Scripture Thought
1 Nephi 7:8-15 continued
What can we learn from the questions Nephi asks of his brothers.
"How are you so hard in your hearts and blind in your minds?"
I often wonder about this. I wonder if we don't look at people and say, What is up with you? Why are you so difficult? Why can't you change? Maybe we should not be looking at them, but at ourselves. Are our hearts hardened? Maybe we should be asking the Lord to soften our hearts instead of asking him to soften others hearts. Maybe we should ask that the cover be removed from our minds and not from the minds of others. Maybe we need to humble ourselves and look at what we can do to change, help change, be less difficult...etc. Do we let the Light of Christ into our lives? Does it have a softening and change effect upon us?
I wonder what was going through Nephi's head. Why are my older brothers expected to follow my example? Why is my example important? Have you ever asked yourself these types of similar questions? Again, I refer to the previous paragraph. Remember, it is not a good example if it is not worth following.
As Nephi continues to voice his frustrations, I am hearing that he just cannot understand why they are not getting it. He gets it, he has inquired, he has gone out and sought understanding. To Nephi, it was simple. He is struggling with the fact that they are not doing.
What do we learn from this verse (9)? I learn that hearkening unto the Lord is an action word. It is not a passive description. It requires that we make a choice and then act upon it.
In verse 10, I have also wondered the same thing. How can these men deny the fact that they have seen and angel? I would like to think that if an angel of the Lord came to me, I would forever cherish the experience. Then I started thinking about how and why the angel was sent to them. They were not doing what they were supposed. The angel was sent to stop them from hurting Sam and Nephi. He was protecting them. For Laman and Lemuel, it was just another chastisement. I see it as not only a chastisement, but an opportunity. They were faced with a choice again. They could listen, humble themselves, and make the changes that were suggested, or they could become Bitter, party of 2.
I don't think they had forgotten that an angel has visited them. I think they had refused to accept or receive the experience in a positive light. We are no different. We may not have an angel knock on our door, but we do have many choice blessings in our lives. We are given many opportunities. Some of those opportunities are pleasant, some are not so pleasant. What it all comes down to is the choice we make in accepting and applying the experience. The choice is ours.
Do we look at the hand of God differently in our lives? Are we even seeing his hand in our lives? I know that I need to work on this more. How about you?
What can we learn from the questions Nephi asks of his brothers.
"How are you so hard in your hearts and blind in your minds?"
I often wonder about this. I wonder if we don't look at people and say, What is up with you? Why are you so difficult? Why can't you change? Maybe we should not be looking at them, but at ourselves. Are our hearts hardened? Maybe we should be asking the Lord to soften our hearts instead of asking him to soften others hearts. Maybe we should ask that the cover be removed from our minds and not from the minds of others. Maybe we need to humble ourselves and look at what we can do to change, help change, be less difficult...etc. Do we let the Light of Christ into our lives? Does it have a softening and change effect upon us?
I wonder what was going through Nephi's head. Why are my older brothers expected to follow my example? Why is my example important? Have you ever asked yourself these types of similar questions? Again, I refer to the previous paragraph. Remember, it is not a good example if it is not worth following.
As Nephi continues to voice his frustrations, I am hearing that he just cannot understand why they are not getting it. He gets it, he has inquired, he has gone out and sought understanding. To Nephi, it was simple. He is struggling with the fact that they are not doing.
What do we learn from this verse (9)? I learn that hearkening unto the Lord is an action word. It is not a passive description. It requires that we make a choice and then act upon it.
In verse 10, I have also wondered the same thing. How can these men deny the fact that they have seen and angel? I would like to think that if an angel of the Lord came to me, I would forever cherish the experience. Then I started thinking about how and why the angel was sent to them. They were not doing what they were supposed. The angel was sent to stop them from hurting Sam and Nephi. He was protecting them. For Laman and Lemuel, it was just another chastisement. I see it as not only a chastisement, but an opportunity. They were faced with a choice again. They could listen, humble themselves, and make the changes that were suggested, or they could become Bitter, party of 2.
I don't think they had forgotten that an angel has visited them. I think they had refused to accept or receive the experience in a positive light. We are no different. We may not have an angel knock on our door, but we do have many choice blessings in our lives. We are given many opportunities. Some of those opportunities are pleasant, some are not so pleasant. What it all comes down to is the choice we make in accepting and applying the experience. The choice is ours.
Do we look at the hand of God differently in our lives? Are we even seeing his hand in our lives? I know that I need to work on this more. How about you?
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