Category Archives: Obedience

Who are you?

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When a family is expecting a new baby, each one speculates about who that baby might be…. for 9 long months. By the time D-day arrives, everybody’s dying of curiosity to find out: Is it a he or she? What color hair, eyes? How big or small? How long or short?

#10Immediately after the birth, those questions are answered, and we begin the process of getting acquainted with someone new.

Our extended family has started that delightful process this week with the birth of Mary and Bervin’s 10th grandchild, Harrison Arthur Ytterberg. On Thursday we learned “it” was a boy weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces with light brown hair, blue eyes, and features much like his older brother Beck.

But our guessing continues, and we wonder who is hidden inside that little body. Will Harrison be mild-mannered or tantrum-prone? Will he be a people-person or a loner? Talkative or quiet? Mechanically inclined? A good student? Artistically gifted? Only time will tell.

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Questions answeredMost of us view each new baby as a blank slate and expect good things from him or her. We think the best of every newborn and ascribe no negative traits. So an interesting question is, why can’t we view every new adult acquaintance the same way?

When we’re introduced to an adult we’ve never met, our tendency is to take one look and assume we know all about them, quickly supposing facts that most likely aren’t true. Then, based on our inaccurate assessment, we choose to either show favoritism or partiality. God frowns on this kind of judging.

Still, most of us are prone to peg people based on what we see at first glance. We “size ‘em up” and think we can somehow land on accuracy just by looking. The truth is every person is far more complicated than that. As we get to know someone, little by little we usually find out we were wrong in those first radical jumps to conclusions, and we feel ashamed of ourselves. God is the only completely accurate Judge of who a person is, because he can judge thoroughly, inside and out.

First Chronicles 28:9 says,“The Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.” As human beings we could never hope to see into someone like that, and yet we act as if we can. It would be better if we’d let God be the only insta-judge, taking a wait-and-see approach to decide what we think.

Harrison ArthurAs we watch little Harrison grow and change, may we never peg him prematurely but wait patiently to see who God has made this brand new person to be.

God does not show favoritism. Acts 10:34

Inner Promptings

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Back when I was “eliminating and concentrating” my possessions, I needed to find new homes for over 50 pieces of decorative glass. The neighborhood consignment shop, a charity outlet, and willing friends factored into placing these items, but one piece went someplace special.

Glass purseA glass purse I loved [like this picture but in cobalt blue] was about 6″ high and had clear glass handles. At our local bank, one of the tellers collected glass handbags and shared them with the rest of us by arranging them along the bank’s customer counter.

I wondered if she’d like my cobalt purse and decided to take it on my next visit to the bank. I stuffed the glass purse into my leather one but then had second thoughts. “What if her collection was given by a mother or grandmother and was based in sentimentality? What if she didn’t want any more purses? What if she said, ‘No thanks’? What if she wasn’t at work that day?”

But after tiring of my negative back-and-forth, I decided to ditch my worries and give it to her, even if it turned out badly. Waiting at her teller station surrounded by pretty purses, I felt funny. Others were standing behind me, watching. When she finally came, I nudged my glass purse toward her and sheepishly said, “Is there room for one more?”

She gasped with delight and clapped her hands together, then threw them both in the air. Picking it up carefully as if it were an injured baby bird she said, “Oh my goodness! It’s absolutely gorgeous! Really? Oh my word! Thank you!”

On and on she lavished praise on my little offering and on me, and I felt like a kindergartener who’d just become student of the week. Walking to the car I thought back to my negative self-talk and felt ashamed. How silly to have worried over her reaction.

Mary reminded me later of a quote from George Sweeting: “Never suppress a generous impulse.” I like that, because it’s a clean-cut way to make a quick decision without the stress of second-guessing.

So what was behind my wishy-washy self-talk? The answer can only be pride. I was nervous about what she (and others) would think of me. I was afraid of being embarrassed or rejected. And I wanted to be approved of, as a gift-giver.

God clearly states the dangers of prideful thinking:

  • Pride leads to disgrace…
  • Pride leads to conflict…
  • Pride is followed by destruction…
  • Pride ends in humiliation…

When I returned to the bank the next time, I used the drive-thru. “My” teller was managing the vacuum tubes, and when she saw me, she thanked me again for the purse. By her kind response, she underscored Pastor Sweeting’s excellent advice: never suppress a generous impulse.

(Above: Proverbs 11:2, 13:10, 16:18, 29:23, New Living Translation)

Tomorrow: Celebrating the end of chemo, by Mary

Come and get me.

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Any of us who’ve lost loved ones to death find our thoughts moving between two different worlds, the here and the hereafter. This back-and-forth thought process includes a pause at a theological stop sign: Christ’s second coming.

According to the calendar of human history, we’re living in that middle ground between Jesus’ first coming and his second, his first as a newborn who grew into our radical Savior, and his second as a Victor in battle.

Once in a while I think, “What if Jesus returned tonight?”

The Second ComingHe promised that when he did come back, it would be to defeat evil and escort Christians to heaven. He actually said, “I’ll take you home with me.” (John 14:2)

I love that he’s implying we’ll feel at home when we get to heaven. It’ll be similar to returning home after an arduous journey with a big “ahhh” of contentment. But I’m not really sure I want it to be tonight, and there’s a good reason: I need more time to do better at the Christian life.

Most of us get only 7 or 8 decades on the earth, and it took me about half of those to get into gear in my walk with the Lord. Much of my early life was bare-minimum believing as I straddled a spiritual fence between obedience and rebellion. Even now in my late 60′s, I should be doing much better.

So, I figure, I need more time to keep trying.

Is Jesus reading this and chuckling? Or is he reading it and saying, “You’ve got the right idea.” Being unsure of the answer is an indication of my spiritual immaturity. Of course I’m longing to be with Jesus and walk into his home, discovering the place he’s prepared for me. But as the Bible so aptly puts it,”Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 4:9) Time to try harder will eventually end.

My hesitation to head to heaven isn’t because I want to earn more glory-points. It’s about feeling bad over personal sin and hoping to become a better daughter to my heavenly Father. There’s just one nagging thought behind my philosophy of wanting more earthly time. What if my condition as a human being is exactly the factor that’s prohibiting greater success at godly living? What if even the most saintly person among us feels just like I do, no matter how many years she’s had to work on it?

In that case, it would be a really good thing if Jesus just came and got us tonight.

“To the one who does not work but trusts God, who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)