Four hours of outdoor play meant early dinner, bath and bedtime for my grandchildren. The second day of spring offered nearly perfect weather punctuated by an unexpected thunderstorm. The parents coaxed the siblings through baths while I layered peanut butter and jelly on toasty blueberry bagels with strawberry cheesecake yogurts on the side for everyone except Thomas, who prefers my nondairy chocolate. Like his mom, he mostly prefers anything chocolate. Teeth were brushed and good nights said before we headed upstairs for Bible stories and prayers.
Timothy and Ezra meandered the room while Thomas and Amelia engaged with the stories. Twos, especially boys, are active listeners. I learned this from my Jacob, Amelia and Ezra’s dad. When his seizure issues interrupted traditional schooling, we moved his lessons home and most of our reading was done outdoors. While his hands were busy, his mind was focused. Tonight, having missed his nap, twenty-one month old Ezra was fidgety and fighting sleep.
When the first pop of thunder boomed, I took my chance to gather the little boys in my arms and shared what my grandmother always said to my siblings, cousins and me during thunderstorms. God is trying to get our attention. He’s telling us, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Timothy settled his head against my shoulder as I gently patted his back. Ezra rolled this way and that, settling himself into the crook of my arm and gave up his fight. I have never seen him fall asleep so quickly. I whispered a prayer of thanks as I tucked them both into their race car beds.
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”
Psalms 4:8 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.4.8.NASB1995
The storm had passed by the time I came downstairs but the evidence remained. The sunset was a haze of purples and pinks and the sidewalks, driveways and vehicles were saturated. It occurred to me that mine was the only vehicle parked inside the garage and it would have benefitted most from a good soaking. I had thought to bring the children’s scooters, bike and trikes under the porch but there was no point in that now. My foggy brain’s attempt at taking stock of what needed to be done before my own bedtime was clumsy at best. “Any ideas about dinner?” I asked my daughters. I heard them both reply but their responses didn’t actually register. My own thoughts had continued on.
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.
But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.
She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work?
Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!
There is only one thing worth being concerned about.
Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.””
Luke 10:38-42 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/luk.10.38-42.NLT
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’
These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
Matthew 6:31-33 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.31-33.NLT
Jesus prefaced this teaching with a statement about loyalty and devotion. “No one can serve two masters.” There can never be God and or God plus anything or anyone. Our coffee mugs mislead us when they claim that all I need is Jesus and coffee. The first four of the Ten Commandments address my relationship to God, my Creator. Faith is not a qualifier for His commands. God gave His law on tablets of stone to Moses for the nation of Israel. The law governed the people whether or not they adhered to it. Before Moses came down from the Mount carrying the tablets, his own brother had set up an idol for the people to worship. It may read as if Moses arrived a day late and a dollar short but almighty God is equally present in every moment of time. He can neither be early nor late. “I am the Lord your God,” words etched in stone by His almighty hand, were followed by no other gods, no idols, no misusing My name, and observe My Sabbath. Next came six commands to govern our relationships with each other. Adam and Eve had one simple rule they failed to follow. This newly independent nation had broken all ten before God ever issued them.
My daughter, recalling a story from her student teaching days during her final year of college, wondered why certain things needed to be said at all. She lost patience with listening to hour long talks with points of dress code and conduct that seemed like common knowledge to her. In sharing her frustration with her advisor, she was informed that each item on the seemingly endless list was reminiscent of a trespass. Someone had been called out for every single infraction. Long before God met Moses on the mountain to inscribe those stone tablets, He knew my sin. He hears every careless word I speak. He knows my thoughts before they become words and actions. He anticipated Israel’s failings and still He chose to use them. Through them, He sent His one and only Son.
The Law was never meant to be our savior. Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. All have sinned. (Romans 3:20,23) Scripture is plain about the origin and effects of sin. It has taken me nearly five years of twice weekly writing for sin to stay sin and not morph into sun or sine. Autocorrect has no notion of what to do with sin and I suspect that, being programmed by humans as is all technology, it merely reflects the blindness that readily sees the faults of others while excusing our own. I appreciate the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases part of Paul’s letter to the Galatians (3:20) “What is the point, then, of the Law? … The purpose of the Law was to keep a sinful people in the way of salvation until Christ came.” We get a firsthand encounter with God by faith. There is no Moses, no middle man. Jesus, our Mediator, was God in the flesh and we have His Spirit within us by faith helping us to understand the deep things of God. We have the mind of Christ, taking every rebellious or wandering, every argumentative or pretentious, even every distracted thought captive and making it obedient to Christ. (I Corinthians 2:16, II Corinthians 10:5)
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear.
Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
Look at the birds.
They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.
And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
And why worry about your clothing?
Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow.
They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.
Why do you have so little faith?”
Matthew 6:25-30 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.6.25-30.NLT
Thomas saw our first hummingbird today. We put our feeder out over a week ago anticipating scouts. Our Japanese maples, several camellias and our abelia bushes already wear red blossoms. Temperatures in the eighties before Easter aren’t nearly as rare as they seem. We’re simply forgetful. The south’s schizophrenic seasons are simply God’s way of reminding us that He alone controls the elements. Whining and complaining won’t change anything anymore than it does for my grandkids during long drives. We will still get there when we get there, and Lord willing, our contagious joy will attract more people along the way.
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.
At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
Galatians 6:9-10 NLT
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