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"I don't understand people who drive the speed limit!" I'm pretty sure those were the precise words that I thought to myself...and then I flushed and laughed out loud. I was basically saying: "I don't understand people who obey the law." But truly, I am not alone. Many people do not understand people who keep God's laws. To the watching world we look "slow"...old-fashioned, repressed, oppressed. We are not understood. People want to go and do whatever they want wherever they want as fast as they want. So, we should not be surprised when as followers of Christ (people who obey God's speed limit) we are seen and treated like speed bumps on the highway. But instead of responding naturally -- in anger or self-righteousness -- we should respond as Christ responded to us: in love.  The naturally response to God's generosity to someone else is: "That's not fair." "They" shouldn't get more than I get -- even if this was what I agree to. "They" don't deserve the good things they are getting. And this response reveals our hearts: we think of everything as belonging to us. Our time, money, skills, family, spouse, stuff, dog and on and on. All mine. It's not. It's God's. Even our heavenly reward is God's. Revelation indicates that we will cast our crowns down before God in abject worship and adoration for His Lordship. He is the rightful owner of it all. And if this is true, who cares if she gets more or he didn't work as hard? It is all God's.  It was striking -- though I couldn't remember ever thinking it before: The older son in the parable of the prodigal son and the workers who were higher at the beginning of the day in the parable of the vineyard -- they were the same. The older son was self-righteous, angry at his Father for giving his little brother anything. The morning workers were self-righteous, angry at the Master for giving those hired later the same wages. Why? It didn't cost the older son or the workers anything. They both still got everything they had been promised. But we are just like them. Even if we don't lose anything, we are still unhappy when others get more than we do or get more than we think they deserve. How can we respond to God's great generosity this way in light of all He has given?   In the darkness, Lake Washington sparkled. The warm twinkling of kitchens and family rooms glinted off the calm pitch-black waters. All the windows I looked at appeared inviting and cozy as compared to the darkened lake, which looked cold and even sinister as though anything could be hiding in those unsearchable waters. There was so much beauty in the lights because it was dark.
Those lights are us. We shine in the darkness of a hopeless, lost and desperate world. And the light we carry -- Christ -- is so alluring precisely because it is so dark. So do not lose heart -- keep shine. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. -- Matthew 5:16  5. Be Content
That blackberry six feet into the prickly jungle always looks like the sweetest and most juicy. But the truth is -- it's a blackberry. And it tastes roughly like the 2200 you have in your bucket. In life, contentment is the key to joy. Whether we own one blackberry bush or a whole forest, if we gratefully savor what we have we will find ourselves blissfully content. And If we are constantly wishing for that cluster of blackberries, we will never be satisfied. Because there is always just one more blackberry to get. |
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
November 2025
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