A nutrient-rich environment

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said, "The old life is a grass life, its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers; grass dries up, flowers wilt, God’s Word goes on and on forever. This is the Word that conceived the new life in you. (I Peter 1:22-25)

At the point of conception, life begins. We may not see all that is occurring, but we know there is a 'multiplication process' at work that is bringing new life upon new life. God's Word conceives life within us - new life - each and every time we hear it, embrace it, allow it to affect our lives. New life upon new life - this is the assurance we have in Christ Jesus. Our lives are not ours alone - we are meant to share that life with others - by modeling the love of Christ in us. Our new life is born of the Word of God - we hear his welcoming message, then his Word begins to mold and change us until we align with the principles contained within.

How do we see our lives changed? It is by following - not by leading. We are meant to be disciples - followers of Christ. That means we lay down our willfulness (what some may call stubbornness and pridefulness). How on earth do we lay down our stubbornness? If you are anything like me, you can dig in your heels from time to time, not wanting to take the steps God directs for your life. It isn't that we don't desire the growth to happen - we like this 'multiplication' of his life within but resist the 'requirements' of growth. As a new life is conceived, there are multiplied requirements in order to nourish that new life. The new life is being nurtured as it is allowed to develop. A lack of nutrients will yield stunted or arrested growth.

It is hard to be consistent with our intake of the Word of God, but it is so very essential if we are to see our lives changed. When I thought about beginning this blog, it wasn't to be a 'scholar' of the Word. There was a burden to bring the Word of God in 'bite size chunks' so we could take it in - portions small enough for us to appreciate what God is saying to us. A new life growing and developing doesn't consume everything provided for its nourishment all at one time. It only needs what it requires for the season of growth it is in. The same is true of each of us. We might find God is asking us to grow in this area today, but in a short time the development required will be in a different area. Nutrients come as we take in the Word of God with consistency and obedient service to the Lord God.

We can be in a 'nutrient rich' environment and be 'growth deprived'. We must take in what is provided - that means we stop and eat. We allow what is provided to be 'incorporated' into our lives. We may think we don't need what is provided, but there is not one Word of God spoken or recorded that we do not need. We may not need that 'nutrient' at this moment, but there will come a season of growth in which we will hunger for that very 'nutrient'. Take in the Word of God - the nutrients you require for spiritual growth - see the new life of his love and grace take on new form each and every day. Just take in his Word - you never know when you may need what has been provided. Just sayin!

So that's what I needed!

Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

There are times I overlook the obvious, believing instead there must be something more to what I am seeing or hearing. I guess this is human nature - we see or hear one thing, then immediately jump to the conclusion there must be some other meaning - either because we don't think things can be THAT simple, or we believe others just could not MEAN what they are doing / saying. I think this is some defense mechanism on our part - protecting us from some things we just don't want to deal with right now, or attempting to believe the best about another just because we don't want to think they could behave that way. In some respects, this is what we do with God at times - we overlook the obvious. He spends time revealing himself to us in a particular manner, then we try to analyze what he is doing so much we overlook the extremely "obvious" in his actions! The problem is - we NEED the obvious to make the "obscure" clearer! The "obvious" actually lends clarity and context to the "obscure". Without the obvious, we don't have the foundation for the obscure. I think this is why Jesus worked so hard for his disciples to see the obvious in his actions and those of others, but then took them one step further to see the obscure in these same actions. A man was healed of his blindness (the obvious) - he was healed to reveal the Son of Man's power (the obscure). A grain is a seed (the obvious) - it only accomplishes it purposes when it dies (the obscure). A cross may be the means of death (the obvious) - but the same cross which brought death to one brought life to many (the obscure). What the obvious provides for us seeing and understanding the obscure is important.

