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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
Finding Your New Home In God
May 31, 2007
I left the grocery store and turned left out of the parking lot and headed
home. It was a turn I had made a thousand times before. It was almost as
if my brain was working on auto pilot. Of course after a few minutes it
dawned on me that I was heading back to my old house and I didn't live
there any more.
Since we moved last Thursday, I have caught myself doing that a few
times now. It feels as if there is a big magnet drawing me back. I guess I
should not be surprised. We are creatures of habit. Our brain tries to make
life easier for us by helping us to establish patterns and routines that can be
repeated without much thought. That's why most of us always go to the
same breakfast place (Dixie Donuts), gas station (Shell with the car wash),
grocery store (Shop Rite), bank (Dime) and so forth. It makes life easier
because we don't have to think about what we are doing.
Imagine if you had to give every decision you make on a daily basis the
same critical thought you give to something as important as buying a new
home or choosing your spouse. We can thank God that we don't have to
do that. Once we make a choice on many of the mundane things of life,
we can let it go and move on. It makes life that much easier.
Let me clarify that statement. It makes life easier unless you do something
that changes your whole orientation in life. When you move, as we did,
then it begins to work against you. It adds more work to your life because
you have to monitor your actions and continually think about where you
are going and what you are doing. Those automatic decisions are no
longer helpful. They actually impede your ability to get on with life.
As I was heading back to the old house for the fifth time, it suddenly
dawned on me that this whole process was very much like what happens
when we have a conversion experience. Although the excitement of
finding the Lord is real and life changing, we still have to deal with the
remnants of our old life. We may be born again, but most of us still live in
the old neighborhood with the old temptations just a breath away. Our
initial enthusiasm may carry us along for a while, but the old habits are so
deeply ingrained that we need to make a conscious effort to break free
from them or else we will head right back to the old neighborhood and
move right back in.
That is where God can help. When you invite God in He can help you
reorient your life to your new situation. He can help you establish new
patterns and practices that will make your new estate feel like you have
always lived there. Whether you are trying to fight an addictive behavior or
simply lead a more fruitful life, God wrote the programming guide on how
you and I are wired. So he knows just what we need.
So as I get oriented to my new neighborhood, I pray that you will call on
God to help you settle in to the new life God has waiting for you as well.
Before long the new way will become second nature to you and you will
feel the blessing.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
May 31, 2007
I left the grocery store and turned left out of the parking lot and headed
home. It was a turn I had made a thousand times before. It was almost as
if my brain was working on auto pilot. Of course after a few minutes it
dawned on me that I was heading back to my old house and I didn't live
there any more.
Since we moved last Thursday, I have caught myself doing that a few
times now. It feels as if there is a big magnet drawing me back. I guess I
should not be surprised. We are creatures of habit. Our brain tries to make
life easier for us by helping us to establish patterns and routines that can be
repeated without much thought. That's why most of us always go to the
same breakfast place (Dixie Donuts), gas station (Shell with the car wash),
grocery store (Shop Rite), bank (Dime) and so forth. It makes life easier
because we don't have to think about what we are doing.
Imagine if you had to give every decision you make on a daily basis the
same critical thought you give to something as important as buying a new
home or choosing your spouse. We can thank God that we don't have to
do that. Once we make a choice on many of the mundane things of life,
we can let it go and move on. It makes life that much easier.
Let me clarify that statement. It makes life easier unless you do something
that changes your whole orientation in life. When you move, as we did,
then it begins to work against you. It adds more work to your life because
you have to monitor your actions and continually think about where you
are going and what you are doing. Those automatic decisions are no
longer helpful. They actually impede your ability to get on with life.
As I was heading back to the old house for the fifth time, it suddenly
dawned on me that this whole process was very much like what happens
when we have a conversion experience. Although the excitement of
finding the Lord is real and life changing, we still have to deal with the
remnants of our old life. We may be born again, but most of us still live in
the old neighborhood with the old temptations just a breath away. Our
initial enthusiasm may carry us along for a while, but the old habits are so
deeply ingrained that we need to make a conscious effort to break free
from them or else we will head right back to the old neighborhood and
move right back in.
That is where God can help. When you invite God in He can help you
reorient your life to your new situation. He can help you establish new
patterns and practices that will make your new estate feel like you have
always lived there. Whether you are trying to fight an addictive behavior or
simply lead a more fruitful life, God wrote the programming guide on how
you and I are wired. So he knows just what we need.
So as I get oriented to my new neighborhood, I pray that you will call on
God to help you settle in to the new life God has waiting for you as well.
Before long the new way will become second nature to you and you will
feel the blessing.
God bless. See you in church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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