Kingdom of Sand

In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us parables about the kingdom of heaven. He says that the kingdom of heaven can be compared to treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. In both cases the person who finds these valuable objects quickly goes and sells all that they have to purchase their new discoveries. I believe the point that Jesus is trying to make here is that any material possessions we own or anything that we consider “ours” is of less value than the kingdom of heaven. It is evident from the parable that guy in the field and the merchant are so blown away by their finds that they quickly go and sell all that they have. They would only do this quickly if it was a no brainer. It is obvious to them that what they currently own doesn’t compare with the new treasure.

In much the same way our former lives should be sold for our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. I’m not a mathematician, but I realize that my 80 years (if I’m lucky) on a corrupted planet Earth can’t begin to compare with an eternity in a perfect world. So if I know that the kingdom of heaven is going to be so much greater than anything I can imagine in this current life, why do I still cling to dumb things like TiVo or new jeans?

It’s been granted to me to find the treasure of the kingdom of heaven, but I choose to keep it buried. It is always seems like it’s in a land far, far away. I forget to look deeper, beneath the surface. It’s trapped beneath things of far lesser value like checking accounts, mortgage, car payments, job, softball, and great TV shows (like Lost and Heroes). Sometimes it’s even hard to see it beneath so called "good things" like my dreams, my goals, my desires to see my family taken care of and the like. If the kingdom of heaven was a treasure chest all of these things would just be the sand. Sand is worthless, but there always seems to be tons of it and it can for sure hide something.

The kingdom of heaven means an eternity with a holy, perfectly loving, perfectly just, creatively creative creator God who sacrificed himself to give this kingdom to a band of rebels. It means a restored world with no more pain, sickness, suffering or sin. It is a kingdom that is never ending in wonder and delight. It is truly a treasure beyond value. So why is it that I have trouble leaving my kingdom of sand?

Ingrate

I am amazed at how often I forget how blessed I am. I tend to see that the grass is greener on the other side. But I fail to realize that the simple fact that I can see the grass should be reason enough to be thankful.

It’s ridiculous how much God has given me. I was able to wake up this morning. I could take a shower with hot water. Then I could pick from a variety of clothes to wear. I was able to get into a car and drive myself to work. Along the way I had the power to choose what I listened to. If I didn’t like the radio stations, I could just pop in one of the 8 CDs I had in my car. And those were just the ones IN my car. Then I show up and I walk into an air-conditioned building where I will sit in a comfortable desk chair for most of the day. And ultimately I had the choice to take this job in the first place. No one forced me to do it. Then after a few hours I also have the ability to go to lunch to a place of my choosing. I can do this because I’ve also been given the ability to make money and with that money I can trade it for food. And not only food, but food that I enjoy. No small bowl of rice that many AIDS victims in Africa would love to have. Instead a meal complete with hamburger, fries and a Dr. Pepper.

Then I remember that I have friends and family that love me. Friends plural. And functional family. After a day of nowhere near exhausting physically labor I get to hop in my fully functional car and drive home to my beautiful wife and adorable baby girl. (Seriously. Have you looked at my other blog???) I’m sure that Kate and I will have another meal that has been provided for us. I don’t have to worry where my next meal is coming from, the only thing I have to worry about is whether or not it’ll have onions in it. We’ll sit back and chill by talking about our day, and then maybe take a walk on our healthy legs, and laugh at the new things that our healthy daughter can do. Finally, at the end of the night I’ll get to lay my head on a soft pillow and sleep on a nice mattress. No sleeping on the hard ground out in the cold for me. And I can sleep soundly knowing that my family lives in a good neighborhood and the doors are locked.

At last but certainly not least, I rest with the assurance that I’m in Christ’s hand and that He holds my tomorrow. Whether I wake up or not I’m His, and He is mine.

But somehow I still tend to focus on the grass on the other side. Failing to realize that God has granted me some of the greenest pastures in the world. I’m such an ingrate.

Communication for Dummies

If there is one subject that gets me fired up it is the subject of communication. Maybe that’s why I chose that as my major in college. Most problems in life boil down to a communication issue. This can be written, verbal, or non-verbal. After all the one thing I learned in all of my classes was that “you cannot NOT communicate”. Every single word we speak or don’t speak, every email we send, every letter we write, and every action that we take communicates something. Good two-way communication is so very vital to the survival of every relationship that you and I have.

That is why I get so frustrated when people behave like morons when it comes to this issue. So here’s my suggestion to anyone who thinks they might need to work on their communication skills and also to those who don’t. (Because they are probably the ones that need it most)

1. Make sure you have all of the facts before making any judgment. And then get some more facts.

2. Remember to keep all things in context of the situation, and don’t forget to factor in the personality of the person with whom you are communicating.

3. Intently listen to the conversation or read the entire letter before responding. Again don’t just take stuff out of context.

4. Remember that message sent isn’t always message received, so make sure that the other person understands what you meant.

5. Watch your tone of voice and body language.

6. Ask good questions.

7. Make eye contact.

8. Be slow to speak and quick to listen. They should have a verse in the Bible about that one.

9. Remember that ALL people are complex creatures and can’t always be put into a nice neat categories.

10. PAY ATTENTION

The bottom line is that there are a lot of people that are poor communicators for whatever reason. If we could all take the time and put more effort into how and what we communicate, I believe we could see a huge difference in our world.