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The big idea: Our lives are on display to show God's work in us not our work for God.
I've been visiting with many international workers in Asia the last couple of weeks. We have had in depth conversations about faith and what instruments they have played this last year in the great composer's symphony of life. One theme that unifies their stories is redemption.
Like the gift of salvation, which redeems one life a time, holy redemption of life's experiences is available to all saints, but must be accepted by one life in order to be realized. This is a lesson I've relearned listening to our folks who seem to live on the sharp edge of faith. Their mistakes and negative experiences so many times are turned to blessing. Over and over the timing seems to be the key to realizing this perspective. As they observe their fathers purpose for an experience, they look back and see the continuation of the story as it unfolds from that time. That story is redemption.
These moments of realization, seeing the redemptive work of God in our weakness, his work in us, can become a habit. This is the habit of seeing the hand of the master weaving his plans and love into our future. This habit, I think part of our faith, gives a long view of life instead of getting stuck in the moment. The "be anxious for nothing" becomes more real as we back off our illusion of control and let Jesus own all our moments.
Being schooled by our folks in the field was not a new event for me. The challenge for me is the discipline to practice what I've learned. I like to own control of my present and future, even when those futile efforts crash and burn. Os Chambers reminds me "God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances". By recognizing our Lord's redemptive power in and through our past, and the current grace (think: insta-redemption) we operate under, we will be on display for his work in us.
I've been visiting with many international workers in Asia the last couple of weeks. We have had in depth conversations about faith and what instruments they have played this last year in the great composer's symphony of life. One theme that unifies their stories is redemption.
Like the gift of salvation, which redeems one life a time, holy redemption of life's experiences is available to all saints, but must be accepted by one life in order to be realized. This is a lesson I've relearned listening to our folks who seem to live on the sharp edge of faith. Their mistakes and negative experiences so many times are turned to blessing. Over and over the timing seems to be the key to realizing this perspective. As they observe their fathers purpose for an experience, they look back and see the continuation of the story as it unfolds from that time. That story is redemption.
These moments of realization, seeing the redemptive work of God in our weakness, his work in us, can become a habit. This is the habit of seeing the hand of the master weaving his plans and love into our future. This habit, I think part of our faith, gives a long view of life instead of getting stuck in the moment. The "be anxious for nothing" becomes more real as we back off our illusion of control and let Jesus own all our moments.
Being schooled by our folks in the field was not a new event for me. The challenge for me is the discipline to practice what I've learned. I like to own control of my present and future, even when those futile efforts crash and burn. Os Chambers reminds me "God does not further our spiritual life in spite of our circumstances, but in and by our circumstances". By recognizing our Lord's redemptive power in and through our past, and the current grace (think: insta-redemption) we operate under, we will be on display for his work in us.
In Lam. 3:19-26, God secured me for His own through v24. He became my "Portion", everything I would ever need. He turned me into many things I had never been. A trust/privilege of a prison ministry, my new "family," with its many responsibilities. But the grace of falling and being restored more times than I care to count, served a greater purpose for me. For over 20 years I had pleaded with God to "show me about love." I was looking for what I could feel, and never could sustain anything of feeling for more than a month. After 20 years as I was considering the faithfulness of God, how many times that I would have tossed me away if it had been my call. But the wonderful gift of repentance kept wooing me back, my heart would cry out and He would draw me back to Himself with tender cords of mercy and love. Finally, I knew! I know the love of God that passes all understanding, on-going redemption!