A friend introduced me to a book which I am now reading for the second time – The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis. It was originally written in 1418-1427 in Latin by a monk. Over the years, it has become widely read, used as a devotional, and apart from the Bible, no book has been translated into into more languages (thank you Wikipedia for this information).

My version is in old English which has grown on me. My hope is that as I share once a week from this book, it will grow on you as well and you will find “Tom” as thought provoking as I have found him to be.

“He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ; and they teach us how far we must imitate His life and character, if we seek true illumination, and deliverance from all the blindness of heart.” (from The First Book, Chapter 1, page 1)

In order for us to have the mind of Christ, our lives must conform to Christ. To His ways,  and to His Word. Our own thinking is not capable to develop and grow the mind of Christ in us on its own.

This is achieved only as Holy Spirit works in the deep recesses of our hearts and minds. The problem lies within our ourselves:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NLT)

Our own hearts will lie, trick, and lead us astray. And we foolishly return to depending on our hearts so the problem happens ”“ repeatedly. We need to become stronger, wiser, more discerning and bolder so that we tell our hearts “No!” and stop the cycle of chasing empty promises.

“Deep words can not make a man holy and upright … If thou knewest the whole Bible, and the sayings of all the philosophers, what should all this profit thee without the love and grace of God?  (from the same portion in The First Book, Chapter 1, page 1)

So often the words we speak and spout are just to make our opinions heard. There is much “noise” out there. Everyone is clamoring to be heard.

Our gifts, talents, and words do not define our worth to God or to others. The only way they find value is when they are ignited by and with the love of God.

Along with our words, let’s allow God to infuse us with His love for those around us. Let’s have conversations in which we listen more and speak less. Let’s give thought to the opinions of others, even or especially when, we don’t agree. We don’t always have to be right but we are always called to love.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Corinthians 13:1, NLT)

Tom brings the reminder …
Less noise. More love.

Today I am joining … Testimony Tuesday and Unite and #RaRaLinkup .