"So I fall on my knees
To get back on my feet again
And I cry out for You
Would You please speak to me" -- from "Healer" by Ten Shekel Shirt, off their Much album.
I apologize if I'm being "biblical" enough in my posts but these are the things that are hitting my spirit at the moment.
The irony of this chorus is just too much to ignore. How can someone get to their feet by falling to their knees? It sounds like gymnastics and some sort of backflip is involved. Physically, it seems impossible, but spiritually, it's necessary.
The first church I served, we had kneelers in the pews. These were little benches that folded down from the pew in front. We used them during Confession as a way to humble our posture and humble ourselves before the Lord. Most churches will stand but we knelt. A lot of people complained saying that it was "too Catholic" for them, but I found the position beneficial to my spiritual life. To kneel before the Lord of my life and tell Him how I had messed things up.
Personally, I coupled this with a concept I picked up from the the book Shogun, by James Clavell. The book is about an English sailor who is shipwrecked in Japan in the 17th century and how he adjusts to feudal Japan. When the sailor asks about why people bow, his Japanese teacher explains that to bow before one's mastor is to offer him the back of your neck so that he can cut your head off if he chooses. Bowing is an act of servitude, as if to say, "My whole life is yours and, if you are not pleased with my life, then take it from me."
I couldn't imagine holding this attitude with another human being but that's exactly how I want to be before my God. I think of this every time I reverence the altar. I bow low and just a tad bit too long, in my own way saying, "Lord, my life is yours. You have bought it through the precious blood of Christ. If you are not pleased with it, change it or take it from me. Thy will be done." So far, every time, God has allowed me to keep my life and has been satisfied to change it and alter it according to His purposes.
True humility in the presence of God is the only way to be able to stand in this world. To fall on our knees in order to get back onto our feet is the path for our lives.
To get back on my feet again
And I cry out for You
Would You please speak to me" -- from "Healer" by Ten Shekel Shirt, off their Much album.
I apologize if I'm being "biblical" enough in my posts but these are the things that are hitting my spirit at the moment.
The irony of this chorus is just too much to ignore. How can someone get to their feet by falling to their knees? It sounds like gymnastics and some sort of backflip is involved. Physically, it seems impossible, but spiritually, it's necessary.
The first church I served, we had kneelers in the pews. These were little benches that folded down from the pew in front. We used them during Confession as a way to humble our posture and humble ourselves before the Lord. Most churches will stand but we knelt. A lot of people complained saying that it was "too Catholic" for them, but I found the position beneficial to my spiritual life. To kneel before the Lord of my life and tell Him how I had messed things up.
Personally, I coupled this with a concept I picked up from the the book Shogun, by James Clavell. The book is about an English sailor who is shipwrecked in Japan in the 17th century and how he adjusts to feudal Japan. When the sailor asks about why people bow, his Japanese teacher explains that to bow before one's mastor is to offer him the back of your neck so that he can cut your head off if he chooses. Bowing is an act of servitude, as if to say, "My whole life is yours and, if you are not pleased with my life, then take it from me."
I couldn't imagine holding this attitude with another human being but that's exactly how I want to be before my God. I think of this every time I reverence the altar. I bow low and just a tad bit too long, in my own way saying, "Lord, my life is yours. You have bought it through the precious blood of Christ. If you are not pleased with it, change it or take it from me. Thy will be done." So far, every time, God has allowed me to keep my life and has been satisfied to change it and alter it according to His purposes.
True humility in the presence of God is the only way to be able to stand in this world. To fall on our knees in order to get back onto our feet is the path for our lives.
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