Tag Archives: expectations

Wanna Be a George?

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George was summoned into the office.  Was this to be his last day?  Was poverty about to become his best friend?  A cloud of anxiety formed within him as each step took him closer.  Yet he did not know what to expect.

His boss was a fair man.  He knew that whatever would come must be fairly given.  In his anxiety he thought, “Surely I’ve missed something necessary.  Surely he will drive me out for something I have done but did not realize.”

He knocked.  “Come in George”, the steady and highly intelligent voice said.  George made his way across the spacious carpeted office.  The leather chair gladly received his anxious frame.

“George, I’ve watched you closely; closer than you know.”  A chill went up George’s spine.  “I’ve seen things about you and your life that I know you thought were hidden.  I’m about to change your life sir.”

How should George’s lips freeze shut now?  What defense could he make to such an obscure remark?  “Yep, I’m about to go home to give seriously bad news.”

“George, I know how your family struggles.  I see how tattered your clothing is.  And I know it has to do with things you can’t control.  Money’s tight.  And life demands too much, rather often.”

George just nodded his head on an unstable neck.  Without asking, his eyes began to drop their gaze to the floor.

“George, I want to give you the rest of the day off.”  George’s eyes shot up to look intently into the eyes of the man who held such horrible things in his hand.

“I want you to go down to ‘Fair Deal Motors’.  When you get there, I want you to pick out a car that meets your fancy.  Have David call me, and I’ll pay for it.”

George just stared.

“George, did you hear me?”  A tiny nod was the response.

“Well, away with you then!  Get on your way.  I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

That was it.  That was the extent of the meeting.  After thanking his boss, George was numb as he walked to “Fair Deal Motors”.

When he got to the lot, he asked for David.  David came out with a giant smile pasted on his mouth.  “You’re a very lucky man George!  Come on.  Let’s go out and get your new car picked out.”

It was true!  Now his face brightened.  Shiny colors of shaped steel filled eyes that, just a moment before, had only been able to see gloomy mist.

He walked through the lot.  He saw the luxury.  But he passed it by.  He knew what fit his desire.  And find it, he did.

“Are you sure George?”  Asked David with a twinge of surprise he couldn’t hide.  “Absolutely!  George’s smile said it all.

They went to the office.  Paper work was done.  Keys were given.  And handshake was made.  “Off ya go, friend!  Have a great day!  I’ll call your boss and finalize the deal.”

George drove off in his “new” car.

 

The next day, he went to his boss’s office first thing.  He had in mind to thank him and summon all the gratitude he could muster.  His wife and children had been ecstatic.  The evening was filled with waxing and admiration of both the gift and the giver.  He came in to give all the thanks such an evening deserved.

His boss was glad to see the joy.  But as they sat together, a frown came on the boss’s face.

“George, I am really confused.  With all the beautiful and dependable cars David has there, why did you choose that rust bucket?  You could have had that Lincoln.  It’s only two years old!  It would have lasted you for years.  As it is, I’m not sure how long that can of bolts will skip down the road.  Maybe David didn’t explain clearly enough.  Maybe you just didn’t understand.  But a deal’s a deal.  That’s the car you’ve got.”

Surprise lit up George’s mind.  He hadn’t thought the receiving had no limit.  He had missed the point of the gift entirely.  But a deal’s a deal.  “I chose what I thought I deserved, Sir.”

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“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  Yet how many choose only what they think they are worth?  What a horrible waste of faith.

The island

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In the pitch like darkness of the deep ocean a rumbling of silt and sand occurred.  The slime of refuse gave way to molten rock.  Without approval, a mountain began to grow in the darkness.

The place had been desolate and quiet.  Though it had been a place of gathering for refuse, peacefulness and quiet had attended upon it. But now violence erupted where once there was nothing but filth.  The lord was pleased to cause a new place to grow.  And in his pleasure he spoke growth and life.

Lava forced upward the plate of rock that had once been the bottom of the ocean.  Months of great pressure and violence pushed the plate of rock toward the top of the sea.  Light began to touch the surface of the rock and it cringed at the new world it was being forced to inhabit.  Convulsions shook the plate and the edges curled around its new support.  “I am to perish!  Surely I am dying!”

“What are you doing Oh Lord Great God?  Did I not serve you well in the place where I was?  What is my sin that you should rip me from my rest?”  But the plate heard no reply.

Soon the sound of waves crashing at the edge stirred the plate into near panic.  How deeply it desired to return to its former place.  “This is no place of peace!  It is a place of torture!  What have I done to deserve this horrific uprooting?  Was I not content and faithful to support what the world no longer needed?”  Again, there was no sound from the Living God.  Only the frightening roar of water at the shore.  The tumult threatened to rip the rock apart.

In the years of a rock, very little time passed before the silt upon it top begin to produce.  Shrubs and rough grass filtered in to begin the final transformation.  Seeds had appeared by virtue of the birds who came to visit.  All the while the little island was frightened to see his surface so abused.

As the Island got use to its new place it began to see the beauty of the violence.  The Sun would rise and set, warming the rock in a new place called day.  The moon would bathe him in glorious shimmers; not at all like the darkness he had known.  And the sound of the waves often put him into peaceful sleep.  The wind of God shaped him into smooth and various form.  And the storms which came and went were a wonderous delight of activity.

One day, still a great mystery to the island, an animal set foot on his soil.  With great interest he watched this one.  It was not at all like the others who had come to visit.  Nor was it like those who had been a part of his previous world.  For the first time since his peaceful slumber of filth, the island felt pure joy.

“I like this one Lord.”  The island was heard to say.  “He tickles and scratches at my surface.  And now I am pleased for what you have done.  The pain and memory is receding and now there is joy.”

