There are many thoughts I am processing right now as I reflect on these last couple days. I have had the opportunity to spend some time with a friend here in Denver. A couple days ago, we went to the Rocky National Park and then yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Garden of the Gods.
The trail my friend and I took went on in the RNP was of course snow covered with the elevation and time of year. Beneath the snow was patches of ice (yes I did slip a few times and fell down once). It reminded me there is more than what we can see on the outside of people, of situations we face, and even ourselves. In the case of this hike, my friend and I had to be careful at times of the slippery ice that was underneath the snow. We knew it was there even though you couldn't see it all the time. Did it make us stop the hike? No. Did it make it less enjoyable? No.
And at first, as I was processing all of this, I thought that was what God was teaching me on this hike, that is the lesson that he wanted me to learn. I thought he was reminded me that I there are certain situations or even opportunities that I need to watch as they might look enticing on the outside but there are real dangers beneath the service. But as I have continued to process things, I am realizing there is more going on here. There is how God sees me. Then below that surface is then how I see me. There is the me that I convince myself that if he really knew, that if he really knew beyond the outer layer that he would not love me. But deep down I know the truth. The truth that he does know everything about me and he loves me. It is a truth that I need to be reminded of on occasion. I need to be reminded of the truth found in Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
And God knows you inside and out too. And the truth is that he loves you.You are God's handiwork. I think we probably all need to be reminded of that from time to time.
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