Stirring a pot of thoughts...

The house is quiet today. I miss quiet days. It is sunny outside, and wind is blowing the leaves around. There are red, yellow, and white flowers on my kitchen table where I am sitting. My hand is warm from my holding my tea-mug. I am stirring a pot of thoughts in my head.

While driving to church this morning, I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend on Friday night. Walking down Main Street we saw these two men asking people questions like, "If you died tonight, are you sure you would go to heaven?" I usually steer away from these people. My friend suggested we go and talk to them. A stab of fear pierced me. I told him that I was a chicken and that I wouldn't likely say anything. At this admission my heart sank a little with disappointment in myself. What am I so afraid of? What is so scary in talking to strangers about Jesus? I'm still not entirely sure. Its disturbing that I spent so many years of my life talking to non-Christian teenagers about Jesus and yet I am afraid to have a conversation on the street with a stranger who is at least claiming to be a Christian. This frustrates me. I am still stirring this around in my head.

Speaking of frustration, Grant preached an excellent sermon this morning on what to do with it. It should be posted later in the week at www.redeemerchurch.net. He said we must be both content and discontent. We can be content in our circumstances in light of the hope we have in Christ, despite our frustrations. We don't have to like the things that frustrate us, but we can know that there is something beyond all the frustration and should not lose heart. Then Grant said that while we are content with where God has placed us in life, we should be discontent with the state of the world we live in. We can't be content with "the way things are" and simply shrug our shoulders at the darkness. God desires us to take light into the darkness. He calls us to live faithfully here and now until the day when he makes all things new. These are very hard things to do well. I get frustrated that its hard.

I am thankful that even my frustration at my own sin and fear of man is covered by God's grace. I don't have all the answers to the questions and thoughts swirling around inside my pot, but I'm thinking that God's arm is long enough to reach deep into that pot. I'm hoping in that.