by MeredithNMills | Jan 22, 2016 | Uncategorized
I just can’t get over God. His unstoppable, relentless, extravagant love…it astounds me. It undoes me. Nothing in human experience compares to such audacious, undeterred devotion.
Today, I’ve been reading the story of the “prodigal son” (Luke 15). Actually, I think we should call it the story of the “gracious father,” because really, it’s the dad’s response that makes all the difference.
As the story opens, we meet a most undesirable young man. Self-entitled and demanding, he can’t wait to get away from home. He claims his inheritance early and hits the road. Far from home, he squanders his money on sensual living. It all catches up with him, however, when a famine hits and his money runs out. From playboy to pig-keeper, great is his fall. And all those friends who hung around when he had money? Not one to be found.
Sitting in the pig slop, the young man remembers his dad. He recalls his father’s generosity to his servants, and decides maybe, just maybe, his dad would receive him back as a hired hand. So he begins the long journey home. As he walks, he rehearses the speech he will give to prove his penitence. He imagines his dad’s response – the shame and disappointment in his eyes, the anger in his voice, the “I told you so’s” and “things can never be the same” speech he was sure he would get.
Can you imagine his surprise when he sees his dad running toward him? Is he coming to stake a “no trespassing” sign at the gate?
Before a word is out of his mouth, his dad folds him into his arms and begins kissing him.
A bit dazed, the son starts his rehearsed speech. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” Before he can say another word, his dad interrupts and begins to lavish forgiveness and affirmation on him. He declares a feast and throws a party to celebrate his son’s return.
His son. Not a hired servant, but his son.
In this story, Jesus painted a picture of the heart of our God. Compassionate and approachable. Eager to forgive and to welcome back home. Bountiful and liberal in His gifts toward His kids.
And here’s what I find most amazing. When the father receives his son, he leaves no reminders of who his son once was.
Sure, the son has his memories and the natural consequences of his sin. But that dead person – he’s not dead anymore. That lost boy – he’s home now. He’s no longer a pig-keeper or a playboy. He is a son. He doesn’t have to try or prove or spend his life doing penance. He just is a son and nothing can change that fact.
He has a completely new identity.
And so it is with each of us who call God our Father. We are His kids – dearly beloved, fully accepted, lavishly gifted and intimately known.
While some might think this gives license to sin, I find it to be quite the opposite.
If I am so greatly loved, oh, how I want to love Him back!
If I am a new person, I want my life to reflect that fact.
If I am gifted with the Holy Spirit, I want to give Him free reign in my heart.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 Jn 3:1).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come” (2 Cor 5:17).
How does a new identity affect the way you think and live?
Related posts:
Come Close
Apple of His Eye
Eternal Life Now
by MeredithNMills | Nov 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
When your days are numbered, you look at life differently.
The pitter patter of not-so-little feet wakes me from my slumber. My bathroom light shocks the early morning darkness. Thirty seconds later comes my little boy’s voice, “Mama, I love you.” Then he climbs in bed and snuggles up next to me. Almost every morning.
Why doesn’t he use the hall bathroom, I sometimes wonder, frustrated at the moments of lost sleep.
Later in the day… “I need mommy love!” comes a tiny voice as my baby girl stretches her little hands up to me.
Sometimes I sigh. Her timing is rarely convenient.
That night…“Mama, can we look up that song I wanted to show you?” This time it’s my almost-tween. She’s so grown up, so beautiful. She has her own tastes, her own style – a fact I abruptly realized last time I took her clothes shopping. I forget how much she still needs me.
It’s so easy to see their requests and needs as interruptions. I often mistake their cries for relationship as more “work” for me. And I begrudge the gifts that they and God are offering me.
Sometimes the tyranny of the urgent distracts me from the beauty of the moment.
Someday my little boy will wake me up to snuggle for the last time. One day my baby girl will say, “I need mommy love”…and then never say it again. The day will come when my big girl offers her last invitation to look into her soul as we just sit and listen to her favorite songs together. Because kids grow up. Time moves on. And today’s gifts are gone.
My living room will stay tidy one day. No more dolls and toys and art supplies strewn all over the rug. No more books hiding under the couch. No more tiny construction vehicles to step on in the middle of the night. Because this season I’m living is just that – a season.
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts” (Ps 90:12).
Our days are numbered. We will never see these moments again. Ever. They will soon be simply memories.
Today is a gift from the Giver of all good things. Let’s stop and breathe and choose to rejoice in the things that really matter.
