Monday, January 05, 2009

Matthew 13:44

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

-A man finds the truth of God, and in his giddiness, gets up and sells everything else he owns to take in the joy and truth of this one thing.  Isn't this beautiful?!!?  This is what God calls us to--to truly dive into His love and experience it in fullness.  So much so that we are willing to give up everything we once had that does not relate to it.  

Remember, the man buys the field for the treasure--he accepts the gift along with every aspect of life that comes with it:  the lack of a house; the possible leveling, plowing, and farming that the field requires to live in; the wild animals that may inhabit it; etc.  Not only that, but he completely casts off everything he once knew because it pales in comparison to this glorious new gift.  Have you ever experienced the same thing?  Because this is the image of the love of God.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Alone with God


I have been all over the place recently.  Finishing my senior year in college, serving as youth and outreach minister at my church (not to mention all of the Christmas stuff that happens, and the Winterfest trip we just took), being the Baptist Collegiate Ministry President, as well as the state representative for our school and planning the college retreats, spending time with my girlfriend and friends (which is a blessing completely, but still time taken), and in the midst of all of this I was trying to convince myself that I was setting aside enough time for me and God.

But if that were true, there would be absolutely no reason for me to be writing this blog.

And so I realized two nights ago that God had a more solitary experience planned for me than I had for myself.  I was supposed to leave the next morning for a mission trip to Atlanta and felt incredibly ill--the worst I have felt in years.  I woke up knowing I couldn't go on the trip.  In fact, after a trip to the doctor, I realized I had tonsillitis, a respiratory infection, and strep.
Though I'm sure that God didn't just all of a sudden set this up for me to realize that I wasn't spending enough time with him, I do believe that it may be one of those things in my life that has been planned all along.  

Sometimes even good things like mission trips can be getting in the way of our relationship with God.  If our hearts aren't right with God, and our lives aren't centered correctly around God, it is very easy to miss the mark as a missionary for His gospel.  Don't get me wrong:  I will never tell you to focus more on yourself than on others, because I believe wholeheartedly that the truest way to experience the love of God for yourself is to give it to others, but at the same time, you still have to focus on yourself some.  God still wants to speak to you.  God still wants to personally interact with you--so save some time for it.