Ice Cubes and Charmin

“ ‘Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him. ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children of Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:5-9) NIV

God Thoughts:

John would have made a poor politician. If his  “wild” sense of style wasn’t enough to make him unelectable, his no-nonsense, straight-shooting tendency of telling it like it is certainly would. Yet people came to him. Why?

For some, it appears, they knew they needed to be right with God. But John knew something they didn’t know; that merely observing a ceremonial “act” is not enough. To repent--to change the direction of one’s life back toward a life that honors and loves God--is more than a one-time event. It is change that, if genuine, will produce evidence of that change over time. Repentance must come from the heart.

John also knew that those so superficial in their approach to spiritual observance were operating their lives on a superficial understanding of God as well. Believing that their cultural and spiritual connection to Abraham was enough to guarantee them God’s favor, they demonstrated their ignorance of God who expects a real relationship from us, not a robotic ritual.

Question: Is there a part of your life with God in which you are going through the motions but your heart is far from Him? Or is there an area of your life that you need to repent of and to surrender again to God?

Life As I Know It:

Years ago at a lunch with co-workers the conversation turned a dark corner. Like something out of a estrogen-induced feeding frenzy, they began to rail against their husbands and boyfriends, listing their pet peeves and unforgiveable sins. Only when “empty ice trays” and “empty toilet paper rolls” climaxed their list did they turn to notice that I had remained speechless.

And the reason? With the exception of upright toilet seats, I was guilty of every crime. I was the enemy.

I began to entertain the possibility for the first time that my husband had grounds for complaint about my “objectionable” behaviors. And while I didn’t need to be baptized to repent of my sins, I did repent, and so began a long and difficult journey in my life to be more considerate of my husband and to see that just because something didn’t matter to me didn’t mean it didn’t matter. 

If you were to ask my husband today if my repentance has borne much fruit over the years my guess is that unfortunately, progress has been painfully slow. Empty ice trays and empty toilet rolls are not yet banished from our less-than-perfect home. But what has changed is my realizing that what this has really been about was never ice cubes or Charmin. 

It’s about love and showing it. What matters to those we love is what should matter to us. My daughter loves gifts. It’s her love language. But it’s my worst love language of all. My husband’s love language is touch and acts of service--probably my next weakest. I may never become fluent in these languages but what God calls me to do is to at least learn them. To make an effort because love compels me. 

Change is slow. I can guarantee that there’s at least one empty ice tray in the freezer even as I write. But not for long.