Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Our Hill . . . Our Beans!

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:35-39
                                                         
When my wife and I got married, we moved into a house near her parents.  We did not have very much, and at times, we struggled.  We once had the power shut off, and we endured a stretch of being unemployed.  That was nearly two decades ago, but I still remember like it was yesterday. I’m blessed to have such an amazing wife who stuck with me. Together, we have enjoyed a lot of good times, and endured some bad times.  In thinking of those tough times, I thought about a line from the comical movie, The Naked Gun.  It is something I should remind myself of more because the world can be tough and cruel.  It said, “It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!”  It sounds silly, but that is what my wife and my lives are together.  I might not have gotten everything for her that I wanted, and it may have taken longer to get some of the things she wanted.  But what we have together is this beautiful hill.  It wasn’t always pretty looking, and others might want something more.  But it’s ours.  The beans that built it didn’t always fit, and some whittled away where we need to fill it with others.  But again it’s ours.  Our hill.  Our beans.  And with God as our foundation, we can make it through anything.

The relationship we build with God is ours, and there is nothing that we cannot endure with it.  There is nothing perfect about our life because we are not perfect.  We all fall short of God’s glory.  Furthermore, the world will attack you pointing out that you are not worth much.  Chants in the wind sound something like, “You do not matter,” and “You cannot possibly make a difference.”  These are not just the voices from others but also the voices within you.  When we get to God, we look saying we are not worthy of His love and affection.  We are but . . . a hill of beans.  But when you are built on a foundation of the relationship with Jesus Christ, you come as you are, and let Him be your support system.  You may have just a hill of beans, but God accepts you as you are.  Even if you have a house of brick on a street of gold, God will be your foundation when you still feel you have nothing.


Our God is a God of all.  He does not discriminate, and He saves no matter who you are and what you have.  He does not count what you bring, but He expects you to surrender all.  So whether you feel worthy or not, fully connected or totally disconnected, spiritually content or filled with holy discontent, realize He is always there for you.  Trust in Him as you struggle with all that is around you.  What situation or feelings have you feeling disconnected with God?  How can you focus less about what you bring to Him and focus on bringing all to Him?  My prayer is that when you feel like you don’t have much going for you, remember an awesome God wants to remind you, “This is our hill. And these are our beans!”  Amen.

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