cursed

Have you noticed how hard people have worked to undo the curse?  

I'm talking about The Curse.  The one God put on us and the whole earth when Adam and Eve first sinned.

For the woman the curse was painful childbirth, her desire would be for her husband and her husband would rule over her.

For the man it was that he would have to painfully toil in order to eat.  There would be thorns and thistles and he would eat by the sweat of his brow.  

And of course, death.  We would die.

So what do we have?  Epidurals and all kinds of interventions to provide almost a painless childbirth.  The Women's Liberation Movement telling women they don't need to submit to their husbands.  And I don't know what the desire for her husband means.  That doesn't sound like a bad thing.  But I have heard that it has to do with women wanting to control their husbands.  I also think it could be that so many women think that their husband can meet all of their needs and look to him for more than they should.

Anyway, so then for the men we have air conditioned John Deer tractors with DVD players and who knows what all.  The men who actually work the soil are doing so in grand style. And there is genetic alteration of produce to make it easier to grow and to decrease the labor needed.

And constant attempts to cure death.  People spend their lives fighting death.  But as soon as a cure is found for one thing, something new comes along.  Ever notice that?  

We are cursed.  And there is nothing we can do about it.  The only one who can lift the curse is the one who placed it.  God.  He has overcome death through the resurrection of His Son, but we won't taste fully of that resurrection in these bodies.  Truth is, we still must die.  But there is coming a day when no one will die.  When there will be no more weeds, or sweat, or pain.  The curse is temporary.  But not because of our efforts.

This is just something I think about whenever I hear about scientific attempts to find a cure for something.  I am not against that, by any means.  But it is, in the long run, futile.  There will always be something around that is killing people.  

Rev 22:2-4 says: "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."

But until then, all of creation groans, awaiting the day.  Rom. 8:22

a lesson from the Shire

My favorite scene from Lord of the Rings (the movie) is at the very beginning before they've even left the Shire.

Bilbo(a hobbit)  is getting ready to leave but finds himself not wanting to leave behind the ring (evil, bad thing).  

So Bilbo is arguing about this when Gandalf (the wizard) seems to increase in size.  He becomes large, imposing and fierce.  He says in a loud, booming voice something like, "Have you forgotten who I am?  I am no conjurer of cheap tricks!"

Bilbo is against the wall, eyes wide, full of fear.  

Then Gandalf comes back to normal size, his face softens and his eyes are tender as he says, "I am not here to steal from you.  I am here to help you."

Then Bilbo sobs and runs into his arms.

I LOVE that scene. 

That scene makes me think of us and God.  We so often forget who He is.  We forget that He isn't just some performer.  He is GOD.  He created all things with His words.  Life came from His breath.  

But sometimes we take Him lightly.  We diminish Him in our eyes.  We box Him up and label Him and expect Him to behave the way we like.  

And we argue with Him.  We fight Him because we have things that we are holding on to.  Things that are precious to us.  We want them.  But He knows that those things are harmful to us.  They are evil.  They will consume us.  

He isn't here to steal from us.  He's here to help us.  Always.  Only.  He loves us and only wants our good.  But to quote a different movie/book (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), "He isn't a tame lion."  He isn't tame at all and we best remember that.

The Old Testament refers to it as the Fear of the Lord.  And it is highly recommended.

a girl's best friend

My Love gave me diamonds for Valentine's Day!
I like jewelry well enough. I like sparkly things. What I LOVE are beautiful pieces of nature. Scenery, clouds, phenomana, whatever.
As I write the sun has come out of cover and is hitting my ice coated trees. They look exactly like they have been sprinkled with diamonds!
He knows what I love, He knows what touches me, and He's wooing me!
I can't take my eyes away.

I want to clarify that it was God who gave me the diamonds.
Hubby is a sweety, but he knows me well enough to know that some gorgeous flowers are all I want. And he got me some.

trust no one

Now, I'm not encouraging you to be cynical or pessimistic; keep that in mind.

But everyone will let you down. Every human being will fail you.

This morning in church something was said that reminded me of a time when someone that we trusted hurt us. And I got to thinking about this.

I know that at one time or another, every person in my life has been let down by me. And I also know that every person in my life has failed me.

Failures, disappointments, betrayals, come in all shapes and sizes. They range from trivial to devastating.

The hubby says he'll take out the trash and you count on that, but he forgets.

Your best friend isn't available emotionally when you need her most.

A lunch date forgets that you had a date.

Maybe you entrusted a friend with a confidence and he shared it with some one else.

A friend stops calling and you can't seem to reconnect and you don't know why.

A pastor lies.

A leader gets caught stealing.

Your spouse cheats.

And for some people, it can be even worse, involving abuse and even murder.

Who can you trust? Well, there is only ONE who can be fully trusted. He will never, ever let us down. We often interpret that He has, but in truth, He cannot. He is as solid as a rock and we can always depend on Him, not matter how circumstances appear.

Now, I want you to know that I am a trusting person. I trust people to be who they seem to be and to do what they say they will do.

We should give people the benefit of the doubt. Trust them, but not without reservation. We need to be trusting and trustworthy people. Humanity and Christianity depend on it. But, keep always in mind that every human being is fatally flawed. We are all broken. Not one person can occupy the place in your life that belongs only to the God who created you.