U
UnitynLove
Guest
The other day my younger son came downstaries ready for church in his favorite clothes - His blue juean with the hole in the knee and a green sweatshirt. It doesn't matter the weather or the occasion, he has the "one oufit fits all mentality." I told him ot go back upstairs and change and put on the clothes that I layed out for him on the bed. He protested, loudly, and my wife reminded him that he needed to obey. He reluctantly went upstairs to change. Several minutes later my son emerged much larger than he was just fifteen minutes before. He had obeyed and put on the clothes that I had told him to put on - but he had put them on top of his favorite clothes. He looked like a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers!
I laughed when I saw my son and realized what he had done. In his mind, he had obeyed. He put on the clothes I had told him to put on. I never did tell him to take off the other clothes. The incident with my son made me think about the times I have put on my favorites - things like anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, and resentment and my Heavenly Father has asked me to change and I have simply done what my son did that day - I put the love, patience, goodness, selfcontrol, forgiveness, joy, and peace - ubt on top of the old favorites.
My experience with my son got me to thinking. How many times had the Lord asked me to forgive someone and I did forgive, but temporarily. And how many time had the Lord called me to be joyful and I was, but only for the moment. Then there are the times that I know self-control should rule the day, but my impatience at the little annoyances bubbles over at the very first sign or trouble. How about when the Lord shows me how pride has gotten in the way and caused me to be judgmental and I repent, then hide behind my pride again when a similar situation arises.
My Heavenly Fathe rwants to clothe me in beauty and replace my ashes. He wants me to put on the garments of praise each day in my heartso they can manifest themeselves in my life. But, like my son, I am so comfortable with my old favorites that I want to keep them on. Sometimes fear makes me cling ot the familiar, old favorites. What if I move out of my comfort zone as the Lord is calling me to do and I rejected? We all have people, places, attitudes and actions that we are more comfortable with and find comfort in their familiarity. When God calls us to move of those comfortable areas., it can be quite scary. But God. I love that. But we serve a God who is so patient and loving with us that He goes with us when he calls us out of those comfortable places. He doesn't just send us. He come with us and equips us with the tools we need to succeed. The problems arise when we try to take all of our old favorites with us and become burdeded and overloaded. The new and the old just don't fit together. Jesus spoke of this when he talked about putting new wine into old win skins.
My son went to church ten pounds heavier that day but his heart was light because he did obey. I went to church ten times more wiser that day because I learned that true obedience does have a cost - we have to shed the old, familiar nature and put on the new garments the Lord has for us. Sometimes the cost seems to great and the test to difficult...BUT God. Nothing is too great for God. Nothing. N 0 T H I N G!
I laughed when I saw my son and realized what he had done. In his mind, he had obeyed. He put on the clothes I had told him to put on. I never did tell him to take off the other clothes. The incident with my son made me think about the times I have put on my favorites - things like anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, and resentment and my Heavenly Father has asked me to change and I have simply done what my son did that day - I put the love, patience, goodness, selfcontrol, forgiveness, joy, and peace - ubt on top of the old favorites.
My experience with my son got me to thinking. How many times had the Lord asked me to forgive someone and I did forgive, but temporarily. And how many time had the Lord called me to be joyful and I was, but only for the moment. Then there are the times that I know self-control should rule the day, but my impatience at the little annoyances bubbles over at the very first sign or trouble. How about when the Lord shows me how pride has gotten in the way and caused me to be judgmental and I repent, then hide behind my pride again when a similar situation arises.
My Heavenly Fathe rwants to clothe me in beauty and replace my ashes. He wants me to put on the garments of praise each day in my heartso they can manifest themeselves in my life. But, like my son, I am so comfortable with my old favorites that I want to keep them on. Sometimes fear makes me cling ot the familiar, old favorites. What if I move out of my comfort zone as the Lord is calling me to do and I rejected? We all have people, places, attitudes and actions that we are more comfortable with and find comfort in their familiarity. When God calls us to move of those comfortable areas., it can be quite scary. But God. I love that. But we serve a God who is so patient and loving with us that He goes with us when he calls us out of those comfortable places. He doesn't just send us. He come with us and equips us with the tools we need to succeed. The problems arise when we try to take all of our old favorites with us and become burdeded and overloaded. The new and the old just don't fit together. Jesus spoke of this when he talked about putting new wine into old win skins.
My son went to church ten pounds heavier that day but his heart was light because he did obey. I went to church ten times more wiser that day because I learned that true obedience does have a cost - we have to shed the old, familiar nature and put on the new garments the Lord has for us. Sometimes the cost seems to great and the test to difficult...BUT God. Nothing is too great for God. Nothing. N 0 T H I N G!
