A weekend full of family is always a blessing! Thank You, Father, for opportunities to spend time with those we love. Watch over us all and may we remain in the center of Your will. Amen.
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One thing that has caught my attention in recent days is how birds can zoom past our bedroom window heading toward the feeder I have hanging by the office window, which is the next room over. When they fly by, they are literally just a blur. The only reason I know what the “blur” is that it has happened so many times and when I walk to the door of the office their they are!
Most often when that happens, it is a White-breasted Nuthatch. They are swift in their arrival, but I am amazed that when they “hit” the feeder it barely moves. It is more the case that they “light” on the feeder. I don’t get to see the “lighting” process but just the way birds are created, I can imagine that they use their wings in such a way that they stop all forward movement and lightly place their feet on their intended target with just a slight touch.
I couldn’t do that for sure. I have watched enough sporting events to know that no matter how physically fit you are, no matter how agile you are, if you are running full tilt, you can’t stop!
Karen loves watching The Ohio State Buckeyes’ and the Texas A&M Aggies’ football teams. With new rules in place, players have to be careful not to hit opponents in the with their heads down with the intent, or not, of hurting them with the brunt of their helmets. Also, they have to be very careful about blocking kicks. They can’t slam into the kickers, it’s a major no-no.
But what do you do if you are running with everything you have and right before you get to your opponent, the ball is sent on its way and you can’t touch them? A 300-pound defensive lineman cannot stop on a dime!
Alright, how about us and sin? Sometimes we see it coming and we just avoid it altogether. Other times, we are running full steam ahead and, BAM, we run into something we had no intention of getting in the middle of. We might see it right before we hit it, but contact is inevitable!
First of all, if at the point of contact we turn and immediately run the other way – at least from a spiritual perspective – we are good. The problem arises when we don’t run. If we linger. If we take it all in. If we let our eyes and our minds and our bodies stay at that point of contact, we are in trouble.
It will not be held against us if we do the former. But if we do the latter, there will be consequences. We will have to come before our Father to seek forgiveness.
Unfortunately, for the most part, we cannot respond like a White-breasted Nuthatch when it comes to “off-limits” territory. Too often we can only respond like a 300-pound lineman.
Lord Jesus, may our goal be to love You as Your word says, with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Luke 10:27). And may that love be so strong that we want nothing to do with sin but want everything to do with You! Amen.
July 5th, 2020, Sun, 10:08 pm
