Reflections

Francis Frangipane There are a great many books written today about developing our spiritual gifts or discovering our purpose, most of them are absolutely worthy of our attention. Recognizing our gifts and being trained to serve God in our individual calling is part of doing His will. Yet, there is a deeper, more essential goal -- an objective that is ultimately far more valuable both to God and ourselves. I am talking about the genuine quest to possess the likeness of Christ. We marvel at the life of Paul. Here was a man who wrote Scriptures, who led many thousands to Christ; he founded churches and was proficient in all the spiritual gifts. Yet, what compelled him forward in life was not his calling, but his passion to be like Christ. He articulates this profoundly in Phil 3:10. He wrote, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." My concern is that, over the years, I have seen far too many peo...

Today, upon a bus, I saw a girl with golden hair. and wished I was as fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg and wore a crutch. But as she passed, she passed a smile. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 legs, the world is mine. I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. If I were late, it'd do no harm. And as I left, he said to me, "I thank you, you've been so kind. It's nice to talk with folks like you. You see," he said, "I'm blind." Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 eyes, the world is mine. Later while walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play. He did not know what to do. I stopped a moment and then I said, "Why don't you join the others, dear?" He looked ahead without a word. And then I knew, he couldn't hear. Oh, God, forgive me when I whine. I have 2 ...