Responsible for love
February 25, 2008
Yesterday, while I was participating in worshiping God at NewSpring, I was praying whatever came to mind and the phrase “make me responsible for the love you have given me,” came out of my lips. It hit me as soon as I said it. That was not just some easy, no big deal sentence. That was a conviction and a call to reality. Unlike what we are taught about money, God’s love is to be spent in a very “irresponsible” way. We are to invest in people that can in no way compensate us for our time or effort. We are to chose to love people who haven’t earned it already. We are to lavish the love like a gift instead of finding a place to hide it away with interest so that it will be bigger when we need it on a rainy day. If we hold onto the love of God like a savings account, it dies. If we spend it freely, without a plan or budget, it increases its effect.
Who have I shown love to today that did nothing to deserve it?
In what ways am I holding back God’s love so that I can feel good later?
Who have I invested in recently with no intention to collect?
How can I be more “careless” with God’s love?
How is being stingy with love adversely affecting my ministry?
Who is my next investment going to be?
I cannot sit and let this love deteriorate, waste away inside of me. I am going to be held responsible for what I have done with it when my Master returns.
Home Building
February 8, 2008
This is a little story from 4/6/06.
There is a piece of land that an owner promises to allow the person who builds the planned home to live in it. The foundations are laid and the owner is waiting for a builder to come and finish the house. A certain builder comes along and works on building the house without consulting the owner for the plans. The person frames the house and does just enough work to move in for a while. When this no longer satisfies him, he starts to tear it down and vandalize the building. This frustrates and saddens the owner, who loves the land and the potential for the home. Another builder comes along and tries to make the house to his own specifications. This does not work also and the owner kicks him out very quickly. The land is so beautiful and the potential so great that many builders desire to work on the house to lay claim to it. Eventually, a patient builder comes by and is taken aback by the beauty of the land. He talks to the owner and asks for permission to work on the house. The owner agrees and shows him around the property. When the patient builder sees the condition of the house, he immediately grieves at the mistreatment of such beauty and potential. Then he tells the owner that if he will provide the materials and approve the work as he goes, he will dedicate his life to helping the owner finish the house. The patient builder sees the adventure before him as both challenging and rewarding. The patient builder notices something that none of the other builders saw: the plans call for it not only to be a house, but also a monument to the greatness of the owner. The only thing left to do was to get the land to accept his efforts.
This story was written for broken and low feeling young women of God. I know that there are young ladies who have been mistreated and who have not been appreciated for their beauty and potential, but don’t lose hope. God has someone for you who will more than gladly invest their life in helping develop God’s potential for you. You are worth so much more than how you may have been treated.
Guys, do not see the person you are pursuing as a temporary shelter to get what you need out of until a newer and more beautiful house becomes available. You must be responsible builders. If you are not going to or do not feel called to commit your entire life to building the house you are working on, then get out and honor the Owner in doing so. I know that I cannot allow myself to design the plans for the house that I will live in one day. I must seek God for the plans and allow him to direct my work. The daughters of God are worth the wait. No questions asked.
Sticks and Stones
February 8, 2008
From 7/24/07
All words are like sticks and stones.
Good uses of sticks and stones might be to build a castle (security), build a bridge (community) or provide stepping stones (encouragement). Bad uses of sticks and stones might be to create a battering ram (criticism), build a wall (discord) or break a bone (malign).
When you see someone stepping into the unknown, you can help or hurt them.
Put a stone foundation and wood supports to brace and stabilize a launching point. Throw stones out for them to step on and land safely.
Or, throw sticks and stones at them to give them bruises and splinters for the journey, put stones in their path to slow them down, or pull support out from underneath them.
What am I doing with my words? Am I building up or tearing down those around me? Will people look at me after a journey and say “I would not have made it if it weren’t for you,” or will they say “I can’t believe that I made it in spite of you.”
Parable
January 2, 2008
I have tried to update some of Jesus’ parables into something which a middle or high school student could relate. Here is the first.
There was a student who did not turn in homework all school year and failed every test. When the year was ending, the student begged the teacher for projects to earn a “D” with extra credit. The teacher felt bad for the student, and gave the student an “A.” When some other students told the teacher that the student had beat up a kid for scuffing his new shoes, the teacher confronted him. “I forgave you of not doing your work and failing the tests, but you still did not learn. Now you will be in detention until you have completed every assignment and passed every test.”
This is how God treats people who don’t know how to forgive.
