Through some conversations with friends tonight some great wisdom was spoken about time. I got some good perspective that I hadn’t really thought of before.

One friend said: “Well if you look at your life and say you live at least 80 years. Spending even 5 years doing something is such a small fraction of that.”

Huh. Good point. It seems like a lot now, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really not.

The other friend passed on some wisdom she had learned from someone else, saying: “You can do anything for one year!”

How true! I think back to a year ago and cannot believe that… well, that it was a whole year ago. But in our 80 year example, that’s so small!

It’s hard to think about right now, because I am 27 and 5 years seems like a heck of a lot of time because that’s roughly 1/5 (some might say 5/27) of my life! But when I am 80 and I look back, that one year of doing whatever will be only one of many.

Any years can be really good, and they can be really bad. They can mean something, and you can do a lot or a little, but you can do anything for a year.

Now think about things in perspective of eternity. I know because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that I will get to live eternally with him.

One year out of eternity. 1 out of infinity. You really can do anything for a year.

This is not to say that the time we spend here doesn’t matter, but at the same time we shouldn’t worry so much about how long this or that is taking, or why this hasn’t happened yet.

There is eternity and eternity starts now. We should take hold of the moments we have and not wait for someone else to do something or for this or that to change, but take hold and change it ourselves for the Kingdom of God.

Most Thursday nights I sit down with my laptop and sigh dramatically about having to write my blog. Tonight was no different.

In my most whiny voice, I said to my roommate, “UGH! What should I write my blog about!”

“Chickens! The miracle of child birth!”, she exclaimed. “No really, you should write about obligations and the blessings that come from following through with them.”

…

I should have known she would turn it real in 0 seconds flat. What she said tugged on my heart. Here I sit each week with a platform to tell people about how God is working in my life, and I continuously complain about it. I mean people read this blog. Like 4 people, but people! Human beings who I have the opportunity to be a voice for God to work through.

God called me to write this blog, and it was my new year’s resolution to be obedient to that call. And God has not been silent in it. I have seen him work in the ways that I have been moved while writing, how I have been challenged by the things He places on my heart to write about. But more than that He has moved in the hearts of people through my words. I know this because of the comments, the texts, the Facebook messages that I have received after posting.

Jesus, I thank you for the ways that you have moved through and in this blog, and I pray that you continue to work on my heart and the hearts of the people through it. 

I think it was fitting to have this blog right in the middle of the year – I have been doing this for almost 6 months! I will choose not to forget about the ways in which God has moved! Here’s to 6 more months of blogging!

 

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me (Paul), I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. — Romans 12:3

There are a lot of verses like this in the Bible. Don’t think more of yourself that you ought. Living in a culture that is self consumed and focused on independent lives, I can’t help but see the truth in it.

But I think there is a flip side to the Romans verse above. The very end part where it says “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us”.

What is the faith that God has given us? That we can trust him because of who he says he is and what he is has done and that is forgive the world of its sin and death through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Okay. Good. Now that we’re on the same page let’s get a little more theoretical. The Romans 12 verse talks about not thinking you are better than you really are – which let’s be honest (which the verse says to do, so let’s go there), we all need to remember and hear from time to time. Some of those times might be closer together for some of us than others.

But what about not thinking we are less than we really are? I struggle to even write about this because I don’t want to sound like a feel good hippie who just wants talk about how God is Love and that is all the matters. Because I know that God is also wrath and perfect justice. Without his justice, we wouldn’t need (or have) his mercy.

But let’s take some samples from scripture. Keep in mind that these were written by the same God-inspired human.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. – 1 Timothy 1:15 

Okay. There’s Paul definitely not thinking he is better than he really is. We all have our moments where we think we are the worst of sinners. Great. Next verse:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8

Wait a second. While we were still sinners – the WORST of sinners, Christ died for us?!

Sometimes we get stuck in 1 Timothy 1 there – we are the worst (insert weakness noun here). We think don’t deserve love and we forget about Romans 5. If we get stuck there in 1 Timothy 1, we are not being completely honest in our evaluation of ourselves. Yes, we are all the worst of sinners…BUT (and it’s a big one), while we were still being the worst, Christ decided to give his life.

So… We are loved. We are cherished. We are important enough to God to sacrifice his sone for us. We are worthy.

So dear friends, be honest in your evaluation of yourselves and do not think you are better than you really are, but do not think you are less than you really are. Hang on to the to the truths in scripture that tell us how to keep humble. Start with these verses here, and comment below with your favorite.

Lately I’ve been in a bit of a hole. Not because I fell in there, but because I’ve been hiding out in there from the realities of the world and of relationship and of the things that I’ve said and done that make me cringe to even think about them.

Naively, I have been thinking that I was hiding out from God in this hole as well. But really there is no hiding from him. Some might find that scary, but I find it comforting.

There’s no need to hide – he already knows. He knows my heart and my thoughts and the things that I’ve done and the hole that I’ve been hiding in. And he desires

I am awestruck just thinking about the power of God in that way – that at any given moment whether I’ve spoken it out loud or not, he knows.

This morning I was listening to worship music on my way to work, not really because I wanted to, but because I thought I should. The song Grace So Glorious by Elevation Worship came on and I was brought to tears by the Glory of Jesus.

The first verse of the song says:

“Beneath the cross of Jesus Christ, no shadow remains for shame to hide, redemption shown for all to see, perfection bore our penalty with a grace so glorious.”

Climb out of your holes, friends, and I will begin to climb out of mine. His Glory is too bright for hiding, and there is no shadow left to hid in after what Christ has done.

I have been redeemed.

I am holy.

I am royalty.

I am a daughter of Heaven.

I am forgiven.

I am loved.

When you know Jesus and who he is and what he has done for you, his precious child, you are too. There’s glory waiting on the other side.