I turned my face away as the wind gusted dust from the unusually dry red clay upward. The little rain we’ve had this fall has been quickly dried by sun and wind. Ground that was saturated in spring and early summer is now parched. We have been waiting for October to plant grass across the street on several acres of cleared land. I pray we get a good soaking soon.
We’ve spent the better part of a year watching as our land, ravaged by Helene last fall, was cleared and graded. Our hope was for our son and his wife to begin building across from us. We thought the storm damage had expedited that process but interest rates and unexpected delays mean we are still waiting. Having earth moving equipment of massive proportions steady working across the street has been a big draw for all four of our grandchildren and several neighborhood families as well.
On Thursday, dump truck loads of rock were delivered. At one point, three trucks joined the backhoe and bulldozer already at work on the property. We only have one neighbor beyond our house so the kids have an ideal spot to ride and play. We had taken half a dozen laps to the end of the road before the grandchildren tired of riding. The sun was out full force but the wind made it very comfortable outside. Amelia and Thomas took turns loosing clods of dirt and chucking them over the black plastic barrier bracketing the road. I cautioned them against crumbling the dirt before tossing it away. I had already wiped dirt from Amelia’s eyes twice.
I turned to check on the littler boys, still working to toddle up the steep drive. My daughter was on their heels so I turned back to see Thomas, who was standing, sprinkling a handful of dirt over Amelia’s head as she knelt in the grass. “Didn’t Lolly ask you both not to throw dirt in this wind?”
How would you have responded? Would you ask for more details or say you had to have been there to determine the right course? Would you excuse his behavior, saying, they’re just kids messing around? Was this childish misbehavior? Impulsivity? Thoughtlessness? Deliberate disobedience? What do you think?
“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.
Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here.”
Psalms 103:13-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.103.13-16.NLT
I picture Jesus, bent down, writing in the dirt with the tip of his finger. (John 8:3-11) God incarnate who formed the first man, Adam, from the dust of the newly created earth and breathed life into him, walking hard packed streets on dust covered feet. Emmanuel, God with us in human flesh, doodling in the dirt while thinking a zillion divine thoughts about His created. (Psalm 138:17-18) We have only some of Jesus’s words recorded in Scripture.
John who wrote, “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25) also penned, “The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.” (John 20:30-31)
“The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”
Psalms 103:8-12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.103.12.NLT
The Bible makes it clear. God’s law was given to show me my sin. (Romans 7:7)
“When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.
But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power.
Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”
Romans 7:5-6 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.7.5-6.NLT
“I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it.
Instead, I do what I hate.
I love God’s law with all my heart.
But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.
This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
Oh, what a miserable person I am!
Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Thank God!
The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 7:15, 22-25a NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.7.15-25.NLT
“From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart.
He has revealed God to us.”
John 1:16-18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.1.16-18.NLT
“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!
Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom.
Let all that I am praise the Lord.”
Psalms 103:1-5, 22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.103.1-22.NLT
While swiping the dirt from Amelia’s hair, I asked Thomas to apologize and then sent him to sit on the porch with Amelia’s mom, who he nicknamed MamaTina, for a few minutes. He needed a little motivation to listen and obey right away, as his mom often reminds him. Having a pause before being allowed to return to play in the dirt with his cousin was sufficiently motivating, at least until they both wanted the tricycle.
It’s pretty easy to see how the flesh gets the best of us at times when we are talking about the antics of small children, but consider the same attitude and actions from your teenager. Now look in the mirror and recognize your own sin nature staring back at you.
“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”
Galatians 5:19, 22-25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.5.22.NLT
To all in Christ, the Holy Spirit bears Christ-fruit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are in Christ. Why would self control be on the list, why would it be a fruit if we didn’t need it? If we could muster enough of it up on our own to live a life of love, or to experience true joy or peace, to exhibit patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness or gentleness, then there would have been no reason for Jesus to come, much less to die.
“I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.
For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”
Galatians 2:21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.2.21.NLT
“He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.
Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”
2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.15.NLT
“My old self has been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/gal.2.20.NLT
Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.15.4-5.NLT
“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.
He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you.
Such sins have no place among God’s people.
Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you.
Instead, let there be thankfulness to God.
You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.
Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.
Don’t participate in the things these people do.
For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord.
So live as people of light!
For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.
Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.
But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible.
This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.””
Ephesians 5:1-14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.5.1-14.NLT
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life.
He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.
And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior.
He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.”
2 Timothy 1:7, 9-10, 14 NLT
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