Seasons
I’ve mentioned that I am an early riser and I like to spend my quiet time in the Word, while it is dark and quiet in my house. Since I usually get up around 4:30am, this strategy works well for me about 10 months out of the year. However, sometime in May, depending on when I get up and other things I do before opening God’s word, I notice the rising sun and even have had it stream in our window.
My chair faces north (more or less) and the window opens up to the east. There is a line of trees beyond that except for the spot where the trees aren’t there to allow a road through. That, with the time of daybreak and the location of the sun in the sky, is what allows the sun to stream through my front window during a small window of the year.
You’re probably already wondering whether we have curtains or blinds on the window…of course, but my wife likes sunlight in the house, so they are set to allow in a lot of natural light. In the big scope of things, I’ve never prioritized closing the blinds knowing that I’d have to open them several hours later (and it certainly doesn’t rise to the level of a discussion with her about it).
The other major influence to this story is that my cat “enjoys” sleeping on my lap during my quiet time. I guess several hours of me sitting mostly still with a blanket on my lap is enticing to her.
This morning, I was running late (according to my usual timeline), so we were interrupted by the sun streaming through the window. I say “we” but really it was more her. You see, I was about done with my Bible reading so I noticed the sun but knew I’d be getting up soon. She, on the other hand, was rudely awakened from her “heavy breathing” on my lap (her is a delicate wildflower and wouldn’t appreciate me outright saying that she snores). It’s just the way she raised her head in disgust that made me stop and bust a gut laughing.
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” - Romans 7:18-20, 24-25 ESV
By now, you may be saying “woah there cowboy, you lead me with this cute story of you and your cat only to pull the rug out from under me with reminding me of my sinful nature!”. Yep.
As much as I’d like to think that I’m free and I have rights, it is important to remind myself that no one is free. Everyone is a slave. The question is whether you are a slave to sin or to God. If that question bothers you, good! That is a good step into understanding your created role.
“They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.” - 2 Peter 2:19-20 ESV
God, you created me and everything else. I have no real control over anything, and I submit myself to you. In times of happiness and sadness, I love you and submit myself to you because you are the only source of true joy and, importantly, everlasting joy. Whatever your sovereign plan is for the universe, I praise you that I am a part of it working for your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
