Wednesday, January 07, 2009
My last day on Earth
First, I've always wondered why Earth is not normally capitalized. How many of them are there? Worlds sure, but Earth's?
This thought just entered my head. What if this were my last day on Earth, and I didn't know it? No clue. What would my last thought be? What would be the last thing I would every say haphazardly. My last email. My last blog entry. The last song on my radio. You probably don't know when you're going to die, and it's just as well. It's just going to happen someday. Someday, when you're not expecting it, but you're coming back from lunch and thinking about the reports you have to write - or the grocery list - or calling a friend back. Then, BLAMO! The greyhound bus of destiny you weren't expecting pays you a visit.
So, given the fact that I have no idea of when I'm going to die, I also have no idea what my last words will be. With that in mind, shouldn't everything I say be as if it were? So, what should I say that I haven't said before? I know that if I had the chance, I'd tell everyone that God loves us despite who we are (Romans 5:8). I've discovered that this is what offends people on many levels though.
|God| Some people don't believe in God at all. Some people believe that we are simply the product of hydrogen and time. Others believe in a God, but reject the God that the Bible refers to (Lev 19:4). Still others believe in the God of the Bible, but refuse His authority (2Tim 3:5). Lastly though, there are some who are seeking God and are willing to accept His Word, no matter how it makes them feel (Matthew 6:33).
|Loves| If someone loves you, despite your feeling for them, there's an uneasiness in the relationship. One sided. But God loves us no matter what we've done. God loves you! I understand how this would make someone feel if they didn't love them back and be willing to do anything about it. It might feel like knowing someone has a crush on you - and tells everyone - and you totally don't feel the same way toward them.
|Sinners| That's us. That's me and I'm sorry but that's you too. I understand how this can make people feel uncomfortable; myself being a sinner and all. Being a sinner conjures up images of misbehaving or disobeying, and people generally like to think of themselves as good people. So, I totally understand why being called a sinner could make someone angry.
So, put Romans 5:8 together, and you've got |God| |loves| |sinners|. The last, and most important part is this: |so He gave|. God loves me so much that He gave a way for me to be reconciled with Him. Ah ha! That's the tricky part - reconcile. Why should we need to reconcile? What have we done to God that is so terrible? Why is God picking on us? Why can't God just love us no matter what? There are lots of arguments and questions about that, but thinking about it in strictly human terms, it makes sense. Would a parent be pleased with a child that did whatever they felt was right? Does a court let criminals free without punishment?
That's not a matter for me to decide. It's up to God, and He's spoken on the subject. I won't go into the gorpy details about what or why or how. That's a matter for study because it would take too long to explain. Perhaps over time, if I'm granted another day. But I guess if today were my last day on Earth (captialized), I'd want the last thing I ever said to be...
God loves us so much, despite who we are, that He gave a way for us to reconcile with Him.
Was that so offensive?
This thought just entered my head. What if this were my last day on Earth, and I didn't know it? No clue. What would my last thought be? What would be the last thing I would every say haphazardly. My last email. My last blog entry. The last song on my radio. You probably don't know when you're going to die, and it's just as well. It's just going to happen someday. Someday, when you're not expecting it, but you're coming back from lunch and thinking about the reports you have to write - or the grocery list - or calling a friend back. Then, BLAMO! The greyhound bus of destiny you weren't expecting pays you a visit.
So, given the fact that I have no idea of when I'm going to die, I also have no idea what my last words will be. With that in mind, shouldn't everything I say be as if it were? So, what should I say that I haven't said before? I know that if I had the chance, I'd tell everyone that God loves us despite who we are (Romans 5:8). I've discovered that this is what offends people on many levels though.
|God| Some people don't believe in God at all. Some people believe that we are simply the product of hydrogen and time. Others believe in a God, but reject the God that the Bible refers to (Lev 19:4). Still others believe in the God of the Bible, but refuse His authority (2Tim 3:5). Lastly though, there are some who are seeking God and are willing to accept His Word, no matter how it makes them feel (Matthew 6:33).
|Loves| If someone loves you, despite your feeling for them, there's an uneasiness in the relationship. One sided. But God loves us no matter what we've done. God loves you! I understand how this would make someone feel if they didn't love them back and be willing to do anything about it. It might feel like knowing someone has a crush on you - and tells everyone - and you totally don't feel the same way toward them.
|Sinners| That's us. That's me and I'm sorry but that's you too. I understand how this can make people feel uncomfortable; myself being a sinner and all. Being a sinner conjures up images of misbehaving or disobeying, and people generally like to think of themselves as good people. So, I totally understand why being called a sinner could make someone angry.
So, put Romans 5:8 together, and you've got |God| |loves| |sinners|. The last, and most important part is this: |so He gave|. God loves me so much that He gave a way for me to be reconciled with Him. Ah ha! That's the tricky part - reconcile. Why should we need to reconcile? What have we done to God that is so terrible? Why is God picking on us? Why can't God just love us no matter what? There are lots of arguments and questions about that, but thinking about it in strictly human terms, it makes sense. Would a parent be pleased with a child that did whatever they felt was right? Does a court let criminals free without punishment?
