Today’s Daily Bread ~ Counterintuitive

Revelation 7:13-14 – Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white?  Where do they come from?”  And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”  Then he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.  They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.”

Have you ever just fallen in love with a word?

My grandfather, William Sinclair Ashbrook, Jr., was quite the wordsmith.  He had the most beautiful vocabulary.  I often wondered whether or not he had a pocket-thesaurus stashed inside his coat.

When my sisters and I were young, he would write the most imaginative, colorful stories for us, usually about Hippos, his favorite animal.  I recall a particular visit about 25 years ago.  Between my two sisters, a cat and our yippy dog, my childhood home was a noisy place.  I remember hearing him exclaim, “What a beautiful cacophony!”  I had no idea what a cacophony was, but I loved the sound of it.  Without a doubt, I inherited my love for words from Poppa.

I sing in the praise and worship band (Reign) at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound.  Minus me, it’s a group of very seasoned, professional musicians.  Our electric guitar player, Jack Balderson, who masquerades as an attorney by day, was helping me with a particularly difficult (at least for me) harmony.  I said something to the tune of, “Why can’t I get this?”  He responded, “Well, it’s very counterintuitive.”  My simple mind latched onto the word, tucking it away for future use.

Everything about Jesus is counterintuitive.

Mark 10:42-44 – So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them.  But among you it should be quite different.  Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all (emphasis mine).  What does our behavior say about us?  Do we belong to Jesus or the world? 

Just this week, I was at the grocery store.  I had only a handful items, and there was an open lane about fifteen feet away.  Another woman, with a full cart, sped up to beat me to it.  Anger swelled inside for a moment, and then I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.  Let her go, and pray that she will know my peace and love.”

I’ve had similar experiences in parking lots and on the highway. Not long ago I caught wind of something hurtful someone said about me, and my first instinct was to strike back.  We live in a “Me first!” society that teaches us to put our happiness at the top of our priority list, and when we’re hurt, we retaliate.  The world teaches us to hoard our money, giving only out of abundance, while Scriptures commands us to give our first and best fruits. 

Luke 6:24-26 – “What sorrows await you who are rich, for you have your only happiness now.  What sorrows await you who are satisfied and prosperous now, for a time of awful hunger is before you.  What sorrows await you who laugh carelessly, for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.  What sorrows await you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets.”

Jesus wasn’t condemning the wealthy.  He was condemning those who put wealth above all else.  These verses describe the loving but brutal pruning process I’ve been in for the last year or so.  When Mike and I were debating as to whether or not I should leave KSCS, He brought each and every one of these Scriptures to mind.  I was worried about losing my income.  Where is your faith?  Have I not promised to provide for your every need?  I was worried about losing my identity.  Don’t seek the praise of the crowds.  Don’t seek popularity, or worldly comfort.  Your identity is in Me.  Your name is “daughter of the Most High God.”  That is all the identity you will ever need, and the only one that will gain you entrance to My throne room.

Luke 9:23-24 – Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.  If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it.  But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” 

Everything about Jesus is counterintuitive.  Only by washing our robes in His shed blood can we be made clean.  Only by trusting an unseen God can we truly see.  Only by dying to self can we live.  What does that look like?  It looks like praying for someone when they hurt you, instead of slandering them behind their back.  It looks like graciously letting someone else go before you in the grocery store, even when you have three items to their thirty.  It looks like putting your comfort aside to meet another’s need.  Speaking words of love and life.  Giving as a true sacrifice, instead of from abundance.  Being last, knowing that in Christ, he who is last is first.

Dear Heavenly Father, we truly need to take up our cross daily if we want to follow You.  I don’t know about others, but I need to be reminded of this about every five minutes or so.  Help us to hear Your voice and feel Your conviction when we start to get “me-centered” instead of “You-centered.”  Help us to bless those who curse and persecute us.  Change our hearts, Lord, so that our first instinct is prayer instead of revenge.  Let our first response be compassion instead of anger.  Fill us with Your peace, Lord.  Help us to open our hearts to receive it.  Remind us that Jesus endured every indignity, every persecution, every humiliation, even to the point of death on a cross, so that we might have life everlasting in You.  If He could endure the cross, surely we can endure the injustice and unfairness of this life.  Help us to reach those who need You.  Give us opportunities to witness, and give us the words to say.  We love You so much, Father.  With all our hearts and souls.  We ask these things with a spirit of confidence and victory, knowing that we are praying in Your will, and in the blessed, holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.