How would you rate yourself as an optimist on a scale of 1 ("everything that can go wrong will go wrong") to 10 ("every cloud has a silver lining")? 2. When you go on trips, are you a plan-it-for-months type, or a pick-up-and-go type? Is the rest of your family like you? Does this make travel easy or hard? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1067).
“And
why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in
all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of
little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the
pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:28-34 NIV).
Jesus
speaks of the raiment of flowers and compares them to the splendor of
the clothes of a king. We can also speak of the courage of Solomon.
Look at migrating birds and their courage to venture forth in flight,
if God so encourages the birds, cannot he also encourage both kings
as well as us?
A
resilient question is when does faith transmute from penetrating and
wise faith into blind and irresponsible faith? Do we wish God simply
to save us from work and the exertion of effort—or to save us
despite all the work we do? I much prefer the latter faith. The
migrating bird is not given faith that if he sits on the ground and
does nothing he will somehow end up in warmer lands, the bird is
given faith that if he earnestly spreads his wings in flight, the
Lord will help direct him to better climes.
So
also, some brands of optimism are more worthy than others. The
question always is, does the optimism have wings or is it just
slothful thinking? Sometimes we are required to launch forth when
no clear and detailed maps of where we must go are available. Even
so, especially so, we must make our best effort to provide for
possible contingencies, and trust--even have faith--that our best
efforts will be honored by God. Obviously, if where we are going has
already been mapped out and thoroughly reconnaissanced, the task is
more easily defined.
This
is why it is seldom helpful to indulge in the blame game when
uncharted territory is being explored. "Gotcha"
indulgences are not attractive when it was not possible to provide in
advance for all, often initially inconceivable, consequences. The
question preferably becomes how now to be helpful rather than
hurtful given the realities that have developed? Of course the story
of Moses comes to mind in which he had to deal with the gripes of his
people following their exodus from Egypt.
"The
heavenly kingdom, righteousness, and God's will" almost by
definition often leads us into uncharted seas. That is why the tone
and spirit of love is so important during these times. What we know
by God's grace is helpful in spirit serves to counterbalance our
ignorance of place. Uncharted seas make it incredibly easy to be
mean-spirited and to take cheap shots. It is God's mission for us to
do and to be otherwise.
He
Reproves The Curlew
O
CURLEW, cry no more in the air,
Or
only to the water in the West;
Because
your crying brings to my mind
passion-dimmed
eyes and long heavy hair
That
was shaken out over my breast:
There
is enough evil in the crying of wind.
~~William
Butler Yeats
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