To bring in the new, discard the old

After our granddaughter came blinking into this world yesterday, her mommy continued to push. The doc encouraged her, "Keep pushing! You're almost done! You still have work to do." The doctor held a plastic sack ready, then examined the afterbirth for missing pieces and deposited it for disposal. Any pieces left behind rot and poison the mother once the job is done. No longer needed, the afterbirth, so vital to develop a baby, was thrown out without a glance from mother or father. 

Baby Kinsey moved into her mommy's arms without a thought for the crucial organ that had allowed her to develop. I'll write more on the pleasures of lovely Kinsey and her young family another day. 

But in morning devotions, God impressed on me the need likewise to let go of any womb that nurtures new existence, depending on God's timing and hard labor to bring about a new thing.

We become so attached to the warmth, the dark safety, and closed-in walls that feed and shape us. New ideas, new projects, and new character are forged in the protection and comfort of a hidden, quiet season. When incubation is done, we are thrust into the glare of a cold room filled with watchers or cheerleaders. Our lungs suck in the first painful breaths of dry air and we may wail in terror as we clear our airways and announce our arrival. What was precious and safe becomes toxic and unclean, whether it is a relationship, church tradition, or business agreement.

This morning, I talked with a woman whose husband left her a year ago. She sobbed throughout the conversation, "It's like he left me five minutes ago. I don't want to change. I still love him. He was my best friend, my soul mate." Though she's asking God for help, her hands are still clenched in fear and sorrow against the reality that she cannot control another person. She is being poisoned by the past, not yet willing to receive the beauty and new life God knows plans for her future.

As I drove away from our meeting, I asked myself, "What am I holding, desperately clutching, afraid that future will not live up to the past?" 

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*I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”Psalm 89:1-2 NKJV 

*A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.'

But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. 'Tell her to go away,' they said. 'She is bothering us with all her begging.'

Then Jesus said to the woman, 'I was sent only to help God's lost sheep—the people of Israel.'

But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, 'Lord, help me!'

Jesus responded, 'It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.'

She replied, 'That's true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters' table.'

'Dear woman,' Jesus said to her, 'your faith is great. Your request is granted.' And her daughter was instantly healed. Matthew 15:22–28 NLT

*Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 NKJV

Hyperbole

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day
Hyperbole \hye-PER-buh-lee\ noun
Meaning: extravagant exaggeration
Example Sentence The food in the restaurant was quite good, but it couldn't live up to the hyperbole that had been used to describe it.

We have the tendency to exaggerate. A gourmet cup of coffee or tea is “superb!” A steep learning curve seems “impossible.” A refreshing swim on a hot day is “awesome.” When a child drops a favorite piece of glassware, we are “devastated.”

Really? Superb, impossible, awesome, devastated? Similar words slip off our tongues every day. With the overstatement of marketing, we're just intending to describe the thrust of an idea. We’re not comparing our surroundings and circumstances to ultimate reality. In the process, we demean things that are truly superb and awesome. Our language trivializes impossible circumstances and devastation where God’s intervention is our only hope.

Over the past year, we’ve been reorganizing our very full home, decluttering hospitality items, décor, and the accumulations of raising four children. The house is emptier since I started tossing, donating, and moving things around. Belongings once essential to our lifestyle moved out of the house without being missed. My peers and those ahead on the faith journey say the essentials become more important as the frivolous and trivial drops away. When I’m stumped about keeping an object, I ask, “Is this necessary? Does it reflect our values? Does it add to what God is calling us to do?”

Underneath this purge lies the question, “What is True?” What can be accepted by all without exaggeration – without the echo of advertising’s shout of “Buy me, keep me, dontcha know you need me?”

What is True? Beyond a doubt or shadow of human viewpoint? Only God’s inestimable worth, his fathomless wisdom, and infinite love. When we worship from the heart, we toss out all the trapping of language and pretense. We declutter our hearts for uncontaminated engagement. We open ourselves and speak the only words that have no subjective additions. We say, “God is Good. God is Loving. God is Kind.” And that is Truly True, without hyperbole!

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For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:12-16 NIV