by Jackie's Design Studio