Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)
Jesus calls us to follow him...throughout our lives...all the way to self-denial...all the way to the cross.
In Hebrews 12:2 Jesus is called the "archegos" of our faith, the one who goes before us and establishes the way for us to follow:
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author [archegos] and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Have you ever tried to follow a friend on an Interstate highway? Let's say they are driving a blue van. You have absolutely no idea where you are going, so you are totally dependent upon their guidance...upon keeping that van in view.
But have you noticed how many blue vans there are on the road? If you get distracted, look to the right or to the left, and then look back at the road ahead, you can lose contact with the lead car. Where did it go? Is it that one getting off on the ramp? Or is it the one that just passed that semi? Or maybe the one three cars up behind the U-Haul?
When we lose touch with who we are following, we become disoriented and confused. Left to our own senses and thoughts and figurings, we are lost. Totally lost.
This is why we are enjoined to "fix our eyes on Jesus."
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
Psalm 116:7
When troubling and challenging times come, and my soul is not at rest...when it is anxious and searching, I need to remember this pithy verse.
I need to think back to other difficult times and to remember that God saw me through. I must tell my soul: "Be at rest once more becuse your God is faithful. He has been good to you in the past, and he will be good to you now."
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things. (Psalm 107:8-9 )
As I shuffle out in bathrobe and slippers to feed the birds, they sense the winter storm on its way. As it was “rescheduled,” it is slower to arrive than originally thought. But it promises still to come.
As cardinals, titmice, chickadees and other bird-types hungrily munch the seeds, I am praying to God about my day. Whatever I am going to need, he has already put in my feeder.
Though God doesn’t wear a bathrobe or slippers, and he has never “shuffled” once in his eternal existence, he always moves ahead of me, anticipating and meeting my needs.
Thank you, God, for all the “good things” you put in my feeder every day.
Paul was a man with a single focus: "For me, to live is Christ..." (Philippians 1:21).
How easy it is for me to live by another focus: "For me, to live is Sheila." When I approach life with this focus, everything revolves around my comfort, my convenience, my desires, my time, my opinion, my sleep.
Much like the sea gulls in the movie Finding Nemo, my heart cries, "Mine! Mine! Mine!"
I love Paul's heart as it cries: "His! His! His!"
My heart is never more at rest than when I offer myself as a living sacrifice to the one who gave all for me...when I realize that "for me, to live is Christ."
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)
"When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:6)
Jesus warns us not to do our acts of righteousness to be seen by men. Then he goes on to assure us that we will be seen by an unseen God. I love the interplay with the word “seen.”
He basically says,
“Do not give to the poor, or pray or fast to be seen by men. But just know that in your quiet obedience, your unseen Father is very aware of you; he sees your heart and your sacrifice.”
God is never interested in deeds apart from a pure heart. We cannot buy our way into his graces. But he never misses any nuance of a giving heart.
This passage always challenges me. Am I content to know that God sees and affirms me? Or do I have to make sure other people do too? Do I have to be recognized, applauded, lauded, lifted up, shouted-out, praised by others to feel a satisfaction in being obedient to God?
Or am I encouraged to know that the unseen God, who sees what I do in secret, is saying to the angels: “That’s my girl!”
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge; (Psalm 91:1-2, 4)
I love the imagery used by the psalmist: we are hiding beneath the wings of God, finding shelter, safety and comfort.
It seems likely to me that Jesus had this psalm in mind when he spoke of his heart's desire for Jerusalem:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing."
Lord, I am willing--gather me under your wings. I want to view life through feathers.
King of the Wild Frontier, scaler of the swing set, and muser with a downward gaze... In this second grade picture of me, coonskin cap and all (if you were born after 1960, don't even ask), I am so unaware of the camera. In those days we had little sense of the paparazzi's presence. We didn't pose when the camera came out; we kept on doing whatever we were doing and just slowed down a bit.
I would like to think that we cusp-of-the-boomer kids did not think we were the center of the universe...but I know it is not true. But because of a simpler, advertising-"deprived" life style, we did have a wonderful opportunity to just be children. That was pretty cool.
I once wrote a poem that included these lines:
I smiled
a quiet smile...
a thankful smile.
The smile of a child.
When I saw this MonaLisaesque smile on my rounded baby face, it make me think of these words. And made me long for the inner innocence that renders such a smile...the smile of a child.
"Unless you change and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." (Jesus)
This little me-girl speaks a message to my heart that spans a fifty-four-year bridge of time. Like a time capsule I just opened.
"When you grow up, don't let anything take away your childlike heart."
