When we had painting jobs that had to be done in a hurry, one of my favorite painters, a guy from El Salvador, had a saying that just cracked us up. He’d cock his head sideways, raise his eyebrows and say really slowly, “Dooooon’ push me!” We all adopted the saying and loved it. Sometimes we want to say that to the Lord. He gets pushy with us and we want to resist. “I want to stay right here. I’m pretty happy with things. Not in the mood to change things, thanks.” But the Lord says, “NOPE!”
Once He’s got us, He wants us to have the whole package. He wants us to grow. “Then He [Jesus] said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree” (Luke 13:18-19). In Luke 17:21 Jesus tells us “the kingdom of God is within you.” The seed of God’s kingdom is a living thing and it’s supposed to grow like the mustard seed into a large tree within us. There’s nothing in the Word of God that says once we’ve learned a certain amount of Bible, we have the right to just stop that tree from growing any more. Quite the opposite.
The Lord just keeps pushing us to go further, learn more. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” That’s not a one time thing. The Lord is always knocking. Second Corinthians 5:14 says, “The love of Christ constraineth us.” That means He just keeps coming, imploring us to go further, learn more, experience more of His presence and the new things He wants to show us.
You know when you’re being challenged to go further, so don’t settle. What’s He been pushing you toward lately? He’s knocking. Open the door.
Love, Carolyn
PS: The holidays are here! How about giving one of my books to someone you love. You can download them or get a paperback copy at Amazon under WINGS: A Journey in Faith. Since it’s a yearly devotional workbook, now’s the perfect time, so people can have it for the New Year. You can get one for yourself too while you’re at it. Here’s the Amazon link:
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