The Justice seeing this man thee-thouing him, sent him to the Derby madhouse to be whipped. George Fox went, praising God, to the lunatic asylum, where he didn't fail to carry out the Justice's sentence with full rigour. Those who inflicted punishment of whipping on him were amazed when he begged them to give him a few extra strokes of the rod for the good of his soul. These gentlemen needed no persuading, and Fox got his double dose, for which he most heartily thanked them. He began to preach to them. At first they laughed, then they listened and, as religious fervour is a catching disease, many were convinced, and those who had scourged him became his first disciples. (Voltaire, Letters on England, p. 29-30)
He stunned them, he played along and took what pain was necessary in order to grab their minds and shake their understandings of what he preached. He enabled them to see that he would sacrifice himself in order to save them. He gave them the practical and then told him what his message was. Showing them the true impact of practising AND preaching.
When did I become more important or more valuable then my message?
Where did I loose the idea of sacrifice? When did I get too comfortable, and feel the sacrifice was too great, or really just forget that there even is a sacrifice to make? When did the message stop gripping me that way? Who gave up?
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4 comments:
Sometimes I feel a little like I am reading your diary, Bethany. You say things I say to God in my own thinking. I appreciate your vulnerability and honesty.
Ditto. Thank you for the glimpse into your heart.
It seems so hard to be that intense and change diapers. You know? It's not an excuse, just an observation. I often think about where I think I should be (spiritually) and where I am. I don't know how to reconcile the seemingly opposite sides of me. I'm not writing this out well. It's difficult to pen down my thoughts.
i know what you are saying trisha...but intense yes, maybe we will forgo...passionate on the other hand, I always want passionate and I think really it just depends on what we surround ourselves by (other than diapers and colouring books). What do I fill up on? That is what will overflow. Obviously we can't take off at a moments notice to go help some refugee camp in Africa, but we still need to be passionate about what we can do and not just give up. I am just speaking for myself, that is the passion I want seeping from my pores. Passion to do, to change no matter how mundane my circumstances.
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