"You're blessed when you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
Matthew 5:4
A small list of WHAT is most dear to me:
cell phone
photographs of my friends and family
my Bibles (i have multiple ones that mean something to me)
blankets my nana knit
Sometimes I think about my house catching on fire or being robbed. Admit it... sometimes you think about the same things. You can't help but think about 'what would happen if".
I had this exact conversation with my friend Sarah this weekend. We were talking about our non-weapon approach to defending our belongings in case of a break in. (the topics you discus while on the road completely amaze me). My approach to my belongings is just that... they are belongings. You can replace belongings.. you can't replace people.
After looking at my list of WHAT is most dear to me I realize that the items that are most dear to me are dear to me because of what they represent.
My cell phone is the main way I stay in touch with people that I love and minister with.
Photographs contain memories of the people I love and care about.
My Bibles all mean something different to be because of the stage of life I was in when i received them. I still use the Bible I had when I first became a youth minister 12 years ago.
My blankets that were knit by my Nana are so special to me because I love my Nana and I love the time and love that she put into each of those blankets.
This scripture is about so much more than the WHAT. This scripture is about the relationships behind the WHAT. When we lose things that are most dear to us we mourn over much more than that item. We mourn over the people behind that item. The memories behind that item.
So if these items and memories behind these items are so special to us... why would God want us to lose them?
I believe that its all about the power we put behind those items.
God wants us to lose the power behind the items so that we can be embraced by the One who created those memories in the first place.
What does that look like?
It looks like this:
* Instead of giving my cell phone all the power and glory for helping me stay connected with those who i love and minister to... I need to give up control with each text message, facebook update, and phone call I make. I need to glorify God with each key stroke and conversation. I need God to embrace all of my cell phone usage.
*Instead of looking at all of my photographs on the surface.. I need to look deeper. I need to see how God has been working in those relationships and friendships. I need to see God's embrace in the eyes of everybody in those photographs. Giving the One most dear to me for providing opportunities for me to be part of a bigger story beyond the memories in those photographs.
*My Bibles are so special to be because of the stories behind each Bible and not the scriptures within the Bibles. I need to embrace the concept that my story is part of God's story. The Bible is beyond symbolism and memories.. it is a living book with life giving grace filled words. How many times do we actually give the One credit for what feeds us daily in the Bible. I have to admit that I rarely thank God for the words that direct my path and enrich my life.
*The blankets knit by my nana allow me to feel the warmth of her embrace even though she lives so far away from me. Instead of just thinking about my Nana's warm embrace i need to remember that we are embraced by the One when we are embraced by others. The next time I use my blankets i need to remember how God works through others and despite of others.
My prayer for you today is that you make an honest inventory of the WHAT in your life. What is most dear to you? Why are those things so dear to you? How can you lose the power and the limits behind those items and embrace what God has intended for you?
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