About Beggarly Bouquet

“We are like little children who run into the garden to gather flowers to please their father, but we are so ignorant and childish that we pluck as many weeds as flowers, and some of them are very noxious. We carry this strange mixture in our hands, thinking it is acceptable to him. The mother meets the child at the door and says, ‘Little one, you don’t know what you have gathered.’ She unbinds this mixture and takes from it all the weeds, and leaves only the sweet flowers, and then she takes other flowers sweeter than those which the child has plucked, and inserts them instead of the weeds. Then she puts the perfect posy into the child’s hand, and he runs with it to its father. Jesus Christ in more than motherly tenderness thus deals with our supplications. If we could see one of our prayers after Christ Jesus has amended it, we would hardly recognize it. Jesus has such skill that even our good flowers grow fairer in his hand. We clumsily tied them into a bundle, but he arranges them into a fair bouquet, where each beauty enhances the charm of its neighbor. If I could see my prayer after the Lord has prayed it, I would discover so much missing and so much there that was none of mine that I am sure its fullest acceptance with God would not cause me a moment’s pride. It would rather make me blush with grateful humility before him whose boundless sweetness lent to me and my poor prayer a sweetness not our own.” Charles Spurgeon

“Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Isaiah 64:6

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:4-9

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26

References

Eric Novak: I’m Co-founder of Cross-Eyed Blog and Webzine and blogger at ericnovak.com. I met Tai back in 2007 when she stumbled across my blog.  I can’t believe I’ve known her for three years already! Anyway, what am I doing writing on her blog? I’m also a web designer and so I promised Tai to revamp her blog. I figured while I was at it I might as well give her a “stamp of approval.” She is a great blogger, movie reviewer and a woman who is truly seeking God.

Anonymous: I am glad to see that someone took this opportunity to bring out some of the more spiritual aspects of this movie. It has some very interesting dogmatic things to say that aren’t often expressed in big-budget Hollywood productions. Thanks for your insights!