Day 180, Evening
Today’s evening meditation is available below in audio and script formats. The audio version is also available for free download on the player.
Reading
“It is permissible to take life's blessings with both hands provided thou dost know thyself prepared in the opposite event to take them just as gladly. This applies to food and friends and kindred, to anything God gives and takes away.”
—Meister Eckhart
Commentary
In order to live in freedom, we must learn to accept a temporary disappointment, if necessary, when it is for our permanent well-being.
Sometimes, when we want to eat something that appeals to us, or when we want to eat a little more than is necessary, we can’t help feeling disappointment as we push away from the table. We cannot help thinking that we could as well have stayed on for five more minutes of pleasure, forgetting that it would probably be followed by five hours of stomachache at night. The right time to get up from the meal is when we want just a little more.
This is real artistry, real gourmet judgment: when we find that everything is so good that we would like to have one more helping, we get up and walk away.
Stillness
As your day draws to a close, spend a few moments in silence and stillness. As you do, be aware of your desires— things that you want that you don’t really need— and things that you want that aren’t beneficial to you. As you breath in, let those desires fill your mind. And as you exhale, let them pass.
Abbreviations
BC The Belgic Confession
CAC The Center For Action & Contemplation
CD The Canons of Dort
CIB Church In Bethesda Prayers
HC The Heidelberg Catechism
NT The New Testament
OT The Old Testament
RP - Ryan Phipps
WC The Westminster Confession
WLB Words To Live By
WLC The Westminster Larger Catechism
WSC The Westminster Shorter Catechism