Into the woods of dappled light …

Into the woods of dappled light …

Just beyond the meadow of blossoming clover soft and fair …

Are the woods of dappled light which beckons all to freely come.

We cannot sense the destination only the life around our cares,

Still walk we must, venturing forth adding only to the unknown sum.

For there was much to see and much to note as we seek our way …

Essence in the leaves of days yet undiscovered colored green and bold.

What all that is new and laden with dew midst the branches as they sway,

is mingled with ancient wood of legacy giving as much life as it is old.

What will be of us, if we remain in the meadow rolling soft and fair … 

and venture not into the unfamiliar woods of nuanced dappled light?

Will we stay or go, following what the dancing rays offer willing to share, 

joyfully lit, yet fully challenged of adventure, trial, beauty and delight?

So what becomes of us will always be in the look and the simple choice … 

always unknown but ours to find along the winding trail just beyond the glade.

Our faith gently pushes and pulls us forward giving life and giving voice,

in what the woods of dappled light will gift us in the journey we have made.

It is easy to remain in the comfortable. It is easy to stay in places of the familiar and friendly.  These are always meadows of what we know and what we have. The ease and calm of these places of remaining in the secure and the known can be our undoing. It can also be deadening to our faith. 

There is unknown place just beyond the meadows of the comfortable life. It beckons and intrigues us but it is unknown.  Most people even as they see edge of this place just beyond do not go forward but remain in what they know and believe.  Jesus spoke of the way beyond the way that was.  To the “Rich Young Ruler” it was the way of journeying beyond what he had done in comfort to a place of life in the surrender in the unknown.  We can stay in places of comfort or we venture forth into the dappled light of faith and find life.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls (Hebrews 11:39, ESV)

God is the good in all things!

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, KJV).

There is nothing inherently wrong in the common translation of this major, familiar and meaningful verse but we often miss the deeper insights of faith-giving implications of truth woven into the promises found in this verse.

We often make this verse about “things” when the truth is far more powerful and life changing. We diminish the powerful and incredible direct attention, responsiveness and work that flows gracefully from the extravagant love of our Heavenly Father as Almighty God upon our lives by making this verse about concepts of good feelings, things and outcomes that we as created beings long for.

The truth is much deeper as to the point and purpose of this verse. The greater context of the verse revolves around our purchased and secure relationship as heirs and children of God through the redeeming and interceding work of  Jesus Chris as our Savior and the Holy Spirit as the Comforter in all things.  Thus the days that make up our lives are really not about good things coming to us or even having faith to perceive things as good.   This verse is also nestled directly in thoughts and truths regarding suffering throughout our lives and the unwavering involvement and care of the Holy Spirit in all things including suffering.  Suffering is seldom evaluated as good in our fleshly understanding but going deeper in our faith as children of God.  We must seek to understand Heavenly Father’s love upon us and His working through and in all things by His Spirit alive in us.

Thus we give Him all our things and all our days that He might do His work in and on our hearts of clay with His masterful hands as the “Potter” who knows all things and crafts us as His masterpiece as we yield to Him.

God is in the good in all things because He is good at all times in all things. Thus our lives are not about things being good or bad and trying to make sense of them but about loving and trusting our God who is working in us in and through all things because of His great love, for His purposes. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, NIV)

 Suggested Reading ... Romans 8

You shalt not murder!

“Thou shalt not murder” (Exodus 20:13, NKJV)

Of all the commandments, the commandment to not take a human life is one of the easiest commandments to dismiss.  “You shalt not murder” (Exodus 20:13, NKJV) is a more correct and a better translation than “You shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13, KJV).  The number of murderers in most societies is quite small. Yet from time to time, murder does take place on occasion. We see systematic brutal slaughters in nationalistic or religious fanaticism and pointless or senseless murder at times in our own culture and cringe, but generally it becomes somewhat easy to dismiss this commandment because it might apply to others in other places but never seems very near to us.

Yet Jesus … takes this commandment from the realm of a general non-applying rule and thrusts it like a burning ember into the lives of all human beings. Thus the commandment that most lends itself to being easily dismissed becomes a cautionary truth about anger which should sear the tendencies of rationalization and non-application in all of His followers (Matthew 5:21-26).

Although most people do not carry out plans for the taking of a life, Jesus identifies the source of all fiery and burning deeds of murder lies in the tinder of anger that leads to the beginnings of any such action. In the Kingdom of God, judgment from Christ comes to those who are unrelenting in their anger, sentencing follows on those who attach contempt to their verdict and severe and lasting condemnation to those who in anger would curse another person.

Jesus desires his followers to understand in deep ways the danger of anger and need for forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption. We can see our need for these actions for our salvation but their application is needed in our daily walk and in every relationship we have in the world around us that we may save ourselves from our own destruction.

Jesus later identifies all sin as coming from the heart (Matthew 15:19) and any strong and unreleased anger in our hearts will bring about many of these sins including the taking of any life. Thus the commandment to not murder is not a commandment without appropriateness in our lives but one of daily application to listen to the Spirit of God to release and even crucify dangerous contempt and anger so the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) may grow in our lives.

Suggested Reading ... Matthew 5 and Galatians 5