That's not a matter for me to decide. It's up to God, and He's spoken on the subject. I won't go into the gorpy details about what or why or how. That's a matter for study because it would take too long to explain. Perhaps over time, if I'm granted another day. But I guess if today were my last day on Earth (captialized), I'd want the last thing I ever said to be...
God loves us so much, despite who we are, that He gave a way for us to reconcile with Him.
Was that so offensive?
Monday, January 05, 2009
Answered prayers
In a nutshell, I've had a significant answer to prayer on Sunday night. Rewind almost exactly a year ago. I've been wondering about God's will for my life as the end of my last entry mentions. If God wants me to go to Africa, I'll go. If He wants me to drive a bus, I'll drive. If He wants me to give [which He does], I'll give. The last I had heard from God was "Be still, and know that I am God."
It has been a bit of a challenge to be so revved up to do something and to be told, "Be still". That went against my desires. I felt like a new recruit all over again waiting to show my boss what I could do. But instead, I was 'being still'. Grrrrr. While waiting for God's specific will for my life to be made known, I'd been asked to be the Singles Sunday School teacher and leader. That was a task I quickly realized that I can't do without God's help (Phil 4:13).
It's required a level of discipline that I didn't have before. I thought that I really cared for the Singles in my class, but over the last few months, I've come to really care for them. A lot of them have also stepped up and helped out with many things since it's really a job for a couple.
But my fervent prayer continued, "Lord, what is your specific will for my life?" This was starting to fester, and to be honest, it was starting to distract me. This is mostly due to the fact that I know what MY will is, but I'm waiting on God because He told me to wait. Like a runner who doesn't leap out of the starting block after the gun has fired.
So, those have been my thoughts over the last year. Before this weekend, I started to blog that I was starting to think that God had sent me "two boats and a helicopter", but I wasn't seeing it. People had actually come up to me with specific information about what I had been praying for in private, and then they have been saying that "God is trying to tell you something, but you're not listening." That was frustrating.
So, here I was, Sunday night after service and I prayed my same prayer. And it hit me. Not the audible voice of God [which is what I'm really waiting for], but an assurance and an instruction... It said, "Be still and know that I am God."
That would drive any sane person mad, but for me, it's an answered prayer. He has a plan for me, but not yet. I've been told to wait [hopefully not much longer], and He will reveal His plan to me. In His time.
When God hands you sand, make sandcastles. What I mean is that when it's God's desire that you wait on His timing, you would do well to do things for the furtherance of His kingdom while you're waiting. Someday, God is going to check up on me to see what I've been doing with all this time and sand. I need to take what He gives me and be fruitful and wise.
As I travel this lonely dune, I pray that I'm not so consumed with "doing" that I loose track of who I'm doing it for. I pray that I recognize it when it comes, and I pray for the endurance to finish this journey well.
It has been a bit of a challenge to be so revved up to do something and to be told, "Be still". That went against my desires. I felt like a new recruit all over again waiting to show my boss what I could do. But instead, I was 'being still'. Grrrrr. While waiting for God's specific will for my life to be made known, I'd been asked to be the Singles Sunday School teacher and leader. That was a task I quickly realized that I can't do without God's help (Phil 4:13).
It's required a level of discipline that I didn't have before. I thought that I really cared for the Singles in my class, but over the last few months, I've come to really care for them. A lot of them have also stepped up and helped out with many things since it's really a job for a couple.
But my fervent prayer continued, "Lord, what is your specific will for my life?" This was starting to fester, and to be honest, it was starting to distract me. This is mostly due to the fact that I know what MY will is, but I'm waiting on God because He told me to wait. Like a runner who doesn't leap out of the starting block after the gun has fired.
So, those have been my thoughts over the last year. Before this weekend, I started to blog that I was starting to think that God had sent me "two boats and a helicopter", but I wasn't seeing it. People had actually come up to me with specific information about what I had been praying for in private, and then they have been saying that "God is trying to tell you something, but you're not listening." That was frustrating.
So, here I was, Sunday night after service and I prayed my same prayer. And it hit me. Not the audible voice of God [which is what I'm really waiting for], but an assurance and an instruction... It said, "Be still and know that I am God."
That would drive any sane person mad, but for me, it's an answered prayer. He has a plan for me, but not yet. I've been told to wait [hopefully not much longer], and He will reveal His plan to me. In His time.
When God hands you sand, make sandcastles. What I mean is that when it's God's desire that you wait on His timing, you would do well to do things for the furtherance of His kingdom while you're waiting. Someday, God is going to check up on me to see what I've been doing with all this time and sand. I need to take what He gives me and be fruitful and wise.
As I travel this lonely dune, I pray that I'm not so consumed with "doing" that I loose track of who I'm doing it for. I pray that I recognize it when it comes, and I pray for the endurance to finish this journey well.
