Car Hunting
I don't know about anyone else but hunting for a car is like pulling teeth for my family. We look and look then even when we've found something we like we still keep looking--at the overall cost, at the expected resale value, etc. This has created some tension in my home over the past several weeks. This morning after another failed attempt over the weekend to purchase a car I liked, I made a comment to my husband that has since caused me to start thinking more deeply than just choosing a car color. He was talking about how we have changed over the years from just being grateful that we have a car that gets us where we are going to having to have the biggest and best. My snappy response was I haven't changed. My thinking was that even way back then it wasn't that I was satisfied with just what I could get. It was just all I could get at the time and I looked forward to when I could choose what I wanted. So I haven't changed. In the hours that have passed since that remark, I have been convicted by my own words. What a sad statement about me if I haven't changed in 30 years! My sweet husband has always been so much better than I at keeping his wants from becoming his needs. To him a car is simply a way to get from point A to point B and it really doesn't matter to him what it is. To me a car is a reflection of who I am and while it's most important in getting me to those places I need to go, how I get there is a big deal. There in lies the root of our tension. Today as I consider my statement about not changing, I find myself looking once again to God to change me in my relationship to money and status and make me more humble as well as more grateful for what I have. I don't need the biggest and best SUV on the market nor do I need the best red car I can find. I just need something that will get me from point A to point B in a safe and timely manner. My prayer is that God will forgive me for my greed and bless me with a much gentler nature. I've heard that the first step to change is knowing there is a need. I am very grateful that the Spirit opened my ears to really "hear" the words that jumped out of my mouth this morning.
Just Thinking
I am a devoted Lord of the Rings fan and spent parts of three days over the holiday watching the extended versions of all three movies. I got
The Return of the King for Christmas and I just wasn't going to watch it until I had reviewed the other two installments. What a wonderful way to spend time! Peter Jackson has just made something that will last for many many years. And when it was over I was surprised to find the tears running down my face once again. There is just something about spending that much time with these characters and being drawn into their predicaments and their relationships that pulls me deep into the story. And I cry when Frodo says goodbye to Sam and they hug each other like the brothers they have become. And for a time afterward I have a deep sadness - a feeling of loss. I feel like I've left someone for whom I care a great deal.
I was particularly taken this time around with how seeing into the future affected the different characters. The Elves, Elrond and Galadriel, look and see only doom, defeat and darkness. Sauraman the wizard looks into the future and his mind bcomes twisted by the evil Sauron. Even Gandalf sees darkness in the future and feels despair. The one person who doesn't let the vision of the future change his vision is Aragorn. He sees a vision that would cut the heart out of him if he let it. He hears the evil voice of Sauron as he faces the black gates at the end telling him all is futile, all is lost. Everyone with him believes what they hear and their hearts fail. It is Aragorn who charges and cuts the head off of the messenger then turns and declares it all lies. He delivers the moving speech about having courage and that this is the time to be strong and fight. He is the one who charges first into the surrounding forces of evil. He gives the people hope in what seems to be a completely hopeless situation and they follow him. He is truly king material!
Isn't this just what Jesus did for us? He came into our world like anyone else. Then one day he stepped out and began untwisting Satan's lies. He touched people's hearts and bodies and souls healing them. He spoke truth into a world that had been filled with lies. He unburdened people weighed down by religious laws and regulations. He gave those people hope. He showed them the grace of God. He showed them God the father. He still is showing us God the father.
Like Sauron, Satan moves in our lives and in our thoughts to create visions of doom, defeat and darkness. He twists the thoughts of normal people and creates monstrous evil through them. Strong leaders of churches often see only darkness and feel despair. He takes truth and twists it to create doubt and fear within our hearts, just like Sauron did with Frodo's vest. He starts with what we know to be true and then begins to knead and twist it until it has a totally different shape all together. He destroys hope.
I find it interesting that in the movies, Sauron never has a body. It's just this pulsating firey eye that roams from side to side and burns into people's minds and hearts. Aragorn walks in and speaks truth that saves into those minds and hearts . Isn't it interesting that Satan has never been "seen" by anyone on this earth, yet he can steal our hope, peace, and our very souls. God himself chose to come down and become one of us so we could know him personally and feel his love for us. He visibly walked among us, touched us, spoke to us. He gives us peace, joy, healing, love and saves our souls. I don't need to see into the future because God came into my past and guaranteed the future for me. I'm looking forward to the day when we see Satan topple down, utterly destroyed and ineffective.
