Water Jugs into Wine Jars

Anyone who read the earliest remaining post on this blog was given a link to Jason Boyett's post about "Cognitive Surplus" and being an active participant in our reality. It was the last straw on the back pf the camel that was carrying my excuses for not being more productive in the blogoshpere; a major no-no for the trendy aspiring writer. Unfortunately, any posts this past week would have put me into a "Cognitive Deficit" that would have been pretty inconvinient.

In the absence of our pastor, I am often tapped to fill the pulipit on Sunday morning. It is a task I relish and am known to, often times, throw myself into. With the benefit of knowing when I will be preaching several months in advance would seem to give me an advangtage in the preparation of the sermons. However, I sometimes try to fit my preparation time into the constraints that are placed on weekly preachers to benefit my future disciplines (and congregation). Which is what I tried to do this week. I knew what verses I would be using, and a vague sense that I needed to speak, to some degree, on the idea of purpose as it relates to our identities and our assurance as believers.

I began the week with just that basic level of knowing what message I was going to deliver. I began the week trusting God would deliver the perfect metaphor to draw it out of scripture and push it into the lives of His people, as He always does. I finally had some time wednesday evening to sit and pray about the metaphor He had for us, but didn't get it. I got a little more clarity on the four main things He wanted me to convey, but no metaphor. Thursday came and went with little down time, and even less inspiriation. Friday was some more of the same. As saturday morning gave way to saturday evening and night (spent at my full time job), I became a little nervous.

As I sat, near midnight, staring at a page with the four concepts I had written on it a few days before staring back at me, I was nearing desperation. The week before had sapped much of what I had in me. My mental exhaustion and physical fatigue were coupled with a spiritual malase that was not my norm. So I put my earbuds in and sought inspiration from my ipod. As I sat, listening to Tullian Tcivigian teach, I got distracted by my dog and cat playfully wrestling their way through the livingroom. It was like a switch going on. Every one of the four things I felt called to expose from the text was embodied by my dog and her journey from being a wimpering APL mutt to the joyful border collie/lab mix she is today. From that point on, the sermon wrote itself.

I can't speak on how it is with other preachers, but this is becoming more and more indicitive of how He and I relate as I move forward in the preaching area of my carreer. It has me very much feeling like I am one of the containers of water at the Cana wedding. I carry around the watered down, basic ideas (themselves put there by Someone else) for however long. At the last second, Jesus steps in and makes something just-other-enough to be seen as special out of what I've been carrying around, sometimes for months. In this way, these last minute fits of inspiration, I am blessed to feel the humility of knowing that the message is not my own. I am spared the burden of pride. I pray it has allowed me to receive the compliments with the proper mix of glory-giving and appreciattion for what God has done for me, both in how He has gifted me and choosen to use me in my oft broken state...

solomon and shel...

One of the things that strikes me about Shel Silverstein's poems is their lack of symbolism. Alliterative and consonant, rhyming and rhythmic, yet always strait forward. The words he chooses create a feel or tell a story. The times he tries to make his readers think, we are never left wondering what about or the conclusion he is trying to convey. Such is the case with his poem "LESTER", which happens to be my personal favorite of his writing.

The subject of "LESTER" is a man named (of all things) Lester who receives a wish from "...the goblin who lives in the banyan tree". Once he receives this wish, he greedily sets about his wishing. Lester is so greedy that he wishes for more wishes, then uses those wishes to wish for more wishes. We are only told of his wishing... for wishes. He's so proud of his wishes, his wealth, his ability to get things, that he never bothers with even the simple joys of life. Lester never smiled or cried, or loved, reached or touched anything. Anything, except his wishes. He kept wishing for wishes and died with nothing. Nothing, except his wishes.

Lester sits in contrast to the character of King Solomon in 1 Kings 3. In this passage, God appears to the newly-crowned king in a dream and tells him that He will grant whatever he asks. Rather than asking for long life or for riches, Solomon asks the LORD for more wisdom. He desires to be a better king for the Lord's people, Israel and Judah. God is so pleased with King Solomon's request that He goes beyond and makes him the wisest man who will ever live. The Lord goes even further and guarantees both riches and honor to the king.

Throughout scripture, from Proverbs to Paul, we are exhorted to chase after wisdom in our own lives. Not just wisdom, as the world knows it, but the wisdom of the Lord. Christ tells us in Luke 12:31 to "...seek his kingdom" the characteristics of which include love, compassion, righteousness, and wisdom. He continues in that verse, and following:
"...seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
Do not be afraid... ...your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." (Lk 12:31-32)
In these two verses, I see an echo of God's words to Solomon and promises to us, as well. The kingdom waits for those who seek it.

"if you always seek

WISDOM

you will always prove

WISE"