Friday, September 23, 2022
Inner Strength
Darin was mesmerized as his father slowly navigated their all-wheel-drive SUV along the freshly-plowed road that wound through the wilderness area in the Rockies. His nose was pressed up against the frosty window as he marveled at what looked like the surreal paintings he had seen in his second grade geography book. Gusts of wind blew the lightly falling snow across the gorgeous landscape. The mountains stood as a majestic backdrop to the snow-covered grasslands.
Standing knee deep in snow, just a few feet from the road was an enormous bison, which he later discovered may have weighed as much as two thousand pounds – about half the weight of the vehicle in which he and his family were riding. His father stopped the vehicle so everyone could take a good look, and a few pictures. The bull did not move. His face was caked with ice and snow. Blasts of arctic wind tugged at his beard as he exhaled puffs of steam through his nose. It was below freezing out there, yet the gigantic buffalo was not shivering. He seemed quite content as he occasionally chewed his cud. He then casually turned his head in their direction, as if he were bored and hoping they would just move on down the road.
“Mom,” Darin queried, “how cold is it outside?”
“I think it is about twenty degrees, honey.”
“How can that buffalo survive when it so cold outside? Why doesn’t he go crawl in a cave somewhere?”
“God created him that way.” she explained, “He has thick skin and fur, and his body uses food to produce enough heat to keep him warm. It is an inner strength that helps him withstand extreme circumstances.”
After a long pause he commented, “That’s kind of what the Holy Ghost is like, isn’t it? It is something on the inside that keeps us warm. My Sunday School teacher called it “inner strength.”
“Exactly!” replied his mother, “it comes from what we eat spiritually.” As the car began to move again, she immediately realized that her life had recently been exceptionally difficult. She was feeling the cold and had forgotten about that inner strength. She quickly thanked God for the reminder, and let His love rise up in her own soul. She suddenly felt warmer inside… content in the storm.
Friday, September 16, 2022
Everybody Gets The Same Offer
“That’s not fair!” whined the four-year-old dusty-headed boy who was defiantly challenging his patient, daycare teacher, as he stared longingly out the window. “Alora and Ivy got to go outside and play, and you’re making me and Sage stay inside. How come the girls get to go outside and the boys don’t?”
“Asher,” the teacher answered gently as she touched his arm, “please calm down and look at me. See if you can remember what I said right after we came back from lunch. What did I tell everyone in the class?”
Asher fiddled with his crayon and mumbled, “You said that anyone who finished coloring their peacock could go outside and play, as long as they did their best.”
“Did you color your peacock?” she queried.
“No,” he admitted, but it’s because Sage was telling me about his rabbits. But I still want to go outside.”
“Asher, you can still go outside,” she explained, “just as soon as you finish coloring your peacock.”
We all understand and appreciate the fair offer Asher’s teacher was making. But many of us have also felt someone should make an exception for our particular situation. We like fair play, but we prefer when things are tilted somewhat in our favor. The older I get, the more I appreciate above-board, fair systems – even if I don’t always come out on top.
One of the most wonderful things about the Almighty God of the Universe is that He gives everyone the same offers. He doesn’t bend the rules. He is not a pushover, but His offers are fair. We all have the capacity to comply.
Paul explained this to a first century church that was struggling to be inclusive of people who were not of Jewish origin. His life was committed to letting Gentiles know that God was giving them the same offer to be born again and experience eternal life in Heaven. This is how he expressed it:
As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. (Ephesians 3:4-6 msg)
God has made everyone the same offer, yet many still complain that He is unfair. They should probably pause to think it through. If God makes an offer they can comply with and then keeps His part of the offer, He is fair. Although part of us wants Him to bend the rules in our favor, it is far better to know that He doesn’t bend the rules - we can count on Him to be fair.
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