The Messiness of Meaningful Relationships

Today I read Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.

This verse reminds me of the old adage, “No pain, no gain,”  though I believe it cuts a bit deeper.

Last Sunday I preached a message on God’s sovereignty.
Though it is a tough topic to cover in such a short time, I knew it would be worth it. Because it is not a simple topic it could result in some messiness,
and yet it could result in people seeing and savoring God’s majesty more.
I hope that it did more of that than the former!

Though relationships with other sinful people may also sometimes be hard,
and though sometimes we may want to run away from all the messiness,
people are also worth it. They are worth the frustration, disappointments and struggles.

I am encouraged by this verse to stick with people through their messiness.
Someday, even later today(?), I may be quite messy as well.
I sure am glad God sticks with us, by His grace and love.
It would be easier not to have an oxen, and not have to clean up their mess so often, but the abundant blessings that come only through hard times would never be found.

UPDATE: Here is a good follow-up word.


(This blog is cross-posted at the ICM blog.)

Rejoicing in God's Sovereignty
For those of you who are interested, here is my message from last Sunday.
May it fill you with greater joy in our great God.

Interesting Exchange  
 One News Now:
Ray Comfort, a Christian evangelist of The Way of the Master, chatted about his book, Hitler, God and the Bible, and the film, 180, when he was invited on Carole Lieberman's radio program, "Dr. Carole's Couch." When he discussed with Lieberman the motives behind the Holocaust, the issue of abortion, and Charles Darwin, Comfort left the psychologist struggling for the right words:

Comfort: Do you think it's a baby in the womb?

Lieberman: At a certain time it is. It isn't at the beginning.

Comfort: Well, at what point does it become a baby?

Lieberman: Well, you know, I can't remember right now -- like five weeks or something. There's some point at which it has a heartbeat, and at that point is when -- and I think that that's around five weeks.

Comfort: Yeah, you're right. It's about five or six weeks… So, finish the sentence for me Carole: 'It's okay to kill a baby in the womb when ...'

Lieberman: Before, well, I mean, you know, again, I can't say; I'm not going to say that it's just okay before five weeks, if that's what you're getting at.

Comfort: No, no -- they kill babies right up to about 19, 20 weeks. So, there's really no justification for killing a baby. Just have it adopted.

What is Being Done Now?
Great work being done by these guys.  I'm thinking about joining with them the first week in April.

This is Amazing
Watch with new technology how a baby miraculously develops.

Born to Save Us

  "Hiromi Sato holds her son, Haruse, as they pose in front of a destroyed Minamisanriku town hospital, where a boat still perches atop the 5-story building, in Minamisanriku, on March 3, 2012. Hiromi gave birth to her son at the Ishinomaki Red Cross hospital on March 11, 2011, the same day the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan. In a fortunate twist of fate, her husband Kenji Sato, a wiry descendant of fishermen in his coastal hometown of Minamisanriku, took time off from work to see their third child, Haruse, born at the hospital in the nearby port city. A year on, the Satos, who all survived the tsunami are planning a quiet birthday with some cake and ice cream for the child who, his grandmother Kazuko insists, "was born to save us". (Reuters/Yuriko Nakao) # 

See more pictures & stories here.