Reality is hope
Originally uploaded by imago2007 (busy preparing for my trip to Asia)
29-32"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way He works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself. (Luke 12)
Two essential points emerge from the verses above:
There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.
Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions.
Simply, more is going on inside of us than the physical- the food we put into our stomachs. And there is more to our outward appearance than the physical - the clothes we wear.
We are more than we eat, both literally and figuratively.
Eating may not just be the food we intake, but the activities we participate in, the television we watch, the music we listen to. They all play a part of what we are putting on the inside. But we are more than that. We are more than the designer clothes we wear, the colors we select, the hairstyles, the fingernail polish, the shoes and stockings. We are more than our makeup.
Our countenance reflects what is going on inside. We are more than appearances, yet what is going on inside will be reflected on the outside. We cannot be one way inwardly and another way outwardly. Sooner or later our true self will be revealed in speech, countenance, behavior, activities we engage in, or somehow. Who and what we are will be revealed.
Likewise, as believers, we are not to worry about food, and clothes, or all of the things the world worries about. We are to steep ourselves in God-reality, God-initiative and God-provisions. Our reality is based on what we cannot see - in what we believe about God, in His initiative and activity in our lives, and in His provision for us.
There is much more to life than what we can readily see. So much more than the daily stuff. We are to steep ourselves in God.
God is knowable when we seek him with our whole heart. God draws near when we draw near to Him. God is known through His Word, His Spirit, and is revealed to those who are walking with Him.
Notice that God is revealed, not easily seen. To know God, we must seek Him. To know God, we must be holy, like Him. Then and only then, does He reveal himself to us.
And we are told to steep ourselves. Like a tea bag in hot water, just sitting and flavoring the water, changing it to tea. We are to steep ourselves in God. Our lives are to have that God-flavor, God-color, God-scent. God-warmth. God-presence.
Lord, may we grow in our understanding of this verse, and in our understanding of You. May our lives be steeped in God reality, God initiative, and God provision ... in You.
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