Thirty years ago while our children were sitting in the back seat of our car, my four year old asked, "Mommy, does God have a wife?" Her older and wiser seven year old sister answered, "Amy...God doesn't have TIME for a wife!"
In light of the fact that, to my knowledge, God doesn't have (or need) a wife, she may be right. But God does have time for the rest of us! So many times I've heard people say, "God's got enough to do without listening to my problems." There is no doubt that God has plenty to do, but I'm positive that He has time to listen and to act on our behalf.
There are fathers who don't take the time to sit and listen to their children as they babble on about whatever is on their young minds. There are many fathers who do, however. These are the fathers who know their children well. God is the best of all fathers, for He listens, He's concerned about our concerns, He knows us. He made us. How would you, as a parent, feel if your child never spoke to you? If you could see him or her living their lives, playing and talking with friends, being excited about something or upset about something, but never speaking to you about it, how would you feel?
Consider how God must feel when we live our lives, share with friends, but not with Him. What is it that our friends can do for us that God cannot do, and better? Why is it that some of us think that He isn't interested? He loves us! He is interested in every aspect of our lives, every emotion that we feel, every word we have to tell Him.
God has time...all the time in the world. Can we take a little time to speak and to listen to Him?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Good Vs Evil
In the wee hours of night, while I lay awake in the darkness, something long buried came to the fore-front of my mind. It was something that happened when my oldest daughter was about ten or twelve years old.
We had a finished basement of sorts. The usual small basement windows had been replaced with larger ones which slid and let in more light. Outside of them was a 'C' shaped metal form which kept the dirt from caving in around the windows. Kerry was downstairs one day, and something caught her eye in the window well. She began to watch. A brown toad was hopping, for all he was worth, trying to get out of the hole. Then she discovered why. A garden snake had joined the frog, and was attempting to catch him for his lunch.
Kerry watched as the toad kept hopping away from the predator. His inate desire was to be free of this enemy. The snake, on the other hand, was doing what his nature called him to do, to find something to eat. Eventually the determine toad was able to hop out of the hole and away from the snake. Kerry came up to report to me what she'd seen. After relaying her story, she finished by saying, 'there's a moral to the story, Mom. Good overcomes evil.'
As I thought about that last night, I could see the wisdom in my young daughter's comment. I thought about that toad. He was just happily living his life, like we do sometimes, unconcerned with anything much for that moment. Then, along comes a predator, a snake who sought to devour him. I thought about that snake. He is like the devil who sneaks up to devour us.
Then I thought again about the toad. He recognized that he'd be in trouble if he sat still, so hopped away, he tried to escape. He was not willing to lie there and let nature take its course. He wanted to be free of this danger. I thought about us, as humans. When the devil comes toward us, do we recognize him right away? And, what do we do when we see him coming? Do we run, or do we sit there idlely waiting to see what he'll do next?
The Bible tells us that the enemy comes, seeking to destroy and to devour us. It tells us that we should not be caught unaware, as he comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing. The Word tells us that we should resist the devil, to fight back. Running from the evil one is the only way to victorious living. As Christians, we should be instinctively aware that there is nothing we need from that snake, and we should do all we can to preserve our life.
Thank you Lord, for such a simple lesson.
We had a finished basement of sorts. The usual small basement windows had been replaced with larger ones which slid and let in more light. Outside of them was a 'C' shaped metal form which kept the dirt from caving in around the windows. Kerry was downstairs one day, and something caught her eye in the window well. She began to watch. A brown toad was hopping, for all he was worth, trying to get out of the hole. Then she discovered why. A garden snake had joined the frog, and was attempting to catch him for his lunch.
Kerry watched as the toad kept hopping away from the predator. His inate desire was to be free of this enemy. The snake, on the other hand, was doing what his nature called him to do, to find something to eat. Eventually the determine toad was able to hop out of the hole and away from the snake. Kerry came up to report to me what she'd seen. After relaying her story, she finished by saying, 'there's a moral to the story, Mom. Good overcomes evil.'
As I thought about that last night, I could see the wisdom in my young daughter's comment. I thought about that toad. He was just happily living his life, like we do sometimes, unconcerned with anything much for that moment. Then, along comes a predator, a snake who sought to devour him. I thought about that snake. He is like the devil who sneaks up to devour us.
Then I thought again about the toad. He recognized that he'd be in trouble if he sat still, so hopped away, he tried to escape. He was not willing to lie there and let nature take its course. He wanted to be free of this danger. I thought about us, as humans. When the devil comes toward us, do we recognize him right away? And, what do we do when we see him coming? Do we run, or do we sit there idlely waiting to see what he'll do next?
The Bible tells us that the enemy comes, seeking to destroy and to devour us. It tells us that we should not be caught unaware, as he comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing. The Word tells us that we should resist the devil, to fight back. Running from the evil one is the only way to victorious living. As Christians, we should be instinctively aware that there is nothing we need from that snake, and we should do all we can to preserve our life.
Thank you Lord, for such a simple lesson.
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