Friday, July 4, 2014

Backtracking

Remember the golf tee puzzle at Cracker Barrel?

The goal is to leave only one tee after a series of rule-following jumps. I never could quite do it. Oh, I often left 3 or even 2, but it was really hard to get just one.

I remember one time on a road trip my dad was intensely moving, removing, and replacing tees while we waited for our meal. After 10 minutes or so he stopped and said, "Watch this..."

He played the game perfectly.

My brother and I quickly replaced the pegs and told him we bet he couldn't do it again. He did. A third, fourth, and even fifth time! I began noticed that each time he started with the same set up and followed the same pattern. When I asked him how he knew that he replied, "I started with only one peg and memorized the steps backwards. I just had to reverse them to win the game."

Of course my brother and I cried a foul and said he was cheating, but really he was a "Genius" as the game proclaimed. He just came at it from a different perspective.

Often in life we see a goal and forge our way to it in hopes of achieving it. That's commendable, but is that really the best way? What if we could find out the step right before the final goal? Then the step before that? Would it make sense to take advantage of that?
Why not backtrack from the goal? Christ.

I read an interesting Scripture passage this morning and can't wait to dive into it for a few days!
Ephesians 3:8-12

I got as far as the first half of the first verse today. :-)

"This grace was given to me - the least of all saints! - to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of the Messiah..."

Proclaiming the Gospel, sharing Jesus with the lost, and all the other "Life giving" phrases Christians use are understandable, but scary. Yes, scary. Most Christians think  - or are taught to think - that you have to have several years of theology, seminary, or at least 10 Beth Moore Bible studies under your belt ;-) before you can "lead someone to Christ".  Why? We have begun to use those as paths to righteousness instead of the Bible. Oh, they are all used to study the Bible, but really what's so deep and hard to understand about "Love", "Seek", Go."?

We have made them too hard. And sometimes, if we are truthful, we have done that in order not to have to obey right now.

Today I read in God's Word that my goal is to "proclaim to the Gentiles (those who do not know Christ) the incalculable riches of the Messiah". Let's put that into other words:
Incalculable Riches - The rich gifts and blessings imparted by God or Christ which are unsearchable and impossible to be traced out. (Based on the Complete Word Study)

Or in more simple terms, "Tell everyone about the amazing, unexplainable things Christ has done in your life and in those around you." If you don't know of anything He has done, then ask Him to show you some and listen. Don't let the big words, vague phrases, and weight of eternity weigh on you so much you never tell anyone about the Messiah.

As we like to say in the South, K.I.S.S.
Keep
It
Simple
Sweetheart!



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