All Creation Groans

"When times are tough and the future is uncertain, 

it's always safe to trust the Lord."

The Daily Walk Bible

As I was reading my Bible this morning my mind strayed to a similar period in my life when the words "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved by compassion for them, because they were faint and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd." (Matthew 9:36) Our nation is certainly in a place of instability as we face an uncertain future, especially considering the chaos our world is in at this time. My heart aches, yet I know in Whom I place my trust.

In yesterday's "My Daily Walk" discussion this question was posed: "'Does God have limitations?' A seminary student posed the problem to his professor: 'Can God make a rock so big that he cannot pick it up?' To which the teacher wisely responded, 'Yes...and then he would pick it up anyway.'" The commentator goes on to share this profound  truth: "God is infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, almighty. But he does have limitations: He cannot act contrary to his promises; he will never contradict his written Word; and he will not ignore the consequences of our personal choices."

As I was reading these words my mind drifted to the consequences I have had to face for my poor choices. Nowhere in the scriptures is this truth as evident as when King David was faced with consequences to his actions on more than one occasion. And yet, God called David "the apple of His eye." That is my desire...to be so loved by God, and yet I know I am, as we all are. The commentator adds: "This explains why Jesus, the fulfillment of prophecy, God's only Son, could be rejected by Israel. God would not force the nation to accept him if it chose instead to reject him. But though the people were free to make the choice, they were powerless to escape the consequences of that choice."

In short, we will all reap what we sow. (Galatians 6:7)

For me, I battle daily with memories and loneliness, yet in the stead of this battle I have reassurance of God's love and compassion in my fellowship with the Lord. If we are honest, we all have things in our lives we regret. This is the way life is, but through failure comes success. It is the way we learn. It is how our characters are shaped, tested, tried, and hopefully proven true. While I wish things could have turned out differently, I can smile because God has refined me in these fires and storms, and He is shaping me into the woman of God I desire to become, as we are always in that place of becoming...real. I have a fondness for the story The Velveteen Rabbit where the rabbit has the conversation with the Skin Horse about being real. I have quoted it before, but I do so again for relevance:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they

were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before

Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having

things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse.

"It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves

you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but

REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" ask the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always

truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,"

he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse.

"You become. It takes a long time. That's why it

doesn't often happen to people who break easily,

or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully

kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most 

of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop 

out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.

But these things don't matter at all, because once

you are Real you can't be ugly, except to

people who don't understand."

"I suppose you are Real?" said the Rabbit. And

then he wished he had not said it, for he thought

the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the

Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made

me Real," he said. "That was a great many years

ago; but once you are Real you can't become

unreal again. It lasts for always."

I always smile when I read that conversation, as I remember the day I read them for my Daddy's eulogy, and I recall seeing my Daddy kneel by the side of the bed in conversation with the One who made him Real. Few knew this about my Daddy, but God in His infinite love and compassion graced me with this understanding, and I will be forever grateful. My Daddy became "Real," as he passed from this life serenely into the next into the arms of the One who made him so.

It also reminds me of Romans 8:22 "...all of creation groans...." Max Lucado in his book God Came Near clearly speaks:

"Man was not created to be separated from his creator; hence

he sighs, longing for home. The creation never intended to be 

inhabited by evil, hence she sighs, yearning for the Garden.

And the conversations with God were never intended to

depend on a translator; hence the Spirit groans on our behalf,

looking to a day when humans will see God face to face."

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then

we shall see face to face."

  

1 Corinthians 13:12 

God longs for things to be different, but He is a God of His word. He will not force the issue. But throughout scripture we see clearly cause and effect in play. In the book of Haggai the prophet exhorts the people to rebuild the Temple of God. Zechariah the prophet uses visions, dreams, and messages to encourage or exhort the people likewise. For fourteen years since Cyrus issued the proclamation to rebuild the Temple, "weeds instead of walls were growing from the foundation." The people had misplaced their priority. And so it is today. We devote our time to those things we value the most. Just as the prophets urged God's people to accountability in rebuilding the temple, so we are encouraged to build up our temple.

"Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who 

lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself...."

1 Corinthians 6:19

We have a choice. And if our choice is to be people of God, then we too need to be conscious of the life we are living as we are His emissaries in this crazy, chaotic world. In spite of our failures, in spite of our selfish choices, and our misaligned priorities, we are urged not to be conformed to this world, but to becoming transformed by the renewing of our minds. We have a choice. What will that choice be?