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| "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me." Jeremiah 29:11-13 |
Now, I was going to say "I stepped through my humanity and accepted God's grace", but not EVERYTHING is a metaphor. Besides, I already used the word "threshold". And that would spoil the moral...sort of like I just did. . .
English-brains...We honestly prefer metaphors over point-blank statements! It's just more fun that way. I guess that's why parables reach us so... Jesus was an expert in speaking metaphorically, you know.
BUT anyway, back to the moment.
~~~ My Bible in hand, I sat down in the the white wicker bench just beneath the kitchen window; the light from the house spilled out into my lap.
I never know what I am going to read when I open my Bible in moments like this one. All I know is that I come to God and ask Him to show me what He needs me to read, and without fail, He does.
I flipped to Matthew 20, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.
A group of workers was hired to work in a man's vineyard for an agreed upon wage of 1 denarius a day. The workers worked for 11 hours and were paid. Another group of workers was paid the same amount, but only worked for 1 hour, for they came late to the party having only been hired hours before. When the workers who had worked 11 hours found out that they were paid the same wage as those who had only worked an hour, they got a little bit upset.
Okay, a lot upset; it was a hot day and they worked 11 hours. You probably would have been angry, too. The vineyard owner told them that it was only fair, for he paid them what they agreed on.
I took a couple of things from this parable, but the most important of these are as follows:
Moral #1 All are equal in the eyes of God; this goes for judgement as well.
Moral#2 Many are called, but few are chosen. Matt 20:16
Moral#3 Even if you're just now learning about God at the part of your life you're living currently, your reward in Heaven will be the same as those who have known God their whole lives.
Moral#4 Better late than never, so start now.
Moral#4 Better late than never, so start now.
I'm going to expand on the last three.
I've always known God, but we were always more like... forced acquaintances, never acquired friends.
In fact, growing up with God can sometimes have the opposite result of the desired effect. Instead of holding Him dear, children, teens, adults, doesn't matter how long that they have known of God, they can live a majority of that time shutting Him out. Sometimes, they don't even know they have.
When I realized that I wanted to fix our relationship and acquire a friendship with God along the way, (because it most certainly doesn't come over night), I decided that I needed to refocus. So, I quit school extracurriculars that were dragging me down spiritually and other things that held my attention time-wise. Once I had freed up my time, I decided that I wanted to do mission work and down the line, I would minor in Theology while majoring in English. (After all, I am an English-brain). Then, the vision grew and twisted, then suddenly I needed to take a year off from school to mission, go overseas, solve world hunger and BAM. I lost focus. I lost focus quickly.
M'kay...Woah, slow down. "Many are called, but few are chosen". What does that mean?
*English-brain scratches her head*
*English-brain scratches her head*
It means, not everything is a metaphor. Go and serve, stay faithful to God? I can do that anywhere.
Point-blank. It means, that my mission may be here, doing what God wants. Not what I think I need to be doing, where I think I need to be doing it. In the end, a missionary here is a missionary there, doing the same things, right? Showing people the love of God, winning hearts for God. That could be a task in my own home! So...it shouldn't matter where; if God calls, I'll answer. If God chooses, I'll take it in stride.
About #3, I have always known of God, but I never knew God. I'm changing that slowly. Though
sometimes I get discouraged by my humanity and ignore God's grace. I ignore His endless grace and love and mercy...because I think I'm unworthy. Who am I to decide that??? Jesus DIED for me, to make me worthy. He DIED for me! HE decided I was worthy. Enough said. God promises eternal life, if we would only accept. How could we refuse an offer like that?
#4. You know it well, the saying, "Better late than never". I can choose to ignore God for the rest of my life until I am no longer strong enough to do a thing about it, or I can choose to open my heart and finally stop shutting Him out. I've already determined He made me worthy for His love, so...what's keeping me? Who's holding me back?
I am.
So, tonight, while sitting on the deck on the wicker bench, my Bible in my hand and my burdens at His feet, I dropped the metaphors and grand precepts I hadn't consulted God on and shut out my false reservations, trading them for— you guessed it— God.
You know the story metaphor of the marriage with Christ, right? The one where we become one, "exchange vows", and our vows are weaknesses and His are glory.
Honestly, it's not a fair trade; my reservations could never compare in magnitude. They are so....pitifully small... in comparison to God's fullness! So, metaphorically speaking, I am sold on Christ.
~~~I stood up on the deck, after hashing out this mental battle. I made a promise then, to take God's love without question, striving only to let Him shape my mind. The feeling that came over me as I walked back to the door, my bare-feet stepping in small puddles, the breeze picking up my curls, can only be described as peace.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
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