Work On the Inside Shows On the Outside

       It was that time again. I was at the dentist for my last appointment needed to correct substandard care I'd been getting from another dentist. For the years I had been seeing the unnamed dentist, I was happy. Quite happy, in fact. He'd never given me a shot. I rarely needed anything more than a cleaning. On the couple occasions when he'd found a cavity, he pushed some filling material in it without much drilling and without me needing any anesthesia. He said this was all that was needed. I believed him, mostly because I really wanted to. But finally, the nagging feeling in my mind surged forward enough that I started to question this reality. With no other dentist had I been able to go so long without a real filling, and never had I gotten such glowing reports on my teeth. See, I have the very thinnest of enamel on my teeth, the result of over-fluoridation of the water supply when my mother was pregnant with me. And that means cavities have been a normal part of my life, my entire life. So a dentist telling me all was well, time and again, felt great, but part of me knew it didn't seem right.
       Finally, when an old filling came out, I searched out a new dentist. I learned that this filling came out because there was a cavity around it that had not been repaired, for a long while. I found out I had two cracked teeth with bad fillings which ended up needing crowns. I found out there were cavities in several other teeth, and they weren't new. They should have been evident on the x-rays for at least several of my appointments. Even I could see them on the x-rays. And so began a year-long journey of replacing bad fillings, getting crowns, and getting new fillings on the cavities that had been ignored. And this, this was to be the last filling, and it was on the top, which meant it was much easier to deaden and should go easy. You can probably guess that not all went well.
       The actual appointment went great. The tooth deadened immediately, which is unusual for me. The drilling, filling, filing, and smoothing went great. My eye felt weird, but I didn’t worry about it much. I paid my bill, and started to leave. A lady in the waiting room spoke to me, I answered and smiled......and she laughed. Odd, I thought. So when I got in my car, I looked in the mirror and smiled. And laughed. One whole half of my face didn't work at all. At ALL!! It did look funny. After I got home, and Ashley and Scott had their laugh, I went on about the day. But my face didn't....not for quite a few hours. It took about six hours before my face started working correctly. But it didn't end there. It stayed swollen like a chipmunk for two days. And now, five days later, it still has a golf ball sized bruise on my cheek. Perhaps you can understand why I hate to visit the dentist. The oddest things happen to me, and I won't even go into all the trouble they usually have getting my teeth to deaden.
       Here's what I found interesting. If the paralysis, swelling, and bruising had not been present, no one would have known I'd had work done. But in this case, work done on the inside was reflected on the outside. I started thinking about my Christian walk. What is done in my soul, in my mind and heart, in my life, will show on the outside. If I am maturing in my faith, people should be able to see that by the way I live. If I am growing more like Christ, that should be evident to those around me. If I am stagnant in my walk, that will show too. Luke 6:45 tells us “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” What is inside us comes out. It shows on the outside. A good vine produces good fruit while a bad vine can only produce bad fruit.
       What happens inside me will show in the way I live. So it comes down to what do I want my life to be. Do I want to be a weak, marginal Christian who just gets by, or do I want to be filled with God's power, love, grace, mercy, and wisdom? I can say whatever I want, but that is worth nothing. If I truly long for the Christian life God wants me to have, I will work for it. I will read my Bible, spend time in prayer, attend church, and have a real relationship with Jesus. It's completely up to me. And you will know my decision as you see me either grow and mature, or stagnate, or even retreat. I pray you will see me grow, and I hope you will join me in the journey.

Like a Chicken on a June Bug

Seventeen two day old chickens. That's what became the source of great amusement in my life over the last week or so.  I've had chickens before but never brand new, just hatched babies. Who knew how positively hilarious they could be! They are still at the age that they need a heat lamp, even though it's so hot outside that my skin tries to melt off when I walk out of the air conditioning. And as it turns out, horseflies love the heat lamp. They can't keep away from it. It draws them like, well, like a moth to a light. That saying could easily be changed to horseflies to lights. I also knew that chickens liked bugs, (chickens on a June bug, anybody?), but I really had no idea that two day old chicks could snag a horsefly in mid-flight. They can, and they are quite adept at it. Here's the part that has kept me amused for the last week. It becomes a soccer match. One chick catches the horsefly and, with it in his mouth, runs as fast as fast can be, round and round, back and forth, all around. The other sixteen chicks give chase. Some run behind him, others set up and wait till he comes by, but all eyes are on the chick with the horsefly. When another chick snatches the horsefly out of the first one's mouth, it starts again, in another direction, with sixteen chicks chasing the new possessor of the horsefly. Round and round they go, with the horsefly changing hands, er beaks, like some crazy speed fueled soccer game. It only ends when one of the chicks manages to swallow the bug, or another unfortunate horsefly enters the arena. It's better than ESPN.

