god of little or GOD OF MUCH

Elisha said, “I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she said. “Well, I do have a little oil.” (2 Kings 4:2)

A widow woman facing a debt she cannot repay. She is worried that she will lose her two sons - simply because they would become the "means" of repaying her debt as they would be forced to become the slaves to the debtor if she could not repay the debt. Her husband has been a prophet - a godly man. I imagine she wonders why this catastrophe is upon her since she likely has lived a "set apart" lifestyle for a good many years. She comes to Elisha - one of the major prophets of the Old Testament - seeking his help. She implores him to consider her plight. In response, he begins to wonder what he might be able to do to assist. In those days, prophets were rarely wealthy men or women - they lived by the standards of the day, occupying their time with the normal pursuits of the day such as farming, tending the animals, working with clay or wood. I think Elisha may have seen the situation as an opportunity - while the woman was seeing it as an impossibility. He asks what she has - she declares what she doesn't have! Isn't that just like us? We are so quick to discount what we possess because we see it as insignificant in comparison to the "demands" being made. Why do we gravitate to the "little" instead of seeing the "much" in our circumstances, talents, or abilities? I think there is something we might all need a little reminding about - we serve the God of "MUCH" not the god of "little".

The woman was instructed to collect every available bottle, jar and pot from the town. She goes about collecting these, stacking them up in her home, until every last "empty" one is in her possession. Now, this may not seem like much at first, but do you see something occurring in this activity on her part? She is not sure "what" will happen, she just knows if she brings everything which has been declared "empty" into the presence of God, the "empties" are right where they need to be! We often don't bring our "empties" to God's presence - because we see them as "empty" - something which contains nothing of importance. Let's realize without an "empty", God has nothing to "fill"! So, the next time you tell yourself you are just an "empty" in some regard, you are really saying to God, "I have a little space you can fill up!" In bringing these empty jars to Elisha, the little she had was becoming so much more than she needed to satisfy the debt owed by her husband. In fact, she was able to live on what's left over. God not only filled the "empties" with enough to provide for today's need, he filled enough "empties" to provide for the future needs, as well. The thing is, when we are willing to give our "little" into his care, taking steps to bring what has been emptied out into his presence, we find he fills beyond our capacity to contain!

I often hear people saying stuff like "Oh, I never could do that" or "I just don't have what it takes". The truth be told, neither did the ones God consistently called and used for his purposes throughout all of time. The thing each 'used' vessel has in common is more than the emptiness that needs to be filled - they also brought the "little" they had into the presence of God and in turn, he filled to overflowing. The empty parts of each of us are exactly what God needs. It is in the emptying we become ready to be filled. My hope for you today - you will stop telling yourself the "little" you have is not enough in God's hands. For it is in the bringing of the "little" into his presence where we see the impossibilities become possibilities. Just sayin!

More, More, More - a close second to Me, Me, Me

It is that time of year when kids everywhere begin to write out their wish lists for Christmas. At first, the new bike or gaming system is all they want, then the list begins to grow and grow and grow. We actually encourage our kids to 'complete' this wish list task by writing a letter to Santa. As the list grows, so does the discontent - the more we want the more discontent we become with what we have. Discontent can produce positive outcomes in life - such as when we are no longer content just barely being able to button our jeans and we begin a concerted effort to avoid the cookies and put in a little more exercise everyday. Discontent can also have a very negative outcome when it drives us to compare what we have with what another has, then begin to complain about what we don't have in this life. What makes the difference between the positive and negative outcome with discontentment? I believe it is where we turn with our discontent - turn in the right direction toward God and his graces in our lives and the outcome will be much more positive than if we turn inward and just focus on our wants.

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. (I John 2:15-16)

Wanting your own way - does that sound familiar to anyone? As itty-bitty kids we begin to form this discontent with not getting our own way. We want to be held, so we cry until someone picks us up. We want to be fed, so we whine and whimper until someone breaks out the biscuits. We want dry bottoms, so we cry out as though our lungs were about to explode until someone replaces the wet diaper with a dry one, applying some soothing ointment to boot. As we get older, we still want our own way - it is just that we have gotten a little more 'discreet' in how we maneuver our wants into the conversation or the moment. When God asks us to do something that we don't want to do, how do we react to his request? Sometimes we ignore it, hoping he will forget he asked. At others, we outright refuse, putting us on some pretty shaky ground because of our rebellion. Either way, wanting our own way will not serve us well.

