I'm not sure when the last time was that I smelled like a 5th grader. You know...the ones who are entering the age of puberty whilst enjoying a good day in the humidity and wind in the spring. Oh you are not familiar with that aromatic mixture? I'm sure a teacher will be able to give you a good idea of that scent.
Anyway...today was one of those days where it was obvious I had been with kids...outside...on a humid and windy day...during spring...in Texas. Yes...it was field day at one of my campuses. And was a very long day indeed. So it's not surprising that I am laying awake at precisely 1:28 a.m. because when I came in from work I collapsed on the couch and did not move for a couple of hours. A nap was needed and a nap is what I got.
And after that nap, I decided that there was no real point in getting up to do anything because...well...it was only five hours till I would be going to bed and why bother. So I stayed. And watched a few back to back episodes of Reba; I played several rounds of Tetris on my new Google Chrome Book; tuned in to the 1980s version of Footloose - and oh boy did that music take me back to a time when doo doo curls were hip and Kevin Bacon didn't have wrinkles and everyone knew that this was Almost Paradise. Then...I watched Shark Tank and 20/20 with my favorite guy. Let's hear it for the boy!
And that is how to have the most boring Friday ever. You can actually say to your friends that you have now read the most boring blog post of your entire life.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Cause and effect...
Easter is my most favorite holiday. I'm not necessarily so big on the egg hunts and all the marshmallow birdies, and it's not even all the chocolate wrapped in pastel foil. I mean…yeah…I like those things. And I do partake.
What I love the most, though, is how the significance of the move Christ made for me on the Cross impacts me. It humbles me. Reminds me. Teaches me something new. Refreshes me. And brings new life to places in me that are parched. Always. Not to say that the rest of the year I'm not affected by His act of love for me and us, because I am…deeply…often.
A few days after the sun had set on Easter, I was re-reading the events that took place during the last week of Jesus' life. I've read and heard the story hundreds of times…and struggled each time to wrap my head around what He did for me. And this year was no different. However, there was part of the story this time that came off the page at me in a way I'd never known. And it was this:
John 13:3-5 ~ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
These twelve people, the disciples, that surrounded him at the Last Supper trusted him and followed him one day and doubted, denied, and betrayed him the next. Often they didn’t get what he was trying to teach them and, as well, questioned him when he instructed them to get out of the boat, keep their eyes on him, or cast their fishing nets on the other side. They repeatedly fell asleep when he asked them to pray. They were constantly wanting to know which of them was going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They had really given him no good reason to one by one wash their nasty feet.
So why would He? Yes…I know. He was God. I get that. But He was also fully man. Just like us! Which meant he could probably get annoyed. And perturbed. And irritated at friends who didn't use common sense. Or hurt his feelings. Let alone betray and deny him.
Instead...he served them.
And as I read and re-read the passage, and thought about what it was that enabled him to do so, these things leapt off the page at me.
1. He knew who He was. (Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power…)
2. He knew where He came from. (…and that he had come from God…)
3. He knew where He was going. (…and was returning to God…)
So…He served.
Cause and effect.
Knowledge. Something that penetrated and resided deep inside his mind, heart, soul, and bones so much that serving others was his natural response…to anyone. His true identity.
And then some more stuff hit me right between the eyes.
I have access to the the same knowledge and identity. And so does every person who believes.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
New creations in Christ...but only because of his life, death, and resurrection.
What I love the most, though, is how the significance of the move Christ made for me on the Cross impacts me. It humbles me. Reminds me. Teaches me something new. Refreshes me. And brings new life to places in me that are parched. Always. Not to say that the rest of the year I'm not affected by His act of love for me and us, because I am…deeply…often.
A few days after the sun had set on Easter, I was re-reading the events that took place during the last week of Jesus' life. I've read and heard the story hundreds of times…and struggled each time to wrap my head around what He did for me. And this year was no different. However, there was part of the story this time that came off the page at me in a way I'd never known. And it was this:
John 13:3-5 ~ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
These twelve people, the disciples, that surrounded him at the Last Supper trusted him and followed him one day and doubted, denied, and betrayed him the next. Often they didn’t get what he was trying to teach them and, as well, questioned him when he instructed them to get out of the boat, keep their eyes on him, or cast their fishing nets on the other side. They repeatedly fell asleep when he asked them to pray. They were constantly wanting to know which of them was going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They had really given him no good reason to one by one wash their nasty feet.
So why would He? Yes…I know. He was God. I get that. But He was also fully man. Just like us! Which meant he could probably get annoyed. And perturbed. And irritated at friends who didn't use common sense. Or hurt his feelings. Let alone betray and deny him.
Instead...he served them.
And as I read and re-read the passage, and thought about what it was that enabled him to do so, these things leapt off the page at me.
1. He knew who He was. (Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power…)
2. He knew where He came from. (…and that he had come from God…)
3. He knew where He was going. (…and was returning to God…)
So…He served.
Cause and effect.
Knowledge. Something that penetrated and resided deep inside his mind, heart, soul, and bones so much that serving others was his natural response…to anyone. His true identity.
And then some more stuff hit me right between the eyes.
I have access to the the same knowledge and identity. And so does every person who believes.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
New creations in Christ...but only because of his life, death, and resurrection.
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