Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Ecclesiastes and Bicycle Wheels


Do you ever feel like life is pointless? You get up in the morning, make the meals, do the laundry, clean the house, and go to bed, satisfied with a day's work. Until the next morning, when there are more meals to make, bigger piles of laundry to do, and the house somehow got dirty overnight. Are there goblins that sprinkle dirt around while we sleep?

I face this dilemma all the time in practicing. I was feeling good about the progress that I made on the music for our orchestra's pops concert until a message popped into my inbox that the music for the following concert was ready to be picked up. Now I'm back at the beginning!

Eccleseastes 1:5-6 captures this so well: "The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit" (NKJV). Does everything go in circles?

Then I decided life is like a bicycle wheel. Imagine being a point on the wheel. This poor point thinks his whole job in life is to get to the top of the wheel. He finally succeeds. But he falls down. He tries again. He falls again. Will it never end?

But the person riding the bike sees the road. Progress is made. That poor point on the wheel might not be able to see the road. He doesn't know where the road goes. But he trusts that there is a purpose in his circles.

When we let God steer our bicycle, He leads us down an eternal road. So I faithfully do my circles. I know there is a purpose in the end.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Answer

Sunday's Bible Trivia Question
What verse comes immediately before Deuteronomy 6:6-7, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.'"

The Answer (Congratulations to Jessica, who got this right)
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (NKJV)

Ever notice how we talk constantly about the things we love? I'm passionate about children's ministry. If you get me talking about how to pass our faith to the next generation, beware -- I might not stop talking.

But we must never take Deuteronomy 6:6-7 apart from verse 5. My talk about God must flow out of a whole-hearted love for God, or my students will miss the point.

I promised you that Sunday's question was not actually a trivia question. Trivia doesn't matter. Sunday's question matters because it has two bigger questions behind it. Am I daily growing in my love for the Lord? Does it show?

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Trivia Question

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (NKJV)

Question: What verse comes immediately before this passage?

This isn't actually a trivia question. There's a point to it, but I won't tell you right now. I enjoy leaving you guessing. Check back in a day or two, and I'll post the answer. =)