The Plumbline

One of my family in Canada posted this saying today:  "Tears are how our  heart speaks when our lips cannot describe how much we've been hurt."  I don't usually re-post some of these things, but when they catch my eye, I let them sink in and ponder them a little.  Since I am not one to cry at the drop of a hat, I began to ponder the tears of my "heart" and some of the things I was expressing in those tears.  The emotions ranged from extreme disappointment to sheer agony associated with great loss.  Our tears speak much, don't they? You've kept track of my every toss and turn  through the sleepless nights, e ach tear entered in your ledger,  each ache written in your book.  (Psalm 56:8 The Message) Another translation says God collects our tears in a bottle.  I imagine a huge room lined with shelves, bottles all lined up with little labels bearing each of our names.  From the very first tears cried as we came bawling i...

There are a whole bunch of ways we can find which make us "stand out" in a crowd, huh?  We could dress in some stunning manner, or in tattered jeans laden with chains - each attracts attention - just for different reasons!  We could sing with lovely melody, never missing a note - or croon out a song which only "resembles" what the writer had in mind!  One gets our applause, the other causes us to cringe and at best, offer a "false" accolade.  Jesus was talking to his disciples one day, using the Pharisees and religious leaders of the time as an example of trying to "stand out" - just for the wrong reasons! Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. (Matthew 23:11-12 The Message) He spent a great deal of time in the first ten verses of this chapter outlining just how much "atte...