“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” ~C.S.Lewis
“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is LOVE.” 1 Corinthians 13:13
For the past month, I’ve had tunnel vision. Metaphorically speaking, I can only focus on a specific thing, and I’m neglecting an eternal perspective. Heartache, hardship takes center stage. I try to zoom out and look around me. Try to look to the heavens where my help comes from. Then a word or image and I’m back…
Walking through a dark narrow tunnel. I wait for the light. You know…the light at the end of the tunnel. Only, there’s not even a glimmer of hope this tunnel ever ends. Dark thoughts consume my mind. I don’t have the mental energy to keep walking, and who knows how long I’m gonna be here.
A frantic thought seizes me. Maybe there is no light.
“It is the bold Christian who can sing God’s sonnets in the darkness.”
C.S. Spurgeon
Heaven forbid! To give up hope in the Living God? To stop walking by faith instead of sight? To cease believing in God’s goodness and His unwavering love for me? To ignore God’s promises and the countless times He’s proven Himself to me?
Nope! Not gonna happen.I’ve come too far to go backwards. If I’m gonna have tunnel vision, let me focus on You, Lord. Not my circumstances or disappointments. But choosing to be still and focus on Jesus is more energy than I can muster. I can’t do this on my own. Not now. Not in this tunnel where the darkness envelopes me.
Then I remember God’s strength is perfected in weakness. I remind myself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). One day at a time!
By His grace, I stand and take a baby step of faith. Trusting God’s heart when I can’t see His face. Even in this … long, dark tunnel.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:4,5
Our five-year-old grandson walked into his parents’ home and announced, “I had the funnest, best day in my whole life and whole world!”
His sleep-deprived mom and dad sat on the couch with their newborn infant. They smiled to acknowledge their son’s excitement, noting the new monster truck in his hands.
Our grandson continued in a rhythmic tone.
“We went to the store. We got my monster truck. We had ice cream. We went to the park. It was the funnest, best day in….”
“That does sound fun,” our daughter replied. But when she looked at us, her raised brow said, “You’re spoiling him.”
No argument there.
My husband and I had been in their home for ten days to help with meals, errands, and their five-year-old son who’d become a big brother. But as I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, I wondered if our “help” would make their lives more uncomfortable after my husband and I returned home.
Our grandson would miss his fun grandparents all the more if we made every day feel like “Fun-Dar-Land.”
Also, returning to his daily routine would seem like an “Aftershock” because his parents don’t have the same freedom to make every day feel like “the funnest, best day in his whole life and whole world.”
Nor should they!
Spoiling is another word for overindulging which is the last thing we need to teach our kids in a self-centered world.
As I diced carrots, our grandson played with his toy cars. “Eee Ooo Eee Ooo. Vroom Vroom.”
We’d had a fun day with our grandson. We’d laughed, ran, played in the sand with his monster trucks. But did I want fun memories to be the end goal?
Quality time with our grandson is limited. So I want our memories worth remembering. To leave an enduring impression that outlasts a plastic monster truck.
Along with the fun, I hope he remembers—
Bringing Mommy flowers in her hospital room. Helping Grandpa make Brownies for my birthday. Bringing Papa wood for the outdoor fire pit. Helping Grandma carry books to the library. Singing to Baby Sister when she cried.
I hope our grandson enjoys his childhood. But I pray he’ll discover:
Helping other people can also be “the funnest, best day in our whole life and whole world.”
Even in this … overindulgent world.
“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35 NLT
I tried not to roll my eyes as I stood there listening to a man go on and on. He told me everything I didn’t want to know about his life. Normally, I love hearing people’s stories. But, I didn’t care two cents about his riches, the houses he owned, his worldly ambitions, and “the people he knew.”
When we said goodbye, this man (who knew something about everything) didn’t know one thing about the person he’d talked to for an hour. Me!
Not a problem. I’d rather listen to others than talk about myself. Truly. But, it pains me to listen to someone who thinks they know something about everything and can’t be dissuaded to think otherwise. You know what I mean?
Commonly known as a KNOW-IT-ALL.
However, I find great comfort and joy knowing the good Lord truly truly knows it all!
“Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33)
I know every bird of the mountains,
Psalm 50:11 NAS
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.”
Psalm 50:11 NAS
Omniscient is one of God’s attributes. He knows the beginning from the end. When the world seems out of control, God knows and He’s no less in control. There’s nothing that will happen in this world, or my life, that surprises Him. Nothing He can’t handle and use for His purposes and His glory.
God also knows everything about me (Psalm 139:1-2). He knows
the secrets of my heart (Psalm 44:21)
the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7)
the number of days I’ll live (Psalm 139:12-13)
my name (John 10:3)
God knows me better than I know myself. And He knows more about me than I wish He knew. Which is why I had a difficult time believing that God would love me with an everlasting love. So how did I learn to embrace the Lord and trust Him no matter what?
By knowing Him!We can’t trust someone we don’t know.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Knowing God is different from knowing about God.
I can tell you many things I learned about the boastful man that I met who could tell me a thing or two. But I don’t know his innermost being or his future. I don’t know him on an intimate basis like I know my spouse.
Do you realize the God of the Universe invites us to know Him on intimate terms. That happens the same way any relationship is developed–spending time with the person so we become familiar.
Read God’s Word. And while you’re reading Scripture, listen for Him to speak to your heart. Talk to God, the same way you’d phone a friend. Be honest. Ask your questions. Tell Him how you really feel. Ask the Holy Spirit to use God’s Words to instruct and guide you.
Instead of asking the Lord to give you the desires of your heart, ask God to make Himself the desire of your heart! The same way you’d long for a true blue friend.
Be mindful of His presence throughout the day and praise Him (same way you’d compliment a faithful friend) for Who He is!
A kind, merciful, loving, forgiving, all-knowing God who loved each of us so much that “He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
As we nurture an intimate relationship with the Living God, our head knowledge about Him will become a heartfelt friendship. And the more we know God, the more we will trust Him and be less shaken.
That’s how to get into heaven when we die. Or so I thought.
Believe And Be Good.
So I believed in Jesus when I was thirteen-years-old. But instead of trusting God’s grace (unmerited favor) to make me righteous in His sight, I added to His saving work by trying to be good. And hoped that worked!
Relying on my goodness to save my soul is like trusting a life vest to save me from hungry sharks.
Being good meant I had to display moral virtues such as kindness, mercy, humility . . . and, obey rules. I made a list of moral do’s and don’t. Oughts and should.
Do unto others as you’d like them to do to you.
Don’t lie, cheat, steal. Don’t even think about it.
I should read my Bible. I ought to pray.
Depending on my behavior, and society’s fluctuating “definition of good,” I never knew for sure where I stood with God. I worried I could lose my salvation because even on my “good days” I questioned whether I was “good enough.”
“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.” (C. S. Lewis)
So I raised the ante. I did good deeds to earn my way to heaven. I volunteered at charities. Served within my church.
My faith in Christ’s morphed into a works-oriented faith which isn’t uncommon. People tell me they’re going to heaven because . . .
“I’m a good person. I’ve lived a good life.”
“Sometimes I take what’s rightfully not mine (i.e., ask for a free water cup at a fast food restaurant and fill it with soda) but I’ve never robbed a bank.”
“I may lie on my tax forms and cheat on tests, but I’ve never killed anyone.”
“We are all on very good terms with ourselves, and we can always put up a good case for ourselves.”
Martyn Loyd-Jones
We deceive ourselves. “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3).
That’s why the Gospel is Good News. We can’t save our souls, but we can save ourselves a lot of worry and strife if we believe in Jesus to save us.
The jailer in Philippi asked the Apostle Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30, 31).
They didn’t add, “And be good. Otherwise all bets off.”
Praise God for His gift; rejoice in our salvation.
“God’s grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure to perform and who acknowledge their need for a Savior.”
Tim Keller
I cringe, knowing I once tried to earn what Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished. Jesus’ shed blood justified me. Not my behavior.
God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ro. 5:8
There’s no addendum which says we should bring something to the table. We come with empty hands and expectant hearts.
Even in This . . . mad world, “He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).
Even In This 