The Clothes Pin

How much better it is
to carry wood to the fire
than to moan about your life.
How much better
to throw the garbage
onto the compost, or to pin the clean
sheet on the line
with a gray-brown wooden clothes pin!

Poet Jane Kenyon

Scaredy Squirrel

Scaredy Squirrel is very comfortable with his daily routine. His long list of fears keep him from leaving his tree, until the day he makes a flying leap into the unknown in an effort to recover his emergency kit, which fell into the bushes. From then on he includes one exhilarating leap into the unknown in his routine every day, along with eating, sleeping and playing dead.

I had to smile when I read this book and thought of how much I resist making changes in my daily patterns and routines. Here's to exercising faith in God's character every day, taking a "leap into the unknowns" of life. : )

Solid Rock

A few days ago I started a new (to me) book, called Second Guessing God: Hanging on When You Can't See His Plan by Brian Jones (a pastor in PA). I've only finished chapter one, but the principles are very solid so far and quite timely for my heart, for this semester in my life. He doesn't write so much as a theologian, but rather as a mentor who has seen his faith renewed through Scripture and his relationship with God.

I love the following words from Jones' professor who encouraged him in his struggle. During his senior year of seminary, Jones had all but given up on his faith and trust in God.

"...I have stood where you're standing. I've felt the water cascade across my feet. I know how wonderful that feels. But I've also had the water go back out to sea. I've felt the sand get washed out from underneath my feet...when the last grain of sand is finally gone, you're going to discover that you're standing on a rock."

Hebrews 6:17-20

"Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed with an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us: which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil; whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Matthew Henry comments on this passage:

"The consolations of God are strong enough to support his people under their strongest trials. The comforts of this world are too weak to bear up the soul under temptation, persecution, and death; but the consolations of the Lord are neither few nor small...it is an anchor that is cast upon the rock, the Rock of ages. It does not seek to fasten in the sands, but enters within the veil, and fixes there upon Christ; he is the object, he is the anchor-hold of the believer's hope."

His Glory = Our Pleasure

Why does God want to be glorified? It is perhaps a strange question. He is of course not insecure or needy. He is not competing with some other god who might win in the end. Why does He want to be glorifed through our lives? What motivates Him? Of course, He is absolutely worthy, but why does He desire it (Isaiah 48:11) if He doesn't need it? If I miss something important in my disjointed ramblings, feel free to share your thoughts. : )

At various times the last few months, I have been contemplating the Christian life and how it connects to what is going on in God's thoughts. The world is really messed up by sin and its consequences. In contrast to His foresight, unchanging character, and power over all things, we are affected and we change and we can't see beyond today. Why does He choose to use such a life on the earth to draw attention and glory to Himself?

I love where God has me, because I trust His intentions for me, but I also feel God's stretching and molding, with the stark disappointments and gentle sorrows that accompany the seasons of every person's life. As a believer, I understand that even happy times are not ultimately satisfying. Yet there is a safety in knowing that God is there either way. Maybe that's the point: living life for God's glory forces me to cling to Him, and I know Him, my true source of satisfaction, better that way.

"You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." (Psalm 145:16)

Philippians 3 also has a lot to say about the connections between knowing Christ and living life well. To know Him is to take on His righteousness, take on His sufferings, take on expectation for what is to come.

A particular article answered some of those questions for me about how it all works together. One thought from the author summarizes the rest: "His aim to bring praise to himself and his aim to bring pleasure to his people are one aim and stand or fall together." Piper talks about how God seeks to bring glory to Himself, not because He needs us, but because we need Him.

In further linked articles, I re-learned that it is such a loving thing that He does for us, to pull us outside of ourselves, outside of our self-centeredness, to focus on something worth focusing on. And therein lie true joy and satisfaction. There is also wonderful application to every one of our human relationships:

The love of God is not God's making much of us, but God's saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

In conclusion, one reason God wants to be glorified through our lives is because in that process we and others come to know Him better. To have our attention on the only One who is worthy is to find our deepest needs met and to experience the pleasure of relationship with Him.

Recommendation

If you are a college student or in your twenties, if you like reading, I want to highly recommend boundless.org

Intelligent and Biblically solid authors offer thoughtful articles about Biblical manhood and womanhood, college, career, singleness and marriage, living well before God in either of those states, church and body life, faith, culture, politics, etc.

For a variety of good perspectives, read the ones that catch your attention, follow the links at the bottom to related articles. Agree, disagree, enjoy.



For a list of topics: http://www.boundless.org/bestof/

Listening

"The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. The first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in."

C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity