No. 62
Not wanting the perks of Christianity without Jesus
Something I studied in the Bible:
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust. Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh. I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
Job 19:25–27
Spurgeon wrote that seeing God was the subject of Job’s devout anticipation. Job seemed to have an understanding that many lack, that even in immeasurable suffering and loss, God was still the ultimate prize. Job wrestled through his circumstances with God, not away from him, because he knew that at the end of it, seeing God was worth it. Spurgeon pointed out that he didn’t say I can’t wait to see the pearly gates, it is the Lord he is excited to see and delight in.
I saw this post on a local mom group this week asking if there was anything like a church in our area that was not at all spiritual or religious, just a group of community members meeting to discuss how to raise their families and better their communities and have speakers giving encouraging messages, with childcare activities for free while the adults were in meeting. It was not the first time I had seen something like this asked and whenever I see it, my initial reaction is to laugh because it sounds so ridiculous, but then it makes me incredibly sad. Some of the comments on this post were bemoaning how this has always been their dream and why can churches make this work and secular groups can’t. The part that makes me laugh is the idea that anyone would do this for “free” out of their own goodwill outside of the sacrifice and service of the body Christ because it is exhausting sometimes and even people in church don’t always get along or agree on how to do things. They are missing the entire reason that church "works" in the first place: Jesus.
This is where I get incredibly sad because these people want all the perks of Jesus without having Jesus. There’s a song from a cassette my mom used to put on growing up and the group is singing about how they’ve heard stories of heaven and it’s beauty, but if they got there and Jesus wasn’t there, it wouldn’t be heaven (enjoy your silverwind throwback). This is one of those things I need to pause and reflect on more often because it can be so easy to get caught up in the gift and forget the giver. I need to remind myself that when I get pangs for heaven, seeing earthly suffering in motion, it is not just the eternal peace and comfort that I long for, but the presence of God, without who it would not exist.
Our pastor last Sunday made a very good point about how that phrase “God will never give you more than you can handle” is bad theology because a person who can handle exactly what they’re given doesn’t feel the need for God after they have become used to handling it themselves. Looking at Job’s monologues I definitely don’t think he thought he could “handle” this but he trusted God was who he always had been, even when he didn’t understand or even agree with the plans of God. He trusted in the sovereignty and authority of God to do as he pleases with his creation because he is who he always has been and always will be, and part of that is that He is good. My favorite part of these set of verses is when Job says “my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger.” One day we will know all there is to know about God, as he knows all things about us. All the things we cannot understand now, we will know then. One day we will look at God with our own eyes, and behold him in all his beauty, our souls at rest with our creator eternally.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
1 Corinthians 13:12
A way I saw the goodness of God:
My son was able to go back to school the last few days of this week after having his tonsillectomy last Thursday. He had a rough day at the beginning of the week as the scabs were starting to fall off but thankfully that passed quickly and he has been doing much better. One of the biggest changes I noticed is that he has been able to sleep with his mouth fully closed now and easily breathes out of his nose and it has been making him sleep much more soundly. We have prayed over the years about the issues that were caused by his tonsils and adenoids, even before we knew that removing them would be the solution, and it has been such an answered prayer to see how much better he is already doing in such a short period of time.
A recipe I made:
It was a cold week this week. I made stuffed pepper soup (recipe card is posted in this past newsletter) which is actually one of my favorite soups that I could eat for days on end. It’s like the European cousin of chili in my mind because it involves a lot of the same prep I would do for chili but the spices are different. I like to make it with a brown rice and lentil pack instead of just rice because of the extra fiber and protein.
Recommendations:
I got these cute mini frames in the Target dollar spot this week. They are such a fun way to have cute family photos or even a encouraging verse on your fridge.
These sweater pants are so comfortable and the tan color is so nice. I wore them with a white sweater and some low heel ankle boots this week.
I was just talking about the windi with a pregnant mom and how much of a lifesaver they were with our kids when they were babies. I love to buy a box of these and throw them in a baby shower gift bag regardless of if they have registered for it because it’s one of those items that you don’t know how much you need it until you need it.
I bought this azealic acid serum a few weeks ago and have been loving it. It has niacinamide and vitamin c in it to help with any dark spots or scarring on your face to even out skin tone and help with fine lines.
Something that brought me joy:
I went on a snowy walk with a friend last night after we dropped off our kids at Awana. We had planned to go walk on some treadmills at our gym like we do often while our kids are there but she had texted me and asked if I minded doing part of it outdoors and in the end we just walked outside the entire time because it was so nice once we got moving because it wasn’t too cold or windy out. It was so nice to walk and catch up and get in some crisp fresh air after a long week. By the time we were done my hair was nice and sweaty in my hat and our faces had that rosy glow you see on kids who have just come in from playing in the snow.