As their own

     It never ceases to amaze me how seeing things in the right light can take a seemingly powerless and familiar idea and release treasures from heaven. We have been dumbed down by what we thought we knew. We tread through life with best guesses until shown otherwise. This happened to me the other day. There is an old concept floating around that tries to give light to the actions of men and women. The idea says that men pursue a woman until they conquer them. Once they do, the case usually being marriage, the pursuit then stops because they have conquered their goal. Not a very promising concept for either in this case. The explanation then is given that men are goal oriented, and now the man must work to keep the fire alive. Sound familiar?  Even though you may even see some truth in this, let me ask you, how much life do you feel from this? Something seem missing? What if we could see this in a different light? Same situation, different angle.
     The bible declares that when two are married that they become one. Now obviously this is a very big subject and could take a long time to study out but lets say even if you didn't consciously understand this, you did understand this on a much deeper level. Let's say you saw your spouse as an extension of yourself. Where does that take us? Up until the point of marriage your future mate was outside of you. You could pursue, treat them in ways you never thought of before all because they were an object of your desire. In some ways they were not under your rule. When marriage came then there was a change. Why? Because they are no longer outside of you but part of you. You no longer see them as an object that you have to give to obtain. You now have them, and with that comes a responsibility that few of us every perceive. Husbands are to love them as their own bodies. Now most would think that this is something to work towards but think, what if we do it naturally? Somewhere down on that deeper level we already began to love them as ourselves. Now that could sound all romantic and whatnot but the problem is, what if you didn't love yourself? How then would you treat your spouse? Answer, as an extension of that dysfunction. Let me propose that a man stops pursuing a wife after marriage because a man has stopped pursuing himself, and a wife is now an extension of that lack of pursuit. So rather than blame your spouse for not keeping the fire alive it just might be you have some stuff in you that you need to look at. Go deep! It just may be what the doctor ordered.

     In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Eph. 5:28

My piece of Heaven

Not too long ago I was talking with someone and they began to tell me of their love for gardening. They explained how when they were doing it that they would lose track of time, and that they would find themselves singing or talking to God without even trying. In was interesting, they said that prayers became automatic, effortless, birthed just out of the joy of doing what they loved to do. Instantly something clicked with me. What this person described seemed to be the description of every testimony of heaven I had ever heard. Timelessness (eternity), worship, prayer, and work without labor. That’s what caught me the most, I’ve worked too many jobs I didn’t enjoy.  What I began to see was a secret that had been right under my nose. That our passions were more relevant to life and God than I had ever thought.  That they were actually a clue to point us towards life.

Our identity is tied to our intimacy with God. If you look at it in reverse. The very act of not living out what we know to be true about us causes us to doubt God. It’s no wonder that when people separate God and their dreams that they end up rejecting Him. For if we believe God is not in favor of who we are, then we somehow  believe God is not good.  And if we believe God is not good, then we try and keep Him away. We must see that our passions are God given. That all things were made for Him. One of the biggest surprises for me in scripture was when I found out God filled people with His Spirit for more than just Sunday morning service. The passage is in Exodus 31.

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you:

This may seem funny but how many of us ever thought God knew how to work with wood? Metal? That’s what it says here, and if that, what else does get into? Can you see God as a chemist or a dancer?  How about a boat builder? Okay, the story of Noah has that covered. Anyway, it just could it be, and I believe He does, that God knows a thing or two about what you love? One of the things my dad used to do is surprise us children when we were out doing some sort of activity. To pull some skill out of his hat that we never knew he had, and we would all be amazed at what he knew or could do. Could it be that the Father might just be the daddy who wants to show off to you? God already knows what you love, know give Him the chance to show you.  

