I was just thinking about ...
BEING OF THE WORLD
“Remember, you’re going to send me the devotion today, right?” Kim was reminding me of something I had put off for too long now. “Yep, as soon as I get to the office.” Yet as I walked out the door, I was thinking, “What in the world am I going to say?” Nothing has been coming to mind this week. Actually, it’s been two weeks hasn’t it? (Oops, my sincerest apologies to all who have visited this site looking for something that wasn’t there. The last two weeks have been non-stop activities; but I’m sure you’ve all been there before.)
As I strolled through the grass on the way to the office, I noticed it was getting long. “I need to cut the grass, too! Great, another thing I have to do. When does it end?” My mind started going back to a child’s game that would prepare them for adult life. I can’t remember the name but it had a spring-loaded plastic camel with baskets on each side of its back. The object was to put sticks in the basket but not be the one who placed the stick in that would break the camel’s back. Suddenly I felt like a plastic camel in a weird cosmic game.
“Wait a minute, I enjoy cutting the grass.” Why was I looking at it with such drudgery? After all, it’s good exercise, there’s no phone to answer and I can daydream if I want … I really enjoy doing it! “Don’t I enjoy doing devotions, too?” I thought about this for a moment and came to the realization that I do. I like to let my mind wander through gardens and wildernesses of creative thinking. And usually, I get to have a great chat with God, Jesus, my pets, the birds of the air, and just about anything else you can think of. I get to take my time and smell the flowers or feel the cool, gentle grass under my feet. I can hear sweet voices, powerful waterfalls, individual beats of a butterfly’s wings or even … pure silence. It’s my escape, a time to not be of this world.
Maybe that’s it! I am too tied up in this world. I don’t spend enough time with God, exploring all of creation or even the supernatural qualities of God. I began to think about what Paul said about being in the world, but not of this world. He wanted people to know that the world is in a fallen state. And the greater our physical attachment to it becomes, the more perilous is the state of our soul, or spiritual side.
Now think about the worries concerning budgets, appearances and time constraints that the world would weigh us down with? Kind of depressing isn’t it. Kind of makes you want to run outside and yell, “I quit, world! Now get off my back!” But alas, we are tied to the physical world. If you don’t believe me, wait a few hours and see if your stomach doesn’t give you a gentle reminder. Or wait a little longer and see if your eyes will stay open as long as you want. (Please don’t be driving if you try this!) We do have to stay in this world for a while. We do have to eat, wear clothes and have shelter. But aside from those, what is really important? Think about that next time you start to feel like I did; like the world was closing in around you. Then take a trip to God’s magic garden. Your troubles won’t go away, but you’ll be better able to deal with them after you have a long talk with your God.
Gotta go now, I think chocolate is in order. In fact, I think I can find God in chocolate. Don’t believe me? Well come back next week and find out. I update the devotion every week (hopefully) around Sunday.
Drop
on by anytime, I'll be here and so will God,
Dennis