Laced With Grace

Spring paid a visit today. Here in Southern California, the early blossoms are peaking out on the fruit trees, and there are hints of daffodils and poppies among the greenery on the surrounding hills.

In early spring, those of us who are keen enough to be watching will witness a spectacular yet subtle event. It is the annual migration of the Monarch Butterfly.

Right now in the highlands of central Mexico, millions of monarch butterflies are wintering. In a few weeks and in one accord, they will leave the forests in droves like flowers taking flight. They will travel north for the summer to feast on Milkweed. They will grow, mate, and die on the journey.

Next fall, after a 4,000-mile annual journey, these graceful beauties will return to the groves in Mexico. This feat is amazing in itself. However, what captivates me about this journey it’s a multigenerational effort. It will be the grandchildren or great-grandchildren who make it back to where the adults started. Likely to the very tree where their parents’ life began. Simply fascinating.

The story of the Monarch appeared in our paper today. As I read through the article, my thoughts focused on the compelling cycle of generations. There are similarities in the word of God. I immediately thought of Abraham who recognized God’s promise to make him a great nation. This promise would be fulfilled in his children’s lives and not his own. This is also true in the lives of Moses and the first generation of Israelites to flee Egypt. They would not see the Promised Land. It would be their offspring to inherit the milk and honey.

It made me wonder what the Lord was working out in my life which will only bear fruit in my children and grandchildren. In so many ways, like Abraham, I recognize God is at work preparing my kids. I look at my pre-teen daughter and see Him working through me grooming her for a life of faith. A life lived for Him. I see the Lord guiding me to raise her with character and self-confidence in order that she will withstand the pressures of the world.

So much of the little things I do every day will leave a lasting impact. In this way, when she travels on an unfamiliar and scary path or when she is jostled and hurt by the winds of adversity, spreading her wings to fly, she will always know where home is.

Home is where the Father is.

I want to raise my daughter to know God and to become beautiful in His eyes. Just like the Monarch, when it is her day to take flight she will be prepared to continue the journey in the service of the Kingdom.

It is a promise I see fulfilled off in the distant future. After all it is our children who will face the enemy in an increasingly evil world.

O Lord God, Let us right now today recommit ourselves to train up our children to face the world, to spread their wings but never forget where home is. In Jesus name, Amen.

… at Jesus’ feet. 

 Have you ever thought of what you will do when you come face to face with Jesus someday?  I’m sure that anyone who has ever listened to the words of the popular Mercy Me song entitled “I Can Only Imagine” has played the scene out in their minds.  I know I have.

One of my favorite praise songs is “We Fall Down” by Chris Tomlin.  It is such a simple song, but the words and music almost always bring a tear to my eye.  I pray that my humble thoughts presented here can give anyone who reads this a richer worship experience.  May God bless you!

We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus;
The greatness of mercy and love, at the feet of Jesus.

And we cry holy, holy, holy,
And we cry holy, holy, holy,
And we cry holy, holy, holy is the Lamb.

The bible says at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord (Phil 2:10-11).  We will all give an account of ourselves to God (Ro 14:11).  Talking about everyone else is one thing, but what about me?  What will I do when I finally see Jesus face to face?  Being a Christian, I’m not fearing that day, but I am still awestruck.  Somehow, I don’t see myself falling down at His feet, but I bet I lower myself down pretty fast!  I doubt I could stand in front of my Lord and Savior looking into His tender eyes knowing how selfishly I’ve lived my life at times.   I doubt I could stand in front of Jesus dry-eyed, seeing for myself the scars in His hands while realizing once again that those scars were my fault.  Could you? Yes, I think I would be probably be face down until I was told to look up.

We Lay Our Crowns…

Oh, the crowns.  The heavenly rewards we receive for service to God.  I won’t go into all of the different kinds mentioned in the bible.  Suffice it to say, that they represent the only thing we have to give to God – our lives of service to and adoration of Him.  What a picture in this song of laying our lives at Jesus’ feet, giving back to Him everything that we have been given.  Am I giving enough of my life now so that I will have something to give back to Him then?

At the Feet of Jesus…

Face down on the ground, at Jesus’ feet.  That is where I will be on that day.  Jesus’ disciples, upon seeing Him as resurrected for the first time “held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” (Mt 28:9).  Perhaps the most memorable picture of someone at Jesus’ feet was when the woman sinner, wiped Jesus’ feet with her tears.  Let’s take a look.

And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. (Luke 7:37-38)

I won’t have the ointment, but I bet I’ll have the tears.   Does your love for Jesus compare with hers?

The Greatness of Mercy and Love…

To me, the gifts that I can bring to Jesus from my life and service to Him came only from his great mercy and love for me.  Only through Him, using His gifts with love to others, will I have a “crown” to lay at His feet.

And We Cry Holy, Holy, Holy…

Speechless, facedown and tearful, that is probably what I will be when I finally meet my Lord.  I doubt I will be saying “Holy, holy, holy” to anyone.  I think I might just leave that up to the other “creatures” spoken of in John’s vision shown in Revelation 4.   I will be letting my words be few!   What about you?

Revelation 4:8-11

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him: and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for they pleasure they are and were created.

I have recently (re)discovered Cinderella.  There are Cinderella stories from all over the world and (so far) my favorite one is a retelling of a Russian-Jewish folktale called “The Way Meat Loves Salt”.

In a nutshell, a Jewish rabbi asked his three daughters how much they loved him…the older two answered with lovely answers – like diamonds, like the sun, moon and stars, like gold!  The youngest (the most favorite) answered that she loved her father the way that meat loves salt.  He was angry and threw her out of the house.  The typical Cinderella story happened and when the “Cinderella” married her “prince” (the son of another rabbi) married, her father was invited and she order that all the food be prepared without salt.  Her father (not recognizing her) made faces and said that the food was terrible – none of the meat was salted!

She then said,  “But Father, don’t you remember?  I told you that I love you the way that meat loves salt.”  He recognizes her and they all live happily every after.

Can I tie this in? 

When I was thinking about writing this, I was finishing up a lesson plan on – you guessed it – multicultural Cinderellas.  And this verse popped into my head.

 ”You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.  (Matt5:13, ESV)

We – Christians – are the salt of the earth.

To relate it to the folktale -

We are to the world as salt is to meat!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

God sent His Son because He loves the world and those in it.  Do we love the world as well (not in the sin-nature sense, but in an evangelistic sense)?

Are we willing to be the “salt of the earth”?

Flavor, seasoning, preservative?

Do we strive to love the world (the people in it) in a way that shows God to them?  The people of the world need Christians to bring the Gospel to them…they need us the way that meat “needs” salt.

Are we willing to be the “salt of the earth?”