Monday, December 21, 2020
We Not Only Speak Glorious Words of Thanks,
We See Crystal Clear
How God Works
In and Through Us
To Bring God’s Kingdom Near …
Near to Each Person
Isaiah 29:13
The Lord said: … these people draw near with their mouths and honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote.
1 John 3:18
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
Words of Grace For Today
Walk the Talk!
Talk is cheep, or cheap.
There is still nothing we can do to earn our salvation, and yet !!!
You’d think if a person or a group of people knew that Jesus had done everything to save them from their sins, adopting them as children of God and giving them re-newed life each day, then that person or group would be able to live a bit of the Good News in their lives and share it with other people, not just lip syncing to a song written by someone else while living out the Devil’s wishes for them each day. After all we humans are capable of gratitude, growth and receiving God-given sainthood, or?
Yet again and again in scripture and in real life we encounter the exact opposite: people lip-sync the story of Jesus, while their deeds and banking belie that they value something quite foreign to being children of God. They value their own comfort, privilege and security, all supposedly attainable by their own thoughts, words and deeds … though all that self-attained stuff is just a mirage that covers the devil’s claim on their hearts, minds, and strength!
It is all too easy to see this hypocrisy blossoming like a nuclear mushroom cloud over most every person we meet. The real problem is, if we are at all honest with ourselves, when we stand by ourselves in front of the mirror … we see that ugly mushroom cloud as darker than ever.
Yikes, what are we all about anyway! Can we not somehow live out with thoughts, words, AND deeds what we hope to believe and reflect in our lives?!
The answer is … no. Not one single human can do that, except the one born to Mary and Joseph and laid in a manger. So it is so good that we prepare these last few days to celebrate Jesus’ birth.
Still, what are we to DO?
The answer is simple … pray, and trust that God will transform our hearts, minds and strength so that, at least occasionally, we can recognize the Good News of Jesus reflected in our thoughts, words, AND deeds. It is much like writing or playing sports: if you focus on trying to do it right, it will rarely be possible to actually DO as well as you might. It is in focusing, not on trying to do it right instead of wrong, but in focusing on the moment’s demands, and then into the follow-through (editing or rebounding off the boards or getting down the field and into position … [fill in the correct sequence for your preferred sport’s metaphor]).
We cannot guarantee that we will do God’s Will. We can only trust with thankful hearts that God will take our sinful efforts and make something good come out of them.
Still, we do not neglect our prayers, nor our concerted efforts to effect an abundant life for others, ALL others. This remains our life’s focus, far and above any focus on the ‘success’ of our own lives.
Then, as Jesus has stepped in to replace our tattered abysmal record before God with his impeccable record, we are able to walk humbly before our God as we strive to bring justice to all people in all circumstances.
Taking Advent seriously as time to prepare for Christmas, we see the hope of Advent’s precious blues … and give God thanks that we are able to also recognize ‘the blues’ among the many colours of the rainbows of life.