Monthly Archives: March 2012

the drinking aisle

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Growing up in Ghana, missionary life was all my siblings and I knew. This became very apparent one day at the grocery store. As my youngest sister and I made our way up and down the aisles, she grabbed my arm and loudly whispered, Look LaDonna, Mennonites in the drinking aisle!!! Embarrassed, I quickly hurried her away, because those weren’t Mennonites- they were Muslims!

If we are disloyal, He stays faithful, because He [Christ] can’t be anything else than what He is. -2 Timothy 2:13

Annabelle may not have been cultured enough to realize the differences between Muslims and Mennonites aside from their similar preference for head coverings, but she did know two things: Mennonites should not be in the drinking aisle, but Mennonites could potentially be there. This should-not-but-could is a disheartening reality for everyone- in relationships, at jobs, in politics, in the news- but not in Christ. Even if when we break our contract with Him, He can not stop His promises. To forgive. To accept. To heal. To restore. To redeem. That is who He is, and nothing you can do will stop Him from reaching out to help you live in the black.

your shoes

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A few weeks ago we had an appointment in our office for the daughter of a very famous man. One of my co-workers, a slightly older and somewhat eclectic man, was beyond excited to meet our VIP. The morning of the appointment, he looked like a completely different man- his hair was combed, he was wearing a suit and the grandpa glasses were gone! Everybody was suitably impressed and mentioned how sharp he looked until he got up from his cubicle and we all exclaimed “But Rob- your shoes!” Because he was still wearing the same dirty tennis shoes he usually wore, and that negated everything else he had changed.

Suppose you keep the whole law but trip over just one part of it. Then you are guilty of breaking all of it. -James 2:10

When I read a verse like this, it causes an inner panic. I become a hypo-sin-chondriac. I know more than anybody my shortcomings, so I wonder, what part am I tripping over unaware right now?? If I’m not careful, I often find myself slipping into a mental division of sins- small, medium and large. As long as I have zero in the large category, and keep the medium category to a minimum, then whatever is in the small category doesn’t really count. I can indulge myself in a little justified unforgiveness. I can spoil myself with a little exaggeration. I can treat myself to a little extra lust.  But that’s not true.

How can a young person keep his life pure? 
By living according to Your word.  
I have hidden Your word in my heart so that I won’t sin against You. -Psalms 119:9,11

God’s Word is the solution, the sure way to make sure even our shoes match the rest of our appearance. When we live by what it says, we ensure our lives, our whole lives, stay clean. When we memorize it, we prevent ourselves from making mistakes. The Bible is our dress code for living in the black.

-lf