How can a 7-year-old girl take a 10-month-old baby and "throw" her on the concrete floor not just once but at least twice killing the baby? What a horror! The answer in a sentence is that we live in a very, very broken world! People do dastardly things to themselves and each other. Sometimes the consequences are too terrible to contemplate.
This particular "news item" happened in my city. Pittsburgh is no more or less broken than any other place on earth. We are all broken. As some say ("Pittsburghese"), we all need fixed. Sin has broken us all. We are born broken and only get more broken as we live life unless God shows up. Only God can fix the broken places to make us stronger where we are broken.
This 7-year-old little girl might have thought in her child's mind that she would only shut the baby (Marcia Poston) up or perhaps she was angry and acted out. Whatever the reason, brokenness caused the problem and brokenness follows in grief and pain that will last for a lifetime.
A Restoration Church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh wants to be a vehicle of God's restoring love, light and grace in our broken world. God is bringing us together to love Him more and to love each other more as we demonstrate to a watching world that God is all about restoration!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Hartford, Have a Heart!
Stunning surveillance video of a street in Hartford, Connecticut from the evening of May 30th shows 78-year-old Angel Torres stepping out to cross a street when suddenly two vehicles came out of "nowhere" and hit Torres tossing him in the air like a rag doll. The two vehicles were driving in a reckless manner including running a red light and driving on the wrong side of the road. Neither vehicle stopped. The video is so heart-stopping because it continues after the hit-and-run accident. Torres lies in the street obviously broken. Cars pass. Trucks pass. One dump truck even pauses briefly and then drives on. People step out of buildings to look, but no one approaches Torres.
Finally a man came along who was actually a social outcast. He stopped, rendered aid, took the injured man to a place for long-term care and even paid for it all (present and future expenses).
Then Jesus presses his point to the questioner: "What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked ... ? ... Go and do the same." (Scripture quotes taken from or suggested by The Message.)
What was it about that man from Samaria? What is it about the people who passed by in Hartford? It is a matter of heart. The condition of the heart makes all the difference! To callously look suffering in the face and do nothing has eternal consequences! It ranks right up next to loving God to carefully love our neighbor well!
It is easy to pontificate - Hartford, have a heart! It's much harder to apply these principles where you and I live. It may even be costly in time, energy, commitment and expense. But it's not only the right thing, it's the main thing! It's God's thing, and He stands willing and ready to work such restoration in our hearts until we are ready to love our neighbor well!
FINALLY a police car arrives on the scene! Apparently three 911 calls were placed by by-standers, but NO ONE rushed to Torres' aid until the police arrived. As of yesterday, Torres was in critical condition, fighting for his life and paralyzed from the neck down.
What captured my attention wasn't that Torres was struck or even that the culprit hit and ran though that is a significant issue. What stopped me in my tracks to watch the video is what happened next: NO ONE did anything. It wasn't that no one saw. The video is clear that many someones either drove past or walked near, some even pausing for significant periods of time to gawk but no one helped beyond a 911 call.
The "deja vu" of this event is, of course, Luke 10:25 - 37: the story of the good Samaritan Jesus told. Jesus told this particular parable (a story about common, everyday experience to teach God's truth) to answer two questions:
- How can I get into God's forever family?
- Who exactly is "my neighbor"?
Jesus answered the question: "How can I get into God's forever family?" by drawing a legal respnse from the questioner. Jesus throws another question back in response: "What does the Law say?" The answer comes back (directly quoting from the Jewish Law - Deuteronomy 6:5) "Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence ... and love your neighbor as well as you do yourself." (vs. 27)
Then the dialogue gets really interesting. Jesus responds, "Good answer! Do it and you'll live." The next sentence reveals the questioner's heart, "Looking for a loophole, he asked, 'And just how would you define neighbor?' " Jesus' answer to that question is the story of the good Samaritan. Remember what happened? It is eerily a precursor to this incident in Hartford, CT!
A man walking on a road (like Angel Torres) is struck by robbers and left for dead. At least two men passed by and intentionally crossed over to the other side of the road to avoid getting too close to the injured man. To make matters worse, these two men were both religious types.Finally a man came along who was actually a social outcast. He stopped, rendered aid, took the injured man to a place for long-term care and even paid for it all (present and future expenses).
