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Don't judge -- but I'm single, so if I want to dance, I have to dance alone. And I was dancing the other night and realized I'm not dancing alone in life. I am dancing with God and I have learned a lot about that...and have a lot more on top of that to learn. But, number one, is you have to follow God's lead. I would be tempted to say you have to let God lead, but it is not as though you or I let God do anything. And on top of that it's not enough to merely allow God to direct, we have to follow His directions. Christ has to be not only choosing our life's next steps and the timing of them, and we have to be sensitive to Him and responsive to His guidance...like impromptu dancing!  I witnessed it! A three-year-old adjusting his suspenders. By himself! I was surprised -- look at how dexterous he is! And I was impressed. But as I watched, I realized I was giving the wrong person credit. Who showed him how to use suspenders -- his parents. Who put suspenders on him for years before he could even begin to think about using them -- his parents. And even deeper that that, who gave him fingers and a brain that could use them -- God. Everything this little boy had was because of someone else. Everything we have is because of someone else. God is the one who has given us life and health. He has opened opportunities and closed others. Our parents, our siblings, our friends, our teachers, our pastors have discipled us in Christ, taught us skills, and put up with our bumbled attempts at learning. How grateful we should be? But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -- Romans 5:8  God made the dead beautiful -- somewhat like these mushrooms. "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. 4. Be Patient Blackberries, I have found, are not necessarily ripe when they turn black. You have to wait for them to get black and plump. If you do not, you will have a tart experience. God never picks fruit early. Instead, He patiently waits for you to glean and grow before moving you into the next phase of life. And no matter how we may wish it to be different, there is no way to demand our own timing and still have a sweet outcome. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, but it our own timeline always be tart.   3. Never Overlook the Thorns
Thorns in my finger tips, stabbing through my pants, and sticking my posterior. At one point I thought there was blood running down my leg. There is no wisdom in crashing in for blackberries without considering the pokies. Similarly, gratefulness in life does not require, nor does the Bible recommend, ignoring the suffering or difficulties. The wisdom is in avoiding those that can be avoided, dealing with or enduring those which cannot be, and keeping an eternal perspective in all situations. 2. Never Overlook the Fruit I was by myself picking blackberries in a public park (blackberries are everywhere in the Pacific Northwest). Some people will never go blackberry picking. It's too hot. Too cold. Takes too much time. Causes too many pokes and scratches. But the berries! They are worth it. And I was just struck by how they are free, visual, tactile proof of God's great goodness. It's easy enough to only see the hardships and the pain in life, but God has lavished such blessings upon us in so many ways. What a travesty to miss His hand in our lives because we are looking too closely at the "thorns".  |
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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