“ . . . live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10
Although the words “Cat fan” will
never make it to my resume under “hobbies” I was engrossed watching an online
video of a kitty opening a door to a laundry room to escape. I am easily
impressed. I was equally impressed when hunkered down, ogling over a massive
hot dog covered in ketchup, mustard, and a tight row of raw onions sat a four
year old girl excited to dive into her lunch. I stared, expecting the girl to
unleash a fit of rage when she took a bite of her hot dog and the rough, onion
taste bit her back, however, she chewed, as the edges of her mouth turned
upward in a satisfied grin and she leaned back in her chair to chew in utter
content and satisfaction. I continued to stare out of shock. Had the
authorities been in close range I would have been arrested for over stepping my
starring boundaries.
It takes large amounts of prodding
and cash to get our kids to venture over to garlic bread from toast and butter.
Raw onions would never happen in our house.
“I am so impressed that she likes raw onions.”
I said to the mother understanding her concern for my gaze. “I have always
given them to her so she has always eaten them.” She replied. I shook my head
in disbelief as my kids sat eating their cheese pizza leaving the crust on the
plate because it is “gross” and picking the “burnt bubbles” off the top of the
cheese. Admittedly, that gene was passed down from my side of the family. Raw
onions and burnt cheese bubbles taste terrible.
In the New Testament, Jesus tells
stories about people who seemed to impress Him. Although that isn’t possible,
Jesus is smitten over the widow who gives the only coins that she has left, the
shepherd who spends hours looking for one sheep while the other 99 wait, the
faith of a centurion who asks Jesus to “say the word” and his servant will be
healed, and the pack of friends who send their injured comrade through roof of
a building on a cot so that he could get in front of Jesus and be healed. These
people do simple acts with mighty faith. They are unrecognized, unassuming, and
unpretentious. They do the right thing not the impressive thing.
Although it is impossible to
impress God, it is not impossible to please Him. Simple acts of faith,
obedience, sacrifice, submission, and love, please God. He loves when we serve
others without needing recognition, act lovingly without setting off lights and
sirens, and when we give anonymously.
Pleasing God should come naturally,
but it does not. Impressing others should never matter, but it does. When we
learn to please God and to neglect our need to astound others, peace will
ensue. And even if you are old enough to have acquired a taste for raw onions I
probably wouldn’t be too impressed unless you were eating them while riding a
unicycle around an ice skating rink while holding a cat. That’s impressive.
1.
In what ways have you become too satisfied with
impressing others instead of pleasing God?
2.
What are some specific ways you can please God
this week?
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