Representing God

Philip Yancey, in his book, “Disappointment with God” tells how we, as a bunch of “…lamebranes and misfits and nitpickers and holier-than-thous and stuffed shirts and odd ducks and egomaniacs and milquetoasts and closet sensualists” are the ones that God has chosen to represent his character here on earth.  “Three temples appear in the Bible, and taken together, they illustrate a progression:  God revealed himself first as Father, then as Son, and finally as Holy Spirit.  The first temple was a magnificent structure built by Solomon and rebuilt by Herod.  The second was the ‘temple’ of Jesus’ body…(the) third temple has taken shape, fashioned out of individual human beings.”

 

“If you want to see God, then look at the people who belong to him—they are his ‘bodies.’  They are the body of Christ.”  We may be the only Bible or church that our neighbor may ever know.  What a humbling thought that at any given time, God may be putting us in a position to reach others with his message of love, in a way that no one else can.  Everyone is seeking love and acceptance.  How will they ever find it if you, if I, never reach out to each other, in love, and live out the character of God?  What if we realize that every opportunity that we miss in saying a kind word, or giving acceptance and love to someone in need, might be the only opportunity that person ever has of understanding God’s love for him or her?

 

I want to be ready at any moment to be God’s ambassador, to represent his character of grace, compassion, and love.  Unfortunately, I am so imperfect and unprepared for such a task.  It is my prayer that God willwork in me day by day, so that I will recognize these opportunities and will beworthy of such a mighty work.

Unfair

The wealthy grow fat from the gain of their greed,

While others are hungry and in desperate need.

Criminals get away with their evil deeds,

Unconcerned as they are with their victims' needs.

An innocent child suffers a deadly disease,

While her mother begs for a cure, on her knees.

A tornado rips through the middle of town,

And some homes are spared, others torn down.

A promotion is given to the brown-nosing clown,

While the loyal, hard-worker's raise is turned down.

Parents work hard, to give their kids the best chance,

But the children just scoff and turn away without a glance.

Corporations pump toxins into the water and the air.

The effects on our planet?  They do not seem to care.

Some persecute their brothers, based on color, sex, or creed,

With a "moral obligation" to perform some evil deed.

With chaos all around us, so much appears unfair;

It makes me often wonder:  does God know or even care?

But He sees what's all around us; our troubles are His, too.

He took a risk before hand, when He created me and you.

With a choice to love and follow Him, or to throw it all away,

We brought sin and death into the world, a penalty to pay.

God knew we could not pay the price;

It called for too great a sacrifice.

With a love we cannot comprehend,

God's plan:  his only son He'd send.

To give up heaven's splendor, take on all our shame,

Be tempted in all ways, and, though faultless, bear our blame.

His holy blood to cover sins that were not His,

Who could imagine such a love as this?

Justice would mean giving us what we deserve,

But mercy is His gift, and He came only to serve.

Since we don't want what's fair in our own circumstance,

Let's follow God's lead and give grace a chance.

 

Following the rules

I am having trouble with my teenage daughter right now.  She has been ditching school to hang out with her friends.  When I ask her what she has been doing, or who she has been hanging out with, she tells me that it is none of my business.  When I tell her that she has to go to school, or anything else for that matter, she tells me that she doesn't have to do what I tell her, and I can't make her.  This really frustrates me, especially since she is right.  While I do have a few tricks up my sleve, and I can encourage her to make the right decisions, I cannot make her do anything.

This made me think about how God must often feel when we make the wrong choices.  He has given us direction, commandments, and other "rules" to help guide us, so that we can have the best life possible.  But we don't always choose well.  Often, we decide to go our own way, do our own thing, and, like my daughter, tell God "I am going to do it my own way, and you can't stop me."  And, like earthly parents, God doesn't force us.  He allows us to make our own decisions and reap the benefits and suffer the consequences of the decisions we make.  But, like earthly parents, God is affected by the decisions we make.  He weeps when we head down the wrong path, as I weep when my child chooses to disobey.  He knows the outcome of our ill-conceived plans, and He wishes for us to turn away from those things that will lead us away from Him.  

All of this has made me even more aware of what a great and loving God I have, and I am so thankful for His patience and understanding.  And this will give me the strength to be patient with my child and prayerfully allow her to find her true path, even when it means suffering the consequences of her poor decisions. 

more blessings

I came across this in an article I was reading, and it really touched me.  It is the Benediction inscribed at Gloucester Cathedral, in England:

"Go on your way in peace,

Be of good courage.

Hold fast that which is good.

Render to no man evil for evil.

Strengthen the fainthearted.

Support the weak.

Help and cheer the sick.

Honor all men.

Love and serve the Lord.

May the blessing of God be upon you

And remain with you forever.

So be it.  And have a blessed good night!"

 

Wouldn't this make a great prayer every morning before starting the day?

Times of Grief

            I lost a patient last week.  Her room was right next to my office, and she would frequently call out my name, asking for help.  She had heart and respiratory problems and was always very anxious and needed a lot of reassurance just to get through the day.  Eventually, she became weaker and weaker, and finally she succumbed to her illness.

     In my line of work, I suppose I should get used to people coming to the end of their lives and passing away.  But, as much as I am intellectually prepared for this, each time it happens, I feel like something is wrong.  I can’t shake the idea that it isn’t supposed to be like this.  How can something so natural feel so foreign?

            This idea has hit me many times, until I finally came to the conclusion that it feels so foreign because it really wasn’t meant to be like this at all.  God originally designed this world, and each of us, for eternity.  He set the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, and this same tree is mentioned in Revelation to be in the earth made new.  God’s promise of eternal life would be meaningless if He couldn’t really provide it, and if we didn’t so desperately desire it.

            I praise God that even through times of tragedy, He gives us the assurance that He is with us in all our trouble, and that He has something so much more incredible awaiting us.