A "MAGIC NECKLACE"

When I travel, I have a special necklace that I like to take with me.  It’s a pendant that has seven colored stones that can be changed to go with whatever I might be wearing. 

Recently I was staying with an African friend in Kenya. Each day the stone in my necklace was a different color, matching what I was wearing.  She was very impressed when she realized that it was the same necklace that I was wearing every day.  “I’d like to have a necklace like that” she commented one day.

Not long after that, I was wearing a multi-colored jacket that had a little black accent in it.  I had chosen to put in a black stone to wear with it. My friend was puzzled, and asked, “Why did your necklace pick up the black since there are other colors that are more prominent?”

I was confused by her question.  “Because I chose a black stone today,” I replied.

After a few more confusing comments between us, I realized that she thought the stone in the necklace changed colors on its own depending on what I was wearing—like glasses that you see advertised that change between regular glasses and sunglasses when you go in and out of the sunshine.

“ Oh!  No, I have to take the pendant off the necklace, open it up, and change the stone,” I replied.  And I demonstrated for her how it was done.

We both had a good laugh at the mistake, and then agreed that it would be great to have a necklace that would just change colors according to what I was wearing without any effort on my part.  “A magic necklace,” I thought.  I’d like that—a necklace that would match whatever I was wearing without any effort on my part.

“No effort on my part.”  The thought raced through my mind.  How often I’d like things in my life to change without having to put forth effort.  But that’s not the way life works.

In fact, God more often than not, requires action on my part to bring about the change I want. 

Take for example Naaman, the powerful King of Aram who had just defeated Israel in a battle back in the time of the Prophet Elisha (II Kings 5).  He had contracted leprosy and, on the advice of his wife’s Jewish handmaid, sought healing from the God of Israel through Elisha.  But instead of just magically healing him, Elisha sent a messager to him telling him to go wash in the Jordan River seven times, and he would be healed. 

Naaman was offended and angered by this instruction, and refused to do what he thought was beneath his dignity.  But then his servants convinced him to follow the prophet’s instructions, which he eventually did and was healed.  God was requiring his participation in the process of obedience before He would heal him.

“Just like my necklace,” I thought.  If I want the color changed, I have to open the locket and put in a different colored stone.  I have to do the work.  I could have wished that the color of the stone would just change on it’s own, but it doesn’t.  Yet, God has created the stones and given them the colors so that I may match them to my clothes.  I use what He created, but I’m involved in the changing process.

And so it is with change in our lives.  God gives us the instructions for how to live, and the power to do it, but we have to put those instructions into action in order to get the results. 

Think of the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) as the colored stones of a necklace:

Love

        Joy

             Peace

                      Patience

                                Kindness

                                              Goodness

                                                           Faithfulness

                                                                              Gentleness

                                                                                               Self-control

God is giving them to us, but we have to “put them on” – put them in our lockets and wear them, so to speak – to make them true of us.  It takes effort on our part, but in the process, God manifests those aspects of His character in us.

In a way, when we’ve put those characteristics on, they all are combined into one stone – a stone in a “magic necklace” that reflects God’s character.  As we exercise a “fruit” in our interactions with other people, that character trait shines forth from the necklace for all to see.

So, maybe there is such a thing as a “magic necklace” after all!

MYSTERIES

We’re in middle of a Polar Vortex—exceptionally cold weather caused by frigid North Pole air sliding down into North America because of a weak jet stream (which normally brings more temperate air across the nation from west to east.)

It’s been snowing for the past couple days and is very cold today.  The high is only supposed to get up to –11 degrees Fahrenheit.  It could set a record for the lowest high temperature in this area.  And, of course, nighttime and wind chill temperatures are even lower.

Officials are requesting that people stay home if they don’t absolutely have to go out.  Schools are closed, and our evening church service was canceled last night. 

The snow is deep and my husband got stuck yesterday turning into our driveway.  Several neighbors were out shoveling snow and helped dig him out.  He then spent nearly an hour cleaning off the driveway so he could get the car into the garage.