O God, give me wisdom to see the gifts You extend each day. When I get too busy to cherish your goodness – arrest my attention. Refocus me. Remind me that all our days are numbered. Give me wisdom to see and savor Your gifts.
What gifts has God given you in your current season? How will you slow down and savor them today?
by MeredithNMills | Jun 24, 2015 | Uncategorized
It’s not enough to simply “not hate.” Racial reconciliation is going to take more than that.
Dylaan Roof claims he attempted to start a “race war.” But his shooting rampage in Charleston last Wednesday night set off a much different response. It has inspired a movement against hatred, spread not with human weapons, but with supernatural love.
“A lot of people expected us to do something strange and break out in a riot. Well, they just don’t know us. We are people of faith,” said Rev. Goff, interim pastor of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston (USA Today news report on Sunday, June 21, 2015).
A people of faith. Faith prompted the victims to welcome Dylaan into their prayer circle Wednesday night. Faith enabled their families to extend forgiveness as they looked into his unmoved eyes on a monitor at the bail hearing. Faith gives them hope for the future as they walk through the agony of the present.
Faith inspires supernatural love. We can love because we are loved by God. We can forgive because we have been forgiven through the blood of Jesus. This is what the victims’ families in Charleston modeled to a watching nation.
We are all, every human being, made in the image of God (Gen 1:27). We’re all descendants of the first human couple (Gen 3:20). We are all under the curse of sin (Rom 3:23). We’re all greatly loved by God (John 3:16). He is redeeming as His own those from every tribe, tongue, people and nation (Rev 5:9). In the eyes of our Creator, all men and women are deeply loved and are created equal.
There are really only two kinds of people in this world.
There are those without saving faith in Jesus – we’re commissioned to share His good news of salvation with them in love (Mk 16:15). And there are our brothers and sisters in Christ – fellow believers from all different nations, different cultures, different skin colors. Love is to characterize His family. In fact, Jesus said that the world will know we are His by our love for one another (Jn 13:34-35).
So there really is no room for hatred. Not for those outside God’s family. Not for our brothers and sisters in God’s family. Only supernatural love will overcome the evils of racial prejudice.
Supernatural love is an active love. It’s not just choosing not to hate. It goes beyond that into actively welcoming others into our lives – those like us, those different than us.
This love involves seeing others through the eyes of Christ and investing time, energy and compassion into their lives. It embraces humility, realizing that my own life is enriched by experiencing other cultures and by learning from the people around me.
Faith is the foundation for supernatural love. Faith in the Word of God is the basis for how we interact with others. Faith in the love of God is the motivation for how we live our lives. Faith in the promises of God is the hope for enduring pain and choosing love.
As Christians, we know that this world is not our home. Heaven is. One day we will take up residence there in the presence of Jesus with no more tears, no more hate, no more violence, no more racial prejudice.
As Christians, our primary identity is not our nationality or race or denomination. We are members of the household of faith – a family that spans the globe and reaches through time.
As Christians, we have a purpose to fulfill during our time here. We are called to show God to the world by living out His sacrificial love (1 John 4:12).
So let us join with our brothers and sisters in Charleston and choose love. Let us be tools in the hand of God to bring good out of this evil. And may many come to faith in Christ as they see our unity and love for one another.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” Gen 50:20.
How do you express the love of God in your daily life? In what ways have you been enriched by opening your heart to learn from others?
by MeredithNMills | Jun 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
Do you ever feel like a plastic cup in a garbage truck?
You know, those days when the pressures and demands of daily life are so overwhelming you feel like you will be crushed by them? Like you just want to run away? Or go back to bed and then try to start the day over? Well, today was one of those days.
It’s a bit crazy over here.
Our dishwasher stopped working a few weeks ago. Not an essential appliance. But such a handy one. Then our washing machine broke. A bit more important. So this weekend we replaced them both. We found some good deals on Craigslist, but later realized they needed a bit of work before they were really “good deals.”
Yesterday I went to do my first load of laundry in the new washing machine. Why on earth does this front-load washing machine stink, I wondered? And what’s that black stuff I hadn’t noticed before...yep, mildew. Not cool. After a few cycles of bleach water, still no improvement. This may take a while to get clean.
Then last night, as hubby was installing the new dishwasher, he realized it needed a different supply line. And…the stores were closing in five minutes. That’s okay, I thought, staying calm. The water was turned off to the house, thanks to a defective shut-off valve spewing water all over the kitchen. But we don’t really need water through the night.
Everything’s fine. This is an adventure we will laugh about later.
