It’s been a good afternoon in God today, a real good afternoon.
So I started reading John today for the purpose of… yup seeing how Jesus did life. :) seems to always be the reason why I go through the gospels. Well as I was reading I ran into the story of the Samaritan woman. But what struck me about the story was the end of it, what Jesus said to his disciples.
Let me set up the story, they have been gone for a little while (the disciples) and they started urging Jesus to eat. He says to them “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples were saying to each other “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
I stopped there in John and just sat on it. Two thoughts occurred to me the first one being “God do I get my substances, life from obeying You?” The second occurred several hours after the other thought, “everyone gets their sustenance from following you, only we don’t know it.”
I started chomping through the first idea this morning/afternoon. “How long has it been since that was the case with me? That my life came through doing your will? That people remained or left in [in my life] because I knew it was your will. That I took this test [the bar]…What sustained you was to do God’s will. I’m not sure if I understand what that looks like yet. Will you teach me? will you show me how to get satisfaction from simply following you? to get my life from knowing I am doing your will. Obedience and disobedience will carry a higher penalty and I will not be able to simply slide.
But it will be a life like I have never lived before and I am ready for it.
Those thoughts occurred until the second thought hit me on the car ride home… life is already like that for us. What do I mean. We are already set up to only truly live and have life when we are following Him, obeying Him. For example, I am miserable when I am not following after God. It is not a simple guilty issue, but my life, my light inside, is dim and I am not the same person. I have seen it time and time again with different areas of my life. I am less me the further I am away from Him. I tried to get someone once to understand that… and my old co-worker understood that about me. I will never forget how my co-workers knew instinctively when I have not had enough time with God… there was a nickname they gave me for those moments.
Anyways that is what I was chomping through today.
Good Friends
On a lighter note I spent some good time with old friends from high school. Yin and Jang are old buddies that I have not seen in ages. I feel oddly normal when I am with my old high school buddies… we are all just a little off, and a little inappropriate (when I say a little inappropriate think a lot inappropriate). I have always measured whether or not anything could go anywhere with a guy by whether or not I thought he could hang with this crew… sad to say I am not sure if I have met a guy who could honestly be able to appreciate (and I do mean appreciate, not just tolerate) the group when they are just being themselves and someone the group would not eat for dinner (both parts are necessary, I know men that have one or the other). However as spouses are being brought in I am seeing a little bit of what could fit with the group. First off, this person needs a thick skin and a good sense of humor. Wait let me rephrase that VERY thick skin and an ability to not get embarrassed when your significant other shares intimate details about your relationship while you are sitting at the table. Yin’s husband is a GREAT sport.
Well seeing as Yin and I had not seen each other in a while, she thought it appropriate to ask me very loudly while we are standing at the bar, “You’re still a virgin right?” “Yes, yes Yin, I am.” then later at the table she goes, “You know kissing and making out is ok but nothing else. Ok?” I am not going to recite the rest of what she said… suffice to say thank goodness I don’t get embarrassed easily. Part of why Yin’s concern cracks me up is because Yin and I share different values…
But I love that crew. We bounced around from topic to topic. Race and issues of race are not taboo or uncomfortable… conversation flows so easily and so honestly (maybe too honestly for the public place we were at). There is something about being friends with someone long term (15 years+) that takes away any pretense or having to explain yourself, they just know you. I am not saying you will not have your issues but a lot of b.s. is cut out.
Anyways that’s all I got for you guys.
No comments:
Post a Comment