19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.  20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart. (Eccel. 5)

You get that from Me

I’m beginning to see that so many things in life are deeper than I ever thought. If you take a perspective of Col. 1:16 “…all things have been created through Him and for Him” then you begin to see as you take a look at life that this goes far beyond physical things like rivers, trees, animals and etc. but it also covers things that aren’t so tangible such as relationships, behaviors, and instinct. Things that are common to a particular phase, area, or pattern in life which have structure in the design of life, and are seen in the action. Take for example a newborn’s desire to nurse, the way a momma bear protects her cubs, how an eagle knows how to fish. These are all non-tangible things and yet they too were created “for Him”, and since they are created for Him, do they not tell us something about His ways? This brought me to what a stereotypical picture of a parent and child. Whether you are the parent or the child, you have probably heard this at some time in your life. The parent observes something about the child and says, “You get that from me.” Maybe it’s the shape of their nose, or the way they laugh, or their taste in movies. Nevertheless it’s in that moment that you are a part of something greater, that you're connected. Why do we do this as people? Why does this happen? Can I suggest that this sharing of traits, relating to one another, is something God also made to show us something greater about our relationship with Him? That we follow the same pattern. I see us sitting on God the Father’s lap and Him looking down, pointing something out about us, maybe how we like to draw, or spend time gardening and Him saying “You know, you get that from Me”  and seeing that, that’s when we own it. We then become part of something bigger. It connects you with home. It then makes sense why you do what you do, it’s because it’s who you are, and you are a part of Him. I was challenged a couple of weeks ago. Lately I’ve been busy with life, to busy actually, and had been feeling a little unfulfilled with life and disconnected from God. It was then that through an event that the Lord spoke to me and said “You and I like the same things, the problem is that you don’t do them.”  It pretty much stopped me in my tracks. I knew exactly what He was talking about. In a split second I took an account of how I had been living and had to admit that I hadn’t been living life, but I had succumbed to surviving. I was convicted that God was a lot better than how I was currently living. That He was actually interested in what I enjoyed. That He didn't have any pleasure in me just getting by either. What is continually unfolding to me is that in some ways God and I aren’t all that different. That’s what He’s been trying to tell me. That's why He made things the way He did. I had put my dreams aside that’s when I began losing my sense of connection with God. In the same way, you may have dreamed about having a child, and maybe you like playing ball so you dream about being out in the yard and playing ball with them. Could it be your Heavenly has dreams too, and so He decided to have you? Whether it's science, art, drama or etc. ALL THINGS were created for Him and He’s looking forward to sharing that with you. You want to know God? I believe He’s right there in your dream waiting for you.

 

The Taking Away

I was thinking about life and the idea of losing things. Not like car keys or things of that nature but the things we try to build within ourselves to be somebody. I thought about areas of my life that seemed to take me a long time to develop only for something to happen and then feel like I lose it. This wasn't necessarily true in every area of life, I didn't always feel like I lost stuff, but what about those times I did feel that way? What did they mean? It didn't seem fair. So much time and effort only now to feel lost. Was it a waste?

It was at that moment I was taken back in a memory to several years ago to a summer when I began growing spices on my deck. I didn't hardly know anything about growing spices, but I had picked some plants out at the store and was curious to give it a try. One in particular was a lime basil plant that I picked because of the smell it gave off. With a little water and sunshine it quickly became tall and skinny and not very impressive. I don't think I even ever really cooked with it but I would often break off a sprig and crush the leaves between my fingers just to savor the aroma. It was divine. As the summer went on I began to notice that where I had broken off these small branches that two new branches would grow back in it's place, and where previously the plant was skinny, things were beginning to fill out. It was then that I got the idea to remove branches on purpose to make the plant more full and more beautiful. Summer was about over by the time I finally got the hang of it, making sure I was breaking off enough and not too much so the plant wouldn't be too bare. I had begun to understand the concept of pruning.

It was there I had gotten my answer. That was the moment that God took me back to, to understand loss. The image of two branches growing in the place were there once was just one. God was showing me that for whatever reason He saw fit, in some wisdom, He was going to make me more fruitful. Yes, something was removed, and yes, I did feel loss, but God's plan was never to hurt me and that I would end up producing much more than what I ever had before. This was His way of doing things.

Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.  Isaiah 61:7