It makes me think of how we humans act sometimes. One of our neighbors gets a new car, a new boat, a promotion, a bigger house, a younger wife, or his kids are in the honor society. Do we sit back and congratulate him, resting in our own accomplishments? No, we decide WE need the newest, biggest, best toy, or start to wonder why our spouse has let themselves go, or why our kid isn't in the gifted program. Instead of enjoying what we do have, we start to feel dissatisfied. We feel like we don't have what we deserve. We chase after someone else's life as if it were the one thing that could make us happy. We look like a little chick running behind them, hoping to snatch the prize from their beaks.

But what if....? What if instead of chasing after things, material or personal, accomplishments, etc....what if we were so filled with Jesus that people were chasing after us to get our prize? What if the way we exhibited our love for Jesus was so strong, so pure, and so desirable that others could not resist? And what if instead of running from them to keep it to ourselves, we ran to them and offered it up? What if we knew that we had an endless supply, and that sharing it with others would actually increase our own supply? Not just knew it in our heads, but believed it in our hearts so strongly that we lived that way? Can you imagine what that would be like?

I can, because I've seen it. Read the New Testament. Jesus lived his life in such a way that people up and left their jobs, their families, their homes, everything, just to follow him. There was nothing on this earth that could keep them away. They wanted what he had, what he was, and they followed after him like little chicks. Everyone? No, not at all. Just the ones who truly desired to be like him and were willing to give up self. And then he was gone. Did everyone go away, give up? No, the disciples kept running to people, offering them the prize they knew they had, and the one they knew others needed. They understood what they had and how important it was to share it. They didn't just share it with the people who happened into their church. No, they went out seeking others. They wanted everyone to have their gift so much, that they gave up their very lives to spread the gospel.

What, or who, are you chasing? Are you so satisfied with Jesus that you resist the siren call of coveting others' lives, possessions, and talents? And are you so aware of the value of the gift you have, the gospel, that you share it openly, willingly, with everyone, not waiting for them to ask for something they don't know they need, but explaining why they do? Consider it and see if there are some changes you need to make.

Time To Break Camp And Move On

The capacity of human beings to adapt to circumstances is incredible. Have you ever watched footage of shelling in a war zone? I am always amazed to see people walking around, going to the market, walking to school, hanging out their laundry. There are bombs falling around them and they are going on with their day. Why? They've adapted to a new normal. Things have to be done, and so they just do them. What about people living in neighborhoods where drug deals are commonplace, gangs control the streets, and drive by shootings are regular occurrences? There are kids playing, people going to work, and moms sitting at the kitchen table helping kids finish homework. How? They've adapted to what is normal in their lives. Think about the family that is dealing with a loved one with a terminal disease, the woman in an abusive relationship, the person suffering debilitating depression, the homeless, the soldier who is shot at every day. Humans find a way to live with astonishing circumstances, and continue on.

Sometimes adapting is positive. Life does indeed have to go on. We can't just stop everything because of difficult circumstances. But sometimes, adapting can lead to accepting things we could change if we tried. Working in the mental health field, one of the most frustrating things was trying to help people realize how sick they really were. Perhaps they'd been depressed for years, and since it had worsened slowly over time, they couldn't see how far they had really fallen. And when you can't see you are in a hole, you don't look for help, or even accept help that is offered. People that have addictions often don't recognize how much of their life it has overtaken. People with mental illness and emotional disorders are masters of adapting to what is normal for them, and not seeing reality.

In a similar way, people who are lost don't recognize their need for a Savior. And people who are backslidden don't recognize how far they've moved away from God. And so they rest there. They set up camp and plant their flag and refuse to move. They become complacent. They accept things the way they are, and even begin to like it there. It is comfortable. It is familiar. It's not frightening, because they know what to expect there. And so, while God has much better things in mind for them, they instead stay stalled in their misery. They remain right where they are, and adapt to the circumstances, and therefore, miss the blessings God has waiting, just ahead if they would just step forward in faith.

Faith is action. Saying “I believe” is easy. Doing something based on that belief is where real faith lies. Look around you. Have you been camped in the same comfortable spot, refusing to move for a while now? Is God urging you to move forward? Don't let complacency and acceptance become your downfall.