Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Labor Pains

I've mentioned before my dear friend, Maggie, who has been battling a horrific form of breast cancer for well over two years now. The pain has been indescribable, I would say unbearable, but she has been, with the aid of meds, bearing it. Until last weekend. She is ready to be done with it. Her body appears to be shutting down.

It occurs to me this morning that Maggie is in the final stages of labor before her birth into real life. It has been a long and indescribably painful labor! But new life is ALWAYS worth it!! Once born she will never want to return to the dark womb of life on sinful earth. She will be free!! She will know LIFE as she has never known before! In many respects she will know life for the very first time!

And we will rejoice with her as we always rejoice over new life! But there will also be an emptiness. She will be separated from us in a way that feels just a wee bit uncomfortable, a little bit unsafe. There will be times when we miss that "movement within us" that was Maggie. But we will never truly wish her back, in the same way that we would never truly wish a newborn back into the "safety" of the womb. In the womb, although it is a SAFE place, that child will never become who he was meant to be, never fulfill his purpose. He will never experience life as it was meant to be experienced.

And we find ourselves not looking forward to the labor, a bit apprehensive about the parts we don't fully comprehend (after all, it's not like we get a lot of practice at this thing called death), but we long heavily for the birth! LIFE!!! When we "shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is"! And all the labor pains will be instantly forgotten!

I really like Randy Alcorn's thought that heaven should not be called the "after-life," but life here on earth should more accurately be called the "before-life"!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Ephesians 3:10

Just two more days down here in Florida. Each time I come, I enjoy my time with my family more! And each time goes by too fast, although I will admit I am missing my northern family, especially my husband!

When I'm planning for the trip, I always think I will have lots of down time to read and even perhaps journal a bit, but when I'm here, I find that other things call for my attention and the days fill up quickly. That is good, though, because those other "things" are usually people related, and that's the main reason I visit. I LOVE my Florida family!

My friend's husband posted on facebook today a question that he says he's been wrestling with a lot lately - "What is the Biblical definition of church"? That got me to thinking not about the definition so much as a verse in Ephesians that talks about an important, and frankly, quite mind-boggling, function of the church - (3:10) "so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places".

I can't really wrap my mind around that! How in the world can we - frail and sinful - human beings make known anything to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places??? But once again I must remind myself that it's not about us; it is about HIM! Perhaps it takes "frail and sinful" for God's wisdom to be fully displayed. After all, how does One show the wisdom of mercy without something (or someone) requiring mercy? Same with the wisdom of grace, long-suffering, forgiveness... All those attributes of God require a recipient in order to be displayed. Our God is so beyond comphension! So other! "What is man that You are mindful of Him"?

I need to remember this verse in Ephesians and more consistently do my part in making known God's manifold wisdom to the rulers and authorities. Still MIND BOGGLING!!!

Right now I am sitting on the porch experiencing some of God's wisdom of grace - the skies are pouring down rain on a sandy land very much in need of moisture. And my heart is filled with thankfulness!!!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Bitter Ingredients, Tasty Products

I am continually intrigued by how many physical things in life are pictures of spiritual realities.  Randy Alcorn is especially adept at bringing those things to light.  I'm reading in his book, "90 Days of God's Goodness", and his devotional thought is based on Psalm 71:18-23, especially the verse, "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again."  He gives just a slightly different, but important, perspective to the Romans 8:28 truth that "all things work together for good." He says, "There is an all-inclusiveness In the 'all things'...  No translation says each thing by itself IS good, but that all things work together FOR good, and not on their own, but under God's sovereign hand.  Romans 8:28 declares a cumulative and ultimate good, not an individual or immediate good".

Then he goes into the analogy of how each individual ingredient of a cake (well, with the exception of sugar, I suppose) tastes horrible by itself, but "put together in the right amounts and baked together, a remarkable metamorphosis takes place.  The cake tastes delicious!  Yet judging by the taste of each component, I would never have believed the cake could taste so good.

"In a similar way, the individual ingredients of trials and apparent tragedies taste bitter to us.  Romans 8:28 doesn't tell me I should say 'it is good,' if my leg breaks, or my house burns down....  But no matter how bitter the taste of the individual components, God can carefully measure out and mix all ingredients together and regulate the temperature to produce a wonderful final product."

As his wife, Joy, underwent cancer treatments, C. S. Lewis wrote to a friend, "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."

It is extremely important to the health of our faith to remember this truth!  Life is not just random happenings.  Our Creator God is intimately involved in our lives, and He is all wise, all powerful, and all good!  That's an unbeatable combination!!!