I have become\u00a0good at the circus act…like most women I know. Juggling, wearing of many hats, role-changes in a matter of minutes.\u00a0The fact is, our busy lives pretty much require this kind of\u00a0skill\u00a0on a daily basis. It’s a balancing act to keep up with everyone’s schedules, switch gears between work and relationships and ministry and household tasks that simply must be done so that people have clean shirts to wear and \u00a0hot dinner on the table, and somehow keep my own person and relationships intact. But I am good with details and organizing, and sometimes it seems like I can just keep adding more\u00a0in, if I organize it right….just one more\u00a0small piece here and there, and if I just shift this over a bit I can fit one more thing in that spot.<\/p>\n
With that kind of mindset, having a relationship with God can become just one more thing to fit in, another plate to keep spinning in this big juggling act.<\/p>\n
But the satisfaction in being a Woman Who Can Juggle Many Plates is short-lived, and I heard someone say it again today, that we have learned how to “live crazy” and are working hard to teach our kids the same. When did we ever get the idea that doing more is what makes us more–\u00a0that doing a lot is the same as doing\u00a0well? My parents\u00a0always said “If you are going to do something, do it well.” <\/em>But back then it meant quality over quantity. It \u00a0meant taking your time to think it through and do it well, so that you could be satisfied with\u00a0what you accomplished. No regrets. That proverb applies to\u00a0projects and tasks. It applies to\u00a0lives, and if I only have one of those with no chance to do it over, then it makes sense to take\u00a0the time to evaluate its quality….make sure I am living well.<\/p>\n Jesus told His closest friends that\u00a0“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) <\/em>The reaction of this man in the story seems old-fashioned, somehow, and narrow-minded. My first thought is how much simpler life was back then, that this guy would sell everything for the sake of something he found\u00a0in a field of dirt. But that’s not the point at all, is it? \u00a0The story is about the sheer value of knowing God, and the sensible\u00a0response when you realize that fact. The man lays down his entire juggling act– trades it all in for the precious possession of a relationship with God. Get that one treasure and nothing else really matters. The Church-planter Paul said it this way “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.<\/span>\u00a0What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ<\/span>\u00a0and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in\u00a0Christ…” (Philippians 3:7-9) <\/span><\/em>It sounds almost too simple to be true, and calls into question the busy-ness we have come to accept as necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n But what if the Circus of Everyday Life is just\u00a0part of the Enemy’s fog cover?\u00a0What if all the\u00a0urgent demands for our time and attention are not as\u00a0vital as they appear? What if more isn’t better, and everything we are chasing after is nothing more than a school\u00a0of red herrings?\u00a0While the real treasure is buried quietly in the clay and could easily be passed over, unawares. Or worse yet, snatched up with only a passing glance and added into the spinning plates I can manage.<\/p>\n It’s not like you have to be a farmer digging around in the dirt to find treasure; Paul was on the road to Damascus, breathing fire and seething hatred against the new sect that\u00a0claimed Jesus had risen from the dead. He was ready to kill them all,\u00a0if it meant\u00a0preserving the life\u00a0he was used to– mind you, he was quite good at\u00a0organizing thoughts and words and people. Until Jesus\u00a0(aflame in\u00a0His resurrected power) burst in on the traveler, and\u00a0everything Paul had been doing suddenly meant nothing in light of the glory of God. He just laid it all down there in the middle of the road\u00a0and it didn’t even matter that\u00a0his physical eyes were blinded, because the eyes of his spirit had seen\u00a0the Kingdom of Heaven and his heart was bursting full of joy. Later on he would say that God\u00a0\u201dmade His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God\u2019s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7)<\/em> It was the man in the field all over again.<\/p>\n And really, isn’t that\u00a0how this treasure comes to us, in earthen\u00a0flesh? A miraculous Baby in a dirty manger….the Son of God walking these fields and laying His head down at night….a \u00a0perfect Lamb dying on a hillside….a Body buried in a rocky cave\u00a0for only a little while….until one morning it wasn’t. The treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven hidden\u00a0in plain sight, and\u00a0maybe it’s not so much a matter of digging around to find it, as it is opening our eyes\u00a0to\u00a0finally see\u00a0what is truly valuable.<\/p>\n Maybe rushing around in this balancing circus-act is actually\u00a0as crazy as it feels sometimes, and giving up everything we possess\u00a0to gain Christ and His righteousness\u00a0is the most perfectly sane and reasonable choice\u00a0on\u00a0earth. It’s worth considering.<\/p>\n ~~~~~~~<\/p>\n “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~~~<\/p>\n “Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Joy is a choice. You get to choose. Choose well.” (Ann VosKamp)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have become\u00a0good at the circus act…like most women I know. Juggling, wearing of many hats, role-changes in a matter of minutes.\u00a0The fact is, our busy lives pretty much require this kind of\u00a0skill\u00a0on a daily basis. It’s a balancing act … Continue reading