Do you belong to heaven or earth?
A few days ago, I found myself at school walking beside the side walk in the grass. I felt as if my human body did not fit on the side walk where my peers were. I saw people strutting, biking, talking on their cell phones, and then, there I was, walking in the grass alone. I felt as if I did not belong. I felt out of place.
My body was not where theirs was, nor was my mind. My thoughts and feelings were different and I felt as though I was not of this world. Why is that?
The same day, later on, I found myself passing a Bible, that had sat in my glove compartment for years, through my half-cracked window to a man holding a sign that said "homeless, need work, God bless." He had to have known who God was, but maybe there were stories inside that book that he was not familiar with - the book of perfect love, the book of poems, the book of heart-ache, hard times and pain, the book of ultimate sacrifice. A book that might help him get through each day a little easier. And as I drove away in my car, after handing him the book, my eyes filled with tears, and I prayed to God to make that book something for that man to read in times of pain to do healing, in times of discouragement for comfort -- just to be something or anything that could help him get to where he belongs. I wanted so bad to tell that man that it’s ok to not belong to this world and its ok to not feel successful and to feel as if we haven’t reached our full potential because, in all honesty, we are not of this world. We are God's, and God says that it's ok to feel like you are not a part of this world.
On that day, I came to realize something: every time I get down, because I feel like I’m not getting life, I feel like I don’t understand the way things work, I feel like I’m not good at living life here on earth, it doesn’t mean that I should give up, it just means that I should realize that I am not a part of this world, which is why life isn’t always easy for me. I am one of God’s children and he has prepared a place for me in heaven. I am here on earth to help God tell people that this world isn’t all there is to life! There are far more beautiful, better, things out there for us to be excited about.
A verse for your pondering:
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. – John 15:18-19
& another…
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2
&…
15-17Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. – 1 John 2:15-17
I guess it’s a good thing when I feel out of place. It gives me some comfort in knowing that God has a bigger and better plan for me. I am human though, and I do want and I do need and I do get upset when I feel that things aren’t going my way. But all of these life experiences I’m going through are teaching me things and showing me the way my life should be. I just have to keep praying and keep trying to do the best I can while I am on this earth.
My body was not where theirs was, nor was my mind. My thoughts and feelings were different and I felt as though I was not of this world. Why is that?
The same day, later on, I found myself passing a Bible, that had sat in my glove compartment for years, through my half-cracked window to a man holding a sign that said "homeless, need work, God bless." He had to have known who God was, but maybe there were stories inside that book that he was not familiar with - the book of perfect love, the book of poems, the book of heart-ache, hard times and pain, the book of ultimate sacrifice. A book that might help him get through each day a little easier. And as I drove away in my car, after handing him the book, my eyes filled with tears, and I prayed to God to make that book something for that man to read in times of pain to do healing, in times of discouragement for comfort -- just to be something or anything that could help him get to where he belongs. I wanted so bad to tell that man that it’s ok to not belong to this world and its ok to not feel successful and to feel as if we haven’t reached our full potential because, in all honesty, we are not of this world. We are God's, and God says that it's ok to feel like you are not a part of this world.
On that day, I came to realize something: every time I get down, because I feel like I’m not getting life, I feel like I don’t understand the way things work, I feel like I’m not good at living life here on earth, it doesn’t mean that I should give up, it just means that I should realize that I am not a part of this world, which is why life isn’t always easy for me. I am one of God’s children and he has prepared a place for me in heaven. I am here on earth to help God tell people that this world isn’t all there is to life! There are far more beautiful, better, things out there for us to be excited about.
A verse for your pondering:
18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. – John 15:18-19
& another…
2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2
&…
15-17Don't love the world's ways. Don't love the world's goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. – 1 John 2:15-17
I guess it’s a good thing when I feel out of place. It gives me some comfort in knowing that God has a bigger and better plan for me. I am human though, and I do want and I do need and I do get upset when I feel that things aren’t going my way. But all of these life experiences I’m going through are teaching me things and showing me the way my life should be. I just have to keep praying and keep trying to do the best I can while I am on this earth.
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