Mature Christians Are Like Well Worn Blue Jeans—The Process of Achieving "Holeyness"

So how do Christians get to the state described in the previous post? By being used for their intended purposes and being cleaned.

Being Used

Jeans become supple by being worn—a lot. They're put between their wearer and rough, sometimes dirty, conditions, absorbing sweat from the inside and grime from the outside. That’s what changes them from rigid to conforming; the more that happens the more they get broken in.

It’s the same with Christians. We mature when we let God use us for the things He designed us for. That’s often difficult; it puts us between God and tough situations, feeling pressure from both sides. But that’s what takes us from stiff to supple. Just like jeans, we can’t get there if we’re sitting on the shelf.

Being Cleaned

Another way jeans get broken in is by being washed. That grit and grime must be removed periodically and the process of doing so itself fades their original colors.

The same thing happens to maturing Christians; we must regularly get into God’s Word and conversation with Him. That not only cleans us for our next use, but each session takes out a little more of our original, sinfull, nature, making it less and less prominent.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the fact that God blesses us in order for us to bless others were posted September 12b, 18c, and 18d, 2004 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the importance of exercising the spiritual disciplines were posted September 17a, 18a, and 18d, and October 3a, and 8, 2004 and January 10d and August 27, 2005.)

Mature Christians Are Like Well Worn Blue Jeans—Aspiring to "Holeyness"

Mature Christians are a lot like blue jeans. Most started out stiff and deeply dyed. As they walked with God they were broken in; they became softer, more conformed to His shape, and their original colors became less pronounced. Eventually, they got thinner and thinner, so that folks saw more and more of God, just as one sees more of the wearer of a threadbare, and ultimately holey, pair of jeans.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.)

What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents: “Because I Said So.”

My three year old daughter is well into the “why” stage; I tell her something and she wants a rationale. Most of her questions can be answered easily enough, but some things just can’t be explained. They are beyond her capacity to understand at this point in her development, even though they are very clear to me and even though they have real impact on her life.

The best I can do on those is “because I said so.” That doesn’t always satisfy her, or me, but we both have to live with it. Someone has to watch out for her, I’m the parent, so it’s up to me. We’ll both be happier when she is able to understand.

There’s no doubt a similar dynamic between God and us. We’re simply incapable of understanding some things that must be painfully obvious to Him. They’re beyond our grasp, even though they reach into the deepest parts of our lives. We too have to be satisfied with a divine, and sometimes silent, “because I said so.”

(Other images comparing our relationship with God with our relationship to our children can be found at What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents.

Images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.)

Discipleship is like Riding a Bike—Keep Your Eyes on the Path and Yourself Away From Its Edges. (Proverbs 4:20-27)

Experienced cyclists and mature Christians both find that that accidents occur much less frequently if they keep their eyes on the path instead of other things. They also learn they are less likely to take painful spills if they stay in the middle of the path, rather than going as close to the edge as they think you can get away with.

That’s nothing new; Scripture recorded those dynamics thousands of years ago. Check out Proverbs 4:25-27.

(Images dealing with cycling themes were posted July 11, 15, 20, and August 3, 2005.

Images about the benefits of eliminating things that distract us from God/His purposes for us were posted September 18d, October 3a and 14, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28 and August 3, 2005.)

Discipleship is like Riding a Bike—You Get Better at It the More You Do It.

Veteran cyclists know that while they still must work hard to move along at a good pace, they get better at it with experience. They develop stronger leg muscles and more overall stamina. They pick up techniques that improve their efficiency, learning when to shift to what gear, how to deal with head winds, when it’s wise to slow down, etc. They still work hard to cover ground, but they find that they get farther, faster, and with less fatigue the longer they've been riding.

Veteran disciples experience the same dynamic; they get stronger the longer they walk in God’s ways. They develop spiritual muscle allowing them to more easily deal with tests, temptations, and difficulties that would have been harder to conquer earlier in their walk. As their trust in God grows, they are able to weather longer periods of adversity; they grow in spiritual stamina.

They also grow in specific spiritual disciplines—prayer, time in the Word and in Christian community—that help them more effectively cover the course God puts before them. While there’s no doubt that experienced disciples must still put real effort into their walks, and that their paths become more challenging the further they go, it’s also undeniably true that the Holy Spirit makes them better able to deal with those things the longer they walk with Him.

