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Bits & Pieces (5/17/12)

  • Mercy & Justice – “Part of the reason why we are disinclined to recognize our own need for mercy may be due to the fact that our clamor for justice, however impassioned, is almost always skewed in our favor.”

 

  • Love Covers A Multitude Sin – We know that love covers a multitude of sins, but we also know that there are clear Scriptural principles that teach sin needs to be addressed. Tim Challies looks at when we can overlook at sin, and when, and how we should address sin.

 

  • Means of Grace – David Mathis writes about three means of sanctification and how they play a role in restoration and growth

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  • How’s Your Time Trending? – Although this is just the opening post it what will be a series, Nicole Whitacre at girltalk asks an important question about how we use our time and reminds us that it is easy to pursue good things at the expense of the best things.

 

  • Why Hunger Games is Flawed – I haven’t read the books or seen the movie, but for those who have, this post about how this popular series misunderstands humanity may be of interest.

 

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Being Content

Minding the Present

©iStockphoto.com/TZfoto

I’ve written before about my proclivity for planning. Perhaps I come by it naturally; my dad was a Marine and my mom a school teacher – both professions that (to do them well) require quite a bit of planning. Perhaps it was not a learned behavior but is simply the way God created me. Whatever the cause – I like agendas, to-do lists, maps, and outlines of expectations. In short – I like a plan.

There are many good things about planning. Having a to-do list helps ensure you stay on track and get the things that you want done accomplished. A map ensures that you arrive at your destination and not somewhere you didn’t intend to be. But for all their goodness, plans can also have a detrimental effect. When we plan with the expectation that we have the ability to prescribe tomorrow’s activities, we run into trouble. As James 4:14 reminds us – we do not know what tomorrow will bring. If we hold so tightly to our plans that we either  neglect to pursue what God may orchestrate for the day or we worry about making sure what we’ve orchestrated comes to pass, our plans become a hindrance and not a benefit.

George MacDonald illustrated this well when he wrote:

It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God’s. He begs you to leave the future to Him and mind the present.

In other words, when we are content with what God has placed before us today, we have nothing to worry about. It’s when we also take on what we think tomorrow holds that we find ourselves overwhelmed and anxious.

The solution, as MacDonald identified is simple. We are to leave the future to His concern, and concern ourselves with what He has called us to today, recognizing as Proverbs says, “The heart of man plans his way,but the Lord establishes his steps” (Prov. 16:9)

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