Trust the Ice

Since it's winter (although in Texas it's been in the 70's), I thought I'd leverage a ice-based analogy.  Folks in the north will get this.  Southerners, try to follow along :-)

You peer out the window to see that the lake has frozen over.  You gear up, complete with ear muffs and mittens and your moon boots, and head out to test the ice.

You begin by putting your right foot onto the ice, left foot securely on terra firma. You shift a little bit of weight... just a little... to give the ice an initial test to see how solid it really is.

"Seems solid", you say to no one but yourself, "but I wonder how solid it is toward the center."  You tentatively take your left foot off the ground, shifting all of your weight on to your right, and place your left foot on the ice, as well. This was a big step of faith. Good for you. But you want to test the ice further.

You slowly scoot your feet 6" forward at a time, heading toward the center of the lake.  Your faith in the solidness of the ice grows, and you start to gain more and more confidence.  Your scoots become steps. Your steps become strides.

Then - all of a sudden - you have doubts, and you slow down again. You start to question what you just had confidence in only a moment ago. You picture the ice cracking, and falling through into the cold dark water.  Why?  Because you don't fully trust the ice.  Your worldly self ... your skeptical brain ... tells you, "Good!  You shouldn't just trust anything that fully!"

You once again put your right foot forward tentatively, keeping most of your weight on your left ...

Isn't this our faith journey? We accept Christ and, at first, have full faith in Him. Then the world makes us question His promises. Promises of a full, meaningful life.

Our doubts rise to the surface. It may be due yo tough times, questions we don't have the answers to, or the loss of someone dear to us.  It may come from believing that we are smarter than we think we are.

Sometimes it's that worldly thinking that creates doubt based on false premises.

But imagine if we just had full confidence in God. What if we took a running sprint onto the ice, never stopping until we reach the center?  What if we just believed with the faith of a child? What would that mean for our lives? What would that mean for the lives of those around us? Wouldn't that give them a sense sense of confidence as well? And wouldn't their growing confidence give us further confidence?

God, I know that you have the "full life" in your hands for me if I will just have faith in you and in your promises. I believe a little. Help me to believe fully, and to act upon it. I trust you. I surrender to you. I ask you to be Lord of my life ... fully. Thank you for your faith in me, while I was (correction: while I am) still a sinner. Help me Lord to return the favor.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

A tax free check for $30,000 just came in the mail ...

Imagine that you open up the mail and there is a tax free check for $30,000. For a second let's assume its not a scam :-) and let's go to the bank and cash it. So, you decide you're going to go to your favorite dealership and buy a brand spanking new car with $30,000 ... in cash. Sweet. You find the one that you want with all the features that you desire. The salesman is so excited, and says that he'll have it detailed and delivered to you later in the day. So awesome.

Later that day there's a knock at the door. You open it up and there stands the salesperson with a box. He opens it up and shows you what's inside:  a spare tire, an emergency brake, one of the rear view mirrors and both rear brake lights. Oh, and something that looks like brake fluid covering the bottom of the box.

"What's this?  I ordered that car I test drove with all the features and the cool sound system. What's going on here?", you say.

"Well," the salesman responds, " I know you bought the whole car, features and all, but this is all I'm willing to give you."

What do you think? Pretty good deal, huh?

Of course not. You paid for the entire car. You should get the entire car, right?

Now let me switch gears on you (no pun intended) ...

Jesus paid for us on the cross.  He bought us, lock stock and barrel, and we said and continue to say, "Jesus is my Lord and Savior".  But let's be honest. Do we give him our whole self, or just the spare parts and pieces that we're comfortable with?  Heck, the parts we give him most of the time aren't even shiny new OEM parts. They're parts we picked up from the junkyard.

We go to church on Sunday, we read the Bible periodically, we might give once a year to some select charity. Maybe we even tithe.  I don't know about you, but I know I  don't give him the whole car with all the features he paid for.

We really think that by giving it all up to him that we'll be losing something. We're that deluded by our culture, by this world. God promises that the more we give of ourselves to him, the more he will give himself to us.

That, my brothers and sisters, is one incredible trade in.  Why do we resist and hang tight on to our spare parts?

Let go, and let God do his thing.

Anecdote compliments of pastor Greg Laurie.