Then Jesus presses his point to the questioner: "What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked ... ? ... Go and do the same." (Scripture quotes taken from or suggested by The Message.)
What was it about that man from Samaria? What is it about the people who passed by in Hartford? It is a matter of heart. The condition of the heart makes all the difference! To callously look suffering in the face and do nothing has eternal consequences! It ranks right up next to loving God to carefully love our neighbor well!
It is easy to pontificate - Hartford, have a heart! It's much harder to apply these principles where you and I live. It may even be costly in time, energy, commitment and expense. But it's not only the right thing, it's the main thing! It's God's thing, and He stands willing and ready to work such restoration in our hearts until we are ready to love our neighbor well!
Friday, June 6, 2008
God's Heart
At a Restoration Church gathering here in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, we are committed to having God's heart for the South Hills and beyond. Joni Eareckson Tadi challenged my understanding of what this means in her succinct devotional for June 5 (Diamonds in the Dust) on the "Heart of Jesus."
She reflects on the various healings Jesus did while He walked this earth. She ponders what He was thinking and feeling when He told the paralyzed man to "take up his bed and walk" or when He spit on blind eyes to bring sight and myriad other encounters with people who struggled with some disability. Joni rejects the notion that Jesus did all these wonderful miracles ONLY to prove His power and authority as the Messiah of God. These wondrous signs did indeed prove Jesus' power over death and life. But they also reveal God's heart.
Joni writes, "Christ did not use helpless people to advance His own agenda. He did not enlist hurting men and women only as audio-visual aids to teach an important lesson about Himself. "
People who struggle with "a different way of being" in whatever form: autistic, blind, deaf, epileptic, lame, missing a vital chromosome or even paralyzed (among many other issues) do so as part of the effects of sin not on necessarily on that particular individual but inbred into the human race because of sin. But there is another aspect to suffering. Suffering is a part of God's plan.
I was struck with this truth years ago when I read the wonderful little book Don't Waste Your Sorrows. The author points out that suffering in and of itself is not necessarily related to sin because suffering is a part of the nature of God Himself. God Himself anguishes over His children. God Himself sent His one and only Son to die on a cross all for His larger plan. And in all this suffering, God's plan is always to show His great mercy, grace and love at the point of our greatest need.
It is mind-boggling that God would want to have a relationship with His creature especially when we are such dolts and so unfaithful, but He does. And because He does, He reaches out to us at exactly that particular point of our greatest need to show His love and strength.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says it well, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. ... "
Joni ends her devotional with this prayer, "Lord, may I never doubt what's on Your mind and heart when I suffer. You are full of love and compassion. Thank You for only permitting in my life what I am able to endure with Your grace. Bless You for Your unfailing love." For a woman who has spent over 40 years in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic, that's pretty powerful! The beauty of her faith and her appreciation for God's love for her even with the body she has that daily reminds her of her need for God's restoration now and in the world to come challenges my heart to model God's heart in my world - the South Hills of Pittsburgh!
She reflects on the various healings Jesus did while He walked this earth. She ponders what He was thinking and feeling when He told the paralyzed man to "take up his bed and walk" or when He spit on blind eyes to bring sight and myriad other encounters with people who struggled with some disability. Joni rejects the notion that Jesus did all these wonderful miracles ONLY to prove His power and authority as the Messiah of God. These wondrous signs did indeed prove Jesus' power over death and life. But they also reveal God's heart.
Joni writes, "Christ did not use helpless people to advance His own agenda. He did not enlist hurting men and women only as audio-visual aids to teach an important lesson about Himself. "
People who struggle with "a different way of being" in whatever form: autistic, blind, deaf, epileptic, lame, missing a vital chromosome or even paralyzed (among many other issues) do so as part of the effects of sin not on necessarily on that particular individual but inbred into the human race because of sin. But there is another aspect to suffering. Suffering is a part of God's plan.
I was struck with this truth years ago when I read the wonderful little book Don't Waste Your Sorrows. The author points out that suffering in and of itself is not necessarily related to sin because suffering is a part of the nature of God Himself. God Himself anguishes over His children. God Himself sent His one and only Son to die on a cross all for His larger plan. And in all this suffering, God's plan is always to show His great mercy, grace and love at the point of our greatest need.
