The one thing, perhaps more than any other, that I've learned from my two most influential teachers is that God has created the heavens and earth that we can see in order to teach us about the invisible reality that we cannot see.
Mr. Hatch told us about Jesus walking along with his disciples, pointing to a vine beside the path, saying, "You see that vine, that's not a vine, that's a picture of a vine. I am the real vine, and my father is the vine dresser."
Pastor Ray Stedman told us about how the book of Esther is not just a marvelous story about how a godly queen saved her people from sure destruction But also a significant picture of the Kingdom of our lives which is under attack from godless Haman (the sin nature, the flesh), but by responding to the counsel of Mordecai, (the Holy Spirit) Esther (the human spirit) is able to be secure and to accomplish God's purposes for her life and her people.
So, I've learned to look at the situations of my physical life and ask, "What can I learn from that?"
For example the past few days I've experienced unusual peace and quiet in my office, interrupted only by my wife calling on my cell phone. After my quick trip to Chicago yesterday, I returned to my office and upon some investigation discovered that in moving the space heater, I had managed to also disconnect the telephone wire. Now that it's plugged in, things are working well. My communication with the outside world is back to normal.
What can I learn from that?
Just that I can get disconnected from my "network" without being aware of it. That means I'm oblivious to the messages that are significant to my life and ministry. It's only when I took the initiative to connect with someone that I realized that I was "off-line."
No comments:
Post a Comment