I sometimes recall my early days of absolute self-obsession 24/7 ME. Dirt. So when I came to Jesus I very much identified with the Biblical revelation that we are “useless” (Rm. 3:12/Ps.14:3- “corrupt” or “worthless”). God uses even our darkness to draw us into His light when our heart turns to Him. He could have slain me with a bolt of lightning and it would have been mercy to spare me from myself. I was amazed by people who showed me acts of kindness. It was like a mystery “Hmmm. How do they do that?” Of course I’m the same old man in my flesh and blood, and thus relate to all men in the flesh, but I now learn to carry in my ‘jar of clay’ the Holy Spirit of the living Jesus.
My son Joshua put this graphic together (at left) and it means a great deal to me. God is such a merciful Father. One time I watched a potter mold a beautiful pot out of dirt and clay. God says “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”(Gen.3:19).Our time in between dust and dust we can carry His treasure to this bankrupt world (2 Cor.4:7). It was amazing to watch hands sculpt something so beautiful literally out of nothing. This is God showing us how He works. What a joy!
This concept of dirt to clay to a noble vessel is reiterated in the story of the birth of faith: God “calls into being that which does not exist ” is found in Romans 4:17. This should give hope “against hope” to all who feel hopeless. Feeling like nothing holds the promise of being recreated into something. We have a God Who does not demand our strength or being “together”. Rather He is a God Who acts out of our nothingness.
Abraham became the father of faith at 99 years old with Sarah whose body was as good as dead. That means faith is designed to work out of nothingness and to bring us to God out of this nothingness. How much more could God do to tell us and show His unfathomable ways?
When I see myself care about others I see it only as the obvious work of the Potter taking this nobody named Michel “out of nothing” with my unformed heart. How could He possibly have gotten love out of this sack of crap? Out of dust we were fashioned and to dust we shall return. What we are given in between should drive us in joy to live for Him.
I was 25 a few days ago, then 50, and today zap 71 on my way back to dust. So while I await where I belong between dust to dust we are called to a purpose by our Father to find, live and give the love of Christ back to the Father. How cool is that? It’s like when you get past the novelty of initial change you have to go into His depths or you are in danger of getting caught up in the transition and never make it where His love has the full effect.The purpose of Christ in coming to earth was to give us the revelation of Himself in Whom we receive ETERNAL LIFE. (Isn’t it sad that this profound call is reduced to the token sinners prayer and one hour pomp in Sunday?)
We bring our selfish, broken, shattered life to Him as our sacrifice. All He wants is our heart. Born again outside of our flesh into HIs eternal life. I have entered a real dimension beyond human TIME. This is the only motivation to lay down our passing lives and live His purpose of love for the lost (Jn.3:3-8). Divorce is like facing a firing squad of unseen bullets. Rejection of who we are is a trauma few ever describe. But I know the pain from being torn up myself. It is hard to breath. You seriously wonder if you can survive and are so glad no one can see inside.But this death, this humiliation, this pain is the cocoon into His love. We must not get lost in the cocoon but yield in faith to full process bringing us into new life. So many “shrink back” when the going is the worst. So many stop and lick their wounds in self-pity. Everyone again becomes about themselves.
What if God yearns to heal you with HIs compassion but you’re too busy feeling sorry for yourself? He can not MAKE YOU believe Him. What if there is a simple realm of upside thinking that would change your entire life? But you have to get out of the rut. This is your TIME- to build a mountain? No. To run a Marathon? No. To sit alone and generate thoughts of God to change and expand your thoughts to bring your heart into new life? Yes. We often read Bible verses and think that it is in these letters on pages that we find quickie inspiration. But unless the living revelation of the living Jesus impacts your practical disposition inspiration is not enough to bring you beyond pain. You need the power of new life of the Holy Spirit.
We are meant to receive the Fathers care for us as an individual. To fight everything within us against Him to get us to believe Him. Say your name. God sees YOU by name. He’s there fighting in you, for you, with you. The King of Compassion draws every brother and sister from ‘glory to glory’. Every week, every day, every hour and minute I am learning what I didn’t do or didn’t know. Then refighting a fight I lost. Then I see who I am becoming. It is frustrating but wonderful. Above all it is REAL. It is worth the struggle to find His designation of His compassion to me. No matter how much you may envision God’s love for you it is never even close to how much He really loves you. The joy of seeing yourself finally ‘get it’, in God’s love, starts the chain-link energy of growth. I don’t walk IN God but BY FAITH in God. What I mean is that I have no mystical experience but the same ways of all men. Faith is not emotions. It is my choice to bring me to the simple core belief of Abraham sitting by his nomad fire, seeing the star lit skies and concluding God IS.
THE CARDINAL PROCESS
So I was sitting in by my “nomad campfire” in my semi-truck when a bright red cardinal started flying into the outside window next to me. Bam. Crash. Wham. Poor little guy. (I feel like that sometimes). Sarah was able to take a picture of it and find this still shot below. I did some research on it.
They are trying to process their reflection and think it is another bird. It hit me that this is like “seeing” our reflection in the love God. I imagine Abraham of old sitting at his nomad campfire. He was face to Face with God. In that moment of Genesis 15:6 Abraham saw himself to be a man who loved His creator by one thing: faith. We tend to think of God’s love as conditional. If we are “good” then He loves us. If we are bad He does not love us. But “God SO LOVES THE WORLD” He gave His Son. If He only loved us when we are good then He never really loved the world because it has always been evil. The entire world, all wicked mean. It”s not that He loves the wicked, obviously, but He loves men who happen to be wicked. He loves everyone as you are, where you are. God so loves the world. When you see your yourself in the love of God you catch a glimpse or your own beauty in Him. So when we “see” our reflection as He sees us in His Son it is this love that we find that motivates us to give this freely to the world as He does.
What significance does our life really have in the fast-paced measure of TIME on earth? The actual substance of eternal life is meant to pass through us to others as we live in the love of the living Jesus. No greater joy. Even Jesus says giving eternal life is more filling than any meal a starving person could eat. The experience of being His channel IS eternal life.
I pray my TIME spent may motivate others to realize life is not about our life but learning and learning and learning and learning the heart the redemption in Christ. He yearns for anyone, no matter how weak, how great of failure, how wicked or nothing, might know the Potters hand.
What is the purpose of our TIME? So limited, in light of eternity, but in every moment we never think it will come to an end. Time has a power that keeps our focus on the here and now. So how is that we can grasp an accurate gage on our purpose in TIME. King David says it is wise to count our days because they be so few.
The purpose we pursue is determined by what is within us. And what is within is depends on our time spent allowing His Spirit to expand us. I reflect back on my time gone by as little child, teenager, young adult and so many years in travels throughout 60 countries. In them I see the purpose of God molding me as clay, teaching me as my Shepherd, leading as my Brother, protecting me as my Father. When I see myself in the mirror of His love I have only one expression, worship. I love whom I see Him recreating me to be. Jesus promised if lose our life we shall find it (Jn.12:24-25). I remember reading it so long ago and sensing it as far more than letters on a page. It knew right then it was to be my future.
This TIME photo was put together by one of my daughters, Ruth, for my 71st birthday. (Ow. It hurts to even say that number.) I surely would never make such a thing but am so honored by my daughter. What I see in this bald ugly Pollack is a lump of clay dead to the cross. I almost didn’t put it on but thought maybe the idea of one mans life being spent with a living testimony to Jesus Christ as a witness to His compassion might hit someone the right way. It made me think of two words; accountability and privilege. How serious are we about our own willingness to take our TIME as our one and only opportunity on earth? What is the real value of our life? How much TIME are we willing to invest and expand in our individual capacity to grow and show the love of God to this world? If anyone has a means to support us we sure would appreciate it. We are working the harvest field tirelessly with everything we got. Thank you.