It is mind-boggling that God would want to have a relationship with His creature especially when we are such dolts and so unfaithful, but He does. And because He does, He reaches out to us at exactly that particular point of our greatest need to show His love and strength.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says it well, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. ... "
Joni ends her devotional with this prayer, "Lord, may I never doubt what's on Your mind and heart when I suffer. You are full of love and compassion. Thank You for only permitting in my life what I am able to endure with Your grace. Bless You for Your unfailing love." For a woman who has spent over 40 years in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic, that's pretty powerful! The beauty of her faith and her appreciation for God's love for her even with the body she has that daily reminds her of her need for God's restoration now and in the world to come challenges my heart to model God's heart in my world - the South Hills of Pittsburgh!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Pittsburgh Penguins Lose Quest for Stanley Cup
Front page, above the fold of today's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a very sad picture. It features Pittsburgh Penguin Evgeni Malkin kneeling on the ice in front of the ice-encased image of the Stanley Cup and the words "Stanley Cup Final." The sub-headline declares "The final fury ends ...!
No one likes to lose unless there is something terribly skewed in their psyche. Losing is never fun. Losing always hurts.
Yesterday I heard Lanny Davis - attorney and former White House counsel to former President Bill Clinton and now STRONG Hillary for President supporter - talking about Hillary's apparently failed run for the White House. He said that neither she nor her supporters were emotionally ready for her to concede at this point in time. Now that is skewed! She lost. The fair rules of winning and losing require sportsmanship and character enough to be a good loser as well as a gracious victor.
Back to the Stanley Cup finals, I have to confess that I didn't see either the game last night (unless a few seconds here and there count) nor the nail-biter Monday night when the Penguins pulled off a win by one in the third overtime (unless a few mintues seated on the couch count). (Sometimes a girl has to do what she has to do which was sleep in my case!) The picture of Penguin Malkin on the ice is a classic study in dejection and disappointment.
We all lose. We may also have some wins along the way. Losing is a big learner! Losing teaches emotional strength and builds character. Paul the Apostle talks to the Corinthian church about not "losing heart." (2 Cor. 4:1) He is talking about faithful, plucky obedience even when we lose! He is talking about how our heart focus matters in the wins and losses of life. He is talking about winning well and losing with grace. He is talking about getting up to try and try again. We have to do that. Hillary has to do that. The Penguins have to do that. And we will all learn and sharpen our strength and character in the painful process of "not losing heart"!
No one likes to lose unless there is something terribly skewed in their psyche. Losing is never fun. Losing always hurts.
Yesterday I heard Lanny Davis - attorney and former White House counsel to former President Bill Clinton and now STRONG Hillary for President supporter - talking about Hillary's apparently failed run for the White House. He said that neither she nor her supporters were emotionally ready for her to concede at this point in time. Now that is skewed! She lost. The fair rules of winning and losing require sportsmanship and character enough to be a good loser as well as a gracious victor.
Back to the Stanley Cup finals, I have to confess that I didn't see either the game last night (unless a few seconds here and there count) nor the nail-biter Monday night when the Penguins pulled off a win by one in the third overtime (unless a few mintues seated on the couch count). (Sometimes a girl has to do what she has to do which was sleep in my case!) The picture of Penguin Malkin on the ice is a classic study in dejection and disappointment.
We all lose. We may also have some wins along the way. Losing is a big learner! Losing teaches emotional strength and builds character. Paul the Apostle talks to the Corinthian church about not "losing heart." (2 Cor. 4:1) He is talking about faithful, plucky obedience even when we lose! He is talking about how our heart focus matters in the wins and losses of life. He is talking about winning well and losing with grace. He is talking about getting up to try and try again. We have to do that. Hillary has to do that. The Penguins have to do that. And we will all learn and sharpen our strength and character in the painful process of "not losing heart"!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Korean Bananas and Jesus
My friend from China is moving to North Carolina from Pittsburgh. She is in the flurry of packing boxes galore. She told me this morning that she realized she has nine sets of china. Each piece needs to be packed with care. That's a LOT of pieces!
Then she told me about Korean bananas. She said there's a Korean saying: "Koreans always eat bad bananas." She explained that they always eat the most ripe bananas first. While they are eating over-ripe bananas, the others are also becoming over-ripe.
