Ever have those days when it seems like you aren't sure which way to go next, there are so many things to accomplish. It's not even as if they are huge things but details that have to get done: bills to be paid, errands to run, housework to do, maintenance to be performed. . . things that need to get done and hopefully in a timely manner, in order to maintain a household and life in general. And yet, what if they didn't get done? (Other than the bill collectors might start calling. . .) They will be there tomorrow, right? No one will die if the laundry isn't folded. No one will pass out if all of the chores aren't finished. Some details aren't worth stressing over.
The good news we hear today from St. Paul (Ephesians 3) is that God has the details covered. Not the snow shoveling or the dinner cooking, but the important details. The eternal details! The gospel message that God loves us so much that he sent Jesus, his Son, to save us from the power of sin, death and details! Why? So we might live a new and transformed life!
"This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details."
What a relief!!
You know sometimes we have to share the back-breaking, heavy burden details with our friends or loved ones so God can work through them to bring us what we need. Allow me this little analogy about life's desires to illustrate the point of not keeping everything to yourself:
My beautiful, talented niece's birthday is coming up. She will be 11 in February. Ashley is just now really discovering her God-given artistic ability and she is thrilled about it. When she spent the night with us over Christmas break her favorite thing to do was to paint. She had paints and brushes and slates and papers all over the kitchen table, moving from one painting the next. Sometimes she will catch me on Facebook and chat with me and one day she said, "Aunt Amy, I have been praying to God that he would give me paints and paper and brushes, etc. for my birthday." I chuckled to myself and typed back, "I'm not sure that God shops at the Art Store so you might want to make your wish list known to your family." I wasn't indicating that God didn't want her to have her art supplies, on the contrary I think our creative Creator would love that! I was simply urging her to share her desire with others so they might participate in what God is doing in her life.
I believe that God uses each of us to help one another on the journey, but oftentimes we have to open up to others. They aren't mind readers! So Ashley told her Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents what she wanted and, well I don't want to give it away because her birthday hasn't arrived yet, but let's just say I think she will be very pleased!
We never fully know how God will act or what God is actually up to in our lives (we may get a glimpse of that from time to time). . . but we can take comfort in the fact that God is taking care of all the details- -- of life, of salvation, and yes, EVEN of art supplies!
Photo source: http://67pics.com
No comments:
Post a Comment