Temptation

“It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us; it is the very sign of His presence.” – C.S. Lewis

I continue to be astounded at the ways that God chooses to reveal Himself, even from a quote taken from a letter written in 1942 by an atheist-turned-Christian-apologist and novelist. This quote from C.S. Lewis has been a favorite of mine in recent weeks for many reasons. As I am continually aware of my sinful, wicked, broken self in my desires to follow Christ with all that I am, I am even more aware of God’s presence. When my sin is overpowering me and my heart is heavy, it is then that God shows up and His presence is more evident than ever before. At times I feel I experience more growth from my recognition and confession of my own sin than from hours of Bible study, meditation, and sermons.

Timing

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

This verse opens the passage in Ecclesiastes some know as the ‘time for everything’ passage; an extensive list of back-and-forth examples of seemingly opposite events to illustrate that seasons and times come and go. I’m not going to detail them all here, though I encourage you to read them with careful thought in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. It is a powerful passage that can provide much comfort, hope, and peace in the midst of affliction or suffering. It illustrates that through all things, God is in control as He orchestrates the seasons. The passage I do want to highlight and dig into a bit more from Ecclesiastes 3 concerns how God’s timing relates to our lives in a personal, individual way.

Worship

"God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes Him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that He really is. This is what it means to be created in the image of God." – John Piper

After working with kids for any amount of time, one quickly comes to the conclusion that children are curious creatures. This is easily evidenced by the fact that they ask questions. A lot of questions. Especially with younger children, the most questions asked are often “why” questions. Why does this happen? Why doesn’t that happen? Why do I have to eat my vegetables? Why is the sky blue? Why do I have to be nice? Why do I have to go to bed?

There is a common assumption that as children grow, they will ask fewer questions as their knowledge grows. But does their curiosity leave them? Think of it this way – you were once a curious child, and while you may no longer vocalize your questions, are you no longer curious? I think there is an illusion that with age and wisdom we loose our curiosity. Or perhaps somewhere along the way we start accepting things for the way they are for that reason alone and sadly stop seeking answers. However, it is healthy to continue to ask questions and challenge ourselves to find answers throughout our lives. Now of course we stop asking why we need to eat our vegetables (unless you really don’t understand that they add to a healthy diet and provide many important nutrients), but the answers to some questions are still mysteries to us. We are still just as curious as we were as children, just about different questions.