She applied the "Korean bananas" to her packing. She said she has been saving some of her china sets for something special rather than using them in the fear that some might be broken. She said, "I'm going to start using all my china and just enjoy it. What's the point of just leaving it on the shelf safe when life is so short?"
Jesus said something very similar and even more practical: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19 - 21)
It is a matter of perspective. Is our frame of reference here and now? OR do our eyes focus heavenward while we walk through life? Where and what do we treasure?
It becomes a matter of the heart. Simply put, "where your treasure is is where your heart is, too"!
If this world isn't our final destination, if we are just "passing through" on our way to God's Town (heaven), if we are really citizens (ultimately) of heaven - then our focus changes, our treasures change, our values are restored to where they should be! Jesus said it, "... where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Learning to treasure the right things is a process of restoration. It's not where our hearts naturally go! Our sinner hearts long to heap up treasures on this earth. When God begins His restoration in our hearts, then what we treasure changes. We can walk through life without all the "baggage" of stuff that makes us so weary and leaves us so empty. We may still have nine sets of china or whatever (tools, computer gadgets, whatever you value and stockpile) but we see those "treasures" differently.
Koreans don't have to eat bad bananas. The solution to eating bad bananas is making better choices. We don't have to hang onto all the stuff we accumulate and call treasure. We have to make better choices. In the end, it's the condition of our hearts that matters most!
Then she told me about Korean bananas. She said there's a Korean saying: "Koreans always eat bad bananas." She explained that they always eat the most ripe bananas first. While they are eating over-ripe bananas, the others are also becoming over-ripe.
She applied the "Korean bananas" to her packing. She said she has been saving some of her china sets for something special rather than using them in the fear that some might be broken. She said, "I'm going to start using all my china and just enjoy it. What's the point of just leaving it on the shelf safe when life is so short?"
Jesus said something very similar and even more practical: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19 - 21)
It is a matter of perspective. Is our frame of reference here and now? OR do our eyes focus heavenward while we walk through life? Where and what do we treasure?
It becomes a matter of the heart. Simply put, "where your treasure is is where your heart is, too"!
If this world isn't our final destination, if we are just "passing through" on our way to God's Town (heaven), if we are really citizens (ultimately) of heaven - then our focus changes, our treasures change, our values are restored to where they should be! Jesus said it, "... where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Learning to treasure the right things is a process of restoration. It's not where our hearts naturally go! Our sinner hearts long to heap up treasures on this earth. When God begins His restoration in our hearts, then what we treasure changes. We can walk through life without all the "baggage" of stuff that makes us so weary and leaves us so empty. We may still have nine sets of china or whatever (tools, computer gadgets, whatever you value and stockpile) but we see those "treasures" differently.
Koreans don't have to eat bad bananas. The solution to eating bad bananas is making better choices. We don't have to hang onto all the stuff we accumulate and call treasure. We have to make better choices. In the end, it's the condition of our hearts that matters most!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Porky Pig's Gospel
Porky Pig's Gospel? This past Sunday the sermon at a Restoration Church was on the text: Romans 14:8 - 9. The main points were:
Remember how Porky just couldn't say his "PPPP's"? He stuttered. Well, there was no stuttering Sunday. It was totally clear!
The PPP-urpose of the Gospel is to bring us from death to life! We are dead spiritually unless God's Spirit gives our dead spirit life.
The PPP-eace of the Gospel is that through the Gospel (God's good news: He sent Jesus to take our place of punishment on the cross) we find peace with God. Our sin pits us against God and makes God and us at extreme odds - enemies. Jesus brings us peace because He lived a perfect life, died in our place and then came back to life again on that first Easter morning. Jesus proved His power over both life and death.
The PPP-erspective of the Gospel is that our view of both life and death is turned upside down. We see living as coming first before dying. That's the view from earth. Vs. 9 of Romans 14 turns life first followed by death upside down: "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Get the upside-down part? Vs. 8 describes the order from our perspective: "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Jesus' perfect life and death demonstrate in "living color" that real life has to come AFTER death or it's not really life at all - rather only a process to death.
