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| [Image by Kathryn] |
Hell hath no fury like a woman on the prowl. This morning I did the same thing again. I stopped at the coffee shop on the way to work like I've done every single day since the first time I saw him three weeks ago. Surely, he must have noticed me by now. Unless he's blind.
Each day, just for him I wear something different, and you know, try another color combination of make-up. Today, it is a unique blend of purple, the universal and distinguished color of royalty. Yet, each day he sits there like a handsome statue, over a cup of wonderful-smelling coffee, crisp white shirt and black tie, typing hundreds of words on his laptop for some mysterious document, and acting as though he hasn't noticed me yet. Maybe he's a journalist on a tight deadline, only stopping here every morning for his regular cup of coffee. As soon as the clock hits 8.00a.m, he starts for the door again. I am assuming his job begins at 9.00a.m, just like mine.
Each day, I grab my own cup of coffee and take the empty seat on the table beside him, hoping that the scent of my expensive perfume rises towards him like a sweet-smelling offering. On some days, I admit I spray too much, but it shouldn't matter. The trick should work soon. So I begin my own routine, bring out my journal and pretend to write romantic poetry. Sometimes, I giggle and read a line or two of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poems aloud, as though I'd written them myself. Yet, the journalist never looks up from his laptop. He keeps typing and typing words that have not been written for me.
Once, he looked up at the ceiling, twitching his eyebrows like I'd said something wrong. I almost thought he'd look me in the eye, or say something, but he didn't. I wonder, when would he ever notice me or speak to me? I will keep at this routine until he says something sweet.
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How strangely we think sometimes. We know we want something so badly, but we choose the wrong way to get it.
Remember blind Bartimaeus? He didn't play the fickle game of "Notice me or I die." Instead, when He heard that Jesus was passing by, He screamed His name:
"Son of David, have mercy on me," he shouted. [Read the story in Mark 10:46-52]
And when those discouraging folks told him to keep quiet because Jesus had better things to do, he shouted even louder: "Son of David, have mercy on me." And Jesus stopped, ignoring those who wished He would just keep walking, and then healed Mr. Bartimaeus' eyes so he could see again, telling him "Your faith has healed you." His faith was not in silence, but in action, and that's what came through for him.
If you are not noticed, it is because you have not yet spoken or shouted, and because your faith has not been translated into voice or action.
We say we want to love God more, but we don't call His name early in the morning or at the middle of the night. We don't ask Him what His favorite things are, or what colors He secretly used to paint the rainbow. We don't sit at His feet, massaging them until it tickles Him. We don't whisper our innermost secrets or heart's desires in His ears, but rather we choose to indulge in someone else...another human just like us. We don't fellowship with those who can lead us in the right direction, instead we knowingly allow people to take us down hell's path.
We don't activate our faith.
We say we want to love God more, but we don't read our love poems to Him, instead we settle for giggling and reading them to ourselves. We don't tell God that we've loved Him since the first day we met Him and we're ready to love Him till the day we die. And we don't do things to back up our statements.
We play the little game of trying to get God to notice us at coffee shops, asking Him (in our minds), "Can't you see how big my problems are?" or "Can't you see that I need you?" instead of searching His word to find what He has already spoken to us.
There are two kinds of people in this world: Active & Passive. I tell you, the active ones will get a better grasp of who God is, because they actively search for Him and find Him. Whenever you get a tug on your heart, shout, if you need to. Don't just sit and wait for help to come.
Question(s) for today: What are your views regarding active & passive activation of faith? If you've been passive, do you seek to be different today? May this post transform your faith into action. Have a God-filled rest of the week guys :)
