I agreed before thinking. I accepted without listening. I boxed myself in a corner before I knew I was even in the room. I did not understand the implications of the facts behind the conversation. The implications will be with me for sometime – like so many other headaches of life!
We are both buried in facts and information. With the net, phone access to the globe, magazines and newspapers specializing in every possible subject, along with 100+ channel TV, the sheer quantity of stuff flying into the senses is overwhelming. I have long lost track of just what information is important. Even if I can focus on the important stuff, I frequently do not take the time to understand, really understand, what something means.
I wish the problem only applied to work and new computer software. In my life, the challenge extends right through kids and new homework, cars and new technology, sports and how to keep in shape, and relationships and my efforts to understand what is happening around me. As I recognize these problems, it occurs to me that my understanding of God; what he has done, is doing, and will always do continue to be is clouded at best.
Do I understand the implications of what happened in the past and what it means for me today? “We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word.” (Romans 6.9)
Fact: Never again will hope not exist.
Fact: With Jesus things are different.
Fact: God has sent and is sending us clear signals of mercy and a bright future.
Implication: Life as I knew it yesterday is different today.
Implication: God is real, involved, and responding to what happens in life.
Implication: God and his actions define life, not the daily junk hitting us.
God is a relevant and life changing fact that carries implications for you and me. Take a moment to reflect on this; life, as you know, it takes a new perspective!
