We're Have To GROW UP?

The glory of young men is their strength,
    but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Proverbs 20:29

As I may have mentioned a few hundred times before, I like most of Jimmy Buffett's songs.  Many of them have meanings that are very deep (and then there are the others).  One of the songs that came to mind when I saw today's verse is, "I'm Growing Older, But Not Up" where we are reminded that, while our bodies are not what they used to be, our minds are more than they used to be.

 

I don't want to grow up.  It's just that simple.  I still have toys (I collect minions and gadgets and such), and love playing games.  Confession:  I was never (and am still not) what one might call "athletic" or "coordinated" or "graceful" or anything of the sort.  Because of that, I played games more for the fun instead of the competition (some people takes games WAY too seriously).

 

As I have progressed in years (yeah, let's call it that instead of "Got Old"), I have noticed that so many people take everything so seriously.  Try people watching sometime.  You'll see more scowls and absence of smiles.  Some people actually look like they are angry at everyone, hate life, and are just passing the time of going through the motions, and have given up on everything and everyone.

 

Look at what today's verse says, The glory of the young is their strength.  The splendor of the older is their grey hair (experience and wisdom).  Just because we grow older doesn't mean we stop enjoying life!  Growing older doesn't mean we stop learning!  It just means.....well....we might want to consider not trying to relive our "glory days."

It's Not Just My Job....

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17

 

As you are aware, I am a Jimmy Buffett fan.  While I like most of his songs, there are some that really stick in my mind.  "It's My Job" is one such song.  In this song, Jimmy asks a street sweeper why he's so happy cleaning up after everyone else, the reply Jimmy gets is simple ""It's my job to be cleaning up this mess, And that's enough reason to go for me; It's my job to be better than the rest, And that makes the day for me"

 

And that's the thing that whacked me between the eyes.  I have had many "careers" in my lifetime which have turned out to be just jobs.  And I was miserable!  I was frustrated!  I was angry!  I was bitter! I was ticked off!  Why? Because I didn't want just a job, I sensed God had called me to a purpose that I just couldn't find.

 

Finally, after years and years and years of trying and failing. God sat me down, none too gently, and reminded me that I needed to stop trying to do His job.  I had to learn to "be still and know."  I had to be quiet and listen.  When I FINALLY learned (and am still learning) to do that, God has opened doors where He uses me to bring Him glory every single time He allows me to help someone else.  And the best part....God uses all my screw-ups to help others.

 

Why do I do what I do?  It's Not Just My Job.....It's who God created me to be!  When we let God be in control (which is, after all, His job) we will find ourselves on an adventure worth having!

Thread The Needle With A Camel?

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.

~Mark 10:25

 

A young man came to Jesus, knelt down before Him, and said "Good Teacher, what can I do to obtain eternal life?"  The young man, it turns out, was very good at trading, bartering, and making money.  So his question to Jesus was "what kind of deal can I offer to obtain eternal life?"  Now, some might gasp as they feign offense at this young man's gall trying to barter for eternal life.  But don't we do that same thing?  How many times have we said, "God, if You'll just get me out of this situation, I'll......"?  

  

People have, somehow, come to think God is in the wheeling and dealing business, and He's going to call us one day and say, "Let's Make A Deal!  You're My Next Contestant!"  Is that the kind of God you know?

 

The part of the story that truly struck home with me was the part about the camel fitting through the eye of the needle.  This, on the surface, sounds ridiculous! But if we do just a little digging, we discover that during Jesus' time, Jerusalem actually had a gate called the Eye of the Needle!  Not only that, but it was the only gate open on the Sabbath!  Not only that, it was used almost exclusively by merchants.  And here's the part that I found most impressive, the only way a merchant could get his camel through this gate was to unload all of its baggage and then the camel would have to crawl through the small opening.  It took a LOT of time, patience, and practice to coax these camels to crawl through this gate.

 

Lesson: Our baggage takes our focus off of God and His loving gifts. Unload our baggage and then we can look full in His Wonderful Face!    

What Child Is This?

A child is born to us, a son is given to us,
    and authority will be on his shoulders.
    He will be named
    Wise Counselor, Mighty God,
    Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 

 

When I was a child, I learned that God has a plan for each of us (whether we like it or not) and God's plan for us cannot me dodged, ignored, or thwarted.  It is God's job to get us to the point where His plan for us is fulfilled.  I thought THAT was a LOT of pressure to put on a kid!  I didn't like it one bit. 

 

When I read Isaiah's passage, look at all the pressure being put on this child.  "Authority will be on his shoulders"...that's quite the burden to carry.  "Wise Counselor"....wisdom is not easily come, and people expect you to dispense wisdom every time they ask for your counsel but if the counsel is off the mark, even once, you aren't deemed wise any more.  "Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace"....THAT is way more than I could imagine any child being able to grow into.

 

When I was about age 9, I felt God nudging me toward ministry.  This was NOT what I had planned for my life.  I wanted to be!  I wanted to be a pirate, a soldier, a writer, a dreamer, or pretty much ANYTHING outside of ministry.  I fought it tooth and nail.  I did things that I just knew would disqualify me from any sort of ministry.  And now...God let me wander through most of my life (thus far) as a soldier, a writer, a dreamer, the Butler to our greyhound Abby; God let me make the blunders and the mistakes, and the missteps, and let me fall flat on my face more than a few times...but through all the experiences I thought would completely disqualify me for ministry, God was actually shaping me to minister in a rather unorthodox way. God used my experiences to help others.

 

And when we look at the Child described by Isaiah, we see God in the flesh entering not only our world, but our lives as well.

 

This Christmas, it is my prayer for each of you to appreciate the experiences God has brought you through.  Be grateful for the lessons you have learned from them. And remember that God entered this world just as we did...as a child.  What Child Is This?  The Child is the King of Kings!