Christians make things way too complicated, wouldn't you agree? Instead of approaching each day
with a calm demeanor and peaceful heart as God intended, we frantically run around, doing a million
things, thinking a thousand thoughts, attempting to be the best, falling short, feeling guilty, trying to
please, meeting demands, caring too much, caring too little all the while hoping we are being good
Christians.
As believers we are suppose to follow Christs example in all the things that we say and do but
somehow I think we miss the boat. When Jesus lived on earth, He walked in peace and in love, which
means we should walk in peace and in love but we rarely do. When speaking with others, Jesus used
wisdom in what He said and always knew when it was time to be quiet and not speak at all, but our
to-do-list doesn't usually include operating in wisdom. With so much to do, Jesus relied on a Day
Planner, a PDA a cell phone and an MP3 player to help get Him through the day...Oh wait! That
wasn't Jesus, that's just us.
I can't imagine Jesus making things as complicated as we do. Not once does the Bible portray Him as
a high-strung, excitable person who is constantly frazzled by life like we are. I don't believe that Jesus
was so busy that He had to write Himself notes that said, "Don't forget to read your Bible" as I have
done many times. Jesus just simply lived His life. We walked out His faith slowly, calmly and in an
uncomplicated manner.
Living in a fast paced society, we often think if we just bring God along in the midst of our busyness,
then we've done a half way decent job as a Christian. Unfortunately, I've done that more times than I
would like to admit and while there is definite benefits to taking God with you on the high-speed
treadmill of life I'm not sure that's what He meant for us to do, as believers, all the time. I believe He
would prefer if we just took it down a notch. Perhaps jump off life's treadmill for a minute and relax in
His presence. Instead of trying to be and do all things at all times, making our lives more complicated
than it need be, God would rather us slow it down, cling to the truth found in His word and live a more
peaceful life.
God reminded me of this recently through, of all things, a moth that snuck into our house after church
one Wednesday night. The little tan creature frantically fluttered his wings through the front door
causing great excitement for my kids. "Get it mom!" they said as the hyperactive moth flew around so
fast that he bounced of the walls in our living room. Assuming the moth would die by morning at the
rate he was going, I told the kids to ignore the moth and go to bed.
Five days later, I was sitting in my living room, drinking coffee and reading my Bible. I was thinking
about my walk with God and how complicated I make things at times when to my surprise; I saw the
same moth keeping warm on a light fixture. He's still alive? How did he survive? I said aloud. I watched
the moth for a few minutes and noticed how he clung tightly to the light. Then the strangest thing
happened. Instead of a frantic, frenzied flight around the living room as he had done five days earlier
when he arrived, the moth slowly flew down from the light and landed on the tile by the front door. He
walked with his little moth legs the rest of the way until he reached the door, then with one or two
gentle flaps of his wings; he lifted himself up onto the door and waited.
Crazy as it sounds, it almost seemed as if the moth was waiting for me. I walked over to the door
expecting him to panic at my presence but he didn't, he just waited. I then opened the door and
watched in awe as our little visitor calmly flew away. I stood at the door for a few moments still trying to
figure out why the moth wasn't as afraid as he had been when he arrived and how it was that he had
survived for five days in our house without being swatted by one of us or just dying off, and that's
when God revealed an important truth to me.
The moth survived and appeared serene because he clung to the light. The light was his safety and
his strength. He may have come into the house spastically but as he kept still while clinging to the
light, he changed. He was calmer, more focused and at just the right time, God guided him to the
door, where he needed to be, then moved me to open the door, and there the moth was free to
peacefully fly away.
Like the moth, we need to cling to the Light. In John 8:12 we learn that Jesus is our constant light and
when we cling to Him, we will not only survive but He will take our spastic, high-strung, Go! Go! Go!
ways and replace it with His tranquility. Instead of being a fluttering mess, bouncing of the walls of our
lives so to speak, we can slow done and meditate on the fact that Jesus is our safety, our strength,
and our light. By doing so, we will receive His peace and from there, be able to go about doing the
things He's called us to do each day with a much calmer, more focused spirit than when we arrived.
Forget the Day Planner, PDA, cell phone and MP3 player, if you need help getting through each day
(and we all do) then cling to the light of Jesus and through His peace, He will show you the way.
Inspirational
Moments
Moments
......a magazine for God's Gals!!
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CLING TO THE LIGHT OF JESUS
| By Monica Cane |
