June 30, 2010

Really?

Hi, blog friends! Seriously, I've got to figure out how to arrange for blogging time in my new life here. As I type there are mountains of papers I should go through, books I should read, phone calls I should make, etc. I'm sure you're familiar with the normal adult experiences, so I need not go on. But it's rest time, both kids are busy, and I want to "talk" with you!

Naturally in the rhythm of caring for kids, changing addresses with organizations and insurance companies, spending time with my husband, getting to know a new area, and shuttling E to and from Vacation Bible School, my mind has been racing with several future blog post. Currently, I can't post pictures because our webservice isn't that good. Some of those photo-based ones will come in the future. But here's one of the things that I've been thinking about.

The Good Lord has been ministering to my soul in this time of transition, despite Brian's early wake-ups and having trouble getting time to myself during the day. (Yes, God can grow you even if you don't have hours a day to set aside to study and pray. Particularly for you moms of tots out there: read a few verses, write and encouraging or challenging one down and hang it above your sink, meditate on it, memorize it. You'll see God begin to use Scripture to change your heart. I don't know about you, but I'm keenly aware of many ways my heart needs to be changed these days!)

A couple of months ago I came across this verse about Jesus at the beginning of Hebews:
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
And sometime last week I was reading the story, recorded in John 13, about Jesus washing the disciples feet the night before he was crucified. It says this in verses 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.
Jesus, the radiance of Gods glory and exact representation of his being, knowing that God had put all things under his power, KNELT DOWN AND WASHED HIS STUDENTS' FEET!

I don't know about you, but this runs contrary to what I would do naturally, if I knew someone had put all things under my power. But Jesus came, as Hebrews points out, to show us what God is like. Jesus even washed the feet of the one who, moments later, would leave to betray him for some money. What kind of a god is this?

John 13:1 says that in this action, Jesus was showing his disciples the full extent of His love - the very love of God the Father, to whom He was returning.

I don't have any profound exposition for you. But I wanted to invite you to marvel with me.

If you follow Christ, this is the kind of love that is yours.

Every moment of every day.

3 comments:

  1. I remember Rick talking about living in that tension: that God's love is both powerful and He has all things under him and yet it is personal and open for us to experience and enjoy. There are moments when my head can really wrap around that idea and some moments when it seems so crazy that I wonder, "What kind of God is this?" Thanks for taking time to talk with your blogging family despite all the other things...I have a mountain to catch up on too but am relaxing while the Lord sees fit to give me time!

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  2. I'm past the 'baby' stage now :-(, but I always say this to young mums: God is so gracious, so kind. He knows our situation, and He gives us what our souls need.
    I have *slightly* more time now (only slightly, with homeschooling 3 and feeding 6 or 7 every night!), and I worry more about how little time I spend in His Word now...now that there *are* more opportunities.
    But for now - love every minute of being a 'baby's mum'....it'll soon pass, and you will miss it soooo much. I do!
    Love, Anne x

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  3. Anne, welcome to the blog! And thank you for the encouragement from across the ocean. My in-laws are from Northern Ireland and I sure do hope to make it to Scotland on one of our trips there someday!

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