Revelation 2:1-7 should be read before reading this post and can be found HERE.
" To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." -Revelation 2:7
I played organized baseball for 11 years of my life and only once have i ever really suffered "a slump." I remember doing all of the right things that a dedicated baseball player should do while they were in a slump:
*I hated the fact that i was in a slump.
*I took extra batting practice.
*I consulted my coaches and asked them for their advice.
*I made adjustments to my batting stance.
I basically did everything a coach could ask for, except for one thing: I still wasn't hitting the ball!
That was until one day i was about to go up to the plate and bat but i was abruptly stopped by my 6' 5" coach grabbing my shirt right under my throat, staring me in the eyes, and firmly saying "Quit overthinking. See the ball - hit the ball."
He scared the slump right out of me. I went 4 for 5 that day and hit nearly .600 the rest of the season (which for those of you who don't know, is really good). I finally focused on the right thing to do rather than not doing all the things i shouldn't do.
I feel as though the Christians in Ephesus were in a similar slump but probably didn't realize it. They hated the right things. They probably didn't do the wrong things. They did do all the right things that would be asked of them. But the main objective still wasn't being completed! And that objective: love.
They were already praised for enduring harships, so in verse 7, "To him who overcomes" is probably directed at those who are to overcome their own need to be right about what to say and who to "not tolerate" and why to have the reasons you do about anything (how to spend money, who to vote for, what music to like, how and when to baptize, and all the other hot-buttons). Very few people fall in love and ask about what rules to follow and what not to do; they simply act out what's inside them!
Jesus seems to be calling the church in Ephesus, and us, back to acting like we have just fallen in love.
With Him.
With people.
With the creation around us.
Maybe if we spent more time being madly in love, and acting on it, people would respect our opinions on all the hot-buttons more. (Or maybe not!) But the overcomers overcome the need to be right about all the negative things in society and fall in love again. And somehow this grants us access to a Tree of Life in God's paradise.
May we find each other at the Tree eating deeply because we were focused on how to do the right things rather than focused on how to not do the wrong things.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Shortings
"I can't get no satisfaction." -Rolling Stones, Satisfaction
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." -Proverbs 13:12
Over the past several months i shut down blogging for a bunch of reasons that i'm sure i would make sound very poetic if i explained them on here. But one of the reasons, to be perfectly honest, is that i didn't push myself or i didn't set any goals worth achieving.
I'm also very dissatisfied with my writing and blogging as a result.
And yet i also have learned a lot over the summer, particularly from receiving a concussion. How i got my concussion isn't necessary to this blog post, but i suffered it on July 6th. Since then i've had moderate symptoms almost every day. The last week and a half have finally brought relief, but before that i often suffered from headaches, "sea legs," dizziness, light headedness, fatigue, and a sudden onset of a severe lack of focus that would come about at any moment. My recovery has meant the world to me though, not just from the symptoms but through them.
The two months of almost constant symptoms and my constant attention to not pushing myself reminded me that satisfaction never comes quickly. And if it does, then it probably didn't.
Even in the Rolling Stones day, they couldn't "get no satisfaction" from "the guy on the radio" or "the guy on the T.V." because of the quick solutions they offered through "useless information" and squeaky clean clothes. I wonder how the world of the internet and cell phones would affect this song today? Either way, "a longing fulfilled is a tree of life" according to Proverbs.
The problem is we've been satiated by too many shortings. Think about it. How many times do we skip the long and hard work for the thing that comes easily? We settle for fast food when a Thanksgiving dinner is right before us... if we would just long after it long enough.
Technology and simple solutions aren't evil, they simply aren't solutions to our longings. And ever since an angel with a flaming sword was set to guard the Tree of Life at the end of Genesis 3 we have not had access to it. Or have we?
If a longing fulfilled is a tree of life, then maybe a longing fulfilled is one of the few passwords allowing us entrance to this precious fruit. But my guess is that the sentinel in the Garden can see it in our eyes when we want to eat of it too soon. I would even wage a guess that we somehow back ourselves into the garden without knowing it on this one. And the sentinel need not ask us the password when we approach correctly.
Dig deep in your heart for what it truly longs for, and live for those things. Take the daily risks and work hard. Trust in the long haul over the quick fix.
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." -Proverbs 13:12
Over the past several months i shut down blogging for a bunch of reasons that i'm sure i would make sound very poetic if i explained them on here. But one of the reasons, to be perfectly honest, is that i didn't push myself or i didn't set any goals worth achieving.
I'm also very dissatisfied with my writing and blogging as a result.
And yet i also have learned a lot over the summer, particularly from receiving a concussion. How i got my concussion isn't necessary to this blog post, but i suffered it on July 6th. Since then i've had moderate symptoms almost every day. The last week and a half have finally brought relief, but before that i often suffered from headaches, "sea legs," dizziness, light headedness, fatigue, and a sudden onset of a severe lack of focus that would come about at any moment. My recovery has meant the world to me though, not just from the symptoms but through them.
The two months of almost constant symptoms and my constant attention to not pushing myself reminded me that satisfaction never comes quickly. And if it does, then it probably didn't.
Even in the Rolling Stones day, they couldn't "get no satisfaction" from "the guy on the radio" or "the guy on the T.V." because of the quick solutions they offered through "useless information" and squeaky clean clothes. I wonder how the world of the internet and cell phones would affect this song today? Either way, "a longing fulfilled is a tree of life" according to Proverbs.
The problem is we've been satiated by too many shortings. Think about it. How many times do we skip the long and hard work for the thing that comes easily? We settle for fast food when a Thanksgiving dinner is right before us... if we would just long after it long enough.
Technology and simple solutions aren't evil, they simply aren't solutions to our longings. And ever since an angel with a flaming sword was set to guard the Tree of Life at the end of Genesis 3 we have not had access to it. Or have we?
If a longing fulfilled is a tree of life, then maybe a longing fulfilled is one of the few passwords allowing us entrance to this precious fruit. But my guess is that the sentinel in the Garden can see it in our eyes when we want to eat of it too soon. I would even wage a guess that we somehow back ourselves into the garden without knowing it on this one. And the sentinel need not ask us the password when we approach correctly.
Dig deep in your heart for what it truly longs for, and live for those things. Take the daily risks and work hard. Trust in the long haul over the quick fix.
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