Jesus makes it possible for us to live eternally as sons and daughters in God's forever family! And "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
- PPP-urpose
- PPP- eace
- PPP-erspective
Remember how Porky just couldn't say his "PPPP's"? He stuttered. Well, there was no stuttering Sunday. It was totally clear!
The PPP-urpose of the Gospel is to bring us from death to life! We are dead spiritually unless God's Spirit gives our dead spirit life.
The PPP-eace of the Gospel is that through the Gospel (God's good news: He sent Jesus to take our place of punishment on the cross) we find peace with God. Our sin pits us against God and makes God and us at extreme odds - enemies. Jesus brings us peace because He lived a perfect life, died in our place and then came back to life again on that first Easter morning. Jesus proved His power over both life and death.
The PPP-erspective of the Gospel is that our view of both life and death is turned upside down. We see living as coming first before dying. That's the view from earth. Vs. 9 of Romans 14 turns life first followed by death upside down: "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." Get the upside-down part? Vs. 8 describes the order from our perspective: "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." Jesus' perfect life and death demonstrate in "living color" that real life has to come AFTER death or it's not really life at all - rather only a process to death.
Jesus makes it possible for us to live eternally as sons and daughters in God's forever family! And "Th-th-th-that's all folks!"
Monday, June 2, 2008
"Hide 'n Seek" isn't Always a Game!
Did you know the Bible talks a lot about playing "hide 'n seek"? It's always a deadly game, however. Jeremiah 3 is one place we find a game of "hide 'n seek" in the Bible:
God: "Come back, wandering children!" (3:14) (from The Message)
God's Children (Israel then, us now): "We're here! We've come back to you. ... " (3:22)
A couple of blog submissions back ("Cinderella Gone"), I described briefly some of what happened the night I ran over my 6-year-old son. There is a "hide 'n seek" aspect to his story. We had shared supper with friends. It was time to go home. We began to call our sons. One came; the other didn't. We looked and called all over the house and yard. Finally I said I'd take son #1 home and start the bedtime routine while dad stayed to look for son #2.
I got in my car (parked at the curb on the street) and backed up. My friend started screaming. I jumped out of the car and couldn't believe what I saw. My son was under the back tire of the car. The tire was on top of him. He was lying face down in the dirt and leaves that had collected at the curb. I jumped back into the car and pulled forward. This is the scariest part of all! Fortunately he was unconscious. If he had moved the slightest bit, I could have driven over his head when I pulled forward. However, getting the car off him quickly probably saved his life.
(That same week in our town a mail person got out of her car and it rolled back on her. Her rescuers waited until enough men came to lift the car off her. By then she was dead. The news account "Preacher's wife runs over son" was on the front page of the paper along with the article about the mail person.)
The truth is that my young son was playing a deadly game of hide 'n seek. He didn't want to come when we called. He wanted to stay and play with his friend. So he chose a very risky hiding place - crouched behind my car.
When my son regained consciousness - still lying in the street but turned very carefully face up by our doctor friend - his first words were chilling, "Daddy, I'm gonna die. Please don't let me die." and later "That car was really heavy." I can smile at the irony now, but then it far too desperate for a smile. I too thought he might die.
Like Israel (and me) in Jeremiah 3, my son intended to hide. He chose not to come when we called. In his six-year-old mind the goal was to stay and play with his friend. He was simply playing a deadly game of hide 'n seek.
How many times in life am I like my young son? In reading and reflecting on the game of hide 'n seek described in Jeremiah 3, I have to admit that I'm often the one who is hiding. I'm the one who chooses not to come when I'm called. I foolishly think that no one knows or sees my new hiding place. I ignore the danger of my bad choices. I sometimes ignore my Father's voice when He calls this wandering child to come. I contemplate times in life when I was lost and didn't even know it. I wonder how many times in my life God has come calling and seeking when I was "hiding" in a dangerous place but had no clue that danger lurks.
We all lose our way. We all make bad choices. We all pick hiding places that are dangerously ingenious but deadly.
What’s important is not that we “goof up” but how we respond when we do! Do we know to cry, “Here I am, Daddy! Help me out of this place!” OR do we foolishly and stubbornly try to find our own answers to life’s questions and solve life’s problems all by ourselves? When God comes calling (the Seeker), do I (or you) stay crouched in hiding?