I don’t really enjoy this kind of ‘cold.’ It’s very penetrating.  And, for the past several days, we’ve not seen the sun.  When I pulled back the curtains yesterday and stood looking out the window, I could feel the cold penetrating through the glass. 

But today, in spite of the frigid temperature, the sun is shining.  It’s still low in the sky because it’s only a couple weeks past the winter solstice, but that has the advantage of allowing the sun’s rays to come in my window at a more direct angle.

I marvel at the warmth I feel from the rays of the sun, even though it passes through 93,000,000 miles of ‘cold’ to get here!  How can that be? 

I know that the sun’s light travels via light waves, and that the warmth comes from radiation, but it’s still a mystery to me.

As I stood there basking in the warmth of the sun in my living room, I felt a joy and a sense of awe.  There are so many ‘mysteries’ in life—so many little joys to ponder.

Those moments reminded me of other mysteries—ones that science can’t explain—such as the mystery of God’s love.  Just like the sun’s warmth coming through the cold to reach me, so God’s love travels through a cold and broken world and penetrates my soul.  I feel its warmth bringing me joy, even in times of difficulties.  I don’t know how it gets here, but I know it’s real—just as real as the warmth of the sun.

Another such mystery was recorded in the Bible when Jesus told Nicodemus (a Jewish leader) about the need to be born again in order the see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus, thinking of physical birth, questioned Jesus as to how this could be. 

Jesus went on to explain that the rebirth he was talking about was a spiritual rebirth.  He described it like this: “the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Hmmm—this is indeed a great mystery, one that no one can scientifically explain.  Yet, those who experience it know the reality of the inner peace it brings.

I’m so grateful that I don’t need to fully understand what makes these mysteries work in order to receive their benefits—the warmth of the sun on a bitterly cold day, the joy of God’s love even when I’m facing hard things in life, the inner peace that spiritual rebirth brings—all mysteries of our creator God.

The Apostle Paul sums up the great mysteries of God this way:

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Romans 11:33)

I continually stand in awe of God—this God of mysteries.

NEW BEGINNINGS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

Today is the first day of the rest of my life—a new beginning. 

The idea of new beginnings permeates our culture.  We have expressions like, “Tomorrow’s a new day” when things aren’t going well, or “I’ve turned over a new leaf” when speaking of a new direction in our lives.

There are new beginnings that mark off time, such as the beginning of a new year, a new day, or a new season.

There are new beginnings that mark off events, such as our birth into this world—the beginning of our existence—and all the beginnings that come as a part of growing up. We talk about ‘new chapters’ in our lives—when we graduate from school, a new job, marriage, birth of children, or moving to a new location.

There are new beginnings in our thoughts—things we learn that significantly affect our beliefs and attitudes.

Most new beginnings have a forward-looking aspect to them—an opportunity—an anticipation of what is to come—the hope of something better. 

Sometimes a new beginning brings fear or dread or sorrow—the loss of a job, an accident, a natural disaster, a difficult illness, or the death of a loved one.

Sometimes new beginnings ‘fizzle.’  They don’t turn out the way we had hoped or expected.  We’re disappointed and seek for something else.  The new becomes old and we move on—just as the old year ends and a new year begins, and the sun sets on a finished day and rises on a new day.  No new beginning is permanent.

In some respects, we’re all seeking for a new beginning that brings lasting satisfaction, but through the hard knocks of life we often despair of ever finding it.  We hunger for a new beginning we can’t really identify. 

The good news is that there is a new beginning that does exist and it is far greater than anything we ever anticipated or expected.  Many people, however, miss it—they are looking for it in the wrong place, may be misinformed so they reject it, or simply choose not to believe it.

Don’t miss out.  This year could be a new beginning in a personal relationship with the God of the universe—the God of the Bible—a new beginning that doesn’t end.  And each of us can wake up each morning with the thought, “Today is the first day of the rest of my life—not just life on this earth, but life for the rest of eternity in the presence of the Living God.”