Exodus Review Part Three

Three more insights to prayerful ponder as we wrap up our journey through Exodus.

When the people cross over the Red Sea...when God makes a way where there was no way.  Remember the people were looking down at the muck and mud of the Red Sea squishing between their toes.  Moses said, "Look up!  Look at the walls of liberation held back for your liberation."  Is there some place you need to lift up and look up to see the walls of liberation still being held back as a pathway to liberation?  That for me is one of those constant questions.  I get stymied and stuck in seeing only the muck and mud...not the blessings.  I get stuck thinking, "I am never gonna get this gunk off my feet"...rather than amazed at the way God is moving.  Keeping our eyes and imaginations open to God is one way we might sense what God is up to here and now.

Second, because of the muck and mud in this world...there is grumbling and mumbling.  There are moments I would rather get caught in a negative news cycle than try to step into the good news of God's promise and grace.  We learned in Exodus that words create/craft/carve out worlds.  Our words matter, have mass, and substance.  Words like things do leave impressions.  Words create worlds.  When the people are grumbling and griping, they are creating and crafting a world...but is it God's world?  That is where the next insight comes into play.

Relationships...relationships...relationships.  We looked at the Ten Commandments...or better yet, the Ten Dabars/words/wisdom/sayings.  These Ten Words do craft and create a world where it is all about relationships.  Connections with God, with yourself, and with others.  The first three are about God.  The fourth is about you (take a Sabbath, be unnecessary, and breathe!), and the final six (over half) have to do with how you relate to the Holy Other found in those you encounter.  For me, this is less rule book and more relationship wisdom.  Less God as referee who is waiting to blow a whistle when I drool over a new iphone and more God saying, "There is another way that is true life."  Relationships, relationships, relationships.  Tend to the ties that teeter us to each other.  Tend the ties that teeter us to the One who is at the center and core of all we need.  Tend to the ties that teeter us to truly knowing ourselves.  That kind of word creates a world where I can finally find true life.

May the traces of God's grace stir in you in these days.