The Abundant Giver

Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us… to him be glory."

We don't pray big enough. We don't believe big enough. We don't dream big enough. We don't dare big enough.

God's power and his plans far exceed our greatest imagination. It should go without saying that Christ can do in us and through us all he has promised. Far beyond that, he can do what we have never been bold enough to dream; what we have not conceived to ask.

We must keep in mind that this is for his glory, not ours. It just so happens that in God's spiritual economy, what glorifies him turns out to also be what is best for us. If we get this turned around, our faith in in danger of becoming self-centered, adulterated and futile. And it just takes a quick cycle through the religious TV channels or a pass through the "Christian" section of Barnes and Noble to see an upside-down theological trend of man as God and God as helper.

That said, however, God offers so much more than we experience. More of his presence. More of his power. More intimate knowledge of his amazing grace. More partnership in his purposes.

God is not a provider of partial. Nor is he the giver of just enough. God is a God of abundance.

When Moses just wanted an escape route… God parted a sea.

When Israel just wanted someone to sacrifice to the giant… God provided a steely-eyed shepherd boy with a huge heart and deadly aim.

When Mary and Martha just wanted a healing… God performed a resurrection.

When mankind was bound in the hopeless prison of sin… God gave his Son.

And when you and I turn to him in need… God gives abundantly more than we can possibly ask or dream.

We must pray bigger... believe bigger... dream bigger... dare bigger.

God, you are the abundant giver…

The Sculptor...

(This post is from a daily devotion I write. At some point I will be combining it with my blog - all under a new title).

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

"You are who you are because of the Master Artist who put you together." That is how Malcolm Smith closed each of his radio broadcasts. Thirty years later, the phrase is as fresh and meaningful as it was the day I first heard it delivered in his calming, yet authoritative British accent.

God paints our lives for his purposes. And he does so with a care and precision that, by comparison, make Michelangelo or Da Vinci look like kindergarten finger-painters. Yet in his incredible artistic sovereignty, he gives us freedom.

I cannot explain God's artistry any more than I could attempt to sculpt Michelangelo's "David" from play dough.  (Sorry for the mixed art-medium metaphors throughout this post). God's design, his brush-strokes - our freedom, our belief and failures; they somehow come together to form the picture he has in mind.

We are not passive in the process. Nor are we in control. We are participants. And we are the canvas (or the block of stone). Brush strokes and chisel points are often uncomfortable. But they are purposeful.

The more hammer blows that fall upon the chisel, the more we resemble the picture of Christ. Sometimes large chunks of unnecessary weight fall away with one blow. It is freeing. More often, the process is incremental. And the scarring from the chisel point reminds us of the wounds that bought us freedom.

God takes ordinary blocks of stone (maybe clay is more biblical) and carves master works. That is what he wants to do in your life and mine. And though we may not be completely aware, he is at work. Now. Today.

"We are who we are, because of the Master Artist who put us together."

God, paint my life for your purposes…

For now... D

IF ONLY... (Potential v. Kinetic, pt.3)

Regrets, I've had a few... 
- My Way, by Frank Sinatra

It will soon be 11:59:59 p.m. December 31, 2015. A whisper of the second hand will lift the curtain on a new year. 

Retrospectives have begun; countdowns of the top songs, movies, and news stories of the past year. This week The meaning of Auld Lang Syne will be googled a hundred thousand times. Fittingly, the direct translation is Old Long Ago, or more loosely, Times Gone By. 

That is, after all, what time does. It goes by. Time passes. It can be reflected upon and reminisced. It can be memorialized. Good times gone by will be celebrated. There is, however, a dark side to Auld Lang Syne. It can be a song of regret. It can be a mournful tune of -  IF ONLY...

Regrets fall into three primary categories:

1) Those things we did, but wish we hadn't.

2) Those things we never did, but wish we had.

3) The weight of wasted time. 

Those things we did, but wish we hadn't

I vividly recall pulling into our garage after a family outing years ago. My son, somewhere around eight years old at the time, bolted from the left rear door the moment the car stopped. He raced around the back of the SUV and up the passenger side. His goal was to get to the television before his sisters, so he could start the Star Wars DVD where he had paused it. My daughter, unaware of the approaching blond Flash, opened her door just in time for his head to meet its sharp edge at full speed. The resulting head wound was impressive to say the least. An ER visit and many stitches later, all was well. He has the scar to this day - a memento of a painful experience. 

We all carry mementos of pain. However, experts tell us that it is usually not these we most regret. The scars, the wounds, they are part of who we are. And though we would not want to repeat many of the experiences; and may regret some, these are not our greatest IF ONLYs...

The major IF ONLYs of our lives are of the second and third types. 

Those things we never did, but wish we had.

Much has been written on the regrets of the aged or the dying. The greatest of these can be distilled to missed opportunities: opportunities for relationships, opportunities to risk, opportunities to step outside of comfort and attempt something greater. Opportunities to answer the question, WHAT IF...? (But I'm ahead of myself. That question is for the next post.) 

These regrets are formed in statements like:

If only... I had followed my passion instead of taking the easy path...

