“What a blessing,” I said to my dear Jewish friend visiting me, “to have the same blood as Jesus running through your veins.”
She loves Yeshua (Jesus) as her savior and her love for Him is totally contagious.
“Maybe I can have a little Jewish blood in me by osmosis,” I said.
She gave a soft giggle, threw her arm around my shoulders, and leaned her cheek toward mine. She froze in that position.
“How sweet,” I thought, “she’s taking the osmosis comment seriously. I sat still and waited, and waited.
“Give me a big smile,” hubby said. And that’s when I realized my friend was posing for the picture hubby was taking.
In this crazy mind of mine, I do goofy stuff all the time. But the most insane was when I thought I’d have Christ in my heart through osmosis. That’s right. I thought that attending church every Sunday and saying a few prayers here and there, I’d be set, relishing in the life of a good person.
“Hey, chickadee, no osmosis here,” the Lord seemed to say to me. “I require much more. I ask for a deeper commitment, unrestrained trust, complete faith, and intense hunger for the bread of life—that’s the expectation I come to know.”
But goodness gracious. It’s not easy. He’s talking about action, the kind I wasn’t ready to take initially. And He required the change which I was resistant to make. But when the verse in Psalm 1 sang to my soul, I jumped to my feet and said yes—leaving the old ways behind I vowed to follow Him. Go after His ways and savor His banquet of promises.
In case you don’t remember what Psalm 1 says, here it is: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Did you read that? Whatsoever he does will prosper. You and I want that prosperity don’t we? But we want it the easy way, the shorter route, the one without the uncomfortable ‘need- to-change requirement.’
Hmm…it would be so much easier that it would all come just but us sitting in that church pew. But, ahem, God is curling his finger to action—stop consulting that silly horoscope, stop hanging around with those who indulge in sin, and break free from those who are arrogant and proud.
I like His option better: meditate, reflect, ponder, and think on His law, His Word, and precepts all day and all night.
And it won’t be through osmosis, but through observing our level of obedience that will bring energy to our day and stamina when the road is extra bumpy. And the results will come in the perfect season and will leave us in awe.
Janet Perez Eckles jeckles@cfl.rr.com Bilingual Spanish Speaker and Author. Inspiring you to overcome crisis, leading you to conquer fear. Www.janetperezeckles.com