The longer we walk this Walk, the clearer it becomes that Jesus is not only “Way-maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, Light in the darkness,” He is also the smartest Man who ever walked our planet. Everything He did and said was perfect, He never said, “um…”, His timing was impeccable, and He always knew His audience and how to get through to them.
One of those amazing perfections was His way of telling just the right stories to help people like us visualize important matters for life—for living well here on earth and for living with an Eternal perspective. Some stories were crazy-outrageous, some amusing, and some were just about everyday tasks. Jesus knew that the simplest things often preached the loudest. They still do…
One day, while driving home from work, an approaching car started to drift out of its lane over the center line before straightening out. (Whew!) As I looked through the windshield, this driver was trying to do it all, including using her tablet on her steering wheel while going 50 MPH.
Another time, a well-known worship musician who already had a pleasing quality to his baritone voice decided that wasn’t enough and tried to be something he wasn’t. (See link below!) When he went out of his lane, it was hilarious (because we’ve all been there, even if not singing):
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=585815072223259
Yesterday, while running the track at the high school, all was going well until I began to look at something interesting going on off to the side that then began to get my mind thinking of all that needed to be done on a Saturday, and in what order. Before I know it, I had drifted out of my lane and lost my rhythm and balance.
And as it was 2,000 years ago, the simplest things can still sometimes preach the loudest…That there is nothing like feeling satisfyingly exhausted after doing a ton of stuff in a hard day’s work. That there is nothing like expanding your comfort zone and succeeding at something new. That there are few things better than the feeling of “git ‘er done.” But there is also this:
"It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God’s will. If you can’t get it all done, it means you’re trying to do more than God intended you to do…”
—Rick Warren
Stay in your lane… Four of the most challenging words ever preached.
But the smartest Man who ever walked the planet knows best and says it’s still the right way to go:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be given to you, too. So do not worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.”
—Matthew 6:33-34, The Voice
And one of the smartest followers to have ever followed the smartest Man who ever walked the planet passes the baton to us:
“A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough … go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage — do good, be rich in helping others, be extravagantly generous… build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.”
—1 Timothy 6: 6-8, 17-19, The Message
No comments:
Post a Comment