If only... I had told her how I really felt...

If only... I had been more present when my kids were young...

If only... I had been more generous...

If only... I had cared less what others though of me...

If only... I had believed in myself more...

If only has to be one of the saddest word combinations imaginable. It is the lament of opportunities not grasped; of potential unrealized. 

The weight of wasted time. 

This regret closely mirrors that above. It is the regret of passivity when passion was needed... complacency where action was called for... apathy when love could have made all the difference.

Jim Croce's Time in a Bottle is both beautiful and haunting. It is a love song, and in some ways a song of regret. Croce begins, If I could save time in a bottle..., and finally concludes, but there never seems to be enough time...  (I am fully aware that I have lost all readers over the age of 45 to a reminiscent humming of the melody. Come on back for just a few more moments.) The question Croce ponders is one that we all ask from time to time. It is birthed from wasted time. From regret. And in reflection we exclaim, IF ONLY...  

These last two categories are descriptive of the POTENTIAL LIFE - that life that could be. But just like a piece of chalk sitting on a desk, it is moving nowhere (see part 1). Our goal instead, is to live a KINETIC LIFE - the life that IS; that IS moving, that IS trying. The life that IS attempting and failing and succeeding. The life that IS living. 

What if... you had another chance? 

Well, that is for the next post. But I can't help but say: You do have another chance! It is a gift, a present. It is THE present. It is now! And you have the opportunity to dream the possibilities... What if...?

For now...

D

(Author's note: While recently roaming Barnes and Noble, I came across a book entitled IF by Mark Batterson. I haven't read the book, but a quick look at the back cover told me that it deals with the same two big IFs I am here. I look forward to the read, but am purposefully holding off until I finish with these few posts.)

Quick Math... (Potential v. Kinetic)

This week:
Six days...
Five cities...
Four gyms...
51 years young...

If you want to solve the hard equations in life...
You gotta do the math!

 I call this on the WOBBLY BULGARIAN

IF... (Potential v. Kinetic, pt.2)

If— by Rudyard Kipling (selected verses)

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;  

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,  

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!    


If is a powerful word. If can be dreamingly positive. If can be an incredibly painful as well. If is a bridge word. If spans reality and possibility.

If seldom stands alone. If is usually combined with other words that indicate what type of bridge the particular if is.

As if... = Comparison bridge (or '90's mall-bang girl bridge)
If... then... = Decision bridge
If only... = Regret bridge
What if... = Possibilities bridge

It is these last two Ifs I'd like to consider - If as the bridge to regrets or the bridge to opportunities. As I stated earlier, If spans reality and possibility. If is the bridge to what could have or should have been. If is the bridge to what can be. It is our choice which If bridge we will walk. But we must make it.

(I'll pick it up from here in the next post. And I promise to use the word If less!)

For now...
D

"IF"... (Potential v. Kinetic Pt.2)

If— by Rudyard Kipling (selected verses)

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;  

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,  

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!    


If is a powerful word. If can be dreamingly positive. If can be an incredibly painful as well. If is a bridge word. If spans reality and possibility.

If seldom stands alone. If is usually combined with other words that indicate what type of bridge the particular if is.

As if... = Comparison bridge (or '90's mall-bang girl bridge)
If... then... = Decision bridge
If only... = Regret bridge
What if... = Possibilities bridge

It is these last two Ifs I'd like to consider - If as the bridge to regrets or the bridge to opportunities. As I stated earlier, If spans reality and possibility. If is the bridge to what could have or should have been. If is the bridge to what can be. It is our choice which If bridge we will walk. But we must make it.

(I'll pick it up from here in the next post. And I promise to use the word If less!)

For now...
D

Fixin' To... (Potential v. Kenetic Pt.1)

We Okies have a saying: I'M FIXIN' TO... It's a great declaration. Something big is about to happen.

As juniors in high school our physics teacher introduced us to the concept of energy and its two forms: POTENTIAL and KINETIC. Mr. Hale placed a piece of chalk on a desk and said, "This is potential energy." The chalk just sat there. Then with his finger, he gave the chalk a nudge. "This," he said as it rolled off the desk and was in free-fall, "is kinetic energy." The correlation logged in my brain:

     kinetic energy = movement
     potential energy = just sits there
     potential can / kinetic does
     potential revs the engine / kinetic squeals the tires
     

Potential is... FIXIN TO... 

Here's a thought, huge potential gets less done (about zero) than a tiny bit of kinetic.

Human potential is fascinating to me. And unrealized, unrecognized, or underutilized potential is incredibly sad.  I've thought long about how to approach this subject. Frankly I decided to jump in somewhere in the middle and work my way out. It may take several posts, or I may fizzle. But at least there is POTENTIAL!

Energy is the ability to do work; or if you'll allow me - to do something.

A simple version of the Law of the Conservation of Energy states, Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. It can only be stored or transferred. This begs a question: Am I just storing up, or am I transferring?

So why the lesson on forms of energy? Because we can be fixin' to... for only so long.

Big Potential... but it must leave the launching pad!

I'm fixin' to go.
For now...
D