Yes, God knows...

It was Ann Landers who reminded us,"Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." While we are faced with opportunities all day long, how many do we actually 'act upon'? Truth be told, we probably overlook, or miss more than we know we do take some action toward engaging in. We are just not 'tuned into' them as we should be - making it quite easy to overlook them. The moment someone needed that touch of assurance, we were distracted and let it go by. That time a tear was about to escape the corner of a friend's eye, contemplating the loss of a member of their family, and you just were oblivious to their internal pain. We've all been there - seeing, but not really seeing! It is indeed hard work to seize every opportunity - acting upon what we see can even be a little bit uncomfortable for us, or a little awkward at times - but if we don't, who will?

So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that might otherwise seem less important. This makes for happiness among the parts, so that the parts have the same care for each other that they do for themselves. If one part suffers, all parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. Now here is what I am trying to say: All of you together are the one body of Christ, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it. (I Corinthians 12:24-27)

Don't neglect the 'parts' God has placed right there in your path - you never know if you will get another opportunity to engage with them again! I will be the first to admit that 'tuning in' is hard work. It requires we stop what we are doing long enough to notice things around us. I see the tiny weeds beginning to take over the garden not so much when they are still just one or two leaved sprigs, but when they converge upon the things I have actually planted there! The small stuff can escape our view for a long, long time, but know this - small stuff grows into bigger stuff! Take care of things while they are small and it might just prevent a whole lot of 'bigger work' in the long run!

The Christian group For King and Country sings a song I really love. The song is "God only knows". If you know the lyrics, you might just have a window into my soul right now! The words? Well, let them minister to you as they do to me each time I hear them:

Wide awake while the world is sound asleepin'

Too afraid of what might show up while you're dreamin'

Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you

Nobody, nobody would believe you

Every day you try to pick up all the pieces

All the memories, they somehow never leave you

Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you

Nobody, nobody would believe you

God only knows what you've been through

God only knows what they say about you

God only knows how it's killing you

But there's a kind of love that God only knows

God only knows ---- but I think those who know God well also know! There is an ability to connect with his heart and then to reach others with the very thing someone who is hurting needs. God knows the opportunities ---- we need to trust him to lead us well in those moments when they reveal themselves. To become his hands and feet in a world where opportunities to express his love abound. Just sayin!

Look, don't touch

As a member of the human race, I speak as one fully aware of how we are so consumed with what "looks good" - many times judging a book by what we see on the cover without inspecting the pages to see what is contained within. The perception of eyes often becomes the only method we utilize to determine the "goodness" or "evil" of a certain thing or person. We set ourselves up for accepting things that are clearly outside of God's best for our lives when we are only "cover readers". While the surface may be soft or hard, bold or muted, or even seemingly impenetrable, it remains just that - the surface! There is ALWAYS something beneath the surface - sometimes begging for discovery, other times hoping no one will ever know!

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.  (Proverbs 16:2)

Surface or real? David and Bathsheba - David was King of Israel, his troops are out fighting the battle to take more territory in the name of Israel, and he is at home, enjoying the view from his rooftop. He gazes upon Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, bathing on her rooftop (a custom of the day). What he saw "looked good" - what he saw, he wanted and so, he took her as his own. What he failed to do was to consider the reality that under the surface, she was another man's wife - she had already given her heart to another. He looked only at the surface, became enamored in what he beheld with his eyes, and engaged in his plan without further thought.

Surface or real? The Rich Young Ruler - a man of wealth, holding a prominent place in society, approaches Jesus and his disciples one day while they were ministering to the crowds. He proclaims to Jesus that he wanted to be a follower of Christ - one of his disciples. To this he adds a long litany of "credentials" he hopes will show Jesus just how "qualified" he was for the role. His "credentials" are all "good" - kept the letter of the law, observed the feasts and holy days, studied the scriptures, and the list goes on. Jesus asks him to sell all he has (a substantial amount), give it to the poor, and then come to follow him as his disciple. Beneath the surface of all these 'shiny works and accomplishments' this is too much for this man, as we see him leave and never return again.

We often see what we are looking to see - not what is actually there to behold. David saw the "woman of his dreams" - or more accurately, the woman of his fantasies! He never stopped to listen to the niggling of his conscience that she was another man's wife! She looked good! He wanted her and he never looked back until it was too late. The rich young ruler saw a life of tremendous fame in front of him if he could get on this 'inside track' with Jesus' band. He had attained all he could attain in the society in which he lived. Now Jesus and his disciples, thronged by crowds, filled the streets with miracles, signs, and wonders. He wanted what they had, but wasn't aware there would be a cost to obtain it. I am not sure that he actually saw what they had as "fame" or "renown", but he is called upon to go deeper than he has ever gone in his obedience before - and he is unable to do so. What he saw "looked good" to him - but he had failed to count the cost of such a life of service.

How do we begin to "look beyond the cover" of what we see? We are to "probe" deeper. When we probe, we look into a matter with the intention of seeing all there is to see (just like when we read the pages of a book rather than skimming it or only looking at the pictures). This type of "examination" allows us to see beyond the surface appearance of "good" to what actually is at the root of a person, a circumstance, or a pleasant appearing opportunity. God's invitation to us today is to look deeper than we ever have before - to learn to see the heart behind the action of another; the temporary satisfaction of an immediate gratification of our longings or lusts; or the indicators of integrity that give us insight into the heart of another. We need to learn what it is to "examine carefully before we buy"! We "buy into" much that God would rather we never consider in the first place! Sin has an enticing cover - we need to learn to look beyond the cover to see the trap contained within. Just lookin!