Day 1 - The intentions of God
Scripture focus: So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. James 1:16-18 (The Message)
Take a moment and dream with me. What if, in the midst of our ordinary, eating, breathing, walking-around daily lives - we came to believe that God's every single solitary intention towards us was good? Not just so-so. Not apathetic acceptance. I'm talking desirable. I'm thinking about beneficial. I'm dreaming about gifts, rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light destined and intended for me. These good gifts aren't intended to deceive, manipulate or trick. These gifts are not given capriciously or with strings attached. What would our lives be like if every morning we woke up, slung our feet over the side of our bed, and hopped up, thinking, "What good gifts will God cascade down upon me today?"
One Christmas when I was old enough to know better, my younger brother Bob and I came to believe that we were about to become the proud owners of a cascade of gifts. We were impatient for our reward. We wondered if perhaps Santa, in a move designed for speedy travel and efficiency, might have preemptively stowed some of our gifts in our house. He'd slip in and arrange them Christmas Eve, of course, but our chimney was small and our dreams were large - so exceptions to the sleigh method of delivery had to be made. It wasn't just that our dreams were big - so was our believing. It never occurred to us to doubt Santa's good intentions toward us. So we began a search. In our utility room (easily accessible to a clever Santa with lock picks), stood a large moving box designed to store hanging clothes. It was tall, and we were short - but sturdy. So I hoisted Bob up, grabbed him by the ankles (he was a lot skinnier back in the day), and plunged him over the side of the box to see what might rest in the dark inner belly of the beast. It was precisely at that moment that our father decided to come home through the utility room door. I knew what to do. I let go of those scrawny ankles and skedaddled. Plop dropped Bob into the bottom of the wardrobe. (He's married and has three kids today. I guess he figured out how to get himself of the box.)
Oh how I wish we could all believe God's stated intentions towards us with as much fervor as Bob and I believed in Santa. What kind of world would we create for ourselves and others if we spent each day peeking into the crevices of our lives, looking for those good gifts we know that God has planned for us on this day? Would we be willing to be dangled by our feet to catch a glimpse? Would we be willing to take some risks, dare to go where God might send us, care about what he cares about, and love those he loves? People who wake up expecting God to give them the moon often end up the proud possessors of not only the moon but a constellation of stars too. Be one of those guys.
Recommended reading: Leviticus 1 - 4
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