That pattern is reflected in scripture. Moses started out hesitant in Exodus chapters 3 and 4, but grew increasingly strong as he followed the course God laid out for him. Jesus repeatedly, and in different contexts, taught that “[a]ny one who has will be given more [.]” Matthew 13:12 (New Jerusalem Bible). See also Matthew 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18 and 19:26. Peter went from denying Jesus on Good Friday to boldly proclaiming Him in very threatening circumstances. See Acts 4:1-22; 5:29-33,40-42.

Just as there’s no denying that “[i]n this world you will have hardship,” John 16:33 (New Jerusalem Bible), there’s also no doubt that God increasingly strengthens those who diligently follow Him.

(Images dealing with cycling themes were posted July 11, 15, 20, and August 3, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; May 11, June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.)

Discipleship is like Riding a Bike—There’s More To It Than Just Getting There.

Those who've spent time cycling have experienced a very real dynamic—how the very act of riding provides joy that goes beyond getting to your destination. Freedom, grace, and smoothness are an inherent part of riding a good bike, and even though you may be expending serious effort to get where you’re going, the air you move through keeps you cooler than you’d expect. It’s hard to adequately describe these things, but any one who has done serious cycling "knows" this dynamic.

The same is true of living according to God’s Word. While it too will get you where you need to be, it provides joys beyond that. It also provides a very real freedom: freedom from uncertain, and ultimately unhealthy, worldly perspectives. Moreover, the inherently perfect nature of God’s ways provide unique grace and smoothness and, although there is no denying that God requires real effort from us, something about the discipline of living in conformity with His precepts makes it easier than one would expect. Finally, that reality can only be partially described; it must be experienced to be fully appreciated.

That is reflected throughout scripture. Proverbs teaches that wisdom (i.e. living in conformity with God’s ways) “fills your soul with delight,” and provides “smooth” paths that “lead to contentment.” Prov. 2:10; 3: 6 and 17 (New Jerusalem Bible). Jesus tells us that shouldering God’s yoke is easier than it would appear and, as Jeremiah also recognized, gives “rest for your souls.’ Matthew 11:29-30; Jeremiah 6:16. Paul noted that living according to God’s direction gives us, among other things “joy, peace, patience,” Galatians 5:22, and strength beyond ourselves. Phillipians 4:13.

That’s not to say that being a dedicated disciple is without difficulty; the Old Testament, Jesus, Paul, James, Peter, and John make it clear that it can be very, very, demanding. But the truth remains that those who commit themselves to God’s direction are, like a cyclist, given special, indescribable, graces to get through those things as they get where they are going.

(Images dealing with cycling themes were posted July 11, 15, 20, and August 3, 2005.

Images about savoring God’s blessings were posted May 16 and 20, July 7, and 15, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.)

Discipleship is like Riding a Bike—You Can’t “Get It” Until You Get on it.

You can understand why someone who’s never experienced a bike would be skeptical about riding one. “It looks flimsy and can’t even stand up by itself,” he thinks. “Why should I give up the stability of my own two feet and get on it. I’d probably fall and hurt myself if I try that thing. Besides, it’s going to take some serious effort to make it move.”

But those fears are dispelled if he actually tries it. After the first wobbly feet he develops enough momentum to gain some stability, it gets easier to peddle, and he realizes that he’s moving faster and easier than he could on his feet. There may be a few spills at first, but if he gets past those he sees that this thing works after all.

We see the same dynamic in believers who are hesitant to move beyond just accepting Jesus’ forgiveness into a life of real discipleship. It doesn’t look like it’ll work. Instead, they think it would be safer to stick with the way they've been living; there are fewer risks and a fully surrendered life looks hard.

But like the novice cyclist just described, a newly committed disciple comes to see that God’s ways work better than his own. If he gets past the initial wobbles, he realizes that, like momentum on a bicycle, the Holy Spirit will keep him upright, moving ahead faster, and with less effort, than he could have managed through his old ways. He will take a few falls, but the experience will ultimately dispel his fears if he sticks with it.

