I saw something today that gave me a smile. A T-shirt said “practice self care – read the Bible”.”
Perfect.
And if I may add, don’t overthink it. Just open it up, pray before you begin that the Holy Spirit will guide you to the truth, and go for it.
I was a little nervous about taking on the Book of Revelation. We had history, as I listened to all sorts of interpretations when I read it the first time as a teen. Anyone else remember Hal Lindsey? Anyone else go to see “A Thief in the Night” at an old movie theater converted into a church? The teachings were dreadful, foreboding, and all agreed we were going to suffer horrible tribulations before we were rescued by the rapture. Just be sure you’re not left behind. It’s hard to get beyond those memories.
But this time I prayed, and read line by line, verse by verse. I didn’t overthink it. And this time, the gospel showed itself through and through.
This next block in the Bible Sampler Quilt was…. Actually, I can’t think of the right word for what it was to make. I tried to see a pattern, a clue in the design that explained why it’s called “Steps to Glory”. But for the life of me, I just couldn’t figure it out. I still can’t. And I think I have it upside down in this photo to boot.
I considered tossing it, to replace with a more appealing block. But no, I’m so close to the end, I don’t want to make the extra effort now. I’ll be making four extra blocks anyways to round up the quilt to an even 100 blocks. All that extra effort wouldn’t amount to much of a difference in the whole scheme of things. I was overthinking it. Leave it be. Put it in.
And maybe THAT’S the message in this block. Our steps to glory don’t cut a clear path. They can’t. We can’t see our own way into Heaven. The steps we take lead us nowhere, to dead ends. We would never make it to those golden streets by our own righteousness. This passage ends with verse 27: “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, or anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Just like this random quilt block, we cannot rely on our powers of reason and judgment to figure it all out. What exactly are, then, the steps we can take to make it to glory? We don’t need to overthink it: Simply repent of our sins to the Lamb, Jesus Christ. He promises to forgive our sins, and write our names into His book of life.
Self-care at its best.
Cuts With Scissors 