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Really Knowing
Are we like so many others, satisfied with our maker as a gentle, love fixes everything sort of fellow? Is it much easier to imagine Jesus Christ as a hands on healer or hillside story teller than anything else? The power and glory of God doesn’t arise out of these pleasant holiday images but rather from the sheer agony of the cross. If our earthly life is all that we are concerned about, then an adorable baby in a manger or a seriously gentle teacher may be enough to satisfy us, but it won’t nearly be enough to sustain us, either here or here-after. That type of spiritual life is for appearances only. It’s like buying a beautiful coat that won’t keep you warm or dry. Good for a party but it won’t help at all when the days of cold or rain come, and they will. Maybe you’re assuming that we can just go out and get the truly protective coat we’ll need when the days actually turn foul. Here’s the catch in this coat metaphor, Jesus isn’t on the rack. The power of the cross (redemption and salvation), is truly a very special order gift. Although the supply is unlimited, the selection, ordering and delivery process takes time, precious time which we may not have when the clouds begin to gather.
Jesus Christ is much more than just a protective coat. He can be the primary source of joy and light for us. The happiness which He infuses us with is unmatched by any other source of pleasure. This is difficult to understand if we’ve never bothered to invite Him closely into our lives and then really gotten to know Him. Jesus isn’t only God, we are created in His image, He walked in our shoes, on our paths and he feels our deepest emotions. He sacrificed His earthly life for us. God is love and love is the sweetest of medicines, the feast of the heart. Love is joy in a look, a touch, sharing or a sentiment. God’s love is the purest form of this emotional ecstasy. The power that we seek on rainy days is another part of God, equally, if not even more important than love when we really need it. A friend is always a friend, not just in good times or on holidays. When we call out to God, we don’t want to hear … ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.‘ (Luke 13:25b, 26 NIV). Find the joy in really knowing God today.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
Eternal Compass
When harsh or icy winds are always in our faces, we often seek shelter or turn in a more welcoming direction, even if that does not lead to our intended destination. Those who say they’ve had a blessed life, aren’t saying that the winds were always at their backs. Being of Irish heritage, one of my alternative favorite Irish blessings goes like this … “May God give you… For every storm, a rainbow, For every tear, a smile, For every… read more
Ally Ally In Free
When I was a kid, a day came along when our neighborhood collection of friends and collaborators got bored with our traditional activities. One of our neighborhood moms suggested that we play a game called “kick the can”! Yes it even sounded antiquated back then but we gave it a shot and it caught on. The concept is simple, draw an 8′ chalk circle, with another 1′ chalk circle in the middle. Place an empty can (ideally open end down… read more
Lands-Lord
Marketing firms are always searching for an eye catching promotion for their client’s products or services. There are a series of ads running now with blindfolded people sitting in dingy, dirty, messy environments who agonize when they remove their blindfolds and see their surroundings. Their surprise results from the advertised product having successfully masked the telltale warnings which their senses should have picked up. Every time I see one of those ads, I think of the Holy Spirit trying to… read more
Leading Us Home
Many of us move through life, some quietly, others flamboyantly, displaying monikers like role model, mentor, leader or friend, yet have we ever really accomplished much of worth in these roles? Have we better prepared anyone for life or are we always just coaching away the last challenge or next scheduled engagement? Do those we intercede with build the lessons, counsel or wisdom we’d like to convey into their daily lives? The answer is at best, sometimes. For most short… read more
A Reward So Great
We’d like to see ourselves as takers of chance, contrarian attitudes, survivors of the game of life, but few of us in fact ever really extend ourselves beyond our well marked gates of security. We’ll ride the scariest roller coasters, while assured in privacy that they will not jump the rails that guide them. We’ll swim in oceans where we can’t see beneath the cloaking surface, yet never allowing the shoreline out of view. We’ll ride atop a level 5… read more
Don’t Cry, Smile
Over the course of writing Common Sense 4 Uncommon People, I’ve quoted several individuals. Today I’ve wandered down that path again. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Though generally attributed to the popular author Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel), this is most often regarded as an anonymous (non-biblical) proverb. It has also been attributed to the Spanish writer Gabriel García Márquez. Regardless of it origins it carries great wisdom and for that I bow to the author…. read more
Fire of Mischief
Why is the Holy Bible a two part collection of stories, free verse poems and historical documentaries? “Can do anything” is pretty much the universal description of God’s abilities. So then, God could have thought the entire book into existence as one seamless instruction book on how to live life and grow with Him? But He didn’t! Why not? Only God knows the answer but let’s look at the probabilities. The “book” part is pretty obvious, if He’d made a… read more
Life Isn’t Fair
I figured some of this out relatively early in life, but the rest took time, frustration and experience. Here’s the bottom line. There is nothing fair about life … EXCEPT for God. That’s the way it’s suppose to be. Understanding this requires the acceptance of a simple principle. Nature is a powerful, predictable force and we can’t change it. I am speaking both of the natural environment and human nature. There are elements of unpredictability in both which suggests some… read more
Christian v. christian?
Do you sometimes find it a struggle to be a Christian and a good friend or member of a not quite so Christian family or circle? Or the larger classes of non-Christians? Let’s face it, there are Christians and then there are christians. The first is a bold upper case, proper noun, where following Jesus is the primary principle of life. The lower case version reflects a believer, good person but one where life is more often the higher priority… read more
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