Fools and Love

Just thinking about how much God loves us.  What a healing thing it is.  He places so much value on us and is very thoughtful towards us.  Look at how well objects in nature suit us - they are beautiful to us, just the right size for our needs:

Trees are big enough to make things out of or climb in
Fruit is big enough for one serving or to share
The sun lights up the day so we can go about our business, but it goes away so we can sleep
We have animals to do things we can't do, or for companionship
And on
And on!

It makes me want to know God better so I can honor him and be thoughtful toward him in return.

I just read an article that mentions that it is ridiculous to claim we cannot know God because he is mysterious.  It quotes the verse "My people are fools; they do not know me." (Jeremiah 4:22) Ouch!  I don't want to be a fool, I think I'll go ahead and believe God when he says:

¹⁹For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1

Praise (from) The Lord!

I was given a little award by my boss at our year-end championships/awards/party for the whole staff last weekend.  It felt good to be brought in front of everyone to be recognized for doing well.  How would it feel to be given an award in front of a crowd by Jesus Christ or God?  THAT really makes my heart flutter and my cheeks burn!  If that doesn't motivate me to forget about scampering around trying to get recognition from people and to start living my life for compliments from my savior and my creator, I don't know what will.

I crave God's pride in me - who cares what anyone else thinks!

Disclaimer: I do still care inordinately about the approval and praise of other people.  But the reality is that as long as I live inside the guidelines of love that God has laid out for me, IT DOES NOT MATTER what another soul on earth thinks about me, whether they think I deserve awards or not.

Second Disclaimer: I also know that while God wants me to strive to please him, I can't do that just because I want rewards and recognition.  I need, and God wants, more than anything, for me to have a relationship with him and know that he loves me NO MATTER WHAT.  If that's not my basis, then I'll always feel like a failure.  I'm not going to be able to live up to the awesomeness of what God deserves and what I "should" accomplish for him.  And he is obviously ok with that.