NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

Day 4 - Lessons learned from a fat cat

Scripture focus: I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. Romans 12:3 The Message

Our chubby cat never learned these lessons, but I'm hoping we are slightly more teachable than a cat. Lesson 1: On the off-chance we actually do good, even that is a gift from God. Lesson 2: If lesson one is true, then lesson two has to follow: trying to get our outsides to behave in a misguided attempt to win approval is silly. When it works for us, it's because God did it. If we fail in our attempts, it's not like succeeding was some key indicator that we are oh so special. Lesson 3: We are called to a good life. He wants us to live life treating others fairly and justly. He makes it clear that the ability to accomplish this comes from him. Lesson 4: Our constant striving to bring treats to God misses the mark.

God is interested in getting our insides to sync up with our outsides. It is very important that we pay attention to our internal life. NOT so that we can identify the appetites of our body and the emotions and personality of our soul and demand the world to appreciate our uniqueness and respond accordingly. No indeed! We pay attention to our body and soul so that we can be conscious of those natural inclinations within us that war against the Spirit of God.

We express our needs, wants and emotions NOT so that others will bow to our demands to cooperate in the fulfillment of those desires but instead, so that we can get feedback. Oh how I wish Pumpkin had accepted our sincere feedback: we don't need dead varmints to know that you love us! But she never quite got there.

So let's speak consciously to ourselves, and others, about how we're feeling, thinking and desiring. But, please, don't confuse that with entitlement. No one owes us a hearty acquiescence to our demands for whatever it is we think we lack. Isn't it the psalmist who reminds us, "Oh God, my shepherd, I have everything I need?" (Psalm 23:1 The Message)

Only a person living with an attitude of gratitude and a healthy perspective on the need for grace and mercy can achieve an accurate understanding of both God and self – and live accordingly. Tomorrow we hear from a guy who was pretty confused about why he kept messing up, and how he learned to pay attention to his feelings without letting them direct his life.

Recommended reading: Exodus 10-12

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