The Cowardly Lion

I have been a reluctant Christian. It seemed to me that I must give up the nearest and dearest things of the heart to take up a cross and follow Christ. I understand the Cowardly Lion ... old 'fraidy cat. Don't like giving up what I really want for all kinds of trouble. Christ did promise us trouble ... it's part of being in the world. But he promised us a lot of other things too. I could read passages like in Ephesians that told me that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing .... and think, okay .... but I'm looking at some physical need ..... hmmm spiritual blessings .... can you take it to the bank? .... whatever.

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So what are these spiritual blessings and what are they worth? Only the poor in spirit know. Are you crushed under a load of guilt, remorse and shame ... Christ has born your sin and God now calls you his own dear child. Your sin and shame are separated from you as far as east from west. Who can lay any charge against you? You are justified before the accuser. Do evil thoughts and temptations molest your mind? You have the promise of answered prayer .... for you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father delight to give The Spirit to those who ask and a sound mind too. Do you lack significance and purpose? God has given you a name and a purpose to capture your largest imaginations. Are you lonely, sad or afraid? We have the comfort and companionship of God's Spirit .... it is the best there is.

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And what does he actually ask us to give up? Sin, bondage, a life without him or a life off center. Often he makes us give up something temporarily because it has taken his place and ultimately will bring us ruin. He is not only concerned about the spiritual ... he is concerned about our physical need too. Christ's ministry on earth involved much in the way of healing and provision for he looked on the hungry multitudes and had compassion for them for they were like sheep without a shepherd. Well he knows that physical and spiritual well being go hand in hand. He promises to dress and feed us too and with these we are to be content.

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Last Friday .... it was Good Friday, I went for a walk in the city of Wilmington. It was spring in the city and I walked little side streets where grand old houses stood in brick, shingle and stone .... I looked up at ancient, twisted weeping cherries and down at lawns sprinkled with daffodils .... there were walled and secret gardens where I wanted to look but could not.

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Stopping at one point I looked up at a house on the corner. Somehow I could see myself walking room to room, settling finally into a comfortable chair with needlework in my lap and a view from the window to the outdoors. For some reason this impression would not leave my mind. After all, my life is here. Perhaps it is a glimpse of heaven .... a place I will live some day .... maybe it is an idea to tuck into my back pocket for future renovations to my home .... or maybe someday I will stand in a city in Spain and recognize something that I saw long ago on a back street in Wilmington. Then I thought,"No ... this is something God is offering me now if I want it." Oddly enough this made me cry .... I seem to spend so many of my days with a stiff upper lip. The idea of self denial firmly entrenched in my soul and God tells me, "You can have this if you want it." .... God! He loves me. What reservations can I have about a future with him. Love gives a body courage, and provisions, faith.