My name is Hermana Reed and I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am serving in the Nashville, Tennessee Mission and also serving as a blogging missionary.
This blog is called,"Becoming the Good and Faithful Servant", because this title is who I, and other followers of Christ want to become. I remember being about 15 years old and reading the parable of the talents and being so moved by Christ's words:
"Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful, enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
Becoming the good and faithful servant requires committing our lives to discipleship. Chancey C. Riddle said "The word disciple comes from the Latin discipulus, a learner. A disciple of Christ is one who is learning to be like Christ—learning to think, to feel, and to act as he does. To be a true disciple, to fulfill that learning task, is the most demanding regimen known to man. No other discipline compares with it in either requirements or rewards. It involves the total transformation of a person from the state of the natural man to that of the saint, one who loves the Lord and serves with all of his heart, might, mind, and strength.
I have always loved this analogy from C.S. Lewis that describes the process of becoming more like Him.
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace” (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, New York: MacMillan Co., 1960, p. 160).
I can't imagine anything sweeter than after passing through this life and being greeted by our Savior, Jesus Christ, and hearing him call us His "good and faithful servant."
It is my hope and prayer that we will become more like He is and be able to find peace in those words when that time comes for us.
Hermana Reed!! Es la Hermana Gibson! Me encanta su blog muchisimo y sus palabras me inspiraban. Me gustaria compartir algunos de sus pensamientos con los misioneros en el CCM. :)
ReplyDeleteHermana Gibson! Gracias! Espero que todo este bien con usted!
DeleteHermana Reed,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this. I've been thinking a lot lately about the idea of building our lives and have always loved that analogy by CS Lewis. This quote by Sister Linda S. Reeves from the most recent General Relief Society Broadcast is a bit long, but goes well with what Lewis wrote:
"Almost three years ago, a devastating fire gutted the interior of the beloved, historic tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Its loss was deemed a great tragedy by both the community and church members. Many wondered, “Why did the Lord let this happen? Surely He could have prevented the fire or stopped its destruction.”
Ten months later during the October 2011 General Conference, there was an audible gasp when President Monson announced that the nearly destroyed tabernacle was to become a holy temple, a house of the Lord. Suddenly, we could see what the Lord had always known. He didn’t cause the fire but He allowed the fire to strip away the interior. He saw the tabernacle as a magnificent temple, a permanent home for making sacred, eternal covenants.
My dear sisters, the Lord allows us to be tried and tested, sometimes to our maximum capacity. We have seen the lives of loved ones, and maybe our own, figuratively burned to the ground and have wondered why a loving and caring Heavenly Father would allow such things to happen. But He doesn’t leave us in the ashes. He stands with open arms, eagerly inviting us to come to Him. He is building our lives into magnificent temples where His Sprit can dwell eternally. In Doctrine and Covenants 58:3-4 we read,
3 Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
4 For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."
I know that Heavenly Father is preparing each of us for the day that we will return to Him. He allows us to be tried and tested in this life because He wants us to be ready. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, has laid the foundation for us, and it is up to us to learn from the experiences with which we are blessed. As we do so, we are building our lives into a palace, a temple, a house of the Lord where His Spirit may dwell.
What are you building with your life? Who are you becoming?
I love you! Keep up the good work. I would have loved to have been able to do this as a full-time missionary.
Love,
Сестра Ґарф
Mars-! you will always inspire me! Heavenly Father definitely has a plan for each and every one of us to reach our potential. Feel free to suggest ideas for additional blog posts.... LOVE YOU.
Delete