God's Calling ~ Jeremiah Redux

 

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.  Jeremiah 1:5

Last Sunday, I offered the great quote from Eugene Peterson, “We are all known before we know.  We enter a world we didn’t create…we enter the middle of a story concluded by another.  The other is God.”  Yet, how much of our lives are spent pursuing other truths?  We chase after confidence and competence and cash in our lives so that we can appear successful.  We do this individually and we do this as a church and community.  We are wrapped up in counting and numbers.  We keep pushing ourselves toward more, and yet we never seem to reach the golden carrot on the stick.  I’ve heard it said we are overwhelmed, overworked, and spinning in a stress spiral.  We do this because we believe we have to keep pushing to conclude our story.  But God wants to co-author your story today.   

Today is not perfect, but it is a gift. 

Today you woke up.  Today you got up.  Today you continued the beautiful art project entitled, “Your life”.  Your words are paint and God longs to find ways to speak through you.  Your actions are a brush and God’s hand is on the brush with you.  You can choose the colors that go on the canvas because your response/reaction to what you encounter need not be on autopilot and God longs to help you select the colors with God’s wisdom. 

You have a choice.  You decide whether your words will help or hurt.  You decide if you are trying to score points to win some game of life.  You decide whether to let God’s love have the first, middle, and last word.  This isn’t easy.  It won’t be popular or help your poll numbers with most people.  But with the people who matter most ~ family and friends ~ those whose love is a light to your life ~ I believe letting God’s wisdom interrupt and call me to who God knows me to be…to the story God is continually authoring… is always the best way.

May God’s presence and peace be with you.  May God who knows what is in our mind, heart, and soul prompt what you say and do.  May God who has held you eternally in God’s imagination warm your heart.  May God’s grace that finds us where we are and who leads us to reflect more fully the image each of us is created stir deep within each of us for the sake of the world God loves.  Amen.