Shut it Down!

I wasted precious time last week. The focus was on me. I spent overtime with my fears and anxieties. The news at home and abroad invaded my every waking moment. Political intrigue and Islamic violence captivated  the "what ifs"  of my tomorrow.
So today I have chosen to "shut it down". I will turn loose of me (my ego) my fears and anxieties and give them back to God.  I will release my  fears and anxieties and even my frustration of my Razorbacks 52 point loss.  Jesus promised "He" would be "Present" with us to the very end of the age.  This week I plan on being "Present" with Him moment by moment and not worry about all the "what ifs" of tomorrow . 

I Saw God Today

I have driven the same road on my way to work for twenty five years. The majority of time I never was aware of anything but an expanding two lane road becoming a four lane road. The only challenge on my short four mile drive was what speed to maintain so I could avoid not having to stop at one, but now a total of seven traffic lights.  Then one day a few years ago I decided I would try and experience something new I had never seen before on each journey. I was soon amazed at overhanging trees, hidden pathways, unique structures and seven small hills highlighting the community I call home.

So today on my morning drive I saw the sun once again in all its brilliance lighting the dawn. I deposited deep in my spirit the radiant orange sunbeams touching and burning the dew from the night. A spacious field lined by a three plank wood fence was sparsely dotted with horses grazing and meeting the new day. The smoky mountains a couple of hundred miles away were now present in my mind. The fog settled and hovered over some but not all of the figures on the rolling landscape.  It was a scene no canvas has ever captured. This morning “I Saw God Today” because I made a decision a few years ago I would look far beyond just four lanes and seven traffic lights on my road of life.

The Right is Killing Us

The belief that I am right and you are wrong is killing all of us. We all need a good dose of humility. The tragic irony of the “War between the States” more Americans were killed in this war than all the other wars combined in American history. It was not only brother killing brother, but Christian killing other Christians over who was right in the name of God. There is currently an ongoing political and spiritual debate that divides us in much the same way today.

I share as one who believes in God, however humbly admitting how does any finite man encounter/relate/explain the infinite God?  How does anthropocentric man, by definition a self consumed egocentric entity interpret God?  I must acknowledge at best my ability to explain the concept of God or the divine flows out of a very limited knowledge at best. So when I share my faith I share not out of the need of being right but out of humility and respect for those who may disagree.

Jesus didn’t give the first commandment that you would be right about everything concerning your faith and politics in life. He simply said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” He then summarized all good religion with the second commandment. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” I think He could be right about that.    

Centered in the Presence of God

The goal of the Christian life is living our life centered in the eternal presence of God. The center represents the driving force of one’s life where the totality of our thought and life brings us into communion and union with the heart of God. It is nothing more or nothing less than our full devotion in knowing and seeking the life giving love of the resurrected Christ. 

 In Christian theology the center is aptly described by the apostle Paul, who states I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. 

His practical experience reveals a relationship where the life of Christ has transformed his heart and resides in him. Paul no longer lives in his present state of reality, but in a new reality of the cosmic (eternal) Christ taking control of his life. He no longer lives his life in his own power and intellect. He lives life filled by grace no longer with his limited knowledge but now filled with the knowledge of God.   His heart moves closer each day to be like Christ’s heart.  He declares as he dies to his own desires and passions his heart becomes more like Christ’s heart. Christ’s life becomes his life and now being centered in Him he is more and more transformed to become like Christ, act like Christ and talk like Christ.   The heart of Jesus now lives and acts through Paul’s heart and life. Paul now lives life centered in Christ.