Wanting everything for ourselves - that began in the crib and oftentimes it continued into our adulthood. No one took our toys - no one interrupted what we wanted to have in our possession. From our toys to our time - it is ours and no one will take it away from us. Have you ever stopped at the end of a day and looked back at how much you thought you'd do and just what you actually got done? Someone interrupted your day and you didn't use that time the way you wanted it to be used. They made a drain on your day. We cannot control time any better than we can control the weather. We want it all for ourselves, but God specifically puts others in our path because he wants us to give of what is ours so the lives of those others will be made better in the process. We cannot always have everything - including time - for ourselves any more than we can have our own way.

Wanting to appear important - notice it says 'appear' important because importance is an illusion. It is evasive. It changes from day to day. What was important today will not be as important tomorrow. In the end, wanting to appear important is just a pathetic way of admitting we find our self-worth or 'value' in how others see us - the impression they have of us. If we focus less on wanting our own way, as well as wanting everything for ourselves, the 'value' others will see in us will be far greater anyway. Maybe this is why God puts those two first in this passage - because if we deal with those correctly, then we won't be as concerned with this one. We will be positive examples of his love and grace - the things that give us the 'reality' of being 'valued' individuals in this world. 

Wanting, wanting, wanting - it isolates us from God. It sends us on a trajectory that will eventually have us spinning out of control in this world. If we desire to do what God wants and asks us to do, we will find a deeper satisfaction in life. We will live fuller lives and be less concerned with how we 'appear' and more concerned with how much others see of Christ in us. Just sayin!

Nothing more...nothing less

Nothing more...nothing less. Have you ever heard that saying and wondered what caused the first person who uttered those words to actually have to say them? Nothing more suggests someone could try to 'add to' whatever one is considering - because it isn't complete the way it is. Nothing less might just indicate someone would try to 'take away from' what was there because they thought they could be a little crafty or devious in their dealings. Nothing more...nothing less. When it comes to what we know about God, there is no 'adding to' the truth - truth is truth and it cannot be 'added to'. When it comes to what God does for us, there is 'nothing less' than his perfection that is offered - nothing can be added to it, nothing can be taken away from it and have the same impact on our lives.

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me. (Colossians 1:27-28 MSG)

God wants us to know his truth 'inside and out' - with a full disclosure of truth on his part. He expects us to embrace it as unashamedly as he has given it to us. Nothing more...nothing less. The 'nothing more' is Christ - the 'nothing less' is also Christ. There is no substitute for truth - no substitute for Christ in our lives. We cannot work our way to God - 'nothing more'. We cannot do anything to cause him to love us anymore than he already does - 'nothing less'. We are as he sees us and he loves us just the way we are. We are asked to embrace him as he is - nothing more, nothing less.

The message of Christ 'makes sense' only when we don't attempt to add to it or take away from it. We might not fully understand the depth of his love, but we don't have to understand love totally to enter into the embrace of love. We may not fully understand the truth given to us in his Word, but we don't have to dice and slice it to our taste or desire in order to make it work for us. We are given the totality of his love, but we don't always appreciate ALL that is 'included' in that love. We see in part, understand in part, and appreciate only bits and pieces of his sacrificial love. That doesn't make his love any less perfect or complete. It just makes our perception less than perfect!

All the truths of God's grace and love are not dependent upon our understanding of those truths. They stand as true even when we are trying to take away or add to them! We might not realize the error in either of those choices, but when we finally do, we see that God is a God who promotes common sense! He doesn't make his love so complex that we cannot receive it. He doesn't proffer his truth as so mythical that we cannot take it in and be nourished by the wealth of hope and strength contained within it. WE are the ones who add to and take away from - like we need to have a say in the matter!

God is love and he gives perfect love. God is truth and he brings perfect light into our lives. God is freedom and he doesn't just set one free 'up to a certain extent', but with total freedom and release. God provides a total health in our inner man, not just in the areas of his choosing. The sooner we understand the complexity of his love and grace doesn't depend on the simplicity of our understanding and trust, the more we will fall in love with him and find we have all we need exactly in him! Just sayin!