God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
In our last article from the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux we saw how little Thérèse fell into anger and negative sentiment override. If you’re interested you can learn more here: Anger and Jesus: Following Christ for Exhausted People. In today’s article we’ll discuss a brilliant illustration Thérèse’s older sister Pauline shared with her, to help Thérèse with the issue of comparison.
The Tumbler and the Thimble
Little Thérèse’s mother died of cancer when Thérèse was only four years old. Her sister Pauline, who was eleven years older, became her “second mother”. Speaking of Pauline, Thérèse wrote:
To this dearly loved sister I confided my most intimate thoughts; she cleared up all my doubts. One day I expressed surprise that God does not give an equal amount of glory to all the elect in Heaven—I was afraid that they would not all be quite happy. She sent me to fetch Papa’s big tumbler, and put it beside my tiny thimble, then, filling both with water, she asked me which seemed the fuller. I replied that one was as full as the other—it was impossible to pour more water into either of them, for they could not hold it. In this way Pauline made it clear to me that in Heaven the least of the Blessed does not envy the happiness of the greatest; and so, by bringing the highest mysteries down to the level of my understanding, she gave my soul the food it needed. –St. Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul
Peter’s Problem with Comparison
This story about little Thérèse reminds me of this one time Jesus responded to Peter. In John chapter 21 Jesus shared with Peter about the way Peter would die. Jesus told Peter his path to his death was going to take him to a place “where you do not want to go.” His death would be similar to the death of Jesus, on a cross. “Follow me,” Jesus said to Peter. (John 21:18-19)
Upon hearing this difficult news, Peter turned to the disciple John and said, “Lord, what about this man?”
Jesus answered Peter (if I may paraphrase): “What is that to you? The only thing you have to concern yourself with is following me.” (John 21:18-19)
St. Thérèse of Lisieux Learns Another Secret
Again we see how St. Thérèse learned another secret to following Jesus in a way that avoids weariness and exhaustion. When I’m stressing and worrying about the blessings given to “bigger” people in God’s kingdom, I’m choosing an emotionally strenuous path. And it’s a way of thinking that’s simply not necessary. The path that pleases God is a mind that’s free from envy, and a heart filled with gratitude for the fullness with which He has blessed me.
I love what Thérèse’s older sister Pauline did with the tumbler and the thimble to help Thérèse when she was concerned about the way God gave different people different measures of glory. It helps me to realize how He loves me so, and how He desires to fill me to the fullest with Jesus.
Whenever I’m tempted to fall into the comparison trap, I must remember:
Little thimble that I am, God fills me just as full as He does His larger vessels.
Notes
Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, narrated by Benjamin Crow, Audible, December 27, 2023
Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Way: Reflections on the Joy of Smallness in God’s Infinite Love, Whitaker House, April 4, 2023
The Love Like Jesus Book
Available on Google Play Books and on Amazon!
Love Like Jesus: How Jesus Loved People (and how you can love like Jesus)
Love Like Jesus begins with the story of how after a life of regular church attendance and Bible study, Bennett was challenged by a pastor to study Jesus. That led to an obsessive seven year deep dive. After pouring over Jesus’ every interaction with another human being, he realized he was doing a much better job of studying Jesus’ words than he was following Jesus’ words and example. The honest and fearless revelations of Bennett’s own moral failures affirm he wrote this book for himself as much as for others. Love Like Jesus examines a variety of stories, examples, and research, including:
- Specific examples of how Jesus communicated God’s love to others.
- How Jesus demonstrated all five of Gary Chapman’s love languages (and how you can too).
- The story of how Billy Graham extended Christ’s extraordinary love and grace toward a man who misrepresented Jesus to millions.
- How to respond to critics the way Jesus did.
- How to love unlovable people the way Jesus did.
- How to survive a life of loving like Jesus (or how not to become a Christian doormat).
- How Jesus didn’t love everyone the same (and why you shouldn’t either).
- How Jesus guarded his heart by taking care of himself–he even napped–and why you should do the same.
- How Jesus loved his betrayer Judas, even to the very end.
With genuine unfiltered honesty, Love Like Jesus, shows you how to live a life according to God’s definition of success: A life of loving God well, and loving the people around you well too.
A life of loving like Jesus. (Kindle, hardcover, and paperback now available on Amazon and Google Play Books.)
We also recently released the audiobook version, beautifully narrated by Jonathan St. John. It’s available on the following platforms:
It’s also available on Amazon, Hoopla, Audiobooksnow, Chirp, Libro, Overdrive, and virtually everywhere audiobooks are offered.
