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- Written by: Don Goulding
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand. (Isaiah 52:15b) (NIV)
Orphans bounced like popcorn on the trampoline at the mission house in Zimbabwe. Normally they laughed and took turns, four at a time. This day, sharing was abandoned and I had to intervene. Eight little combatants pushed and shouted in their native Shona. My polite English didn't reach them.
“Stop,” I shouted.
They froze.
“Get off.”
Eight pairs of bare feet scampered away.
Human words are an imperfect medium. Even when we’re speaking the same language, misunderstandings are frequent. Knowing this, God communicated his most important message in a way it wouldn’t be lost amidst our confusion. Jesus was God’s shout from heaven.
God didn’t leave his offer for reconciliation dependent on words alone. He needed a way to cut through language and culture to say, “I love you and I’ll do anything to save you.” Sending his all glorious Son to die an unjust death, heralds a message so loud that none can mistake it.
The communique of the cross will make it impossible for us to stand at Judgment Day and say we didn’t understand God. Any who would not respond to the grand demonstration of sacrificial love must belong to the fiery abyss of hell.
Prayer: Father, thank you for shouting salvation at me.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
… the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26-27)
“Hey, look at me,” my five-year-old sister shouted.
Our family was on vacation in Utah and we floated in the Great Salt Lake as though we had lifejackets on. Our engineer father could explain how a salinity of eight times the ocean displaced objects, but we didn’t grasp all that. We were busy holding our heads, hands, and feet above the surface and giggling.
The grace of Christ is another mystery. It is the mystery of all mysteries. How can God accept me when I know, and I know he knows, the darkness in my heart? Theologians say it has to do with substitutional atonement, wherein my sin is transferred to the crucified body of Christ. I don’t grasp the depth of all that. I do know that when I fall into his grace, it holds me up.
I don’t float often enough. I make a mental acknowledgment that Jesus died for me, then return to proving my worth. My human nature wants to tread with self effort. But I have to face the reality that, without Christ, I’d plummet to the bottom. My only hope is to relax and trust his sufficiency.
Today, I need to make time for reposing in the buoyancy of grace. I must quiet my heart and delight in bobbing above spiritual drowning. Jesus around me, in me, through me—this is the greatest mystery of all time. I can’t understand it, I can only float in it, and giggle.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I rest in the mystery of your love.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
A starfish had one orange leg out of the tide pool and a squirrel sniffed the creature.
“Hello,” said the starfish.
The squirrel jumped back and chirped. “Oh, you scared me … what are you? … my name is Stella … I’m a gray squirrel … where are your eyes and how do you know where you are going?”
Stella waited for what seemed like an eternity while the starfish inched forward.
“My name is Sammy. I’m a starfish. I use these tiny feelers on the ends of my legs.”
“Well, how do you find your food with no eyes?” Stella chattered. “I store nuts under the roots of the oldest birch tree. That’s the best place for hiding delicious nuts … because in winter I will need to find them again … one nut I found today is the biggest I’ve ever found in any day … I just love nuts.”
When Stella took a breath, Sammy replied, “I don’t have to see because God takes care of me. I just reach for him, and voilà, he puts meals in front of me.”
Stella scratched her head with a back paw. “Don’t you ever worry you’ll run out of food? I always worry. Worrying is what I do best.”
“No, I trust God because I know he’s close.”
Stella’s new friend had something she very much wanted—peace. For the first time in her life, she had nothing to say.
As the two unlikely friends shared a wordless moment, Stella thought how her life was filled with anxiety because she alone was responsible for stashing away for the future. She had never considered trusting God. She was the one with the immeasurable advantage of eyes, and yet, it was the starfish who was content.
On the spot, Stella made an important decision. She turned, shut her eyes, and said, “Ok God, which way?”
Prayer: Loving Father, help me trust in your direction and not in my own understanding.