Scripture validates that pattern, perhaps most clearly in Luke chapter ten. Jesus sent some disciples out with instructions to do ministry in total reliance on God, instructions that must have seemed impractical from a human perspective. Luke 10:1-12. But they followed Jesus’ instructions, and, true to form, God came through. When they related their experiences, Luke 10:17, Jesus’ response well summarized the dynamic: “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children.” Luke 10:21 (New Jerusalem Bible).

What Jesus was driving at is that disciples must act with childlike faith, even if God’s instructions seem foolish according to human “wisdom.” Again it's like riding a bike; little kids are more eager to try it than adults. In short, we’ll never fully experience God’s wonderful power if we don’t step out in faith and try His ways.

(Images dealing with cycling themes were posted July 11, 15, 20, and August 3, 2005.

Images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.)

Discipleship is like Riding a Bike—Introduction

Living in the power of God’s word is a lot like riding a bicycle. As will be developed in the next few posts, it doesn’t make sense until you try it, the full extent of its benefits only become apparent once you’re up and running, and you get better at it the more you do it.

(Images dealing with cycling themes were posted July 11, 15, 20, and August 3, 2005.)

Our Daily Bread—Savoring God’s Smorgasbord

The other day my wife and I planned to take our three year old daughter to the zoo, but before we left I read something in the newspaper that made me envious of a colleague. I prayed for forgiveness and help appreciating—“savoring” to use the language of a previous image—the many ways God has blessed me and off we went.

God answered that prayer on multiple levels, one of which could not have been more direct. We went into the aquarium to check out a floor to ceiling tank replicating a coral reef. My wife and daughter went right up against the glass while I stood back and took it all in.

At that point it hit me; God was giving me a smorgasbord of blessings. I had the pleasure of seeing my wife having a radiant time with our daughter, my daughter being gigglingly thrilled with what was before her, and the neon beauty of each of the many varieties of fish, all at one time. Like the offerings at a buffet, each of those things was independently succulent, but here they were all together, presented in a way that complimented each other. And, to top it off, God made it plain that this was His answer to my earlier prayer by calling it to mind at that moment.

I don’t have a grand point to make here, just a practical observation: God is incredibly faithful and richly generous. We simply need to turn to Him and look for his subtle, but stunning, blessings. "[H]ow extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power.” Ephesians 1:19 (New Jerusalem Bible).

(Images about savoring God’s blessings were posted May 16 and 20, July 7, and 15, 2005.

Images addressing what we can learn about God from being parents were posted September 17b, 17b, and 17c; November 13, 15, and 24; December 2, 2004 and January 2, February 18, April 25, August 9 and October 3 2005.)

Christians are like Balloons

Christians are like balloons. We come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. Like balloons that have not been blown up, we do not reach anything close to our potential unless we are filled from without—by God’s Holy Spirit. And also like balloons, we must be stretched in order to be all we are intended to be.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.)

Unexpected Fruit from Long Dormant Seeds

Seeds can lay dormant for long periods and still germinate into fruitful plants. They get covered up with too much soil and remain inactive, but something brings them to the surface, they sprout and produce, sometimes decades after they fell to the ground.

I recently experienced something that illustrates the same dynamic with God's work. In the mid-1800's an illustrator made etchings of Bible scenes that were collected in a book published after his death. I stumbled upon a copy, but it sat in my basement for months until I showed it to my three year old daughter. The illustration of Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from the dead (Matt. 9:18-19, 23-26; Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; Luke 8:41-42, 49-56) caught her attention and I was able to use it to tell her about Jesus' power and love. That stuck her and now when we look at her children's Bible she wants to go right to the part where "Jesus made that little girl feel better."

That shows how God can produce fruit in ways beyond our understanding. He used a seed sown in the mid-nineteenth century to produce fruit early in the twenty-first century. All that occurred long after the etching was made, the artist was gone, and the world had changed in ways the artist couldn’t have possibly imagined. And that etching only had that effect because of the actions of others he had no control over (the editor and publisher of the posthumous book, its distributors, whoever owned the book before me, and me).

The point is that God is able to use our good works to far more effect than we can possibly imagine—if we use what he gives us in the first place.

(Images about gardening or soil related themes were posted October 3c, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28, June 11, 13 and 24, 2005.

Images about patience/waiting on God were posted October 1, November 21, December 8, 2004 and June 11, 18, and 24, 2005.)

