Tag: A Word for Wednesday

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Transition Generations

I’d have to say Bob Bailey is the greatest leader I’ve ever been around. CEO at State Auto Insurance Companies for roughly half of my 35-year career there, he was visionary, principled, optimistic, engaging and kind. He also had about him the wonderful folk wisdom of one raised as a Kansas farm boy; employees loved him and could quote many of his horse-sense adages. One that still comes to mind in pivotal situations is this: “Think about how a decision will play out two, three, and four steps down the road.”

His advice seemed simple enough—EQ before EQ was a thing. “Of course! Why not?” The fact of the matter, though, is that we make all sorts of personal decisions that gratify only briefly before reaping a harvest of regret in due season. Be it the one-time fling or the one more drink—and we might as well add unharnessed anger and unbridled tongues—our indulgent choices of the moment ripple ruin through friends, family and finances, sometimes setting a rocky course for those who will travel in the footsteps we leave behind.

Yet I also know many people who are to their family what I call the “transition generation.” These men and women set out in life on a perilous path, the lane of a lineage marked with abuse, dependency, unfaithfulness or disbelief. Yet through vision, resolve and the grace of God, these brave ones changed the course for themselves, their family and offspring yet to come. They heard a Voice and followed Him to a new path of hope, often at a cost of dear friendships, as the apostle Peter notes, “Those who do not know God are surprised you do not join them in the sinful things they do. They laugh at you and say bad things against you.”1

No matter how bumpy the road left behind by our forebears, we can chart a new course for our family; and if we’ve veered off highways paved smooth by our predecessors, we can make our way back by God’s mercy and grace. I can think of no greater leadership than to bless our family—to be a milepost of hope—two, three, four and more steps down the road.

And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. (Isaiah 35:8a)

Father, this life can be so tough and so difficult to navigate. Lead me and lead my family in courage down your paths of good and right; bless us, so we may bless those who follow in our steps. Lead us in Christ, for He himself is “the way.”2 In His name and by the power of your Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is hope.

1 1 Peter 4:4 (NLV)
2 John 14:6

[Click here to read today’s Scripture, 1 Peter 4:1-6.]

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Just Say the Word

In his bestselling book, Love Does, Bob Goff tells the comical and profound story of how he got into law school. (All of his stories are comical and profound, actually.) Concluding an underwhelming undergraduate experience, Bob decided he wanted to become a lawyer. Naive to the rigor of the entrance exam, however, he underprepared in his studies and then underachieved on the test. He received no law school offers. Not one. And this is where his story gets amazing. Determined, Bob appealed to a law school dean, who refused him and kindly ushered him toward the door. There was a bench outside his office, however, so five days before classes were to start, Bob resolved to park himself there daily and petition the dean every time he walked by. “I knew he had the power to let me in,” writes Bob, “All he had to do was say the words, ‘Go get your books.’”1 So, there Bob sat, appealing to the dean until, five days after school began, the dean stopped, looked him in the eye and said, “Go get your books.”

We’ve seen this play before. His servant near death, a Roman centurion sent Jewish elders to ask Jesus to heal him. As Jesus neared his house, the commander sent friends to Him with this message: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof … But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”2

Now, the gospels are full of miracles that left the crowds surprised, astonished, and amazed. But this encounter with the centurion is the only time we find Jesus, himself, impressed to the point of amazement. For here was one who saw Jesus as more than a last resort, more than a desperate hope, and even more than a miracle worker. Like the law school wannabe, the centurion understood and respected the power of authority, aligned himself with the truth of the matter, and then placed his confidence squarely and entirely in the One in whom exists authority over all things—“Say the word.”

Yes, Lord, say the word.

Father, forgive me for the times I approach you in doubt or disrespect. You are the God of the universe, and your authority is absolute. Grace me to see you for who you are, to humble myself before you, and to trust entirely in your wisdom, power, and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Christ in me is confidence.

1 Bob Goff, Love Does, (Nashville, Tennessee: Nelson Books), p 42.
2 Luke 7:6-8

[Click here to read today’s Scripture, Luke 7:1-10.]

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No Constraints

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world … and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.” It may have been Norm Peterson’s most memorable line from the classic TV sitcom “Cheers.” He was right about the dog-eat-dog part, anyway, because we live in a world where resources are limited but human wants are not. So, we vie for a piece of the pie. (The study of how we do so is called economics.)

Imagine, then, Philip’s sense of helplessness when Jesus asked him where they might buy food for the 5,000 people now flocking toward them. “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”1 the disciple exclaimed. We can feel his panic, can’t we? So much demand and so little supply!

Then with just five small loaves of barley and two small fish, Jesus gave thanks for the bounty and distributed it to the crowd for an all-you-can eat buffet. Filled to the gills and 12 basketfuls of leftovers later, it occurred to the people that “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world,”2 and they aimed “to come and make him king by force.”3 Why? They had reduced God to something of a neighborhood convenience store. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus would tell them when they came seeking Him later, “you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”4

The kingdom of God, however, is not something we seize by force; it is something we receive through grace. When we do, we find His economy is not one of scarcity, but of abundance—what we strive to earn, God gives for free; though we tend to hoard, He overflows; and as we give away, He multiplies. Why? Because though our desire for Him has its limits, His boundless love for us knows no constraints. And that’s something to cheer about.

“Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

Father, your love for me far surpasses my understanding, and your care for me exceeds anything I deserve. Everything I need is found in you. Thank you. In Jesus’ name and by the power of your Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is freedom.

1 John 6:7
2 John 6:14
3 John 6:15
4 John 6:26

[Click here to read today’s Scripture in John 6:1-15.]