There is a progressive nature with directions and I talked a little about it last week. I can’t learn and make progress without a little bit of wandering. It’s in the deserts (the place of the WORD) and the Babylons (place of confusion) in our lives that we are able to grow and be transformed.
But it occurred to me today, however, that there is an essential part of the experience that will help determine the outcome in a positive light. One of the great things about living where we do currently, is that we can see the ocean anytime. This helps me establish my bearings in my immediate surroundings. If I can find the ocean, I can likely figure out where I’m at and what direction home is.
I know, that might be a bummer of an example for you, especially if you’re sick of the cold. LOL. So, I won’t focus on that, and we’ll use another, less braggadocios, illustration.
The sun.
No matter where you are, the sun’s first light of day is in the eastern horizon and the last glimpse of its glowing rays disappear in the western sky. Because of this, unless it is directly overhead, the position of the sun will always indicate the cardinal directions.
I tend to find myself looking to that big ball of fire to help orient myself in unfamiliar places, like when we’re on vacation (or just moved to SoCal).
This doesn’t negate the struggle, confusion, and difficulty we talked about last week. The sun rises and sets in the desert, just like in Babylon, the same as it does in paradise. The sun and the ocean do not remove problems, in fact sometimes problems happen because of them. But they are constant, and they provide a reference point to navigate every other part of the day and the issues that may do their best to disrupt and derail our lives.
God set in stone a set of laws to help people understand their relationship to God and their relationship to each other. They are laws like a speed limit or stop sign – they structure order and establish boundaries. They are also laws like Isaac Newton discovered regarding physics. They speak to the nature of the way things work.
Life (wholeness) works WHEN these are followed but also life STOPS working when these are forgotten or broken. In the first two of the 10 commandments, we read that having no other God’s except the one true God is critical and discover that we are not to make idols or worship things that have been made by us or by others.
I think we miss the point when we only think of life in God as rules like stop signs where we can do whatever we want but if a cop catches us breaking one, (in this case God), we’ll be punished immediately. I want to give take you back to the night Peter decided to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus on the water. It was when he stopped looking at Jesus that he became overwhelmed by the chaos and consumed by the surroundings.
Jesus comments on his faith, indicating that the law at work in wholeness of life is found in following the commands of the LORD. And death, destruction, and desperation come when we act outside of them. This is living in the will of God. This is living in relationship to God. This is living in the laws of God.
So, where are you living? Are things broken around you, in you? Maybe it’s a symptom of the breaking of God’s law, not living in relationship with Him! Like Peter, have you taken your eyes off Jesus, living into the brokenness, and found yourself being overwhelmed in this world?
#LawOfLiving
#FaithIsLiving
#DirectionConnection
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
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