Today is my birthday. Yes, I was born on the 13th! You will not be reading this on “that day”…because I will not publish it “then”. Rather. I’m publishing it now. See how much control I have over what I say, and when I say it?!!? My thought in the wee hours of this day rolled through my mind is this: I am more than…what?
I’m more than my career, past, future, present muddling, or even my talents. I am more than a date on the calendar, an hour of the day I was born, or even the size of a baby I was! Equally, I am more than all the events of my day of birth, or season, or year.
The whole of who I am is more than is seen by you, them, everyone…
First Impressions
We often judge people by our first glance. Our eyes allow the brain to establish the identity of someone, and that first impression imprints forever how we will be judged. Change the image, others will still flashback to that first impression. Better, or worse, yourself, and others will still remember you from way back when…
I have a favorite school year photo of my kids. Now, I beheld them in their first cry for oxygen, but I keep this photo as a favored memory of who they were.
Still, try as I may, they are not who they are today because this photo captures them from a sliver of life.
My problem is probably their problem.
I see them as they “were” and not as they “are”, nor in whom they will “become”. That’s true on one level. But on the other level, I keep adding to this school year image their attributes of the intervening 30 years. Everything they have been, are, and will become is dumped on those young shoulders of who they were.
That Could Be Unfair
Yes. That’s unfair. To them, and to me. When I carry a snapshot of the past it becomes difficult to properly identify the modern version. It makes me judge the present based on the past, and it limits my view of the possibility of their future.
Now, I don’t want to unload the photos of the past, they keep me anchored. They are the tether of my past, present, and future. In fact, this is part and parcel of my personal identity.
Equally, I don’t want to trap the future into the past. That limits all of us. At the same time, I do not want to limit the possibility of a great future based on that first impression!
A few years ago, someone told me, “You smile too much.” I’m not sure why they thought it important to tell me, but I took it as a badge of honor. In the bad times, as well as the great times, there’s a smile on my face. It fools those who don’t understand and comforts those who know me. In fact, that impartation simply makes me smile all the more! So. There! Put that in your witch’s brew and try to make me stop smiling!
I have this image of my bride. It was the first time I met her. Crowded in the front seat of their truck going to the horse pasture to feed, groom, water and ride… We met through the bulletproof glass! No. I wasn’t incarcerated. Her mom was training me to be a teller at First State Bank of Greens Bayou. I was 17, soon to be 18. She had just turned 17. Love at first sight? No. But there was an interest worthy of consideration. That was 1972… Next year we will celebrate knowing each other for 50 years!
Here’s My Thought Today
My favorite thoughts of scripture mostly come from the Apostle Paul. There’s something about his logic that appeals to my way of thinking! But there’s also something about his predilection for trusting Jesus.
He goes from light to darkness, and then, back into the light!
In my way of thinking, we are more like him than any of the 12 disciples who followed Jesus to become fishers of men. Paul became a follower after Jesus was gone, and he was commissioned to reach the Gentiles. That’s me!
In his epistle to the church in Rome, Paul talks about coming to see them as he writes his most important letter. Why is the letter important? It was foundational to the church as we exist today!
Most probably the Roman church did not begin with any specific disciple, rather, it was probably Jewish worshippers as a result of their trips back to their homeland of Israel where they were exposed to Christianity. There could even be some who became believers on the Day of Pentecost when the church was founded (Acts 2:1-12),
Regardless, the church in Rome had a particular opportunity to reach the Gentiles. Although prophecy is replete with the promise to Gentiles, it was still a struggle to join the two entities together. There was much of each group’s past that prevented them from worshipping together.
Bridging the Divide
Someone needed to bridge the divide to a place of common ground. Who better than the Apostle who was stretching between his past and future?
So, Paul wrote these words.
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him who loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth,
nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:37-39 NKJV)
We Are More Than
Think about it. You are more than the sum total of your being or your parts. It’s that magical way of thinking about our life containing more successes than failures, even though some will only remember the negative. You are more than what you are because you are connected to so many more voices, situations, experiences, and outcomes!
As a Christian, the only way we can be “more than” is through Him that save us.
In the natural sense we are more than what some will see, or even what we think. But through Christ, who we are is exponentially greater than anything you can imagine. Why?
Paul identifies a litany of things that can never separate us from the Love of Christ. Think about it! The power of this world cannot separate us from Him!
Maybe this is the major thought for someone.
You’ve felt like a failure. Last year took the wind out of your sails. It seems like tomorrow will never be on an “up note” ever. You can have a foundation that can be for you like the words to a popular song we’ve probably all heard.
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary
When troubles come and my heart burdened be
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until You come and sit awhile with me.
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be. [Source]
Think bigger thoughts, and you will take bigger steps in life. We are more than we ______ ( y-o-u fill in the blank!)
Think bigger thoughts, and you will take bigger steps in life. We are more than we ______ ( y-o-u fill in the blank!) Click To Tweet