Hard to believe but I have been writing this blog for over 4 years now, over 200 posts. That's amazing. I spent so many years just thinking about writing. Procrastinating about writing; I am the queen of procrastination...But here I am gratefully being faithful to the gift and calling that God has placed on my life. When I first started writing it I would check the stats every day or so. Oooh, how many readers today. Then it got to be all about the numbers and not about the purpose of it all; to bring glory and honor to God. Why does everything have to be about the numbers? Oh, I struggle with that. I think a lot of it comes from not having been the popular girl. I could count my friends on one hand, minus a few fingers. I was not in the in crowd. But I think to some extent we all feel that. How many friends do I have on Facebook. How many followers on Instagram. How many likes did I get? It's a never ending quest for validation. But think about it, the same person who liked your post liked the post about the dog that sounded like it said 'I love you'. Now that's discriminating taste!
My point is, in searching for the confirmation from the crowd, we forget that we are only to be concerned with pleasing One. Oh, you might get a thumbs up from Susie for your recipe for sauerkraut consomme and even a big red heart from Joe for your picture of your cat stuck in a box, but at the end of the day they don't change your life. Susie and Joe and all your other oh-so-close and intimate friends on social media haven't given you anything everlasting. They may give you a haha, or a wink or even a sad face but they have not and cannot given you salvation. They may share your post about armadillos playing with a beach ball, but they don't share your every pain and exult in your every joy. So much in this life is illusory; especially on the internet. Those 322 friends you have, at the end of the day most likely won't be coming through for you in the clutch. And when you post what's really important to you, they probably just scroll right past to get to the interesting, amusing things like cats jumping when they see a cucumber on the floor or that piece of toast with Oprah's face on it.
We have forgotten that it is all about quality, not quantity. It is about the authentic and genuine, not the cheap knock off. We search high and low for something to occupy our time. We seek endlessly for affirmation. We are always on the hunt for the next best thing, forgetting that it is already ours. When we have said 'yes' to Jesus we really and truly have all that we need. We have salvation; the forgiveness for all our sins, paid for by Jesus. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the assurance of help in our times of need. We have a father that rejoices over us with singing. We have light in the midst of darkness and peace in the midst of turmoil.
All of that and a real relationship with our Father, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. Why do we settle for what is ephemeral instead of what is true and lasting? Why do we get the tingles when our 'like' count went up to 99 but don't bother to rejoice in the rising of the sun? We have a Father that delights in us. We have a Saviour who no longer calls us servant, but calls us friend; and He will never unfriend us in a hissy fit. We have a Holy Spirit who comforts us, who knows us past our superficial shares and re-tweets. We have Him who is the All-in-all.
Today take a break from all the insipid posts and tweets and pinterest recipes. Take time to smell the roses, after all they were hand-made for your pleasure and you don't have to pay for them on Etsy. Take a moment to hear the music of the wind in the trees rather than listen to that guy playing 'Old McDonald' in his armpit. Sit a spell with your eyes closed and just breathe in the presence of Him who formed you and who loves you. Rest in Him today; give your eyes a break, give your scrolling thumb some respite. Today abide in what is true and trustworthy, not in fake news and click bait. Today linger in His peace and joy. If this is a numbers game, then the only thing that really adds up is the Lord and His genuine and certain love for you.
My point is, in searching for the confirmation from the crowd, we forget that we are only to be concerned with pleasing One. Oh, you might get a thumbs up from Susie for your recipe for sauerkraut consomme and even a big red heart from Joe for your picture of your cat stuck in a box, but at the end of the day they don't change your life. Susie and Joe and all your other oh-so-close and intimate friends on social media haven't given you anything everlasting. They may give you a haha, or a wink or even a sad face but they have not and cannot given you salvation. They may share your post about armadillos playing with a beach ball, but they don't share your every pain and exult in your every joy. So much in this life is illusory; especially on the internet. Those 322 friends you have, at the end of the day most likely won't be coming through for you in the clutch. And when you post what's really important to you, they probably just scroll right past to get to the interesting, amusing things like cats jumping when they see a cucumber on the floor or that piece of toast with Oprah's face on it.
We have forgotten that it is all about quality, not quantity. It is about the authentic and genuine, not the cheap knock off. We search high and low for something to occupy our time. We seek endlessly for affirmation. We are always on the hunt for the next best thing, forgetting that it is already ours. When we have said 'yes' to Jesus we really and truly have all that we need. We have salvation; the forgiveness for all our sins, paid for by Jesus. We have the hope of eternal life. We have the assurance of help in our times of need. We have a father that rejoices over us with singing. We have light in the midst of darkness and peace in the midst of turmoil.
All of that and a real relationship with our Father, with Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. Why do we settle for what is ephemeral instead of what is true and lasting? Why do we get the tingles when our 'like' count went up to 99 but don't bother to rejoice in the rising of the sun? We have a Father that delights in us. We have a Saviour who no longer calls us servant, but calls us friend; and He will never unfriend us in a hissy fit. We have a Holy Spirit who comforts us, who knows us past our superficial shares and re-tweets. We have Him who is the All-in-all.
Today take a break from all the insipid posts and tweets and pinterest recipes. Take time to smell the roses, after all they were hand-made for your pleasure and you don't have to pay for them on Etsy. Take a moment to hear the music of the wind in the trees rather than listen to that guy playing 'Old McDonald' in his armpit. Sit a spell with your eyes closed and just breathe in the presence of Him who formed you and who loves you. Rest in Him today; give your eyes a break, give your scrolling thumb some respite. Today abide in what is true and trustworthy, not in fake news and click bait. Today linger in His peace and joy. If this is a numbers game, then the only thing that really adds up is the Lord and His genuine and certain love for you.