Ambushed in the Morning
So, there I was, sitting in my reading chair early in the morning, tending to my knitting. My bible was open to Luke 6, cruising along, and suddenly I got ambushed by Jesus' words from the Message translation.
Why are you so polite with me, always saying "Yes, sir," and "That's right, sir," but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on.
If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock....But if you just use my words in bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built his house and skipped the foundation....
And there I sat, alternating between another look at the text and then to my life. Honestly, I was looking for a loophole, since too often I'm a dumb carpenter. I go right to the framing and siding and plumbing and electrical without first laying a firm foundation for the newest addition to my faith house, and it all is in jeopardy. What this looks like is me plunging ahead with a plan without first spending time with Jesus to see if this is my calling for this time or just another nice idea I've dreamed up.
I must start with Jesus. Imagining how he would approach my present issue and then squinting to see how that can translate to my world puts me on the path of pouring a stout, lasting, rock-solid foundation. If I really am a follower, it follows that I must imitate my Leader. I get the sense from the passage that he is addressing both the macro (a whole-life orientation), as well as the micro (the multiple daily choices that can alter life trajectory we make). Taking a look at the rest of the book with this in mind, a couple of familiar verses come to light.
The first is in Colossians 3:23, a well-known verse buried in a paragraph talking about family matters and the workplace, but also looks to the larger issue of who's really in charge.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
When we peek behind the curtain of our everyday life, we find God. If he underlines it all, it just makes sense to have all that he is as our foundation for all of our work. We have our family inheritance through adoption from the Father. We learn from Jesus how to navigate life as we watch him move through his time. We are nudged by the Holy Spirit to respond well to all we face. That, for successful living, is the foundation. Start there.
The second (of most likely many) that can relate to the Luke passage is a set of verses out of Philippians 4, as Paul is wrapping up his letter with some global exhortations. Take a listen:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
At first glance, this doesn't seem to fit with the passage from Luke, but it kinda does. If we begin each day and every endeavor in that day with including God in the equation, asking for him to direct and redirect our route, thanking him for whatever outcome comes in advance, we lay a foundation for action we can build upon. The result? A peace that looks crazy to observers and a replacement of anxiety with a God-guard at the door of our heart and mind.
The challenge of the Luke passage remains aligning our actions with our beliefs. It seems like that is our real struggle: relying on his wisdom, his guidance, his ethic, especially when we want to dash off without running it through him. Most likely, we will revisit these lessons over and over, but progress is the key, not perfection. Take inventory on what you are building: Did you begin with a firm Jesus-foundation? It's never too late to go back and start again.
So, the next time you get ambushed by a set of verses you can't ignore, let's together work on not just saying, "Yes, sir", but really looking at how to put what we now know into action, giving it our best and without any anxiety.
Let's be doers of the word and not just hearers. Got it? Let's go ... together!
...and a bite full of music
and a funny for the week...
A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter."
Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown."
The pastor spoke to her in Sunday School, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?"
She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not."