Threat to my Existence

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for me. Trying to get ahead of the curve at work so that I would be well prepared to go to India. Going to India. Returning from trip, leaving three days later to travel for work. Arrive home. Unpack suitcase, repack suitcase, travel to DC for men's retreat. All whilst trying to catch up to myself and my time change in travel, etc. But I am well pleased with all of this because I really sense that God is trying to teach me a big lesson here as of late. So I leave the hotel in the 'free time' this afternoon to go for a run. What a beautiful day in the 60's here, a trail along the river, flowers in bloom as spring always hits DC early it seems. And I have been hearing God tell me to serve in many quiet times over several months. Serve. Serving. Serve the least of these. Serve me. Server others first. Others. Serve. And my lesson with Amanopu taught me serving on a whole new level. But the word "threat" kept hitting me on my run. Because I am at the point where I am really asking God to guide me in my life - my career - my relationship with my wife and my family - my interactions with others. Whatever. Guide me Lord. So why is the word "threat" hitting me? As I ran, I tried to discern what God was telling me. T = Teaching. I continue to learn from the life of Jesus. Reading the bible so that I can learn about who Jesus was and how He lived so that I might be better equipped to live like him. Seeking his face as my double D friend taught me. And when I seek, He teaches me incredible things. H = High Expectations. If you really trust God with your life, the expectations are pretty high in case you didn't notice. Sell everything. Serve the orphans and widows. Love the unloved. Put down your nets and follow Him. Give up everything so that you can have nothing but Jesus. That is a pretty high expectation. R = Relationship. He seeks me out in relationship. He wants me to build relationalship (that was for JH and JC) capacity with others. Particularly the marginalized and the unloved. And lets be real, the people in my life that I don't want to love. He desires that I love them the way He loves me - with wreckless abandon. E = Engagement. In life - in my work - in my neighborhood - in my prayer time - in my reading of the word - investing in time with Him and others. He begs me to engage with Him and others. And for a person that continues as an introvert, that is a challenge. Especially when the 'others' don't want to engage at a high level, or be willing to push into the real matters of life, not just talk about the weather and th local sports team. A = Assistance. God desires to help me. In John 14, He promises us this assistance - the Holy Spirit to guide us. A few years ago, I never really got that. But the more I seek, the more I can sense when the Holy Spirit is guiding me, warning me, teaching me, leading me to do. Finally T = Transcending. Paul nailed it when he said that this is a concept that 'transcends all understanding'. I did, however, get a wider glimpse into this triune God that I worship and praise this week. Thanks Tim Keller for your wisdom and teaching. So God the father, Jesus the son, and the Holy Spirit are One. They are in community with one another. They love each other. They long to serve each other, and they glorify each other first and foremost. I say I only got a glimpse because this doesn't make sense in a world view. But it does in a kingdom view. This is how God created us to be - to love and serve one another. And that is why it is a threat to my 'worldy' existence. I use this term but as sonofap processed with me this afternoon, that is a negative word. But in my eyes, I see it as a positive. It is only a threat if I look at it with my 'of this world' lens. The lens I used to look at the world with. But God has transformed my eyes to see what He wants me to see. That this T H R E A T is a good kind of threat. One that glorifies Him in this world and threatens Satan and all the foolish things he has gotten this world to believe. And at the end of my run, I see this tree. And God challenges me with his 'threat' - this tree has been here for what, a hundred years? What will your existence mean 100 years from now - will it change the world? Will it threaten the worldy existence of others to the point where God gives them everything they need through your serving? Will you serve? I love being threatened with these kinds of questions. And I pray that my tree will change the world.