So this morning, we faced the day with two dishwashers laying sideways on the dirty kitchen floor, a smelly washing machine and lots of nasty towels. Sweet hubby got up at 5:30 am to be at Lowes when they opened. He got the supply line, came home and installed the new dishwasher. (I love having a handy husband!)
Then the toilet, the one we couldn’t flush through the night, that toilet – it overflowed. And I was still trying to figure out how to clean the washing machine so I could wash all these dirty towels. Guess we’ll be going to the laundromat today. And the kids will just have to use yesterday’s towels for swimming lessons.
Oh, and did I mention that I thought yesterday would be a good day to start stripping wallpaper from the dining room wall? Of course, it’s not coming down without a fight. We are switching rooms up over here, a move that involves five different spaces. But before it can be completed, the dining room wallpaper must come down and the walls must be painted. So on top of the appliances adventure, furniture is out of place and clutter is winning the battle for order.
So, it was just one of those days…when I feel like a plastic cup being crushed in a garbage truck.
One of those days when I need God to be my refuge.
“O Lord my God, in You do I take refuge…” (Ps 7:1a). I read that verse a few days ago, and pondered the idea of “taking refuge.” It means to flee, to trust, to hope in. It involves “precipitate action.”* Google defines precipitate as, “acting suddenly or without careful consideration.”
I like that. Because on days like today, I don’t have any eloquent prayers or well-planned petitions. I just need help – suddenly, quickly, right now. I need more strength than I have. I need a guard over my tongue so I don’t hurt my little people who aren’t responsible for the craziness. I need Jesus – I need Him to produce His fruit in me (Gal 5:22-23). I certainly can’t produce it myself.
“…In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength…” (Is 30:15).
Quiet confidence. Settle that in my heart today, Lord.
Life is chaotic. But You are undisturbed. I am uptight and stressed out. But You are my unchanging God of peace. Carry me through the craziness, and let Your love control my words and actions. Let the people around me see a very active, very present God alive in me. One who cares about the details of life and gives strength in weakness. Make this mess beautiful, Lord.
How have you seen God be your refuge? What do you do when you feel like a plastic cup in a garbage truck?
*Lexical Aids to the Old Testament, Key Word Study Bible
by MeredithNMills | May 26, 2015 | rest, Uncategorized
Driven by duty, or led by love? It makes a difference.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30.
Am I the only one who has had a problem with those verses? The Christian life as rest – what? An easy yoke and a light burden? Experience told me otherwise.
Until recently.
Until life crumbled and weakness won out. Until I could no longer keep up with the “good girl” life. Until everything I believed came unraveled. (To read about my journey, click here.)
In that place of weakness, with crumbled faith and nothing to offer God, I experienced rest. The God of rest came to me and picked me up. He gathered me in His arms and carried me close to His heart (see Isaiah 40:11). And there, near His heart, I began to learn from Him. And I found rest for my soul.
I had spent my life driven to do. Do more. Do better. Just keep doing. He deserves my best, after all. But the doing was never enough because I knew that Jesus had said heart motives were just as important as actions (see Matt 5:20-22, 27-28). I could never measure up. How could this possibly be rest?
But I learned, there near His heart, that God does not drive His children to do. We are not cattle prodded along a path, a destination to be reached by morning. Instead, He leads us as a shepherd leads his sheep (Ps 23). The shepherd guides them beside still waters. He gives them green pastures in which to rest.
In fact, the Hebrew word here for lead carries the connotation of guiding to a place of rest and refreshment. It means to lead with care. In Exodus 15:13, we read, “In Your unfailing love You will lead the people You have redeemed. In Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.” He leads us with unfailing love. And did you catch where He is guiding us? To His “dwelling.” To His presence. Into deeper intimacy and friendship. He is not trying to get us somewhere. He is bringing us near. That’s where He is leading us. Closer.
Our Shepherd has a loving relationship with His sheep. He knows each of us by name. And the sheep know and trust His voice (John 10:3-18), because we walk with Him. The picture is one of sweet companionship.
In the opening passage from Matthew, Jesus uses another word picture to describe our relationship with Him. He invites us into His “yoke.” He shares our burdens with us. He’s not the farmer driving the oxen. He’s in the yoke working with us. We find rest as we learn from Him. As we keep in step with Him.
This Christian life is not lived for Him. It’s lived by Him – He leads; we follow (John 10:3-5). He empowers; we walk in victory (Col 1:11, Rom 8:37). He works in us; our lives please Him (Phil 2:13). Our job is to rest – in who He is and what He has done for us. Our work is abide in Him and let Him bear fruit through us (John 15:4-5).
What does resting in Jesus look like in your life? Any practical tips for resting when life is anything but restful? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
