Bill stepped through the door
of my hospital room and in a few moments changed the entire day. He is a
looming presence, 6’3” at least, a man of ample dimensions, all around. He
is as gentle as he is big. Thursday morning he was totally focused on caring
for me, making certain to do his part in helping me to heal. I soon found
out that he wasn’t just ‘at work;’ he was ‘at life,’ doing what he does with
joy, with complete engagement. I watched him interact with other members
of the hospital staff. He spoke their name, offered a word of praise or
encouragement. I noted that faces brightened when Bill entered the corridor.
Bill changes the environment of that hospital, but not from the
top. What do he do? He is a transporter, moving people in
wheelchairs or on gurneys from place to place!
People
who bring joy and experience joy are those who embrace who they are and what
God offers them at that moment – fully. They are not waiting to live or
love. They may have greater dreams, they may not be in a place that fulfills
every desire, but they are choosing contentment and living in the Spirit. Many
of us, even who claim to belong to Christ and to be filled with His Spirit,
only live there occasionally. Can you identify with any of these?
·
The beauty of a
sunset captivates us and, for a moment, time stands still.
·
A child looks us
straight in the eye and the purity of their gaze melts our self-consciousness,
washing us with delight.
·
We rise above the
need to express our anger and encourage another instead, and hear the Spirit’s
‘atta-boy.’ Heaven’s hug is palpable.
·
Love finds us; in
a song, with a tender word, and we know why we exist.
We can live in that kind of
wholeness much more consistently, Christian. The full life promised by Jesus is
not found in the perfection of a religious system, nor in the exemplary
performance of our daily responsibilities. It is found when, as He said, “rivers
of living water from within!” We become who we are meant to be and
experience the deepest joy when we faithfully believe and receive a life gifted
to us in grace, not one achieved by strenuous discipline. The Gospel says
that "Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “If you are thirsty, come
to me! If you believe in me, come and drink! For the Scriptures declare that
rivers of living water will flow out from within.” (John 7:37-38, NLT)
The offer stands! Today, we can live as children of God and know the
delight of His love.
Imagine if Bill, the hospital
transporter, only thought that doctors could help people and just showed up to
push wheelchairs to earn a paycheck? Would I have felt the same kind of care,
observed the same kind of interactions? No way. Imagine if Bill envied
each nurse he saw, knowing that they were compensated at least 3 to 4 times
more than he is? Would he have be-friended them, noting their life’s situations
and offering hopeful words? No, again. He had made a choice – whether
consciously or not – to be all that Bill, the transporter could be.
This made it possible for one of the people lowest on the organizational
chart to enjoy an out-sized influence on a community!
Today will bring you
opportunities. Will you miss them while you’re waiting for a different set of circumstances,
envying another’s education, wishing for more of something, longing to be
somewhere? Or, will you offer yourself, right where you are to God, the Holy
Spirit, asking that a river of living water would pour through you bringing
life?
Here’s the word from the
Word. Lord, help us to believe it, receive it, and live it. Amen.
"For we are God’s
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do."
(Ephesians 2:10, NIV) "God can do anything, you know—far more than you
could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not
by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently
within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!"
(Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message)
_______
Spirit Of God Descend Upon
My Heart
Spirit of God descend upon
my heart.
Wean it from earth, thro'
all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness,
mighty as Thou art
And make me love Thee as I
ought to love!
Teach me to feel that Thou
art always nigh.
Teach me the struggles of
the soul to bear,
To check the rising doubt,
the rebel sigh.
Teach me the patience of
unanswered prayer.
Teach me to love Thee as
Thine angels love,
One holy passion filling
all my frame.
The baptism of the Heav'n
Descended Dove.
My heart an altar and Thy
love the flame!
Frederick Cook Atkinson |
George Croly
Public Domain
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