 "They make a mess." I'm sure you've heard someone complain about the leaves and their landscaping. And they are right, they do make a mess. But a beautiful mess.
It is tempting to think in life that if something is a mess, God is not at work; if something is hard or inefficient or uncertain that God is not there. And using this reasoning, it's easy to trick ourselves into believing we are free to try and fix it in our own power. So let us go back and realize that whether the mess is of our own doing or completely out of our control, God is always at work. For this reason, in the middle mess(es) we need to seek God out even more diligently, so we may join in on His plans for our mess. This is the time of year when live leaves surrender. They stop fighting to stay lithe and green. Green drifts into red and gold. Orange and amber. A visual reminder that our surrender to God, His purposes and His plans, provides the avenue for Him to work. As each leaf lays down its life and lets go, leaves of all different kinds blanket the ground in a tapestry of fall beauty. As each of us release our own ways and follow Christ's ways, He weaves us into the fabric of His kingdom. Together we form the Church. Together we serve the outcast. Together we woo the lost. Together we are beautiful if we are together in surrender to Christ.  Solomon said the end is more blessed than the beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8). And autumn ushers in the beauty of the end. Where spring begins slowly with many false starts, fall swoops in strong and sure. Without a fall, there can be no spring. Without an end to something in life, there is no room for a new beginning. "He has made everything beautiful in its time....no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end." -- Ecclesiastes 3:11  They look the same as any other deciduous tree in winter, spring, and summer. But in the fall, red maple trees are stunning. When the sunshine is in short supply and the night air turns brisk, they blossom into their name. It is their response to suffering that sets red maples apart. So too it is with people who love Jesus. As the joy fades and there is no earthly comfort, they grow in fellowship with Christ -- God's Suffering Servant -- and are conformed into His likeness.   What would you say the theme of the book of Jonah is? Sin? Repentance? Compassion? I was listening to a devotional on Jonah and, like something on the tip of my tongue, the theme of Jonah was sitting at the tip of my brain. And it took a shirt to bring it fully to mind.
As I sat in my office early the next morning, I realized my shirt was on inside out. Now I had choices. I could go to the restroom and make myself presentable or I could continue along with my day and ignore the obvious problem with my attire. That is the theme of the book of Jonah. God gave Jonah a command. Jonah disobeyed the command. Choice. Jonah decided what to do about his disobedience. The sailors decided how to deal with his disobedience. Choice. Jonah determined his best course of action. The Ninevites determined their best course of action. Jonah camped outside Nineveh and got angrier and angrier. Choice. Choice. Choice. Now we have a choice. We can look a Jonah and say, "It's about them." Or we can look at Jonah and say, "It's about me." The times I have rebelled against God. How I have refused His discipline. The people I have rejected. The anger I have felt when God gives grace to those "who don't deserve it". The theme of Jonah is: Conviction. |
The AuthorCome with me as we grow in fellowship with each other and our Savior to whom belongs the Amazing Escape from sin and death and the Amazing Journey into glorious life. Archives
February 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed