Thursday, December 31, 2015

Countdown

In the corner of the computer screen, a number starts flashing.

What, 5 minutes? What? Auuggggh!

Stop-silent-screaming-and-start-clicking...and-praying!

Deep breath. Repeat. Again. Click.

Skim. Click! Skim. Click! Skim. Click!! Sk-

“This section of the test has ended.”

That last mutter was out loud. Quiet.

Pray.

Deep breath, sit up, on to the next section.

Once the certification test is over, the one needed to retain my new job, I don't know what number I'd stopped at, only that I'd barely passed the midway point of that section. And that all sections must be passed to pass the test. I ask the receptionist how to set up a retake. She gives me a number to call, and I thank her for her pleasant test-side manner.

I call and get the details for re-registering. But then I remember, this is my opportunity to ask God for more.

“I hope that I passed this test, and I don't have to do this again.” This I make sure to say and pray out loud, and my husband amens.

Funny. Multiple-choice tests used to be like my video game: aim, fire, pkrrr, goal hit!

As a couch potato, I wonder: Is this what it's like to be an athlete, and then one day you're sucking for wind, and the finish line seems farther away than it used to be?

Three days later, I'm clicking online for the score report.

In wonder, I read and re-read. “Passed...Passed...Passed...Passed...Passed.” With a score just above the minimum needed on the section where time just ran out.

Back when tests were my video game, I knew where that ability came from, and prayer was part of test-taking: before, during and after. Prayer was about seeking God's blessing, leaning on Him, and thanking Him then.

It's interesting, though, how much more our dis-ability engages us in seeking God, in leaning on God, and in thanking Him in awe and wonder.

There will be tests in this new year. There will be trials. But the most seasoned of us test-takers will come to know God's providence, and His nature, all the better.

Jesus came to show us how to take these tests, and why. As we do so, and choose to trust God for the results, His nature will become ours, more and more. Like Jesus, we will seek to speak what God has to say, to those around us. Like Jesus, we will expect to be about our Father's business.

Like Jesus, we will seize the time given, addressing our earthly countdown with an eternal mindset.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Receive the Gift

It was ready. Long before I toyed with agnosticism at age 10. Long before I ever chose my adult value system and methodical reasoning as substitutes for seeking, exploring and following singularly triune Truth.

Long before I was lovingly anticipated or lovingly welcomed into the world, and long before I had ever disappointed, hurt or angered anyone, the gift was already ready.

And long before I had a name, my name was already on it.

It was my salvation, prepared long before I entered the world. My salvation came with redemption, justification and sanctification.

Salvation meant I would be freed from ties to sin; I would not be sin's servant. Redemption meant sin would not own me because of my debts, my transgressions, because those were now paid off and forgiven. The wages of sin – death – would be replaced by an inheritance, as a new child of God. And my value, set by God treasuring me, could not be reduced.

Justification meant that long before God's enduring law had defined what I lacked, God was ready to share his holiness with me. Sanctification meant that sharing God's holiness would immediately and ultimately redefine me.

All these riches, gifted to me in Jesus' name, were prepared long before I ever existed. Long before I knew my need, and long before I was ready to receive them.

All these riches are labeled by multisyllabic words. They only begin to define God in the human mind. When all is said and done, we must know for ourselves that God is love. And that He loves passionately and compassionately – long before we ever choose to love Him.

If you have yet to receive them, receive them today. By faith, turn from sin and all its shortages to receive your God, the giver of every good and perfect gift.

If you received these gifts long ago, invest them today. Recall that they were never meant to nestle back in tissue paper, and that the lid will not set back in place. Because these gifts were never meant for storage out of sight, out of mind.

Our actions and words will reflect God's ways, while presenting a reminder that God's ways are not our own – or they will be unproductive, bearing little fruit. We can choose day by day to invest and be further enriched by our gifts, or let distraction and discouragement stash them aside.

You are part of your Father's business. You – and those you either pass or do business with – are your Father's business. When you were commissioned to the work of sharing Jesus and His gospel with the world, you became His empowered hands and feet in the world. With each day, your face continues to take on resemblance to Him, and so you represent Him where you go.


Receive God's immeasurable gifts. Invest them to His glory.