An engineer was walking through a construction site and stopped a laborer and asked him what he was doing. He said, “I’m moving these boards from this pile to that pile over there.”

A little further on, he saw a saw a mason and asked him what he was doing. The mason replied, “I’m getting ready to pour some concrete.”

Then he came upon a carpenter who was building a frame for the concrete to be poured into, and he asked him the same thing. But the carpenter replied, “I’m building a cathedral where thousands of voices will sing the praises of God.”

The carpenter had a greater vision than the other two workmen. He could see beyond the here and now.

In John 9, we see Jesus and the boys talking about a man born blind. The disciples asked Jesus who had sinned, the man or his parents. Jesus answered that neither of those things caused his blindness, but that it happened so the works of God might be displayed in him.

Perhaps there is something in your life that has you wondering why it happened. Without looking at our circumstances through the lens of what we know about God, it would be easy to despair.

But when we look through the lens of God’s love and His goodness, that He is always for us, that He always has a plan and is faithful, then we can look beyond the here and now, and see that this is not all there is.

The building site did not look at all like a spectacular cathedral, and your life may not look very spectacular, either. But somehow, in ways that we may never understand, all that is happening is working together to bring glory to God.

That doesn’t mean that we should dance a jig in the face of adversity, or refuse to grieve loss, or laugh when people sin against us… But it does mean that as you face every trial in your life, you can walk in the calm assurance of knowing that this is not all there is.

What area of your life needs to be looked at through the “God lens?”

Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”

It was August 16^th, 1987 and the plane was going down. There were only seconds to buckle seat belts, assume the crash position and hold on for dear life. Hearts pounded, fingers fumbled and 155 passengers of Northwest flight 225 covered their heads with their hands. All except one.

Paula Chican, without a moment’s hesitation, unbuckled her seat belt, got down on her knees and stretched her arms and body around 4 year old Cecelia. In spite of the danger, disregarding the warnings, risking everything Paula was willing to give up her life to save that of her young daughter. Paula died in the attempt.

So did 155 out of the other 155 passengers. All died. Except one.

Cecelia lived. In fact, Cecelia’s injuries were so minor that investigators first assumed she had been a passenger in one of the nearby cars instead of the lone survivor of the horrific crash. But the passenger log confirmed the truth – Paula died so that Cecelia could live.

I John 3:16 says, We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We were all going down. Every single one of us. There was no hope. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves. We could only cross our fingers and hold on for dear life. Except… Except our Christ left His seat in heaven, came down to earth and stretched out His arms and body so that we could live.

Jesus died. We live. That is love.

We are called to do the same. We are not asked to measure our Christian brother’s or sister’s worth, calculate the cost or groan at the inconvenience. We are called to love – as Christ loved. Sacrificially. Lavishly. Generously and at great cost. Just love.

While the opportunity to lay down our lives for another may not present itself today, other opportunities will. Will we cook a meal for our neighbor, run that errand for the elderly or wash the dishes for our spouse in an effort to pass on the incredible love of Christ?

Will we unbuckle ourselves from our own agenda, lay down our own desires and wrap our arms around the needs of others? Will you die to self so that others can live?

How can God’s love go viral in your life today?

Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”

There are certain words that every parent longs to hear:

• It will be my pleasure to drop what I am doing just to help you out.
• What was I thinking? I promise to never hit my brother again.
• I’ll set my alarm extra early from now on to make sure I have time to make my bed.
• My homework is all done. Is there anything I can do for you before I go out to play?
• Thank you for correcting me. It’s helping me grow into a mature adult.

Of course, if your children did say these things you would have to worry that an alien had whisked them away and replaced them with a clone – a clone that had obviously never heard what your child really says. “Do I haaaave to? “He started it.” “That’s not fair.” “You’re mean.” “I want to do it MY way.”

Throughout history, humans have shown a strange propensity for wanting all the reward with none of the work. We want to be thin while eating fat. We recklessly spend money we haven’t made, and we demand respect we haven’t earned.

Worst of all, we carry all those false expectations into our relationship with God. Like spoiled children, we want the faith of Abraham, the promises of Moses and power of Paul without leaving our land, wandering in the wilderness or pining away in prison.

Our Perfect Parent

I John 3 begins with these glorious words. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God. The Almighty, Infinite, Merciful God of the universe is our Father. How cool is that?

And if you are like me, your mind automatically begins to drift towards the incredible privileges that this relationship brings – access to the throne, an inheritance in heaven, grace, forgiveness, power, significance, answered prayer and best of all, God’s firm commitment to making us look more and more like His Son, Jesus.

Unfortunately, we all too quickly forget that maturity doesn’t come in an instant. Deep faith grows over a lifetime of trials, and Christ-like character shines best during sacrifice and suffering.

Hebrews 12:9-11 says:

We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us,
so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live?
While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them.
But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.
At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain.
Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained
who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

Being a child of the Living God is the greatest privilege in the world. He loves you enough to give you extravagant gifts, and He loves you enough to discipline you for godliness.

Do you love Him enough to gratefully accept both from His hands? If so, here are some words He would love to hear.

• It will be my pleasure to drop what I am doing serve someone else.
• What was I thinking? I promise to never do that again.
• I’ll set my alarm extra early from now on to make sure I spend time with you before I start my day.
• My work is all done. Is there anything you want me to do before I go out to play?
• Thank you for correcting me. It’s helping me grow into a mature adult.

Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”