The night is finally beginning to quiet down, except for the one late night child who climbs from bed for his final glass of milk. Since the sun has hidden its face the Dent family has enjoyed bouts of laughter as we assembled in the bed to kiss Daddy good night. And there are a few of us have cried several tears. The Discovery Channel is playing on the television, and my mind is kneeding the many thoughts from the weekend with the emotions that have been awakened over the past several hours. Normally I write something that I think on for several days. Tonight, I am writing about the things that are in my heart and mind this verymoment. My hope is to emphasize the imperative and release the frivilous.
Life is so much more than what we realize or are willing to understand. It is much bigger than one man, one woman, or one issue. It is not the winning or losing of our wills. Nor is it the sum of what we make or how we think. Life is a journey of growth, pain, joy, and understanding. It goes beyond me, you, and the sum total of all mankind. Life is the realization of the Creator. If we miss this, we miss everything.
So often we are lulled by issues of little importance - "This offends me", "I don't like what I look like", "I believe all people should do it this way", "I am here only to please myself." We fail to see, to experience life as it really is - big, significant, beautiful, terrifying, and valuable. We work, we sweat, we strive and strain only to find in the end that all of it didn't matter anyway. The things we poured our lives into were only vapors that dissappeared as soon as we lifted away the hand of diligent yet weary manipulation.
Some don't see this until their life's timeline has come to its end. Others are fortunate enough to experience this reality early enough in life to change their beliefs and behaviors. Sadly, though, it seems to be very few. Reading the paper this evening I found it interesting to learn of how one woman writes Dear Abby to complain that an old man stops her in the grocery store to encourage her to smile while another couple is interviewed telling about how they have chosen to plant themselves in a neighborhood where they can reach out to meet the needs of others. One got it, the other didn't. One looked to herself and whispered, "It's all about me." The other looked to her Creator and shouted, "It's all about you!" One life will end and life will continue as it always had for those who knew her. The other life will one day end and the lives of others will be forever changed. One life is empty, the other is full and alive.
When we look inward, are we looking into ourselves or are we searching our souls for the direction God has for our lives? Are we interested only in what affects me, or in what will have the greatest affect on the lives of others? Are we wanting to pour out our frustration or to pour out our lives for the benefit of others? Who are we really, and where are our lives going?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Lion's Prey
"Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
This morning in Bible my kids and I studied some of the major aspects of love. As we touched on the truth that "love always protects," the writer warned us that Satan wanders about like a hungry lion searching for someone he can destroy. What does this have to do with the fact that love always protects? Everything. You see, we are all placed within two families. We have our natural family and our Christian family. As a member of these groups we have the dire instruction to love one another. In doing so we are given the command, inadvertantly as it may be, to protect one another. How and from what is God calling us to protect our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers? We are to protect each other from many things, but most importantly we are to protect one another from the enemy of our souls - Satan.
We begin by looking at the word picture given to us in 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is like a lion who is on the prowl. Having watched many Animal Planet specials a picture appears in my head of a herd of wildebeasts being stalked by a pride of lions. The wildebeasts are inpenetrable as long as the herd stays and works together to defend itself against the common enemy. The older animals push the younger of the herd to the center of their group so as to protect them. The lions cannot get to the babies without first coming against the older, more mature wildebeasts. Inevitably, though, there is one in the herd who tries to break away or is too slow to keep up with the others. Instantly the lions zero in on him, surround him, and take him down. He is helpless against his predator as he has no one to help defend him.
Families are much the same. We are here to protect and care for one another. Satan wants nothing more than to cause one of us to break from the "herd' (family or church) so that the one becomes vulnerable to his attacks. Sometimes the person goes out on his own out of his stubborness and desire to do things his way. Sometimes the person is wounded emotionally and breaks away as he tries to deal with the pain. And sometimes, sadly, the person is on his own because the family has pushed him away. Whatever the case, the individual is at the mercy of the enemy, and we are called to love him regardless of his mistakes, annoying character traits, or sinfulness. He is alone. He is vulnerable. And Satan is crouching as he prepares to go in for the kill.
How do we love this person? He may want nothing to do with us. He has pulled away. He may be angry and vengeful in his heart for perceived wrongdoing. Shouldn't we just shake the dust off our shoes and let him go? The answer is a resounding "NO." We try to reach out to the person in love. We seek to restore the person to the family. And if all that fails we continue to pray for him. We pray without ceasing, and we never give up. For love never fails.
Do you have someone in your family whether biological or in your Christian group that has pulled away? Are they out from under the protection of the Body? It doesn't matter who they are or what they've done, we have a responsibility to seek to protect them and bring them back into the fold. We cannot wash our hand of them and let them be taken down by our common enemy who has waited for this moment to devour them. We must go to war for them. We must fight for them by getting down on our knees and praying sincerely for them. The only way Satan wins is when we refuse to actively love one another.
This morning in Bible my kids and I studied some of the major aspects of love. As we touched on the truth that "love always protects," the writer warned us that Satan wanders about like a hungry lion searching for someone he can destroy. What does this have to do with the fact that love always protects? Everything. You see, we are all placed within two families. We have our natural family and our Christian family. As a member of these groups we have the dire instruction to love one another. In doing so we are given the command, inadvertantly as it may be, to protect one another. How and from what is God calling us to protect our brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers? We are to protect each other from many things, but most importantly we are to protect one another from the enemy of our souls - Satan.
We begin by looking at the word picture given to us in 1 Peter 5:8. Satan is like a lion who is on the prowl. Having watched many Animal Planet specials a picture appears in my head of a herd of wildebeasts being stalked by a pride of lions. The wildebeasts are inpenetrable as long as the herd stays and works together to defend itself against the common enemy. The older animals push the younger of the herd to the center of their group so as to protect them. The lions cannot get to the babies without first coming against the older, more mature wildebeasts. Inevitably, though, there is one in the herd who tries to break away or is too slow to keep up with the others. Instantly the lions zero in on him, surround him, and take him down. He is helpless against his predator as he has no one to help defend him.
Families are much the same. We are here to protect and care for one another. Satan wants nothing more than to cause one of us to break from the "herd' (family or church) so that the one becomes vulnerable to his attacks. Sometimes the person goes out on his own out of his stubborness and desire to do things his way. Sometimes the person is wounded emotionally and breaks away as he tries to deal with the pain. And sometimes, sadly, the person is on his own because the family has pushed him away. Whatever the case, the individual is at the mercy of the enemy, and we are called to love him regardless of his mistakes, annoying character traits, or sinfulness. He is alone. He is vulnerable. And Satan is crouching as he prepares to go in for the kill.
How do we love this person? He may want nothing to do with us. He has pulled away. He may be angry and vengeful in his heart for perceived wrongdoing. Shouldn't we just shake the dust off our shoes and let him go? The answer is a resounding "NO." We try to reach out to the person in love. We seek to restore the person to the family. And if all that fails we continue to pray for him. We pray without ceasing, and we never give up. For love never fails.
Do you have someone in your family whether biological or in your Christian group that has pulled away? Are they out from under the protection of the Body? It doesn't matter who they are or what they've done, we have a responsibility to seek to protect them and bring them back into the fold. We cannot wash our hand of them and let them be taken down by our common enemy who has waited for this moment to devour them. We must go to war for them. We must fight for them by getting down on our knees and praying sincerely for them. The only way Satan wins is when we refuse to actively love one another.
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