Skip to main content

Teddy Bears

            However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him— (I Corinthians 2:9)

          This morning’s passage brings to mind the drawings of a little girl holding her tiny teddy bear while Jesus holds out one hand, clearly asking for the toy. What the little girl can’t see is that He’s holding a bigger teddy bear behind His back. The verse is also an answer – possibly the answer – to yesterday’s question of why we do such stupid things. Because they are in our hands, we think they meet our needs in some small way, and they don’t ask as much of us as we imagine the thing God holds does.

          I don’t really like the illustration of the little girl and the teddy hear. Part of me doesn’t like that He doesn’t show the girl the toy He has for her. It also seems to me that often, if I give up my pathetic toy bear, I don’t get the big one. Hebrews 11 talks about this. The heroes of the faith did not receive the thing promised during their lifetimes. Another reason it bothers me is that Scripture tells us repeatedly that we are to treasure, seek, and love God above all those things. So we should drop the teddy bear not because Jesus has a better teddy bear for us, but we should drop the teddy bear because Jesus asks us to.

          And yet, there’s today’s passage. We can’t begin to imagine what God has prepared for us. We can’t begin to imagine God. We think we can, but the realization will be greater than the anticipation. We see through a glass darkly, if at all. There are things that He has prepared for us. That suggests that there might be bigger, better teddy bears. And sometimes, He might have them for us right now, and other times, He may require us to give up the tattered teddy now, and walk with Him for many miles before we get the new one. It’s all about trust – again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more