Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

To act justly

Friday, March 24, 2017

From Mark 12
Jesus said to the scribe, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

The scribe accurately remembered his childhood lessons. The best instructions for life, he told Jesus, are to love God with all his soul, and love his neighbor just as he cared for himself. Jesus was impressed and said so. "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."

Aly had a driving lesson this week. She will be five soon. After her preschool she sat in the driver's seat, and so did I, and we drove around her neighborhood. Jack, Aly and I have been doing this driving now and then. They are both getting pretty good at steering the car.

We almost always stop by a neighborhood lake on Chris Drive. Sometimes geese or ducks are swimming here, but not today. We parked the car and stood on the brow of a grassy hill that descends to the lake, facing west.

Even in the cool air, the sun was warming the ground. We sat, and then lay down on the slope. Bunches of purple flowers were growing right next to our faces in the brown grass. The air smelled like heaven. I felt my whole body relax. Aly was eating Cheez-Its from a picnic kids pack, and I tossed a purple flower on top.

"When you're through with the crackers, you can fill up the box with flowers." Aly looked at me like I was kind of silly. She looks at me that way a lot. "Did you know, Grandpa, that you can pet a sting ray at the petting zoo?"

She didn't know where (turns out you can pet a sting ray in either St. Louis or Chicago), but she knew you could. "And there is a big sting ray in the lake. Can you see it?"

I could. It was big and yellow and had a curved back. "Do you want to run down to the lake and run beside the lake and run back up again, Aly?"

She said, "But you can't go down there with me, right? What if I fall in?"

"I'll run right down and dive in and save you," I said.

"What if you forget how to swim?" "There's that," I said. "I might forget how to swim. But the sting ray will save you."

She had that look again, but I stuck with it. "The sting ray will swallow you and you'll be in his stomach for three days, and he'll spit you out again right up on the shore. And then I'll take you home."

This time she didn't think I was so silly. She stuck with it too. "Yeah, and I'll be covered with green gross slime and it will get all over you!" Her eyes crinkled, and she wanted to laugh. She took off and ran down to the lake and round and round, and then she drove me home.

Aly changed the story a little for Margaret. "And the sting ray gave me a brand new clean dress, and here I am!"

Margaret said, "There's a story like that in the Bible."

Aly looked knowingly at her and said, "Yeah, Oma ... Jonah."

If we catch any fish this spring, Aly wants to throw them back. I think she's learning to love God with all her soul, and her neighbors too. Although she is still pretty scared of a big friendly dog a couple doors down that jumped on her two years ago and licked her face. One of these days, that girl is going to write a book.

In the major and the minor moments, Lord, there you are. In the littlest things you smile and say hello. In all our worlds imaginary and not, we run up and down, and smell your flowers, and listen to the Spirit rustling in the trees. You make us free as fish in the sea. We are yours. We love you.

Devotions Archive

To act justly

Friday, March 24, 2017