Created in the Image of a Creator

Today is "Inspire Your Heart With Art" Day. I love that. I'm one of those people who finds all kinds of art inspiring, be it a beautiful painting, or piece of literature, or all kinds of music. Even film, when viewed for purposes beyond mindless entertainment, can be stirring.

You see, we have a Creator who loves creation. He loves to build, and He loves what he builds -- so much so that, when He created us in His image, He did not fail to make us, also, creative beings. He made us a people who love to create beauty, and to witness beauty in the creations around us.

Consider your own children. When they play together, my kids use their imaginations to create elaborate mini-plays. Sometimes, they're in "school." Sometimes, there's a wedding, or a concert, or a talent show. And in each of these cases, they go beyond the creation of a mere scenario and begin singing songs or creating drawings. Sometimes, they sing songs they already know, and sometimes, they sing songs they've just made up. And as their father who loves them, I delight in watching them and listening to them as they play. Sometimes, they sing, or put on a puppet show, or draw a picture specifically for their mom and me, which makes it even more special. But then there are those times they don't even know I'm watching, and I simply take joy in those candid moments of pure, unadulterated fun and creativity.

I think, as our Heavenly Father, God is the same way with us. After all, when you look at the wonders He created around us, when you study the simple beauty of the trees and grass and waterways or the majesty of space, you see the work of a Creator whose imagination is far above our own. And as a Father for whom creation is not only an act of joy, but a definition of self -- that is, Creator is not just what He does, but what He is -- He must also delight when we follow in His footsteps.

So, as David reminds us, let us remember our Creator by creating beauty for Him.

¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
² Praise the Lord with the harp;
    make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
³ Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully, and shout for joy. (Psalm 33:1-3)

Find Your Escape

Today is Escape Day.

Have you ever had one of those days when all you want to do is crawl back under the covers and pretend the world outside doesn't exist? Or that you wish you could simply fly away? To a warmer climate, maybe. To a place where nothing is expected, and you can just be you.

David reminds us that, when the armies rage around us; when no matter how hard we try, the world seems to batter down our doors; we can find our escape and our refuge in God.

Psalm 13

¹ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Even David found he had trouble trusting God. When things were at their worst, and it looked as though he may not even make it out alive, he could not help but despair. For a second. But then, he remembered the character of God. He remembered we have a God who will do what He says He will do, and who will never leave the side of those who love Him. The world may have its way for a time, but in the end it is God who will have the last word. 

He is our provider, but He is also our comforter, our refuge, and our escape.

Puzzling Out God's Wisdom and Grace

We serve a mysterious God. We don't always know just what it is He is up to. We don't know why He put us on this earth. The self-sacrifice of Christ makes no sense to us. His great love for the often wretched humanity defies logic.

Paul makes note of this mystery in 1 Corinthians 2.

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (vs 6-8)

Here we learn not only about the mystery of God's wisdom, but in some small part why He keeps it hidden. In short, we wouldn't know what to do with the knowledge if we had it. He allows us to act out of our own ignorance so that His glory may be fulfilled. As Paul says, if we knew -- if we understood -- what God understands, we would never have crucified Christ. But Christ had to be crucified to fulfill God's plan to free us from sin.

You see, from the very beginning -- with Adam and Eve -- God knew that mere knowledge wasn't enough. Indeed, knowledge could be dangerous. But God tempers His great knowledge with infinite love and grace. Love and grace of which you and I are simply incapable. So yes, he keeps the depth of His wisdom hidden from us, and yet, He also reveals pieces of this great mystery, little by little, through His spirit. To continue Paul's narrative...

However, as it is written:

"What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love Him. These are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except by the Spirit of God." (vs.9-11)

So, because we have the mind of Christ, God reveals His plan, a piece of His mystery, through the understanding of His word.

And, until I have that full understanding, I praise God that He knows all, and sees all, and loves me anyway.

Just Punchin' The Clock

Yesterday was Punch the Clock Day. Have you ever had one of those days -- or one of those jobs -- where you feel like you're just, well, punching the clock? Phoning it in? Maybe that describes your job now.

We've all been there: the work is unfulfilling; you go through your days unappreciated, unnoticed, and underpaid, and slowly being drained of all semblances of motivation. But has it occurred to you that, even if it's the last place you want to be, God has you there for a reason?

It's a lesson it took me far too long to learn, that no matter what I'm doing, ultimately, I'm doing it for Him. Consider Ephesians 6:5-8...

