Reading
Prov 27:21; Sirach 2:1-6; Mark 3
Scriptures say we have to go through two furnaces in life in order to be tested. One is the furnace of praise (Prov 27:21) and the other furnace of humiliation (Sir 2:5). How true, the more we are praised, we tend to loose our reality. And the more we are humiliated, we loose ourselves and feel depressed. So how to handle this? There are people who have realized the need for humiliation, which brings them to level ground, when they are puffed up by pride or by praise. Paul writes that "I have a thorn in my flesh," (2 Cor 12:6-8) and in the book of Proverbs we read "make me neither rich nor poor" (Prov 30:8). Jonathan Carrol in White Apple writes "If you are a success in life, there are places you must go and pay to be humiliated." What a strong statement.
In Mark 3, Jesus went through the same trying task in his own life. We was made to pass through the furnaces of life. He was called as "Son of God", "One who is out of his mind" and as "Beelzebub, chief of Demons." How did Jesus handle these furnaces? When he was praised he commanded them to be quite (Mk 3:12), and when he was humiliated, he put his trust in God (Mk 3:29).
This could be a great lesson for our life, when we go through the furnaces of life. When we are praised we take no praise for ourselves and stay strong in the saving grace of our God, when we are humiliated. The whole idea could be summed up in St. Paul's words "I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think..." (Rom 12:3).
Prov 27:21; Sirach 2:1-6; Mark 3
Scriptures say we have to go through two furnaces in life in order to be tested. One is the furnace of praise (Prov 27:21) and the other furnace of humiliation (Sir 2:5). How true, the more we are praised, we tend to loose our reality. And the more we are humiliated, we loose ourselves and feel depressed. So how to handle this? There are people who have realized the need for humiliation, which brings them to level ground, when they are puffed up by pride or by praise. Paul writes that "I have a thorn in my flesh," (2 Cor 12:6-8) and in the book of Proverbs we read "make me neither rich nor poor" (Prov 30:8). Jonathan Carrol in White Apple writes "If you are a success in life, there are places you must go and pay to be humiliated." What a strong statement.
In Mark 3, Jesus went through the same trying task in his own life. We was made to pass through the furnaces of life. He was called as "Son of God", "One who is out of his mind" and as "Beelzebub, chief of Demons." How did Jesus handle these furnaces? When he was praised he commanded them to be quite (Mk 3:12), and when he was humiliated, he put his trust in God (Mk 3:29).
This could be a great lesson for our life, when we go through the furnaces of life. When we are praised we take no praise for ourselves and stay strong in the saving grace of our God, when we are humiliated. The whole idea could be summed up in St. Paul's words "I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think..." (Rom 12:3).
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