Sailing Before God's Wind: John 3:8

Fruitful Christians are like sail boats. God provides the wind and we are most effective when we align ourselves with Him, taking the course and making the tacks that keep us before His wind. We do best when we let Him keep his hand over ours on the tiller and when we keep ourselves clean of barnacles (sin and distractions) that can slow us down.

That doesn’t come easy or all at once. Strong wind blows over rough water and barnacles constantly try to attach themselves to us. But we get better at it dealing with those things the more we do so and, if we stay on course, we know the final destination will be well worth the effort.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about patience/waiting on God were posted October 1, November 21, December 8, 2004 and June 11, 18, and 24, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; May 11, June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.)

More on Making “Good Soil”—Matt. 13:8; Mark 4:8; Luke 8:8

Two other principles are illustrated by the process for improving garden soil, as described in the post of June 11, 2005.

Enrichment Must Come From God

The first is that the soil could not improve without help from beyond itself. It wouldn’t have gotten better, and in fact would have become increasingly depleted, without the amendments added over the years.

The same is true of us. We can only become more fruitful if God “amends” us by adding the things that we need, but do not possess. Sure, some of us are blessed with native talent that allows us to produce impressive results on our own, but we can’t sustain that without God’s active blessing. Instead we, like soil, will inevitably become depleted without the Holy Spirit’s infusions.

We Must Act on What God Gives Us

The second is that enrichment couldn’t happen if the original soil did not affirmatively act on the amendments. New organic materials must be broken down into particular nutrients before they enrich the soil they are added to. That only happens if microbes in that soil go to work digesting those amendments. Without that, the amendments don't become part of the soil; they do no good.

The same is true of our interactions with God. Although we can’t become truly fruitful without His spiritual “amendments,” they don’t do any good unless we act on them, incorporating them into our day-to-day lives. Otherwise, they are just abstract principles without impact.

(Images about gardening or soil related themes were posted October 3c, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28, June 11, 13 and 24, 2005.

Images about God providing things we need, but can’t provide for ourselves, were posted September 12a, 17a, and 18c, October 3a, 3b November 6, 10, 21 and 27, 2004 and January 2, 10b, and 10c, June 13 and 27, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.)

Making “Good Soil”—Matt. 13:8; Mark 4:8; Luke 8:8

Several years ago I started a garden and resolved to make the soil as rich as possible. It didn’t happen overnight or through a fixed program, but took years of adding different types of organic materials, known as “amendments” by serious gardeners, to the soil at different times in different ways.

Sometimes that occurred in big steps. One year I tilled in six or eight inches of finely ground leaves. Other years, I added truckloads of raw manure when I put my garden “to bed” in the fall. Some springs I supplemented those autumnal additions with bags and bags of pre-composted manure.

But most amendments were more gradual and less direct. One winter I added a bucket of grounds from a coffee shop each week as I waited for spring. Several years I transplanted earthworms because their excrement adds additional nutrients. All year every year, I put used tea bags, other kitchen scraps, and yard waste into my compost pile to create rich humus for later addition to the garden.

The combined result was a gradual improvement of the soil—and the garden’s productivity. Although no step yielded instant results, each crop was noticeably better than the one before it and, as time went on, the garden became exponentially more fruitful than it was at the outset.

God works that way to make us into “good soil” producing “crop[s] multiplying thirty, sixty or even a hundred times.” Mark 4:8. Sometimes He adds His goodness in big doses, but mostly He enriches us a little every day, and a little more each Sunday, to give us what we need to produce what he wants. Scripture describes it well: "accumulation little by little is the way to wealth." Proverbs 13:8 (New Jerusalem Bible)

Those amendments come in various forms, from unpleasant circumstances that, like manure, really stink but produce tremendous enrichment, to more agreeable things that make different contributions.

Like the process for enriching physical soil, no one thing gets us all the way to where we need to be, but each addition works together with the others to enable us produce more and more over time. And when we look back at where we’ve come from, we're amazed at how much He’s multiplied our fruitfulness.

(Images about gardening or soil related themes were posted October 3c, November 21, December 8, 2004 and February 28, June 11, 13 and 24, 2005.

Images about diligence/perseverance in doing God’s will were posted on October 1, 3a, 8, and 17 and November 7, 2004 and January 10c, June 11, 13, and 18; July 15 and August 27, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; May 11, June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.

Images about patience/waiting on God were posted October 1, November 21, December 8, 2004 and June 11, 18, and 24, 2005.)

Pray for and Spread the Word about the Terrible Situation in Zimbabwe

Please read of the terrible situation in Zimbabwe at http://zimpundit.blogspot.com/2005/06/heres-who-really-got-cleaned-up.html

Spread the word and pray that Zimbabwe be healed. .

The Lord’s Prayer as a Call to Intimacy

As is true of all scripture, the Holy Spirit packed several levels of meaning into the Lord’s Prayer. In addition to their literal meanings, each petition asks for something that brings or keep us in intimate relationship with God.

Our father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. To “hallow” is to reverence or highly esteem, and God’s “name,” in the biblical understanding, is His essence or nature. This petition therefore asks that we properly appreciate God’s awesome nature, that we better understand the other party to our relationship.

Your kingdom come, your will be done. By asking that His “kingdom come,” we ask that we be as fully submitted to God as a loyal subject is to his monarch. By asking that His “will be done,” we ask for help organizing our affairs and actions according to the Father’s general precepts and in carrying out whatever specific tasks He gives us. Both requests ask God to help us align ourselves with Him.

Give us this day our daily bread. This asks for help in looking to God, not other sources, to fulfill our needs, so that we depend on God in the spirit of Matthew 6:33.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. This asks for an incentive to, and help in, reflecting God’s extraordinarily gracious nature as we interact with others. We are asking to incorporate an aspect of God's nature in our own behavior, in the same way that children take on their parents’ mannerisms and long married spouses come to share common characteristics.

Do not lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. By this petition we ask God to protect us from anything that interferes with our relationship with Him, so that nothing gets between us and Him.

In sum, each petition asks for something that increases or maintains our intimacy with God, something that brings or keeps us in close relationship with Him.

(Images about prayer were posted September 17, 17a, and 17b; October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005.)

Our Daily Bread—Savoring it.

The same amount of food will provide more satiation if it is chewed thoroughly rather than gulped down. The extra chewing allows us to more fully savor its texture and better satisfys our hunger.

The same is true of the daily bread God provides, regardless of its form (food, shelter, clothing, fellowship, work, etc.). We get much more out of it if we take the time to consider what God has given us, to mentally and prayerfully “chew on” those good things, rather than wolfing them down and moving onto whatever next comes to mind.

That is particularly true of the subtle, but very rich, blessings we only partially enjoy if we don’t give them extra consideration. Perhaps that’s why scripture tells us over and over to give thanks to God—it forces us to consider the many blessings He provides everyday, and increases our appreciation of them. See Ephesians 5:20, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 3:17; I Thessalonians 5:18.

Is that easy? Not always, but it helps deal with those situations where God, in his infinitely superior wisdom, provides less than we, from our far more limited perspective, feel we need. If we look gratefully at what God has provided we are less likely to miss the things he hasn’t. Either way, we’ll have what we have, so we’re better off appreciating them to the fullest. Maybe that’s the way to “be content whatever the circumstances.” Philippians 4:11.



(Other images about savoring God’s blessings were posted on May 16, 20, July 7, and 15, 2005.)

Our Daily Bread—It's Not Junk Food

The petition that God “give us this day our daily bread” asks for such an infinite variety of things that it’s impossible to exhaustively define “daily bread.” But the concept can be given some meaning by considering what it does not refer to; one way to do that is by contrasting bread with junk food.

Bread is good, although it is not terribly exciting in and of itself. But it fills us and keeps us filled, and although it doesn’t give us the sugar rush that accompanies a doughnut or candy, its energy stays with us. In short, bread is good, solid, if somewhat ordinary, food that gives us what we need to live and work.

Junk food, in contrast, is about flavor, not function. The idea is to titillate the taste buds now, with little concern for sustaining us. Indeed, it usually has a negative effect, both through the crash that quickly follows its consumption and the ways it degrades our health over time. As good as it may taste, you cannot live (for long) on junk food.

So what Jesus tells us to pray for are those things that we need for life, as ordinary as they may seem, not the things that temporarily satisfy but do not further the purposes He has for us. Those other things may be OK in limited amounts, but that is not what our Lord tells us to seek after.

(Images about savoring God’s blessings were posted May 16 and 20, July 7, and 15, 2005.

Other images about prayer were posted September 17, 17.1, 17.2, October 8 and 17, November 13 and 19, 2004 and May 27, 2005)

Fruitful Christians are Like Baseball Gloves

Fruitful Christians are like baseball gloves. The Holy Spirit works in them like Neatsfoot oil, making them sufficiently pliable to deal with the fast balls that come their way. They are made more supple by repeated use, becoming more flexible the more God uses them.

(Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.

Images about the process of growing/maturing in our walk with God were posted October 3a and 17, 2004; June 11 and 18; July 20, August 21 and 27; and October 3 2005.)

What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents: Leave The Driving To Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).

My three year old daughter has grasped the concept of traffic lights—“red means stop, green means go”—and yesterday was focused on whether I was obeying them as I drove. I was, but she couldn’t see that from the back seat and kept asking about them. She eventually moved onto other things and we both had a more pleasant ride.

It strikes me that we sometimes relate to God that way. He knows where we are going and how best to get us there, including when we should stop and when we should go. But we don’t have the same view of the road He does, so we get nervous and start second guessing Him, and that makes things more stressful than they need to be. We have a much more enjoyable journey when we relax and leave the driving to Him, being content to move on His better informed timetable.

(Other images comparing our relationship with God with our relationship to our children can be found at What We Can Learn About God From Being Parents.

Images about trusting God amidst the unexpected/difficult/incomprehensible were posted November 7, and 15, 2004, and April 25, July 11b, and August 9, 2005.)

Digging Through the Dirt

Scripture makes it clear that we must dig through dirt that gets between us and God. Jesus illustrated that with a builder who “dug, and dug deep” to lay the foundation of his house. Luke 6:48 (New Jerusalem Bible). Jeremiah communicated it by describing a tree that “thrusts its roots” through the soil to reach God’s life giving water. Jeremiah 17:8 (New Jerusalem Bible). What can we learn from that?

Different Kinds of Dirt

One thing is that not all dirt is the same. Some is easy to burrow through, like sand or loose topsoil. Other dirt is tightly packed and difficult to remove.We see that pattern in our lives.

Some of the things between us and God are easy to get through. We recognize how they hinder us and, with His help, can remove them without too much difficulty. Sure, it takes some effort, but they’re relatively easy to get out of the way.

Others are more difficult. Like soil compacted by repeated footsteps, we each have settled behavioral patterns that are very difficult to break. These can only be overcome with great help from God and great effort on our part. The good news is that “with God, all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26.

Not all dirt is “dirty”

Another lesson is that some of the things between us and God are not inherently bad. Just as a person building a house must sometimes remove rich topsoil to put down solid footers, each of us must sometimes get rid of things that are not intrinsically bad, and that can be very beneficial in other believers’ lives, if they interfere with what God wants from us. The point is that we have to look at things in terms of how they serve God’s individual purposes for us, and be willing to remove them if they get in the way, even if they are not objectively bad.



(Other images about eliminating things that distract us from God and His purposes were posted on September 18, October 3 and 14, November 21, and December 8, 2004 and February 28 and August 3, 2005.

Other soil/gardening related images were posted on October 3, November 21, December 8, 2004 and June 11, June 13 and June 24, 2005.)

Like Father, Like Son

Sometime in the late 1990’s I, then a 40ish married man, visited my parents for a week at their home. I spent a lot of time with them, and came back acting a lot more like my dad, with his mannerisms (that had always been there to some extent) more pronounced in me. That was not the result of conscious effort, it just happened. But, as time passed, and I became immersed in my normal life, those mannerisms receded.

The same dynamic occurs between us and our Heavenly Father. The more time we spend with Him, the more we will see His nature in our behavior. Conversely, the more we are focused on our own affairs, the more our own nature takes precedence over His.

(Images addressing what we can learn about God from being parents were posted September 17b, 17b, and 17c; November 13, 15, and 24; December 2, 2004 and January 2, February 18, April 25, August 9 and October 3 2005.

Images about conforming/yielding to God were posted September 12a, 18a, 18b, 18d, and 23; October 3 and 3a, November 6; and 21, December 8, 12, and 15, 2004 and January 10d, February 18, May 11, June 18 and 27; August 21 and 27; and October 3, 2005.)