A few weeks ago a minister friend of ours from Tennessee was visiting our church. After one of the services as we were talking together I asked my son to tell our friend one of his memory verses we’ve been working on. Kendrick got that embarrassed look on his face, the one that says “Moooommm?!?! What are you doing to me??” I knew what that look meant, after all it’s the same one I gave my mom all those years ago when she would put me on the spot. Anyway, after a little prodding from his dad and more requesting from our friend, Kendrick complied and recited the three verse passage as quickly as possible to get it over with. Later I commented to our friend about how sometimes children don’t seem to want to “perform on demand” in front of others when you ask them to even though you’ve been working with them one on one and know they can do it. Our friend, a first-time dad to a beautiful six month old baby girl, quickly replied without hesitation how that is often like our response to God when He asks us to do something. And there it was…another epiphany.
I’ve pondered this thought for the past few weeks. How many times has my heavenly Father seemingly put me on the spot with that nudging inside that there was something He was asking me to do? How many times did I react with embarrassment instead of responding in confident obedience, knowing that I was prepared for whatever He’d put in front of me because of what He’s put in me? He doesn’t ask us to do ‘stuff’ to embarrass us…embarrassment only happens when the focus is on ourselves. He does want to put us on display, but not so people can see us – so they can see Him. He wants us to let out what He’s put in us! Just as I was proud of how Kendrick had learned those verses and I knew he was fully able to share God’s word with someone, God is fully confident in His life in you and His grace towards you. He’s fully confident in you!
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 tells us, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” Someone needs the life you have inside of you today. Picture yourself as a wick, the interface that releases the fragrant life of God inside you to absolutely everything around you. So the next time God asks you to do something that you may not think you can do, remember what’s really going on…the Everlasting Father just wants to show out through you. He wants to show out His love, His life, His embrace, and His truth to you, in you and through you. So go ahead and allow God to put you on display...FOR HIS GLORY!
11.21.11
