Newton and a False Sense of Security
No...I'm not talking about the scientist who's theories explain gravity and all sorts of physics behind why a 766,800 pound hunk of metal can blast through the sky at .84 mach while hundreds of passengers take little blue pills in the back to help them sleep better through the little bumps that are characteristic of flying over 30,000 feet above sea level. I'm actually referring to my guinea pig, Newton. Two days ago I was cleaning his cage and could not stop laughing at him while I was trying to coax him out of the cage. Newt's godfather bought him this little semi-circular wooden tunnel a while ago and Newt just barely fits under it. In fact when he is "hiding" he is so long that his head sticks out on one side of the tunnel and his rear sticks out on the other. He always runs for cover when I reach for him though, and it is rather easy to pick him up because I can just remove the tunnel and expose him for what he truly is.... my little furry rodent who will always have to submit to my superiority.
This little weekly excercise got me thinking about those little "tunnels" of my life that I think offer protection. Things like air bags on a car and locks on a door and a savings account that is confirmed by a guy in a building wearing a suit. It also got me thinking about how God watches us live out our lives putting so much faith in those locks to keep us safe, those airbags to keep our faces from being mangled in accidents, and that money in an account that surely will give us life should we lose a job or face a financial tragedy. He must see those little items of security much like I see Newton's wooden tunnel. It's cute that we think those things will "save" us, but really it's just a matter of reaching down and removing that item so that His true purpose can unfold. Just see the story of Job to understand what I mean.
The other consideration I had while cleaning Newt's cage was that though I scare him every time I remove his tunnel of "safety" and lift him out of that cage, truthfully I am picking him up with his own good in mind. Usually either to feed him or clean him up a little. Yancey put it well in his novel "the Jesus i Never Knew" when he wrote of how his fish would go into hiding every time when he would come to feed them. Though he loves them and needs to feed those fish daily for their own survival, they always will fear his presense. For them to truly understand his intentions, he would have to become a fish and swim around in the tank with them for a while and speak their native fish language to them to gain their love and trust. What a beautiful analogy of what Christ has done for us!
I'm prayerfully considering now what I might recognize from my guinea pig Newton's false sense of security and apply into my own life. What are those things that I place my faith in sometimes, instead of fully trusting the God who gave me life? The God who above all, loves me more than my own comprehension can grasp and works all things for His glory and for my own good? I have the advantage over Newt and Yancey's fish in that God already has come down to speak a new life into me and given me a new system to abide by. One that recognizes the pitfalls of finding security in a door lock or seeking safety in a well padded savings account. Obviously I'm going to continue to lock my doors and save my money, but my desire is that I live a life that points only toward God as my only true source of safety and provision. Any thoughts fellow bloggers?
This little weekly excercise got me thinking about those little "tunnels" of my life that I think offer protection. Things like air bags on a car and locks on a door and a savings account that is confirmed by a guy in a building wearing a suit. It also got me thinking about how God watches us live out our lives putting so much faith in those locks to keep us safe, those airbags to keep our faces from being mangled in accidents, and that money in an account that surely will give us life should we lose a job or face a financial tragedy. He must see those little items of security much like I see Newton's wooden tunnel. It's cute that we think those things will "save" us, but really it's just a matter of reaching down and removing that item so that His true purpose can unfold. Just see the story of Job to understand what I mean.
The other consideration I had while cleaning Newt's cage was that though I scare him every time I remove his tunnel of "safety" and lift him out of that cage, truthfully I am picking him up with his own good in mind. Usually either to feed him or clean him up a little. Yancey put it well in his novel "the Jesus i Never Knew" when he wrote of how his fish would go into hiding every time when he would come to feed them. Though he loves them and needs to feed those fish daily for their own survival, they always will fear his presense. For them to truly understand his intentions, he would have to become a fish and swim around in the tank with them for a while and speak their native fish language to them to gain their love and trust. What a beautiful analogy of what Christ has done for us!
I'm prayerfully considering now what I might recognize from my guinea pig Newton's false sense of security and apply into my own life. What are those things that I place my faith in sometimes, instead of fully trusting the God who gave me life? The God who above all, loves me more than my own comprehension can grasp and works all things for His glory and for my own good? I have the advantage over Newt and Yancey's fish in that God already has come down to speak a new life into me and given me a new system to abide by. One that recognizes the pitfalls of finding security in a door lock or seeking safety in a well padded savings account. Obviously I'm going to continue to lock my doors and save my money, but my desire is that I live a life that points only toward God as my only true source of safety and provision. Any thoughts fellow bloggers?
4 Comments:
"It is our illusions that create the world"
Yea, we definitely like to have the illusion of security in our lives. So we spend our lives trying to avoid danger. But, in truth, the missionary who is sent by God to Chechnya or Afghanistan is probably safer than the one who disobeys to stay in his comfortable, spacious apartment in America. Like you said, God doesn't call us to be foolish with our lives (jumping out of planes with no parachutes, etc) but he does ask us to follow Him and sometimes that takes us into great danger. But what wonderful danger that is!
Speaking of taken the path that seems less safe, are you gonna let God lead you salsa dancing with us tonight?
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I chose the path of Salsa... and it has made all the difference in the world...
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