All it takes to reverse this “game” we play with ourselves and God is for us to call to Him, “Here! I’m right here, Father! I don’t want to hide anymore!”
I saw my own heart in the words of the ancient prophet Jeremiah this morning. I am the one in desperate need of being found and rescued by my Father, The King. I choose foolish things and places that I think are safe. This morning I know my Father is calling and seeking. My Father – The King – is so willing to seek me anytime anywhere in any corner of the world. He even sent His Son to die in my place so real restoration for this old heart of mine that chooses to hide when He’s seeking is possible!
A favorite verse is 2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. ...” Do you get the picture? God is seeking. He wants to scoop you and me up in His arms and say, “I’m so glad I found you!” Being found is just the best!
God: "Come back, wandering children!" (3:14) (from The Message)
God's Children (Israel then, us now): "We're here! We've come back to you. ... " (3:22)
A couple of blog submissions back ("Cinderella Gone"), I described briefly some of what happened the night I ran over my 6-year-old son. There is a "hide 'n seek" aspect to his story. We had shared supper with friends. It was time to go home. We began to call our sons. One came; the other didn't. We looked and called all over the house and yard. Finally I said I'd take son #1 home and start the bedtime routine while dad stayed to look for son #2.
I got in my car (parked at the curb on the street) and backed up. My friend started screaming. I jumped out of the car and couldn't believe what I saw. My son was under the back tire of the car. The tire was on top of him. He was lying face down in the dirt and leaves that had collected at the curb. I jumped back into the car and pulled forward. This is the scariest part of all! Fortunately he was unconscious. If he had moved the slightest bit, I could have driven over his head when I pulled forward. However, getting the car off him quickly probably saved his life.
(That same week in our town a mail person got out of her car and it rolled back on her. Her rescuers waited until enough men came to lift the car off her. By then she was dead. The news account "Preacher's wife runs over son" was on the front page of the paper along with the article about the mail person.)
The truth is that my young son was playing a deadly game of hide 'n seek. He didn't want to come when we called. He wanted to stay and play with his friend. So he chose a very risky hiding place - crouched behind my car.
When my son regained consciousness - still lying in the street but turned very carefully face up by our doctor friend - his first words were chilling, "Daddy, I'm gonna die. Please don't let me die." and later "That car was really heavy." I can smile at the irony now, but then it far too desperate for a smile. I too thought he might die.
Like Israel (and me) in Jeremiah 3, my son intended to hide. He chose not to come when we called. In his six-year-old mind the goal was to stay and play with his friend. He was simply playing a deadly game of hide 'n seek.
How many times in life am I like my young son? In reading and reflecting on the game of hide 'n seek described in Jeremiah 3, I have to admit that I'm often the one who is hiding. I'm the one who chooses not to come when I'm called. I foolishly think that no one knows or sees my new hiding place. I ignore the danger of my bad choices. I sometimes ignore my Father's voice when He calls this wandering child to come. I contemplate times in life when I was lost and didn't even know it. I wonder how many times in my life God has come calling and seeking when I was "hiding" in a dangerous place but had no clue that danger lurks.
We all lose our way. We all make bad choices. We all pick hiding places that are dangerously ingenious but deadly.
What’s important is not that we “goof up” but how we respond when we do! Do we know to cry, “Here I am, Daddy! Help me out of this place!” OR do we foolishly and stubbornly try to find our own answers to life’s questions and solve life’s problems all by ourselves? When God comes calling (the Seeker), do I (or you) stay crouched in hiding?
All it takes to reverse this “game” we play with ourselves and God is for us to call to Him, “Here! I’m right here, Father! I don’t want to hide anymore!”
I saw my own heart in the words of the ancient prophet Jeremiah this morning. I am the one in desperate need of being found and rescued by my Father, The King. I choose foolish things and places that I think are safe. This morning I know my Father is calling and seeking. My Father – The King – is so willing to seek me anytime anywhere in any corner of the world. He even sent His Son to die in my place so real restoration for this old heart of mine that chooses to hide when He’s seeking is possible!
A favorite verse is 2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. ...” Do you get the picture? God is seeking. He wants to scoop you and me up in His arms and say, “I’m so glad I found you!” Being found is just the best!
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