My dad is riding his bike across the country over the next few weeks. They aren't going all the way across...just to Colorado and then back. I texted him the day he left and told him to have a good time and be safe. He texted me back that it was super hot and the wind was blowing crazy(not fun when you are on the back of a Harley)...that the scenery was beautiful...and then he signed it...Dad. As if i didn't know who it was from, so I thought that was super cute.
My dad just got his iPhone about 3 months or so ago and he has just cracked me up with it. He came to visit shortly after his BIG upgrade and Ric, Mom, and I were all telling him cool options...fun apps...all the tools that he had...right at his finger tips. He sat there for a while, soaking it all in and then said "I got one question...how do I send a text??". I laughed...really hard...and then went and showed him how to send a simple text message. It tickled me so, because we were showing him all this awesome advance stuff and downloading app after app...and dude didn't even know how to send a text message.
Isn't that just how we do life sometimes? We try to complicate things by doing the hard stuff before we master the simplest tasks. Whether its in our housework...it seems like I always take on a major project in the midst of simple cleaning...and then my simple cleaning has turned into a ginormous mess!! With our kids...we sometimes try to get them to do flips off the diving board before they even know how to swim...that's a joke, but some may do that! We want our kids to be so "advanced" and be potty trained...and sleep trained...and doing all the big stuff before our friends kids(cause isn't parenting a competition??). I jest, but sometimes we look at things that way.
Spiritually, I think we sometimes overlook the simple things that Christ has called us to do...commanded us to do, and we dive into the "bigger...flashier" stuff that gets us noticed. We get so caught up with wanting more knowledge(which is so important...we should always be growing in our Faith) that we don't live that knowledge out. We aren't being the hands and feet that God has required us to be. We want to know all the big words...and read all the "in the know" people's blogs...and have the latest books and commentaries and yet we are so busy that we forget that whole "love your brother" part. All those "extras" are not bad in and of themselves...they are great things, but if we are so bombarded with all of that, that we don't do the simple stuff, then we have for sure missed the mark!
I have been reading through 1 John and am beyond convicted over the words he penned. 2:9-11~"Whoever say he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. whoever loves his brother abides in the light and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes".
1 John 3:11~For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another"
I have decided that I am going to sit back and focus on this...that I am going to love my brothers and sisters in Christ. That I am going to encourage them when they are down...that I am going to point them to scripture when they are in need...that I am going to pray for them earnestly...that I am not going to judge people the way I have in the past...that I am going to love the way Christ called me to...that I am going to purposefully share the Gospel with my friends...family...and strangers. I can learn all the "big" stuff but if I don't love and tell of His love, then it's all for naught.
2 comments:
Wonderful post!
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