Godly Chaos And Mayhem

“About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!”  Luke 15:14-17

So while on vacation, there are always these moments of chaos and mayhem.  For me, it’s when the grandchildren in Georgia come into the picture.  Four of them.  They are filled with exuberance and joy.  This should be a time of happiness for my wife and me … when I see it coming.  However when my wife says those infamous words, “Sure, they can spend the night,” and I am not consulted, welcome to chaos and mayhem.  I am no fan of these types of surprises.  However, I am yet thankful for all of them; my wife included. J I could be alone, unloved, unemployed, or with a multitude of things to be concerned with.  However, God has blessed me with this vacation where wife and children control my day.  What would my world be like without them?

We should always have gratitude for the life God has provided us.  I recently got additional insights from today’s verses from the book of Luke.  We always focus on the story of the Prodigal Son’s ungrateful ego in the beginning and humble return.  In reading to the point of his epiphany, we see a man destitute without hope.  He has nothing to look forward to or count on.  This is what a world without God looks like.  No one to trust and with no to care for you when you have nothing.  Many who choose to leave the world through suicide live in this kind of world, and this is heartbreakingly sad.  However, we DO have an awesome God.  It is the same God that when Jonah was angry with God and filled with despair, He did not desert him.  He provided shade for comfort (Jonah 4:6).  This is a reminder of who God is; a merciful who when we see nothing but despair provides us hope.  He is ever present and always there.  Furthermore, He has given us this wonderful life that in good times and bad we are to be forever grateful for.

We are to embrace life.  Not complain.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Thus, is there room for us to either complain or be ungrateful? Would we prefer a world that the Prodigal Son found himself in?  Let us be as Paul said, “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)  What circumstances can you give to God?  How can you be remindful of the world God has blessed you with?  My prayer is that we can be thankful of the joy God gives us even amidst chaos and mayhem.  Amen.

Do I Make You Proud?

I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.  Romans 15:16-17

About a year ago, I sat down with my mom just to talk about life in general.  I feel incredibly blessed to have her as my mom, and am so thankful for all that she taught me.  I thanked both her and my Dad for loving me, and thanked God for giving me such wonderful parents.  Then, I asked her a question that probably caught her off guard.  My question was quite simply, “Do I make you proud?”  She happily smiled, and said yes understanding where my heart was in asking.  Like most children, I did not make life easy for my mom, and yes, I certainly took more than I gave her.  So the genesis of my question was that I understood both how challenging I was to raise and what she had sacrificed for me.  As such, the question meant did the man I had become measure up to the hope the hard work and sacrifice both her and my father made when God decided to make me their child. Many might say God blessed them with me, but again, I feel like I got the far better end of the deal.

God gave us so much in grace through Jesus Christ, and through this rebirth, our mission is to dedicate our lives in servitude toward Him.  When we were first forgiven of our sins by God, it was liberating.  Yet, we may lose perspective of the weight our forgiveness carried.  The sacrifice by Jesus Christ was immense, and none of us could ever hope to repay the debt.  This was where the Gentiles were when Paul gave them the Good News.  However in Paul’s mind, it was not just about forgiveness. It was about the hope he had in them having been transformed through Christ.  They would not only know who God was but also joyfully serve Him sharing the Good News to others.  This was the hope instilled in Paul when on the road to Damascus Jesus appeared to Him.  Thus the gift of grace much like the love and sacrifices our parents offered to us are not to be repaid.  They are to be remembered and honored as we to give to others greater than we were once given.

Our lives are to be loving offerings of gratitude to God for all that He has given us.  Deuteronomy 12:28 says, “Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God.” This is what we aspire to be as God’s children.  Do not take God’s gift of grace for granted.  Instead, make all that you do as ‘an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.’  Do you humbly accept what Jesus Christ’s sacrifice?  Is your life given in servitude for all God has given you?  My prayer is that our lives are reflective such that when we look up to Heaven, God will smile when we ask, “Do I make you proud?”  Amen.