As I walked around the block with Evan last week, I was all but cursing the "lazy pigs" who haven't shoveled their sidewalks. "I should take my snow blower around the block and blow all their sidewalk snow into their clean driveways." As Bree seemed on the same wavelength (a reactionary emotion birthed in her husband, to be sure), Evan called her (and me, it would seem) on the carpet. "Mom, Jesus wouldn't want us to be mean like that." Wow!
How great the Revelation of God can be. And yet, when It's spoken into one's life concerning a shortcoming, you could run from the voice of God, or give Him the cold shoulder. Sunday in church, we began a new series called "40 Days of Love." I've been, for some time, sort of proud that I like dogs more than people! I come across as, "I am a man. I'm tough. People are morons. Sure, I love people, I just don't like them." When Pastor was preaching, he asked what our goals were, what was important to us, what drove our drive. Financial success, friendships, winning... he went on with a litany of things that really rank low on my list of importance. Then he said something along the lines of writing a book. "Are you doing it for the notoriety, the success?" He mentioned writing a book specifically 4 or 5 times! Only days after I said I think this is where God is leading me. (Coincidence? Yeah, right.) It got me thinking or praying or some combination of both. Why would I be writing this book? What is it born of? Thoughts/prayers. Is it only because society's screwed up and these are things to fix it? Slap a few verses and say God enough and it's a Christian bestseller, right? Without giving away too much (right now) about the direction God's taking me, this would NOT have been a ministry born out of love! Yes, it's helpful and yes, it would encourage others to love, but the source, the point A, the epicenter would not be love. We're starting these 40 Days of love small groups. "I don't need to be involved in one of these love-focused small groups. It's not my thing." God has called me to task. He has shown me step one. That snow blower thought from before should have ended "and blow all their sidewalk snow." Period. That's love. Doing what's best for the other person at that given time. That's love. Maybe they're old, infirm or handicapped. Love them. Maybe they're young and strong, but they're working their tail off to provide a better life for their teenage daughter. Love them. Maybe they are lazy and just don't care. Love them. It's a lot for me to swallow. It goes against years of practice being better than these lazy pig morons. James 4:6 God is opposed (resists, reigns in opposition) to the proud, but gives grace (favor) to the humble.
Finally, a quote from John Eldredge in his book The Sacred Romance:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezek. 36:26–27)
This we now know: the heart is central. It matters—deeply. When we see with the eyes of the heart, which is to say, when we see mythically, we begin to awaken, and what we discover is that things are not what they seem. We are at war. We must fight for the life God intends for us, which is to say, we must fight for our heart, for it is the wellspring of that life within us.
I think I am starting to live out of my heart. It would seem that I'm filling it with enough of God and HIS love that I'm starting to leak. I've got a lot to learn.
Jason and Liz, I'll be there in 2 weeks.
How great the Revelation of God can be. And yet, when It's spoken into one's life concerning a shortcoming, you could run from the voice of God, or give Him the cold shoulder. Sunday in church, we began a new series called "40 Days of Love." I've been, for some time, sort of proud that I like dogs more than people! I come across as, "I am a man. I'm tough. People are morons. Sure, I love people, I just don't like them." When Pastor was preaching, he asked what our goals were, what was important to us, what drove our drive. Financial success, friendships, winning... he went on with a litany of things that really rank low on my list of importance. Then he said something along the lines of writing a book. "Are you doing it for the notoriety, the success?" He mentioned writing a book specifically 4 or 5 times! Only days after I said I think this is where God is leading me. (Coincidence? Yeah, right.) It got me thinking or praying or some combination of both. Why would I be writing this book? What is it born of? Thoughts/prayers. Is it only because society's screwed up and these are things to fix it? Slap a few verses and say God enough and it's a Christian bestseller, right? Without giving away too much (right now) about the direction God's taking me, this would NOT have been a ministry born out of love! Yes, it's helpful and yes, it would encourage others to love, but the source, the point A, the epicenter would not be love. We're starting these 40 Days of love small groups. "I don't need to be involved in one of these love-focused small groups. It's not my thing." God has called me to task. He has shown me step one. That snow blower thought from before should have ended "and blow all their sidewalk snow." Period. That's love. Doing what's best for the other person at that given time. That's love. Maybe they're old, infirm or handicapped. Love them. Maybe they're young and strong, but they're working their tail off to provide a better life for their teenage daughter. Love them. Maybe they are lazy and just don't care. Love them. It's a lot for me to swallow. It goes against years of practice being better than these lazy pig morons. James 4:6 God is opposed (resists, reigns in opposition) to the proud, but gives grace (favor) to the humble.
Finally, a quote from John Eldredge in his book The Sacred Romance:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezek. 36:26–27)
This we now know: the heart is central. It matters—deeply. When we see with the eyes of the heart, which is to say, when we see mythically, we begin to awaken, and what we discover is that things are not what they seem. We are at war. We must fight for the life God intends for us, which is to say, we must fight for our heart, for it is the wellspring of that life within us.
I think I am starting to live out of my heart. It would seem that I'm filling it with enough of God and HIS love that I'm starting to leak. I've got a lot to learn.
Jason and Liz, I'll be there in 2 weeks.
Posts
3 comments:
I knew the Lord would bring you to this - it's not that you're not hospitable - it's that you just didn't much like people in general! Thank you, Lord for continuing to grow my son into Your likeness.
Your honesty is admirable. I can't wait to read your book!
WOW.
Post a Comment