Day 5: Settle

On Saturday we woke up to a totally different Michigan than the one we woke up to on Friday morning.  All of a sudden it seemed as if the world had settled in for a long winter's nap.  Though I've never been a huge fan of the winter, I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty and peace of Winter Up North this weekend.  The trees were heavy with snow, the lake was quiet and still, and I even enjoyed some of the scenery I was able to get glances of as a raced down hills terrified on skis :-)  While I don't suspect downhill skiing will ever become my favorite sport, I couldn't help but think how beautiful everything around me was - even the hum of the lift as we watched the ice crystals glitter the sky.  We talked about how it was a wonderful place to escape to - but we could never settle there.

When we returned home today and I opened the door - that was exactly what it felt like.  We may not have very many decorations on the walls yet, or a lawn, or a fence, or many of the other things we plan to do to make our new house into what we want it to be...but it is starting to feel like home.  We are settling into it, we are growing comfortable with it, and we are beginning to feel like it is our refuge.  I can't imagine what it must have been like for the Jews wandering the desert for 40 years - people spending their entire lifetime without a place to settle down in and call home - in the desert!  I can't even imagine what it would be like to be homeless today.  There are charities and shelters, but I can't imagine that any of those could replace the feelings of security, love, and comfort that a home provides.

Feeling God's presence is very similar to how I feel when I come home.  I wish I could say that I feel it all the time - but I can only think of a few times when I have truly felt the presence of God wash over me.  Security, love, and comfort are definitely adjectives I would use to describe it.  But should we settle into our faith the way we settle into the couch after a long day?  I believe that faith should make you feel all of those things - but I also worry about those who get too comfortable in their faith.  Those who are Christian for an hour or so on Sunday mornings and call it good for the rest of the week.  Those who claim to be Christian but hardly ever, or never, go out of their way to do the things that Christ commanded us to do - give to charities, help the needy, do not judge others, love and pray for your enemies. etc.  I believe that becoming too comfortable in faith makes faith counterfeit.  I believe that Jesus wanted us to constantly challenge ourselves in our faith - and in the way we practice it.  Settling into a comfortable faith routine and the subsequent lack of genuinely following of the words in red is one of the greatest roadblocks to spiritual fulfillment.  

While I enjoy settling into my home, my community, and my couch - I truly hope that I never settle into my faith.

Romans 12:11

"Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically."