Closer Today Than Yesterday: What Are You Looking At?

Friday, May 29, 2009

What Are You Looking At?

The Word is first...

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33, NIV)

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984

This morning, my wife was tearing up the house looking for her white baseball cap. You could hear her going through drawers, opening and closing doors and flinging things everywhere to look under them for that cap. Eventually she called out for help and I responded with a "can't help you." My reply no sooner left my lips than she declared success and remarked "it would help if I looked up."

All the while she had been looking, she had been looking down; on the floor, on shelves, in drawers, everywhere the cap wasn't. The cap was hanging on a hook above her head, right where it belonged waiting for her.

This unfortunately illustrates how we seek the kingdom of God. Based on our perceived needs and preconceived notions, we look for God in many places where he isn't. In the pursuit of happiness, people turn to all manner of ineffective substitutes which are all at or below eye-level. By this I mean they look to worldly things to provide them with spiritual satisfaction. These things never satisfy and only serve to make matters worse. And the more we pursue them, the worse matters get.

But if we lift our eyes UP, we see that God is right there waiting for us. If we then go about our daily business with our eyes lifted high, our focus on Him, then all the worldly matters are taken care of by Him.

In today's verse, Jesus is teaching against worry and anxiety. He is admonishing us not to waste time, energy and happiness in the pursuit of food, drink or clothing. Rather we are to fully invest ourselves in revealing the kingdom of God on Earth. That's His prescription for true happiness. And if we follow His example, the promise is that the necessities of life (food, drink) and societal requirements (clothing) will be super-naturally met.

I needed to be reminded of this today as I scurry about trying to tie up loose ends, finish projects and pack my bags for camp. I had my eyes cast down on those things, trying to do them under my own steam so to speak. This verse snapped me back to reality and brought my eyes UP to where they belong.

What are you looking at?

In His Service,
Carl

1 comment:

Bill said...: Oh, how pertinent and powerful are these observations.

And almost every day I find myself searching for MY OWN "cap" in all the wrong places because I'm looking for answers in myself or what lies in front of my eyes.

Truth be told (and that's what you're doing here, Carl), if I were to follow the truth of Matt. 6: 33 or the paradigm of the old hymn (written below), I'd be so much better off ...

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.Thanks for helping me to stay focused where my eyes can see The Light I follow. ... <'BB><; May 29, 2009 at 9:23 AM

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So I Stand Near The Gate

I read the below poem at a critical point in my life and it's message resonated with me. My ministry, "Near The Gate" was named in homage to this poem. When reading this poem, feel free to substitute the word 'gate' for the word 'door' and you'll have a little glimpse inside my head.

SO I STAY NEAR THE DOOR

By the Reverend Canon Samuel Moor Shoemaker, Jr., D.D., S.T.D.

I stay near the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world–
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There’s no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside, and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it - - -
So I stay near the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door–the door to God.
The most important thing any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch–the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man’s own touch.
Men die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter–
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it–because they have found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him - - -
So I stay near the door.
Go in, great saints, go all the way in–
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics–
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, or sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms,
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening - - -
So I stay near the door.
There is another reason why I stay there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia.
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much;
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving–preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stay near the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply, and stay too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door–
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But–more important for me–
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
For those I shall stay by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper . . . "
So I stay near the door

Closer Today Than Yesterday

Friday, May 29, 2009

What Are You Looking At?

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Friday, May 29, 2009

What Are You Looking At?

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