Trading Spaces

It hasn't taken much time for me to get settled in here in my new office. It drove me crazy a couple days to be in here with clutter, boxes and chaos. With each box emptied and each piece of furniture moved into the "right" place came more of a sense of peace. By the time I was finished I was a little surprised because my new office was looking a whole lot like my old office. I guess there is a little bit of Rainman in all of us that insists on putting the bed by the window, having 8 fish sticks for dinner on Thursdays, and watching Jeopardy at 5:00 no matter where you are.

The Rainman in all of us is the desire to control our surroundings. It is human nature to want to make our space our own. The cable networks HGTV and TLC have made a living showing programs of people moving into perfectly fine homes and then changing every room in the house in some frenzied attempt to make it over. We want control and don't you dare stop us.

In reality God is in control. When we insist on control we miss the fact that what God has blessed us with just might be better for our lives and our souls than what we want. Jesus gives us permission to give our lives over to him. We don't need to obsess about our space or stuff. Instead the Lord provides for our every need so that we can concentrate on more important things like loving our families and neighbors and helping those in need.

If we are in control then all we have to look forward to at the end of the day is that scene from "About Schmidt" from my last post. If we faithfully give the Lord control then we can look forward to a place being prepared for us at the great feast to come. And at that feast in the Kingdom of Heaven it is the Lord who will design the space and the Lord who will set the table. Give control to Christ and enjoy the ride.