The Tight Rope Walker

Once there was a tightrope walker. He strung a rope across the Grand Canyon as a large crowd gathered. "Who believes I can walk across the canyon on this rope?" The crowd cheered, "We do!" The man easily walked across on the rope.

Next he asked, "Who believes I can walk across the canyon on this rope, carrying a chair?" The crowd again cheered, "We do!" Again, the man easily walked across the rope, this time carrying the chair.

Next he asked "Who believes I can walk across the canyon on this rope, carrying a chair with another person sitting in it?" The crowd cheered, louder than ever, "We do!"

Then the man asked, "Who is willing to sit in the chair?" The stunned crowd went silent.

It's easy to say you believe in God. But true belief means you are willing to sit in the chair. Do you believe?

Why Dig Deeper?

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

The above verse is one about unconditional love. There is even a new Chris Tomlin song based on this lyrics called, I Will Follow You. It always makes me chuckle when I hear it in weddings, however. I wonder if the bride reciting this verse to her husband,realizes the context of the actual verse. You see, it was said by a daughter-in-law, to her mother-in-law.

Young Ruth had lost her husband. Her sister-in-law (Orpah) and her mother-in-law (Naomi) all lost their husbands too. Naomi told her young daughters-in-law to go back to their own families. It only made sense. The other daughter-in-law returned. But not Ruth. Ruth professed her love to her mother-in-law, and promised to follow her wherever she went.

Before you get the idea that perhaps Ruth had the perfect mother-in-law, listen to this. Naomi told everyone to no longer call her Naomi (meaning pleasant), but to call her Mara (meaning bitter) because her life was so bitter. Would you profess you love to your bitter mother-in-law?

Scripture sometimes has two meanings. The obvious meaning in the passage, and often a deeper spiritual meaning. The literal meaning in the story of Ruth is steadfast love. According to scholars, the deeper meaning Ruth foreshadows the gentiles becoming a part of spiritual Israel, the church; and is a story of redemption. Digging deeper into scripture is important.

To hear the reasons why, meet me over at Titus 2 in Action, where I am a guest contributor today.

Love is Alive, Gary Wright

There's a mirror moving inside my mind
Reflecting the love that you shine on me
Hold on now to that feeling
Let it flow, let it grow, yeah, yeah
Love is Alive, Gary Wright, 1976

In a recently Bible study, the pastor asks how we would describe God's holiness to someone. After some thought I came up with this: We are the moon, Jesus is the Sun; we shine only when we reflect Jesus. You see, even though the moon is the brightest object in the night sky, it does not make its own light. The light we see from the moon is actually sunlight that is reflected from the moon's surface.

Such is the goodness people see in us. When we have Jesus in our life, we reflect his light. There's a mirror moving inside my mind, reflecting the love that you shine on me. Hold on now to that feeling. Let it flow, let it grow, yeah, yeah. The more time we spend growing in relationship with Jesus, by reading the Bible and in prayer, the more we grow, and the more that reflected love flows from us.

Jesus is alive. His love for us is alive. And we should love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We should be singing the chorus, "My heart is on fire. My soul's like a wheel that's turnin'. My love is alive, my love is alive."

With Jesus in your life, your love will be alive. You soul will be alive. And most importantly, you will live. Jesus brings eternal life for us. Love Jesus, and live.

(I have some friends who "need more cowbell" in their Musical Mondays. So today is for them. Watch the video to get more cowbell.) *Those who receive this post via email will not be able to see the video without logging into http://www.chattykelly.com *