Fragrance of Gratitude

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Written by: Don Goulding

So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.’” (Luke 17:10)

“Everybody else gets to rest at the end of their day,” I muttered as I climbed into the car and headed out to minister to a family that could only meet in the evening. 

Then the words of one of my own sermons broke through, “Remember from where you have been delivered.”

If it weren’t for Jesus taking away my sin, my thought life alone would be enough to convict me to hell for eternity. Then I must add selfish behavior, faultfinding, willfulness, laziness, and lust, to name a few current defects. Why I’m adopted to inherit paradise is beyond me. My bellyaching is pathetically out of touch with the reality of all I have in Christ.

You would think me an unsavory character if I won a multimillion dollar lottery, then growled about riding the bus to collect my windfall. I’m worse than that. I have inherited blissful union with the Creator of the universe, and I whine about petty things, like going out at night to pray over a hurting family.

My expectations need to be lowered to reality. If I expected the Christian life to be the ease of royalty, I was mistaken. Paul, Silas, Watchmen Nee, and Corrie Ten Boom never expected anything but hardship and prison, so they passed by disappointment and never looked him in the eye. 

Why should I expect anything but the punishment my sin warrants? A pewter-blue twilight, a child’s giggle, my next breath—these are blessings that go far beyond what I should receive. When I add up all I have now, never mind heaven to come, and compare it to what I deserve, it’s over the top ridiculous how blessed I am.

By the time I pulled up to the house for my visit, the stench of self-pity was flushed out of the car by the fragrance of gratitude.

Prayer: Gracious Father, forgive my ingratitude.

Endearment Chauvinism

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Written by: Don Goulding

His mouth is very sweet;
he is totally desirable.
This is my beloved! (Song of Songs 5:16)
We were on the far edge of the playground, a huddle of complicit boys decked in freckles, big ears, and disgusted stares. Dirk explained something of the birds and the bees. That disclosure haunted me the next time I saw mom and dad kiss—yuck.
It was many years before my opinion of romance swung to the other pole. Then the wonder of the opposite sex caught up like a tsunami. I married my life partner, and no amount of valentine gush seemed excessive. I dubbed her Sweetie, and the corn factor of the pet name completely escaped me.
Falling in love with God was somewhat the same. For years I saw him as Master Ruler, Sovereign King, and Omnipotent Blaster of All Evil. To apply romantic endearments seemed irreverent and cheap. Then I learned about archetypes in the Bible. God placed clues all through Scripture as living prophesies, where an event or person became the shadow of what was to come. The deliverance of the Israelites through the Red Sea foretold our deliverance from sin at baptism. Lifting up the snake on a pole to save the Israelites shadowed the lifting up of Jesus on the cross.
Romantic love is merely the archetype of the unity and passion we have with God in Christ. As consuming as human love can be, I revel to know it is no more like perfect love than a shadow is like the object that casts it. To say, “God is the lover of my soul” or, “He is altogether lovely” is not mere human mush. These are simply the strongest words we have for inexpressible sacred passions. The Holy Spirit reinterprets the earthbound phrases to our hearts with heavenly meaning.
All this is to say that I am moving beyond my chauvinism against spiritual endearments.
Prayer: Oh sweet Savior, I will praise you with any words I can find.

Our God Comes

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Written by: Don Goulding

Let the fields and everything in them celebrate! Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the Lord, for he comes! For he comes to judge the earth! He judges the world fairly, and the nations in accordance with his justice. (Psalms 96:12, 13)
Blessing flowed over the earth. Trees rejoiced at God’s mighty presence. Sea creatures floated in his peace. Mankind celebrated his goodness, pressing against us on every side. We were God’s crowning achievement, and we ruled his planet.
Then, the rulers rebelled. Even as elevated beings, we ate forbidden fruit, and defiled nature with sin. Trees bent, animals fled, the seas writhed. The Spirit of God swirled away into the heavens and evacuated the face of the earth.
The silence was deafening. Trees were muted from praise. Mountains transformed into inarticulate rock. Men feared animals on both land and sea. We wanted to dance, but there was no music. We wanted to fly, but there was nothing beneath our wings.
Sin displaced the presence of God, until we were left with a shadow existence.
Get ready, you trees. Prepare for life, you seas. The Holy One cannot be defeated. Our God comes again. His Spirit will fill the planet anew. Lift your eyes birds and beasts, you shall once again inhale his love. Together with plants, lakes, and stars, you will awaken to sing of glory.
God will judge those he anointed over creation, who failed. The rulers, who defiled his work, shall suffer their own corruption. But the repentant will be remade. With his own family blood, our God redeems the sorrowful.
Then, God will purge the earth of evil. Fear, shame, and hatred will be removed to hell. Injustice and rebellion will flee. God’s victorious Spirit will once again flood the earth, as the waters cover the sea. The music will return, and we will soar in love as though it were the only element around us.
Finally, humankind, and all creation under them, will shout God’s praises—as he ordained from the beginning.
Prayer: Come over the earth, Spirit of God, come!
  1. Extraction
  2. Paul's Balloon
  3. Whispers of Heaven

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