“Stupid bird! What an idiotic thing to do! You KNOW those cars come racing through here. You had to see or hear it coming, but NO, you had to take one more bite. Now, look at you!”     “I know I really blew it, but I’m trying to get out of this lane,” said the bird, “Can you please help me? I’m not very good at walking. My feet are made for swimming and I’m flapping as hard as I can, but getting nowhere.”

     “Nope, sorry,” said the bird. “If I help you, you will never learn. Hopefully, this will teach you a good lesson,” he said.

     Another bird squawked in and said, “I think he’s learned his lesson! Here, dear bird, let me help you.”

”     Oh, thank-you!” said the helpless wounded bird flapping and trying to get somewhere to no avail. You could see he was growing weak and tired.

     It was very clear the bird wanted to help. “Try flapping this way,” he demonstrated, “and lift those feet up a bit while leaning forward…like this! If that doesn’t work, try rolling toward the side of the road.”

     The floundering bird was so confused by now. Flapping was becoming more and more painful. What was “rolling”? He’d never done that before. He tried to lift his feet, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t take the second bird’s advice.

     The second bird said, “Well, if you aren’t going to take my advice, I can’t help you.”

     Then the poor bird saw it…another oncoming car…right in his lane. He flapped and squawked and tried lifting his toes and all the while wondering what “rolling” meant. The car appeared larger and larger until…

     SWOOP! A larger bird descended and grabbed the now horrified bird and lifted him up just in time to avert what seemed to be his fate. The larger bird gently deposited his friend into a pond of water. He couldn’t fly, but he did still know how to swim.

     “Thank-you,” said the bird in his weakest but happiest chirp.

     “You are welcome,” said the big bird as he sewed up the broken wing and then wrapped it so it would heal.

     The rescued bird waited, but the lecture he knew was due him never came. Instead, the stronger bird took the him to his corner of the pond where there was a safe place to swim until he could be on his own again. Somehow this undeserved and unconditional love was just what he needed.

     When the healing was done, and the bird was getting ready to leave, he said, “What do I owe you?”

     “Nothing,” said his friend, “Seeing you whole again is reward enough for me.”

February 9, 2012 No Longer Hungry or Thirsty for God

     As I sat in church one Sunday singing a song about hungering for God, the thought came to me that I shouldn’t be hungry. I remember sitting there trying to remember verses on the topic and wondering if it was more than just a thought I was having, but perhaps God speaking directly to my heart. I asked to borrow my husband’s Bible and looked through his concordance for the word “hunger”. Then I saw it: “never hunger”.

     I sat stunned. After years of learning of God’s grace and of rejecting traditions that did not line up with scripture, I was confronted once again with a tradition that is so deeply ingrained in Christian culture that it is what we call a sacred cow. I’d been taught and believed that I needed to “hunger and thirst after God”. This meant I needed to kindle a desire for God and the things of God, even to the point of desperation. So, singing a song about hungering for God had never seemed odd for me.

February 14, 2012 Blaming God

February 16, 2012  Created for Good Works

     When we speak on grace and faith righteousness verses law and works righteousness, invariably the question always comes up, “Well, are you saying we don’t have to do any works?”

     The answer is very simple. You don’t HAVE to do any works, but you will WANT to do them.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

     So, what is a good work? Is it praying for an hour, reading the Bible each day, and going to church on Sunday? Is it refusing sin and embracing holiness?

     I believe that taking in the whole of Jesus life and the letters written by the apostles, good works are what we do for others in Jesus name. This can take on many forms from being used by God in a spiritual gift or calling to giving of our time and money to help someone in need.

     Works come in two ways: by seeing them as a law and motivating ourselves to do them or as a fruit of what God puts in our hearts. If we see works as a law, we will feel the weight of them. If we allow works to spring forth from the life He has given us and as a response to His grace, we will find rest.

     I’ve done both types of works in my life. I prefer works that come from grace than works required by law.

     The perfect illustration for me is from my teenage years. My parents would sometimes go away overnight. I would plan ahead what special thing I would do for them when they were gone and work so hard to accomplish that task and delight in their surprise when they came home. I would do things like scrub the grout in the tile or shampoo by hand the entire carpet. Once I even painted my bedroom. I loved doing these things that came from my heart.

     However, my step-father finally figured out the pattern that when they’d leave, I’d work, and one day as they were leaving, suggested what I might do that weekend. As you can guess, this deflated my motivation which was coming from my heart, and put me under the burden of obligation. I didn’t do what he asked that weekend. I didn’t do anything. I don’t think I ever did anything again. I was a teenager, not mature enough “to get over it”.

     I think this truth has significant applications for every relationship from marriage to family and friends to employment, but I will refrain from elaborating. Let me just say, that anyone who has worked for or lived with someone who is demanding will understand what I mean.

     My point is that works that come from the heart (grace) are more powerful and enjoyable than works we are obligated to perform (law). When we know how greatly we are loved and that God is not demanding from us but giving to us, we begin to work motivated by His love and empowered by His grace. Even though this work may be physically exhausting at times, the joy that comes from sharing God’s grace with others well overcomes the difficulties.

1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

     The bird lifted his wings and flew on his way. Looking down he saw the perfect snack right in the middle of the road, but amazingly without one piece of advice, he flew a different way directed by the love that had saved him.