Before anything else, I need to give credit where credit is due: the title of this post was not an original. It was the tile of the message I heard on Sunday. It was so perfect, however, that I saw no reason to use something else.
This post is actually about what I heard on Sunday. At my church, we're in a series called "Empty Promises." We're talking about things we have in our lives that we seek to give us what only God can give us. God has a name for these things--idols. And on Sunday, we talked about the idol of approval.
"What I want you to hear - if you don't hear anything else today - is that there is nothing you could do to make God love you any more or any less than He does in this very moment. Nothing."
How beautiful is that?
Nothing we can do will make God love us any more. As believers in the One and Only God, we should be ultimately seeking His approval. And surprise--we have it!
We have so many giants in our lives:
Grades we can't make.
Bosses we can't please.
Deadlines we can't meet.
But we KILL ourselves to try to do all of these things. Why? Because we seek the approval of someone who is not our Someone. We bend over backwards to try to achieve the acceptance and confirmation of the people of this world.
Nothing we do will make God love us any more because He already loves us to the fullest extent! And no matter what we do, we will not lose that.
I needed that reminder--the reminder that God loves me. Because as a human being, I will mess up. I make mistakes every day. Words can not express the comfort in knowing that God loves me in spite of all of my faults. So allow me to quote again:
There is nothing you could do to make God love you any more or any less than He does in this very moment.
Nothing.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Lesson Learned
I rarely think on the subject of guardian angels. I'm unsure as to why this is--it isn't as though I believe them to be fictitious characters. But regardless, they rarely cross my mind. That is, until certain events happen.
You see, it was raining the other day. And by raining, I mean pouring. Being a forgetful college student (as are most college students), I had yet to purchase an umbrella. As I stared out the window, I debated whether or not to venture into the extreme moisture that was covering campus. Finally, I came to this realization: it's only water. So off I went, walking briskly through the raindrops.
An older maintenance man, whom I had never seen before, saw me walking behind one of the buildings. He was carrying an umbrella and paused, waiting for me to reach the place where he was standing. He held out his umbrella a little ways and told me I was welcome to walk under his umbrella with him. I was touched by his kindness as we walked a little while and made small talk. What a kind man, I thought to myself. We went to part ways, as I was going to the music building and he was headed towards the business buildings. As I went to walk away, however, he handed me his umbrella.
"Take this, and just leave it at the front door of whatever building you go to," he told me. "I'll pick it up there later." At first, I protested, seeing how wet it was outside. After all, it wasn't his fault that I had neglected to purchase an umbrella. But after a moment, seeing the look in his eye and hearing the tone in his voice, I accepted his gesture of kindness. I was overwhelmed at the graciousness of this man, whom I did not know from Adam. He was a true indication that there are, in fact, still people in this world who think of others before themselves.
As I arrived to class, I was deep in thought, pondering what could be accomplished if each one of us had the heart of the man with the umbrella. God calls us all to be servants to one another; to think of others before thinking of ourselves. What incredible miracles could we achieve in other people's lives when we're living in accordance to God's commands?
I have not seen my Umbrella Guardian Angel since that day. But every now and then I think of him, wondering if he knows how much his kindness touched my heart, wondering what I can do to create an impact in someone else's life the way he impacted mine. Such a simple gesture, such incredible power.
Amazing, isn't it? How God gives us little gifts in our everyday lives? Sometimes when we least expect it, He teaches us the greatest lessons through things as simple as an umbrella on a rainy day.
You see, it was raining the other day. And by raining, I mean pouring. Being a forgetful college student (as are most college students), I had yet to purchase an umbrella. As I stared out the window, I debated whether or not to venture into the extreme moisture that was covering campus. Finally, I came to this realization: it's only water. So off I went, walking briskly through the raindrops.
An older maintenance man, whom I had never seen before, saw me walking behind one of the buildings. He was carrying an umbrella and paused, waiting for me to reach the place where he was standing. He held out his umbrella a little ways and told me I was welcome to walk under his umbrella with him. I was touched by his kindness as we walked a little while and made small talk. What a kind man, I thought to myself. We went to part ways, as I was going to the music building and he was headed towards the business buildings. As I went to walk away, however, he handed me his umbrella.
"Take this, and just leave it at the front door of whatever building you go to," he told me. "I'll pick it up there later." At first, I protested, seeing how wet it was outside. After all, it wasn't his fault that I had neglected to purchase an umbrella. But after a moment, seeing the look in his eye and hearing the tone in his voice, I accepted his gesture of kindness. I was overwhelmed at the graciousness of this man, whom I did not know from Adam. He was a true indication that there are, in fact, still people in this world who think of others before themselves.
As I arrived to class, I was deep in thought, pondering what could be accomplished if each one of us had the heart of the man with the umbrella. God calls us all to be servants to one another; to think of others before thinking of ourselves. What incredible miracles could we achieve in other people's lives when we're living in accordance to God's commands?
I have not seen my Umbrella Guardian Angel since that day. But every now and then I think of him, wondering if he knows how much his kindness touched my heart, wondering what I can do to create an impact in someone else's life the way he impacted mine. Such a simple gesture, such incredible power.
Amazing, isn't it? How God gives us little gifts in our everyday lives? Sometimes when we least expect it, He teaches us the greatest lessons through things as simple as an umbrella on a rainy day.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Miracle of the Morning
When I think of a miracle, I generally think of "big" things. I think of healing lepers, multiplying loaves of bread and fish, and calming stormy seas. Rarely do I think of everyday things. Why?
Well, this morning, I inexplicably woke up at 5:21 AM. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but for some reason, sleep simply wouldn't come. So I got out of bed, put on some comfy clothes, grabbed my tennis shoes and headed out the door.
"This morning," I thought, "I'm going to watching the sunrise."
In my twenty years of living, I have seen quite a few sunrises. My dad's favorite day of the year is the the summer solstice--the longest day of the year. When I was growing up, every year he would wake my siblings and me before dawn. We would drive to the highest hill around our house and together, as a family, we would watch the sunrise.
I have not once seen a sunrise that did not bring a smile to my face. I mean, really, what is there to frown about? God has awakened me to another beautiful day. And no matter what this day may bring, I know that He is in control to bring about another one.
What a true miracle. The orange, pink, purple, and blue colors painted across the sky do nothing but bring me joy. I can see the Great Artist's hand at work in such a simple, yet awesome way. Resting in the comfort that I am God's, He is mine, and He is in control, I enjoyed yet another sunrise this morning.
Praise the Lord for everyday miracles.
Well, this morning, I inexplicably woke up at 5:21 AM. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, but for some reason, sleep simply wouldn't come. So I got out of bed, put on some comfy clothes, grabbed my tennis shoes and headed out the door.
"This morning," I thought, "I'm going to watching the sunrise."
In my twenty years of living, I have seen quite a few sunrises. My dad's favorite day of the year is the the summer solstice--the longest day of the year. When I was growing up, every year he would wake my siblings and me before dawn. We would drive to the highest hill around our house and together, as a family, we would watch the sunrise.
I have not once seen a sunrise that did not bring a smile to my face. I mean, really, what is there to frown about? God has awakened me to another beautiful day. And no matter what this day may bring, I know that He is in control to bring about another one.
What a true miracle. The orange, pink, purple, and blue colors painted across the sky do nothing but bring me joy. I can see the Great Artist's hand at work in such a simple, yet awesome way. Resting in the comfort that I am God's, He is mine, and He is in control, I enjoyed yet another sunrise this morning.
Praise the Lord for everyday miracles.
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