Pastor's Weekly Musing
Hey everyone!
Recently, Portia and I went to grab lunch at a local spot, and when we walked in, we were immediately hit with a strong smell. The food was apparently getting cooked in the back at that exact moment, and the smell was overpowering.
Normally, I would just leave, but I was really hungry, and we were kinda committed to this place. So we grumbled in line as we waited to order, thinking "This place stinks. It's going to ruin the meal."
The funny thing is, though: even though we thought we would never get over the smell, we eventually did. We got used to it. After a few minutes, we acclimated to it, and didn't even notice. Other people walked into the restaurant and had the same reaction, and we kinda chuckled and wondered if they would stick it out too.
God has blessed us with physical bodies that have amazing capacities to get used to our surroundings. What seems impossible to endure at first can eventually not even be noticed at all.
Awesome, right?
The only problem is that the same thing happens on the opposite end. (Every gift has a nasty edge to it!) Just like we can get used to annoying circumstances and live like they're not even there, we can ALSO get used to GOOD things in our lives and act like they're not there, too!
What things? Things like: my marriage. The health of my kids. The roof over my head. A loving family. A great church. Awesome friends. Amazing weather the past month. I don't mean to, but I can acclimate to these good things. And just like the ugly smell, I can eventually not even notice them.
That's one HUGE reason why staying connected to God daily is so imperative, and why being at church as often as possible is so important: it helps to remind me of the good things in my life that I might have forgotten about, not because I'm not thankful, but because I've acclimated.
Think of that restaurant with the odor. Imagine the opposite effect. Imagine the most beautiful smell in the world -- like the smell of churros at Disneyland. If I lived at Disneyland, I'd eventually get used to the smell, and not even notice it. What a tragedy! It would serve me well to walk out of there, get fresh air, and then walk back in, so I can experience the goodness again and again.
Reading your Bible, going to church, gathering with other believers, worshipping is just like that: ALL these things re-order your brain and re-align your soul with the truth. It's positioning yourself to experience the goodness again and again!
And growing in this causes us to grow in so many other areas along the way.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 says "We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing."
Be reminded of the good stuff today!
Pastor Ronnie
Recently, Portia and I went to grab lunch at a local spot, and when we walked in, we were immediately hit with a strong smell. The food was apparently getting cooked in the back at that exact moment, and the smell was overpowering.
Normally, I would just leave, but I was really hungry, and we were kinda committed to this place. So we grumbled in line as we waited to order, thinking "This place stinks. It's going to ruin the meal."
The funny thing is, though: even though we thought we would never get over the smell, we eventually did. We got used to it. After a few minutes, we acclimated to it, and didn't even notice. Other people walked into the restaurant and had the same reaction, and we kinda chuckled and wondered if they would stick it out too.
God has blessed us with physical bodies that have amazing capacities to get used to our surroundings. What seems impossible to endure at first can eventually not even be noticed at all.
Awesome, right?
The only problem is that the same thing happens on the opposite end. (Every gift has a nasty edge to it!) Just like we can get used to annoying circumstances and live like they're not even there, we can ALSO get used to GOOD things in our lives and act like they're not there, too!
What things? Things like: my marriage. The health of my kids. The roof over my head. A loving family. A great church. Awesome friends. Amazing weather the past month. I don't mean to, but I can acclimate to these good things. And just like the ugly smell, I can eventually not even notice them.
That's one HUGE reason why staying connected to God daily is so imperative, and why being at church as often as possible is so important: it helps to remind me of the good things in my life that I might have forgotten about, not because I'm not thankful, but because I've acclimated.
Think of that restaurant with the odor. Imagine the opposite effect. Imagine the most beautiful smell in the world -- like the smell of churros at Disneyland. If I lived at Disneyland, I'd eventually get used to the smell, and not even notice it. What a tragedy! It would serve me well to walk out of there, get fresh air, and then walk back in, so I can experience the goodness again and again.
Reading your Bible, going to church, gathering with other believers, worshipping is just like that: ALL these things re-order your brain and re-align your soul with the truth. It's positioning yourself to experience the goodness again and again!
And growing in this causes us to grow in so many other areas along the way.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 says "We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing."
Be reminded of the good stuff today!
Pastor Ronnie
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