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In the clearing
Jesus told a story to the Pharisees, “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen. He dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs used to come and lick his sores …” – From Luke 16
Our dog Bear loved the moment when I would lie down in the grass. Wherever he was, he jumped up and ran over, sat by me wagging his tail, and settled in the grass beside me. I watched him as he stared and sniffed, big brown eyes, wet black nose. I knew what was coming. Bear always licked my face. And I guess if there were sores, that was even better.
Last night I got a free order of onion rings at Culver’s. I was starving and inhaled them, hot, crispy, fresh. Bear loved to eat; he was always hungry. I felt like that last night.
Do I eat to live, or live to eat? When I’m really hungry, my whole being revels in food’s tastes and smells. Perfect textures give me goose bumps. But in my first-world life, I’m hardly ever hungry. So many fast food coupons, so little time.
I appreciate my full refrigerator, not mention my purple garments and fine linen. But if I didn’t have them, I’d appreciate them a lot more. Earlier in his talk Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” Luke goes on, “And the Pharisees, who loved money, sneered at him.” Jesus wanted his Pharisee friends to reconsider their choice.
Jesus knows we all find far more satisfaction in loving God. They didn’t seem to get it. And too often, neither do I. When I believe the lie that I’m not needy, then I give poorly, or not at all. But what makes me so special, needing nothing?
If I don’t know how to receive from God, I am likely to experience giving as a chore, not a privilege. And the blessing … flies away. There’s no need to wait for Gehenna, netherworld, “place of the dead.” I can be just as dead now as then. Hanging on tight to the good things in life allows me to settle for far less than God wants for me.
I can live a half-life today, and not even notice that I’m dying.
Simon and Garfunkel sang, “I am just a poor boy, though my story’s seldom told. I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles – such are promises: all lies and jest. Still, a man hears what he wants to hear … and disregards the rest … lie-la-lie.”
These are words I need to own up to, Lord, and give it up again for Jesus. Give it up, give it up, and give it up again, let me hear you! When you take from me my friend and neighbor, and the darkness is my closest friend, that’s when I’d give all I have just for a crust of bread from your table. But also, on this much more normal day, devoid of storms and quakes and fire, open my ears to your still, small voice, and to just how much I need you now.
http://www.davesandel.net/category/lent-easter-devotions-2017/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1571
