LifeSavers

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. —Hebrews 4:12-13 The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, “Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?” The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a bas...

Jesus…summarized God’s stubborn love with a parable. He told about a teenager who decided that life on the farm was too slow for his tastes. So with pockets full of inheritance money, he set out to find the big time. What he found instead were hangovers, fair-weather friends, and long unemployment lines. When he had had just about as much of the pig’s life he could take, he swallowed his pride, dug his hands deep into his empty pockets, and began the long walk home; all the while rehearsing a speech that he planned to give his father. He never used it. Just when he got to the top of the hill, his father, who’d been waiting at the gate, saw him. The boy’s words of apology were quickly muffled by the father’s words of forgiveness… If you ever wonder how God can use you to make a difference in your world, …look at the forgiveness found in those open arms and take courage.

Our inability to finish what we start is seen in the smallest of things: A partly mowed lawn. A half-read book. Or, it shows up in life’s most painful areas: An abandoned child. A wrecked marriage. Any chance I’m addressing someone who is considering giving up? If I am, I want to encourage you to remain. I want to encourage you to remember Jesus’ determination on the cross. Jesus didn’t quit. But don’t think for one minute that he wasn’t tempted to. Did he ever want to quit? You bet. That’s why his words are so splendid. “It is finished.”

“Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7 God has a great race for you to run. Under his care you will go where you’ve never been and serve in ways you’ve never dreamed. But you have to drop some stuff. How can you share grace if you are full of guilt? How can you offer comfort if you are disheartened? How can you lift someone else’s load if your arms of full with your own? For the sake of those you love, travel light. For the sake of the God you serve, travel light. For the sake of you own joy, travel light. There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. Your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust him.