FOOD FOR THOUGHT
(10/25/2009)
PLAYING
DRESS UP
Cindy
Hong
My 4 year old niece Olivia and her BFF Alina love playing dress up when
they get together. Dressed are donned, along with tiaras, jewels, and
shoes. And off they go, living it up as pretend princesses do. At that
age, dress up is all innocent—beautiful princesses, the handsome prince,
the magical castle. At my age, playing dress up is no longer fun and innocent;
it has become a way of life. Most mornings I open the closet and don my
Israelite costume. Perhaps not an exact replica of the original, but close
enough and suddenly grumbling, murmuring, and complaining fill my mouth.
If not murmuring about this, then I can definitely add two cents of complaints
about that. When tired from grumbling, I'll change into my Pharisee costume.
Here I'll convince myself that I wasn't as bad as those original Israelites.
In my self-righteousness I can honestly say I never complained about manna
or quail, nor ever asked God for a human king to take His place. After
consoling myself that I know better than that, I'll put on my atheist
jacket. This jacket is magic. With this jacket on I think I can do everything
on my own strength. Hands to the grind and things start to churn out.
Check, check, check, down the to-do list I go. All accomplished by myself.
I am king (er, queen) of my life after all. Didn't even have to ask God
for that one, just did it on my own. Fast forward a few years, the day
will come when Olivia and Alina will put away their gowns and tiaras forever.
What once characterized a phase in their lives will not be part of the
next. They will move on. Perhaps that's a glimpse of our journey with
Jesus too. From the beginning, He knew what was in us, yet He still gave
Himself for us. It seems to take us longer to give ourselves over to Him.
But slowly over time maybe we can put away one outfit, then another, possibly
even drop them off at Goodwill and get a tax deductible receipt in exchange.
As those costumes are put away, may we put on other outfits in its place—that
of dependent believers, a grateful people, and sinners-turned-saints,
justified by the grace of God.
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