Grace in Christ 21

The lilies bloom, the flowers sing.  They raise their psalms of praise to Him.  They toil not for daily bread, yet by His gracious hand are fed.

Ye children of the Holy God, who daily on this earth do trod, His grace to you is greater still, and He will all your needs fulfill.

The grace of God shows us a greater way to live than the hectic pace that we choose for ourselves.  We often consume more time and energy on the things that will not last than investing in the things that will.  Jesus used the illustration of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air to show to us a better way.

My dad labored for years for a pension that didn’t produce and a lifetime insurance policy that paid little in the long run.  His story is repeated throughout the world.  God said that the wealth of this world would perish, and He warned about being consumed with gaining it.  Solomon said that “wealth maketh itself wings”.   The wings that God wants us to focus on are the wings of the sparrow that does not fall to the ground without the Father’s notice. 

God wants us to reprioritize our investments of time, energy and money.  Once when I was teaching I had a mother come to me and complain about the homework load I had given to her daughter.  I didn’t think it was a load.  My son was in that class and he was in bed each night by nine.  It turned out that her daughter was never even home at night by nine.  She was only 13 and was already committed to the frantic pace of worldly pursuits.  A little thing like a math assignment was not to get into the way of her goals. 

But we, too, are like that in too many ways.  God says, “Look to me”.  When we look up to Him the things of this world disappear in the glory of His brightness.  The new car, the big promotion, the bigger house, the greater earthly responsibility all fade in the beauty of the image of His dear Son.  They fade if we look up to Him.  When He becomes our all there is time for worship each day.  There is time for rest each day.  There is time for family each day.  These are His gifts to us.  Gaze at some lilies today and see that God is taking care of them.  Listen to some birds singing.  They know God is taking care of them.  His grace is greater toward us, His holy children.  Seek the joy of His greater way today. 

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