Tabula Rasa

Tabula Rasa means a clean slate.
This is a random phrase I once learned when playing a game of charades.

A popular new years tradition is making new years resolutions.
I’ve yet to meet a person who keeps a new years resolution.
Most often they end within the first 3 months of the year. I know mine do.

The most popular ones are: Joining a gym. Losing weight. Spending less. Eating out less. Consume less sugar. Eating healthier… so on and so forth.

Too often we are trying to improve ourselves.

So much so that we create new habits and routines to better ourselves.
Which is awesome and not a bad idea to attempt.
However, when we fall short, we create a space to allow ourselves to feel unaccomplished, like a failure, inadequate, in general just plain negative about ourselves for not being able to stick to something.

What if this year instead of making resolutions – we give ourselves the ability to say -Tabula Rasa.
When you wake up one day not accomplishing the goal you set out to achieve instead of beating yourself up because it wasn’t accomplished you shrug it off with – Tabula Rasa – and try again.

Tabula Rasa – reminds me of a verse in Lamentations: 3:22-24 ESV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

1st. The steadfast (unwavering) love of the Lord never ceases. his mercies (compassion and forgiveness) never come to an end.

2nd. the above is NEW every morning.

Every Morning you wake when walking with the Lord is – Tabula Rasa.

God delivered so many Tabula Rasa moments in the Old Testament that He eventually said scratch all of this.
Ya’ll still aren’t fully understanding the depth of my love, the extremes in which I will go to save you from yourselves.

So here is my Son, he will come and walk among you.
Living life as it was intended to be lived, free of sin.
He will then Die for all of your sins, so that you may be washed clean.
Jesus took away the sins of the world that day and all the days to come until his return.

Humans

Habitually make things too complicated, we add too many steps, rules, and layers to our lives.
Adding and adding until our plates are so full they come crashing down in disappointment around us.
When honestly we are only asked to do 2 things.

1st – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

2nd – Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:37-40

Honest Hour

The 1st from above comes easily to me.
I consider myself a Christian so it’s natural to say, yes, this is me.
I love the Lord my God with all of my heart and with all of my soul and with all of my mind.

If I’m honest though – I struggle with the mind part of it.
My mind is overfull and often not in a state of peace.
I will find myself praying the Lord’s prayer and end up in thought on something else, asking myself if I completed the whole prayer before I’d become distracted.
I know I have many daily distractions that I could work on.
This goes back to filling our lives with so much that we are easily distracted.

The 2nd is to Love your neighbor as yourself. Which should be super easy.
It goes along with common phrases we’ve been learning since kindergarten.
Do unto others as you would do unto yourself.
Or treat others as you would want to be treated.
But how do we treat ourselves?

We treat ourselves harshly.

Often we beat ourselves up when we fall short of the expectations that we set for ourselves in the first place.
We tear ourselves down with negative talk, we shame spiral, and we take it out on those around us.
First thing in the day, that first disappointment snowballs till day’s end, only to repeat itself the next day.

We can’t love our neighbors as ourselves until we love ourselves first.
Give yourself a break. There is only 1 perfect human to walk this earth, and even He found it challenging.(Heb 4:15)

I’m not talking self-love like showering yourself with lavish earthly things, empty things that won’t truly bring you Joy.
I am saying to love ourselves first, as in treating yourself with respect, stop beating yourself up for falling short of the expectations you set for yourself, and love yourself where you are in life.
Speak kindly to yourself, and surround yourself with things that build you up versus tear you down.
Take stock of your relationships but also what you bring to relationships.
Treat others as you want to be treated but take a good honest look at how you’re treating yourself.

Love yourself like the Lord your God loves you.
He loves your complexities, your shortcomings your daily mistakes.
All those things that we beat ourselves up about for far too long.
He’s already forgiven. So, forgive yourself as he has forgiven you.

Learn to love who you were created to be and others as they were created to be.
Ease up on yourself and your earthly expectations. Focus on 2 things.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Love your neighbor as yourself

The Rest – Tabula Rasa.