Karen Rabbitt

Cherished Children

"He's adorable!" "Oh, how sweet!" "He's so cute!"

That's what we've been hearing a lot of around here as we admire our new grandboy, now just nine days old. Mom, Dad, and Grandma (that's me :)) keep touching his soft skin, chuckling at his funny faces, and rushing to pick him up at the first sign of fussiness.  As we meet his every need quickly and kindly, we are laying the foundations of his life.  I am so grateful that his parents are able to give him such a good start.

My foundations were roughly laid and missing a whole wall. Having little sense of how to help build a life, I screwed up my daughter's foundation. She, however, has worked hard to let God build his house in her heart. And she's now ready, by grace and with grace, to lay a solid footing for her son.

Many of us have been betrayed by those who should have responded to our needs. A father isn't there. A mother's attention is directed to an older sister. A grandfather takes advantage of us. No one told us we were sweet, cute, or adorable.

Except the God who calls himself Father, even Abba, Daddy. He thinks we're delightful. Fallen, broken, and yet, his cherished children.

Father, show us how to receive, again, or for the first time, your fathering.

Join the Dark Side?

“Join the dark side.” That was the bumper sticker I saw this morning. Yikes. Why would anyone consciously want to join with darkness? Many have made an unknowing contract with the dark of night, for example, when they allow themselves to be addicted to drugs. But, a well-thought-out choice?

I can think of three reasons: 1. They’ve never seen the light. 2. Darkness promises power. 3. They want to be with someone who lives in darkness. “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all,” John says. (1John 1:5, NIV)  With no experience of God’s multi-splendored light, the light that illumines the colors of life, the dark side may feel like the realistic side. Then, the dark side promises the ability to achieve your own purposes. To join with God is to put aside our own desires and to work with him to bring the rule and reign of King Jesus. And, it’s easy to slide into darkness if people depend on others who have already chosen the dark side.

But those who join with darkness do not foresee the consequences. They see only the glittery promises of personal power or the comfort of connection. The dark one hides in the shadows, around the corner, behind the shed.

Even for those of us who walk in the light, the darkness sometimes entices. For most of us, drugs are easy to recognize as lightless. Pride, prejudice, and greed are not so easy to see, crouching in the shadows. Let’s keep asking King Jesus to shine his light into our dark passages. We need his power to see the consequences of darkness. By his grace, we will choose the light of day, every day.

Holy Spirit, come illumine the hidden corners of our hearts.

Face to Face

The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.  Luke 22:61 (NIV)

What sort of look did Jesus give Peter when he heard Peter’s third denial? The answer we instinctively give to that question tells us a lot about our view of Jesus. Was Jesus’ brow knit above hard eyes? Was his intention punishment?

Was his mouth turned down? Was he shaking his head? Did Jesus mean to let Peter know just how disappointed he was in him?

I doubt he was either angry or sad. I think his eyes were soft, his face relaxed. Jesus had previously told Peter the truth about himself: “You will deny me.” Now, I think Jesus was both calling Peter to account and pouring forth his compassion.

Peter didn’t know his own weakness. Jesus knew. Peter’s denials were no surprise to Jesus. But it looks like they were a surprise to Peter, himself. The text gives the impression that Peter hadn’t quite realized what he’d done until Jesus looked at him.

And isn’t that how it is with us? Only when we get face to face with Jesus do we see our sin clearly. We can go blithely through our day, reacting to the people around us, not thinking much about eternal realities. And then God breaks in and we suddenly see what Jesus sees. We see the tired Walgreen’s clerk through Jesus’ compassionate eyes. We see our toddler’s frustration as a cry for attention rather than an intentional interruption to our reading. We see in our own hearts all the subtle ways we deny Jesus’ reality—in our small faith, our weak hope, our cold love.

Oh, Lord Jesus, may we once again, come face to face with you—your clear-sightedness and your compassion.

Speak Scripture

…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 NIV 

 

God’s word has power in it to accomplish God’s purposes.   

He will accomplish his purpose of making us into the image of Jesus. We can cooperate with him by proclaiming his word—to  ourselves. In my years of slogging through a deep emotional morass, these are the scriptures, spoken aloud, that carried me through: 

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 NIV 

He will be the sure foundation for your (my) times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:6 NIV 

 The eternal God is your (my) refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV 

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1 NIV 

…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV 

 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us (me) accepted in the beloved. Ephesians 1:6 KJV

For God hath not given us (me) the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

Pure Motives?

The other day my husband told me about a man who traded in his hybrid Honda Civic for a Prius, the Toyota hybrid. The Civic looked too much like a traditional car and he wanted the attention the Prius drew. In some quarters of American society, there’s a new kind of “green conspicuous consumption.” We brag about our gas mileage, we buy carbon offsets for our plane trips, and we are snapping up books on how to build and buy “green.” Do we really care about the poisoning of the earth or do we want the attention we get for going green? Hard to tell. The fellow who traded cars because he wanted the attention makes me wonder. Could be that he just wanted the opportunity to spread the gospel of green.

Someone once said a freeing thing to me: “No one has pure motives.” I’d been moaning to him that I’d wanted attention; that’s why I’d given a communion meditation in service that day. The thought was freeing because, like all perfectionism, purity was unobtainable. I could confess my impurity and ask God to purify my motivation, certainly, but I didn’t need to mope around, punishing myself for my mixed motives.

Only God, who has absorbed our guilt into his vast heart, is pure. He is working toward a glorious future that we can all be part of. He acts, not for selfish attention, but for selfless good. Actually, I can hardly imagine that kind of selflessness. I must confess, mostly I just like attention for my own good deeds, green or otherwise. Maybe you understand that. 

Oh, Lord, reorient our hearts, away from attention-seeking, toward your good purposes.