Tuesday, January 5, 2021
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2
It happened again Saturday. We were
self-quarantining, so the much-dreaded putting-away of Christmas decorations
was on the table. Stuff had to be
dragged up the ladder to be stored in the attic above the garage, so to get said
ladder a small truckload of junk in front of the ladder had to be
relocated. Then, one noticed the car was in the way, so it had to be
moved out. Which revealed several yard tools that had never been returned
to the garden shed. While carrying those out of the garage I noticed the
leaves covering the front yard, including the driveway. So I dropped the
tools off in the garden shed and returned with rake, blower, and leaf
bags. Putting away Christmas too early can be hazardous to your day
of rest!
It was then the realization light bulb turned on;
I was like a hound, tracking a bear, but changed directions when a deer scent
crossed the path. And then changed again when a cat's trail crossed the
deer's...and changed one more time when he got a whiff of the mouse the cat had
been hunting. I was like a hound tracking a bear and wound up chasing a
mouse. It dawned on me that, somewhere in the long blue and red
chain of my family's DNA, the bloodline must include hound. That
seems to be the only explanation for the way I start out to put away Christmas
stuff and wind-up with forty million leaves in bags.
Either that or, deep inside my psyche, my soul
just can't let go of Christmas.
Hunting-hound-unable-to-resist-multi-tasking-change-of-directions-syndrome is not limited to the tracking habits of canines (or,
for that matter, preachers cleaning out the garage). On a higher plane it
is also a malady that afflicts followers of Jesus as we pursue our mission of seeking
first the kingdom[1]. We start off to confess sin, live holy lives,
and bring glory to God, aspiring to what Paul wrote to the church family in
Rome. He encouraged them to let God
renew our minds, transforming us into a mighty witness for God’s way. But
we get distracted by minutiae which sidetracks us like a confused hound.
It may be criticism thrown our way, or a church power struggle. But, more likely, it is just our natural fear
causing us to resist the bending of our will to God's ways. However it happens, we get off course, and
the sad end-result is a child of God, bound for the kingdom, turning aside from
the narrow path, winding-up staring at the mouse hole of this world's
trinkets.
Paul's admonition in Romans 12:1-2 becomes an
all-important course-correction, reminding us of Jesus' words to not just set a
priority of seeking God’s kingdom, but to keep on
track. Jesus taught that to his
disciples; He said keep on seeking, keep on
asking, keep on knocking[2].
For You Today
Hunting greater
things requires staying on the path to which God has led us. And doing
that requires resisting other tempting distractions.
So, if you’re
like me, with hound in the DNA, stay on-point, following the greater path; let
the leaves rest in peace and hang on to Christmas. You’ve got a more important mission than
watching mouseholes.
[1] Title Image: Courtesy Pixabay.com
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on this text see The Great Divide - AND SO - Part 1 and Part 2 and Part
3
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