Dear Friends in Faith,
Tuesday morning I was putting away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Because I bring my lunch to work many days, and for a variety of reasons, we have a lot of plastic storage containers in the dishwasher. I leave them until the end to put away. Why? Have you seen the cabinet they are supposed to go in? It's ridiculous, honestly. I have so many that my best effort in putting them away is to open the door, throw them in, and push the door shut fast before they all come tumbling out.
Excess is just that, isn't it? Excess! More than we need. More than we can actually manage or take care of in our lives.
Sometimes our excess is as simple as plastic storage containers. Sometimes it’s schedules that leave no breathing and being room. Sometimes it’s toys we were able to buy as adults that we now have to care for, not just enjoy. Sometimes it’s the food we eat and the health concerns associated with that excess.
Maturing spiritually sometimes involves acknowledging our places of excess and growing in our relationship to those things. When we live in excess, we live with a broken relationship with God, who wants us to rely on God for the things we need in life. When we hold on to excess because we live in scarcity, we live with the need to feel important, or we live with the reality of over-indulging, we say to God, “No thank you, I’ll take care of this without you.”
I know it’s just plastic storage containers, but it represents so much more. So as part of my maturing spiritually, I’m tackling the plastic storage containers this weekend! What are you going to tackle in order to mature in your faith and grow closer to God in Jesus?
In worship this weekend we are going to explore how the decision to mature can change our lives. If you are in town, I’ll see you in worship!
Tuesday morning I was putting away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Because I bring my lunch to work many days, and for a variety of reasons, we have a lot of plastic storage containers in the dishwasher. I leave them until the end to put away. Why? Have you seen the cabinet they are supposed to go in? It's ridiculous, honestly. I have so many that my best effort in putting them away is to open the door, throw them in, and push the door shut fast before they all come tumbling out.
Excess is just that, isn't it? Excess! More than we need. More than we can actually manage or take care of in our lives.
Sometimes our excess is as simple as plastic storage containers. Sometimes it’s schedules that leave no breathing and being room. Sometimes it’s toys we were able to buy as adults that we now have to care for, not just enjoy. Sometimes it’s the food we eat and the health concerns associated with that excess.
Maturing spiritually sometimes involves acknowledging our places of excess and growing in our relationship to those things. When we live in excess, we live with a broken relationship with God, who wants us to rely on God for the things we need in life. When we hold on to excess because we live in scarcity, we live with the need to feel important, or we live with the reality of over-indulging, we say to God, “No thank you, I’ll take care of this without you.”
I know it’s just plastic storage containers, but it represents so much more. So as part of my maturing spiritually, I’m tackling the plastic storage containers this weekend! What are you going to tackle in order to mature in your faith and grow closer to God in Jesus?
In worship this weekend we are going to explore how the decision to mature can change our lives. If you are in town, I’ll see you in worship!
RSS Feed
