How does a small fry live obediently and purposefully? In a cosmic war that rages on for thousands of years ~ as the final battle scenes begin to enter stage left ~ what does a small fry do in obedience to You? The role is minuscule but is it arbitrary? Does it serve a purpose? If small fries have minuscule roles to play is it necessary to play at all? Or should the small fries gather at the local Starbucks and sip tea and watch cosmic players play out our futures? What if the cosmic players play in a weakened or delayed state due to their small fries sipping joe rather then slipping words of intercession to the heavenlies? Is that possible? Does the small fry have an impact on the whirling wonders of this world? As we watch headlines we wonder, "What in the world are we to do?" The globe spins precariously close to implosion and this small fry often asks, "Does the little I do truly matter?"
When I read of Jesus' followers in Iraq or Syria, I feel small and superficial. Do I really understand this call to carry cross? Do I grasp what it means to share in the suffering of Christ? No. Plain and simple, I do not. Not in the slightest. I currently sit and type at our school table, that is housed in a warm and albeit crowded but quite cozy home, that is contained within a military base that is guarded and gated to protect its inhabitants. I do not know fear of death or violence. I do not know the sound of my door crashing and splintering to the ground as masked men demand my denial or my death. My children ride bikes and eat ice-cream and learn scriptures and vocabulary words. My life is safe. My life is virtually perfect. This suffering and sacrifice He speaks of ~ I know precious little.
What is a small fry to do?
Tonight the XO and I were discussing the small fry and his (or her) responsibility to the Biggest of Fry (that may well be entirely irreverent to refer to God as a Fry but I ask you and He to allow for some creative musings) and the conversation turned to my writing. Many conversations head down that path ~ the black hole path that is my writing. This is the place where beautiful words and literary masterpieces go to die! Unfortunately, many conversations wind their tiresome way to my tiresome writing and we typical tire rapidly and switch topics.
Tonight may have been slightly different. The XO left to say goodnight to all of our small fries and I picked up my Bible (I do have rare moments of genius and they always include the Word and/or the Holy Spirit).
Proverbs 14:23 ~
"In all labor there is profit, but idle talk (chatter) leads only to poverty."
Many here would think of a physical poverty but the true poverty is of a spiritual sort ~ poverty of peace, poverty of purpose, poverty of completion of ideas and revelations. Our idle chatter leads to poverty and I see that truth lived out in my writing.
However, I also see this truth lived out in our small fry lives. We idly chatter of the cosmic workings, we discuss the precarious whirling of our world but we do not labor, not the labor of the spiritual sort. We do not labor in prayer, we do not labor in fasting, we do not labor in giving or going, we do not labor in caring and crying for those caught in the grip of this cosmic war.
ALL LABOR IS PROFIT.
That is the small fries motto - my labor gains profit in the kingdom.
Every hour spent on your knees He sees. Every forfeited morsel of bread is Spirit led. It matters and He sees and He cares.
Personally I write. And it matters. Personally I pray. And it matters. Personally I fast. And it matters. Personally I give. And it matters. Personally I want to go and when the CO finally says pack your bags, I will. And it will matter.
I am a small fry and I matter. You are most likely a small fry, you may not be as small as me but small fry you are as well, and you matter.
You do not matter because you have the potential to be a big fry one day. You and I matter because we matter to Him. In this wild and wooly world with cosmic players of the giant kind we matter for He deemed it true at the foundation of time, at the foundation of this wild and wooly world He determined that you and I matter. We matter to Him. (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20)
And we have a part to play for ALL LABOR IS PROFIT. So, it is time that the small fries put off idle chatter and set about the labor of the Lord.
A small fry prays a powerful prayer for the kingdom of God lives within us all who call on the name of Jesus (Luke 17:21).
When infused and inspired by the Spirit of God all of our racing and laboring is profitable from this moment to all of eternity.
When I read of Jesus' followers in Iraq or Syria, I feel small and superficial. Do I really understand this call to carry cross? Do I grasp what it means to share in the suffering of Christ? No. Plain and simple, I do not. Not in the slightest. I currently sit and type at our school table, that is housed in a warm and albeit crowded but quite cozy home, that is contained within a military base that is guarded and gated to protect its inhabitants. I do not know fear of death or violence. I do not know the sound of my door crashing and splintering to the ground as masked men demand my denial or my death. My children ride bikes and eat ice-cream and learn scriptures and vocabulary words. My life is safe. My life is virtually perfect. This suffering and sacrifice He speaks of ~ I know precious little.
What is a small fry to do?
Tonight the XO and I were discussing the small fry and his (or her) responsibility to the Biggest of Fry (that may well be entirely irreverent to refer to God as a Fry but I ask you and He to allow for some creative musings) and the conversation turned to my writing. Many conversations head down that path ~ the black hole path that is my writing. This is the place where beautiful words and literary masterpieces go to die! Unfortunately, many conversations wind their tiresome way to my tiresome writing and we typical tire rapidly and switch topics.
Tonight may have been slightly different. The XO left to say goodnight to all of our small fries and I picked up my Bible (I do have rare moments of genius and they always include the Word and/or the Holy Spirit).
Proverbs 14:23 ~
"In all labor there is profit, but idle talk (chatter) leads only to poverty."
Many here would think of a physical poverty but the true poverty is of a spiritual sort ~ poverty of peace, poverty of purpose, poverty of completion of ideas and revelations. Our idle chatter leads to poverty and I see that truth lived out in my writing.
However, I also see this truth lived out in our small fry lives. We idly chatter of the cosmic workings, we discuss the precarious whirling of our world but we do not labor, not the labor of the spiritual sort. We do not labor in prayer, we do not labor in fasting, we do not labor in giving or going, we do not labor in caring and crying for those caught in the grip of this cosmic war.
ALL LABOR IS PROFIT.
That is the small fries motto - my labor gains profit in the kingdom.
Every hour spent on your knees He sees. Every forfeited morsel of bread is Spirit led. It matters and He sees and He cares.
Personally I write. And it matters. Personally I pray. And it matters. Personally I fast. And it matters. Personally I give. And it matters. Personally I want to go and when the CO finally says pack your bags, I will. And it will matter.
I am a small fry and I matter. You are most likely a small fry, you may not be as small as me but small fry you are as well, and you matter.
You do not matter because you have the potential to be a big fry one day. You and I matter because we matter to Him. In this wild and wooly world with cosmic players of the giant kind we matter for He deemed it true at the foundation of time, at the foundation of this wild and wooly world He determined that you and I matter. We matter to Him. (Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20)
And we have a part to play for ALL LABOR IS PROFIT. So, it is time that the small fries put off idle chatter and set about the labor of the Lord.
A small fry prays a powerful prayer for the kingdom of God lives within us all who call on the name of Jesus (Luke 17:21).
When infused and inspired by the Spirit of God all of our racing and laboring is profitable from this moment to all of eternity.
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