Jesus, precious Jesus. Sometimes I just can't wait to meet You.
Sometimes the journey of "faith not sight" seems like it will never end. I struggle with longing to be home with Jesus to the point of becoming an ineffective, miserable, place-filler at His table. Paul said it was better for him if he was to leave and go home but, for the sake of his people, God had chosen to leave him on earth(Phil. 1:23-24). It was "necessary" for him to be here.
To be here means that God has a purpose for our lives. That, in of itself, can be my motivation to be content, even joyful, in my current circumstances. We have a better home but not yet. Today we have this promise: "Blessed are those who have not seen me and yet have believed"(John 20:29).
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Treasure
If someone had a treasure worth more than anything this
world had ever seen or ever would see again, it would never run out, they were already
enjoying the spoils of their find, and they possessed a map that would lead
anyone who would follow it to that same treasure, would you consider it loving
or unloving for that person to try to share the map with you? Would you say, “I can’t believe you are trying
to force your opinions on me,” or “I’ve seen this map a million times before
and don’t understand why you expect me to be willing to look at it again,” or “It’s
your choice if you want to be rich beyond your wildest dreams but don’t try to
get me to enjoy your riches with you.” I
don’t think so.
You’d be hurt and almost certainly mad if they were
unwilling to share. It’s one thing to
have a treasure; but to know that treasure NEVER becomes depleted, in fact, it
multiplies with the more people who desire, to not be asked to share in that
would be a horrific insult. For the
treasure-holder to think, “I’m respecting your privacy so I’ll keep this
treasure to myself,” would feel like they don’t really care about you at all. Even if bringing up the topic of the treasure
risked their relationship with you, would it not devalue the treasure itself if
they didn’t see it as worth the risk? In
any case, any person with a never-ending, priceless treasure would be considered
greedy and selfish and definitely the worst friend in the world if they kept it
a secret, purposefully withholding information about how you could share the
wealth.
Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden
in a field. The one who discovers it is
so full of joy that he sells everything else he owns so he is able to go buy
the field where the treasure is buried.
If a person who has the treasure offers the map to you…please
try not to be offended. The treasure
wouldn’t be treasure at all if it wasn’t potentially worth more to you than your
temporary discomfort
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