Sidewalk chalk creations are few and far between nowadays, so we pay courteous attention to each one that we encounter on our daily walks. The one you see in the above photo left me feeling a bit anxious.
In the lower left corner we could read the word, “Start!” and to the right we could see, “You can use it!” Then to the right of the rainbow’s top is the admonition, “DO NOT” followed by an indecipherable word. That’s what made me anxious. DO NOT what?
It felt like someone was shouting at us, and then their voice dropped to a mumble.
And yes, this made me think of God.
God does not mumble.
He carved the Ten Commandments into stone with His own finger; no pastel chalk talks that would wash away in the first rain shower. And they are not vague rambles about suggested human behavior. They are crisp and clear; each “Do not” is followed by words I understand. I need His power to obey them, but I do understand them!
Many, many years ago a man asked my pastor husband, “What are the basic minimum requirements for joining your church?” My immediate reaction would have been to blurt out, “That’s not the right question!” My husband was patient in his response, and some time later the man chose to be baptized, with an enlightened view of what was involved.
I think of the Old Testament answer that has been set to music:
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8 NKJV)
Jesus, Son of God, walking dusty roads on this planet, didn’t mumble, either.
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “’You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
(Matthew 22:34-40 NKJV)
And in the best-known verse in all of Scripture, Jesus plainly describes our path to heaven:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
(John 3:16 NKJV)
God loved; God gave. What can be clearer than the Cross?
To be clear, not everything God and Jesus say in the Bible is clear to me. I have sometimes asked God why He included some things in the Bible that seem to paint Him in an unfavorable light, or other things that are rather murky. I have much to learn.
But the essentials? What’s most important? Those are crystal clear!
And one of these days, when our days on earth are ended, we’ll have all the time in the world – no, no! We’ll have all of eternity, to learn more and more of God’s love and goodness. He will heal all the pain and trauma of this world and we’ll be able to use our brains and hearts to full capacity.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-2 NKJV)
Until then our earth adventure continues. Courage, pilgrims! We do not journey alone.