We need to be careful not to overlook the obvious as it applies to God's timing. In context, our passage is dealing with those who were rising up saying Jesus was "late" in his returning to this earth. Jesus had promised his return - where was he? Their intent was to discourage the believers - poking holes in their hopes and faith. The delay is for a reason! The obvious - the "lateness" in his return - is for a more obscure reason - he's giving everyone space and time to change! Space and time to change - the obscure purpose in the waiting. I am glad God gives us both space and time to change. I know I have needed a lot of space. When we ask someone to "give us space", we are really asking for both the flexibility and the freedom we need. God is not a constraining force - he knows we all have a unique personality - he created us that way! We each "work through" things in our own ways - so God gives us the "space" to get to the root of the matter in a way which fits with our unique personality. Some of us need quiet time away from others - like a retreat to the woods. Others of us need to get some good worship music cranking, centering us on him, and then we can get down to business with him. Regardless of the "space" we need - he gives it to us with enough flexibility and freedom to discover what it is we need to do and how we need to respond.

Not only does he give us the "space" (freedom and flexibility to recognize the change process is underway within us), but he gives us the time to change. Not only does he give us the element of time, but he exercises the perfect timing in doing so. We overlook the obvious - we need space and time! He doesn't overlook this when he is after the obscure in us - the realness of our heart dedication. I don't know about you, but I have needed some time to work through things in my life. For example, after my divorce I needed time to work through my bitterness. I wanted to hold onto the hurt - he wanted to give me space to let go of what would only serve to hurt me further. In the space "between", God was at work, revealing the bitterness which was there and then showing me how to release it to him. This is only one example of how God uses both space and time in our lives. In change, both are necessary. None of us have a magic wand - immediately and completely transforming one character trait into another with a magic wand wave. In fact, we all require this "space" and "time" thing in order to get things as they should be in our lives. If you are in the "space" between the old and the revelation of the new, don't lose heart. God's allowing both the space and the time because he has that change clearly in his view - and he knows exactly how much space and time you and I will need. Just sayin!

But I am so cozy right here!

"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." (C. S. Lewis) I think it might just be possible some of us have "gone bad" because we have refused to leave the safety of our shell! The place of "nesting" is good only while the egg needs "nurturing" - until it is time for birth to occur and maybe just a little longer until the hatchling learns to fly. At some point, the mother pushes the bird from the nest - either because the life within never emerged from the shell, or the thing refused to fly!

3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. 4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. 5 In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. (Romans 12:3-6 CEB)

There is definitely a time and place for us to be "shelled in" - it is a season, or specific time for our growth (development) to occur. Anyone knows the shell isn't meant to contain us - it is meant to help us develop "in safety" - keeping all we need for that developmental stage right there where we can draw from it. At some point, the thing developing within the shell meets the boundaries of the shell. That shell isn't meant to encapsulate us forever - it is meant to challenge us to break free into a new exploration of what comes next as we feel it pressing against us. 

If the bird remained in the shell, would it ever learn the usefulness of those tiny feathers which have been developing within the shell? No, it would not even notice the other birds using their similar feathers to soar to new heights - all because it stays in the shell. In the shell, there is comfort - but only up to a point. At that point of "resistance", the bird faces two choices - break free, or be broken free! From within the shell comes a little stirring - alerting the brooding hen to know life is about to come forth from the shell. I wonder if God feels something similar in any of us today? Are we at the point of escape - the exploration of new things outside of some shell of protected growth we have been contained within for some prolonged period?

We are created with a purpose - to remain in the shell is to deny that purpose. To settle for the protection of the shell would result in us never learning to see things from a new perspective. All growth prepares us for a new vantage point, but to realize it we must be free of the confines of the place where we have done that growing. The nest served the purpose for which it was created. The shell confined and provided for our growth only so long. The heights we are called to reach are now beckoning to us from without that shell and from beyond that nest! It is likely time for some of us to leave that shell and to begin to try out our wings!

Have you ever noticed birds? They tend to move in groups - one hobbles down the yard to a new section of grass, searching for their next "big find" of nourishing tidbit. In turn, the others hobble a little bit further in that direction, and eventually they are all kind of in the same place again. A little later, one will take flight and the rest will join as they move on to the next place of their rest or purposeful pursuit. The church doesn't just "nest the young" - it encourages them to take flight and then to lead others along in flight, as well. It may be God is calling you to take flight, but in order to do so, you must break free of the shell and flap those newly developed wings! Just sayin!