 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

Now, Paul was talking to people in a position of unpaid servitude. People who had no choice about calling in sick. People who got no benefit from their position except, maybe, a bit of food and a roof over their heads. And his call to them? Serve, as though you were serving the Lord, and not people.  

Be encouraged! You don't labor for these men and women who may or may not appreciate all you do. You don't work for the paltry benefits and praise presented by earthly businesses. We work -- we strive for excellence -- because we are serving a God who loves and gives and rewards. 

So strive for excellence in your work, whether you're pumping gas, or managing a business, or chasing toddlers around the house -- because you're doing it for Him. 

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." And shouldn't we give God our very best?

Opposite Day: I Do Not Understand What I Do

Doing the right thing can be hard. Even when I truly want to do the right thing, some part of my nature still wants to resist. This is a truth, whether a person believes in Christ or doesn't: on some level, we know right from wrong, and, unless there is something wrong with us, we really do want to do what's right. But we still lie, cheat, sometimes steal. We still gossip, or say hurtful things to those we love.

Paul puts it this way in Romans 7:15: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

The question, then, is why? Why do we do that which we do not want to do, and fail to do what we know is right? Paul asks the question, and answers it:

As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Romans 7:17-20) 

Jesus put it this way: “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41) 

Man is born into sin. We are born unable to attain perfection, even by what we would consider our own standards. You never, for example, have to teach a child how to lie. She's born with the knowledge. We don't need to teach selfishness, or greed, or disobedience. These things come naturally. Only virtue must be taught. And even then, on our own,  we fall short.

So what can we do? Here we are, left doing the opposite of what we want to do; more importantly, the opposite of what God wants from us. Can we do anything to come back within the will of God, and please Him? 

Well, no. But then, as Paul reminds us, we don't need to: "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25a).

We have a God who not only wants to forgive us for falling short, but wants His Spirit to live in us, so that, through Him, we can learn to be holy. 

I've found that, when I really want my kids to do what I want them to do -- clean their rooms, for example -- it helps if I physically help them do it. I show them by example what I want from them, and break down my expectations into smaller tasks. 

This is what Christ does for us. Rather than berate us for falling short, he gets in there and guides us. He showed us by His example what He expects, and, knowing we still can't accomplish His perfection on our own, moves in us, renews our minds, and helps us to do what is right. 

Be Excellent To Each Other

When people think about you, what do they say? Are you an uplifting person? A positive, happy person that makes others feel good to be around you? Are you somebody who lifts others up in the eyes of your peers? Can you be counted on to have a good word for the people you work with.

Today we're celebrating "Compliment Day," a day to, well, compliment others. And not in that sort of fake way we can sometimes do, when we feel like we should say something nice, but don't really mean it. But to really try to see somebody as Jesus sees them: a person of beauty and quality who just needs grace.

Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up."

Indeed, kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. 

When you take on the name "Christian," when you identify yourself as a follower of Christ, your actions are a reflection to the world of who Christ is. So who do the people around you see? Do they see the office sourpus?

Or do they see somebody who always has a kind word? A positive, upbeat individual who reflects the Joy of the Lord? A person who lets them know that, when the world is pressing down with all its negativity and worry and stress, they are loved?

Take the time out today, and see somebody the way God sees them. See a child of God, or a sheep He desperately wants to bring back to Himself. And let them know: God loves them.

Hey, you. Yeah -- you! You're a pretty doggone awesome person. Thought you should know.

God's Handwriting

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:2)

It's often said, "we are the only Jesus some people will ever see." Jesus is no longer walking the earth in physical form. We can no longer talk to Him face-to-face, share a meal with Him, hear Him speak with human tongue. But He makes Himself known, through His word, and through His followers. 

That's why I love Paul's words to the church in Corinth: you are a letter from Christ. Your own life is evidence of the work of Jesus. When people hear about God; when they hear about the Grace and Love and Mercy of Christ, the only place they can turn to see that about which they are hearing, is to you and to me: those who claim to serve Him. 

If you want to know what the Apostle Paul was all about, you read his letters to the various churches. Those letters provide evidence of his ministry and his life. What he did, what bothered him, what brought him joy. We don't have Paul; we do have his letters.

In the same way, a hurting world wants to know about this Jesus. Who is He? What does He want? What does He do? They can't look to him in person; but they can read His letters. 

What, then, are they reading in you? Are they reading hypocrisy and self-righteousness, or are they reading grace, peace, and joy?