Born to Fly

"God wants you to fly. He wants you to fly free

of yesterday's guilt. he wants you to fly free of today's

fears. he wants you to fly free of tomorrow's grave.

Sin, fear, death. These are the mountains he has moved.

These are the prayers he will answer. That is the fruit

he will grant. This is what He longs to do:

he longs to set you free so you can fly...fly home."

And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado 

Sunday afternoon. After a wonderful time of fellowship and worship this morning, I came home to rest and prepare myself for the week ahead. Sundays are meant to be days such as these. Nourished and rested up for the work we have been created to do. Energized.

I've spoken quite often about the work we are to be about, the commission Jesus imparted to us as His followers. It's not an easy road to take, and it is laden with so many challenges. In our humanity we feel so ill prepared for the scope of our work, but when God calls us, He equips us to face these challenges. It is in these times of quietness, shut in listening to God's voice that we are readied for the next step of our journey.

Today our pastor wove together four passages of scripture beginning in Exodus, on to Psalms, then to Philippians, and culminating in Matthew. We can see so clearly in this sequence how Old and New Testaments fit together and define the love of God in His dealings with humanity. Just as the children of Israel failed to see God's hand, we also are blinded in our striving to acknowledge His Presence. And yet He loves us still.

In all His dealings with man Jesus never exploited His divinity. He simply responded in humility to those who questioned His authority. It's so easy to give into our human nature when we are tested or driven to certain points in confrontations. We want to prove that we have rights, and we expect our voice to be heard. We want the last say. We want it "our" way. So how can we possibly complain when things happen? We choose to make our own decisions, to have things "our way," yet we want to blame others, especially God when things don't quite work out. Ironic.

The thing is that God wants us to be victorious, to live freely, to soar above our failures, our nearsightedness, our chaos, and He wants us to fly...to mount on wings like eagles. He wants us to have the mind of Christ, and in so doing to be at peace in this crazy, messed up world. He wants us to stand fully armored, clothed in Christ.

The interesting thing is that all the answers are right before our eyes in His word, yet we are too preoccupied or too stubborn to see the proverbial "writing on the wall." Again, ironic. All through time as we know it history has repeated itself. And sadly it will again. So what can we do as Christians to make a difference? How do we respond when pushed up against a wall? That's simple, with the mind of Christ.

In my teens I read a book called In His Steps that talks about responding to every day tests by asking "What would Jesus do?" It's not a far fetched way of thinking, as in Philippians we are told we have the mind of Christ. I dare say there are very few, if any who stay focused enough to consider that thought when being tested. And yet it should be our first response as believers and followers of Christ to desire to have his temperament, His character. Especially when we read each day in the newspapers or hear in the daily news all the horrific happenings in our world today. We become angry, and we speculate, we judge, and we strive with each other. Imagine what would happen if we decided to do things God's way by following Jesus' example, by asking before we speak, "What would Jesus do?" Revolutionary thinking with the desired end result - peace that transcends knowledge. Imagine!