Centuries passed, and the island was a happy place of thriving life for a multitude of creatures.  What he had been before, he no longer desired to remember.  Joy filled his days and his new place produced great fruit for the Sovereign God who had caused him to be.

“Give thanks to the Lord and be faithful for He is good.  His mercy endures forever!  Be faithful and joy filled.  Give thanks and praise to God.”   The island had come to sing a new song.  “Do not be discouraged at the tumult which now attends your days.  For soon you will be thankful for the violent uprooting.”

By His Grace

Seeking praise

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If you do the work of God and look for praise you are on very dangerous ground.  The work of God will not receive praise from men in general.  We know this, either because we were told, or because we have experienced the rejection of men for the sake of God.

But it is also not wise to serve the living God and look to him for praise.  I say this knowing there will be a difference of opinion.  God himself knows  the heart of every man, he will give to each according to his great wisdom.  Therefore I am  not stating a categorical.

There is a day of praise we look for rightfully.  “Well done my good and faithful servant.”  It is appropriate to look for that moment.  But we take note, that day is not embraced in flesh.

While we are in flesh we are weakened by the sinful nature’s pride.  And it is usually this weakness that causes us to desire praise from God.

Rather than seeking His praise, for now, we are only to consider our service rendered as expected.  Do not seek praise, instead seek the next task.  If God sees fit to give us praise, that is his choice. 

May it also be mentioned, this applies to men.  If you find yourself serving for the sake of the praise of men, then you stand on a really dangerous ground!  Flattery abounds.  Flattery destroys.

By His Grace

Family Matters

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Ahnenblatt Family Tree Example

Ahnenblatt Family Tree Example (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In speaking with the Lord about who I have become, by His Grace, He showed me something of great value.  I was frustrated by the limits of righteous behavior I found in myself.  While I thought of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and how he pleased the Lord so that God took him.  He lived for 365 years on this earth.  And he did not taste death because he lived in such  a way as to please the Holy and living God.

I looked at my life and wondered at my own wickedness.  As the sadness of my utter failure came seeping in, the Lord spoke an idea to me that has helped greatly.  I will try to convey the understanding with as little words as possible.

There are 12 tribes of Israel.  And each tribe has its own clans.  A clan represents a collection of families who trace their history to a common origin.  While they belong to a certain tribe they are identified under certain sub segments of that tribe.

Then the Lord showed me something I had not considered.  The Gentiles, that is those who are not Jews by birth but who belong to the line of  people who do not have the direct blessing under Moses, are divided into clans also.  Let me explain.

There are men who were raised in families who have passed on a love for the things of the Lord.  There are families who have passed on the love for traditions of men.  There are families who promote certain levels of sin in their lives as if it is their right to chase after a limited amount of wickedness.  And then, there is my clan.  Those who have passed on a boundless wickedness to their children.

The Lord in His mercy will judge us from the stock we were raised in.  What were we taught as children that has remained undetected within our memories?  A man who was raised by holy parents (gentiles, none the less) will remember things holy.  A man who was abused sexually and driven from holy behavior since he was old enough to speak will not know how to perform for the Lord like the former family.

But here is the rub.  Have you excelled beyond your clan?  Are you striving to rid yourself of the horrible wickedness that was passed down to you?  This is where He helped me understand.  There is a certain peace involved in understanding these things.  His expectation for those of the lesser clans is not as intense as those who were raised to know better.

There is a whole lot more to say about this.  But I think, for the sake of readability, this is enough to convey the message.

The Mechanic

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Your car is not running right.  Oh, you get down the road.  But your top speed is 17 mph.  Well now.  You’ve done everything you know how to do and it still won’t do what you want or what the manufacturer says it should do.  That’s going to require some experienced mechanic.

So you make the appointment with Joe and limp the car in for a peek.  After some careful inspection with his eyes and ears, (a few wire wiggling, and a couple screwdriver taps) Joe says what you don’t want to hear.  “We’ve seen quite a few of these problems.  And we’re sure we know what the problem is.  But the fix is both time consuming and expensive.  You’re going to have to sink quite a pretty penny into this ole beast”.

Ok, so we got a problem that’s going to cost us.  But 17 mph isn’t something the “White Picket Fence Dream” was supposed to include.  You were promised far more than these kinds of troubles.  The perfect wife, the perfect kids, the perfect job, and so it goes on for millions of perfects.  The reality is far less than promised, however.  And your brain screams, “IT’S NOT FAIR!”   You expected a few bumps in your life road.  And you were told you can trust that car.  But you didn’t make plans for 17 mph!

We come to Christ with great expectations.  We read and hear stories of wonderful success.  We gather to ourselves the joy of knowing we have it made now.  Jesus is our Lord and we will not falter.  Heaven is our future home and we’re happy about that!  But the reality of our walk in this “place of testing” becomes far less than the marketed triumph we are fed.  How come?  What happened?  Why can’t I experience that greatness I hear about?

Well, like the mechanic, let’s open her up and find out.  Take off the facade of fairytale Christianity and we’ll give her a look.  The mechanic looks past the Bible, after all, you drove it in here.  He pays no attention to prayer, you seem to have had plenty of that.  diligence, love, mercy, patience, no they seem ok.  Wow this is really becoming a bit of a quandary here.  “Ok.  Well, let’s look at the faith module”.  He pulls back the cover and says, “Well, there’s the problem!  You’re not sure you’re saved here.”

Allow yourself to ask an important question: “What would it be like for you, this walk in the “Place of Testing”, if you knew with absolute assurance that heaven was your home?  What would change about your faith and all the other trappings of the Christian walk?”

Now let yourself answer this question: “Does God lie?”

By His Grace.