Our Pawn Moments.

I actually like the double meaning that title can bring. Pawn moments: selling something of precious value for a fraction of it's cost for a vanishing cause or pleasure. Maybe I'll have to have an: Our Pawn Moments II tomorrow on just this subject, however today is about our metaphorical pawn moments--as in chess board.

Do you know that your knowledge of God is limited? I mean really. Do we get that? Do we know that He loves us? Even when his love is defined by war and death as much as it is pursuit and perfection? And this is where I dip into the realm of our pawn moments.

I know there are many people out there that use our relationship with God like that of a chess board. God is the chess master with a full understanding of the game and a completed view of the board. He knows strategy and understands sacrifice. And there are the pawns-us-who have limited sight and a true misunderstanding of the game. In the world of a pawn we feel as though we are the most important. We feel like we get the whole picture, when really our picture is incredibly limited.

Our pawn moments look a lot like blame, hurt, anger, or even grief towards God. We buck up, we get mad, and we get jaded in our relationship with him. Often, time heals those little pawn moments, but sometimes they can devastate us in such a way we turn our backs to God forever. The reason why I say pawn moment is that we just can't fully understand the why. We can't comprehend death over life. We can't figure out why God wouldn't spare us and our hurts. (Even though He didn't eve spare Himself.) But we are not God. We don't know the extent of what God is working on. We might not be able to see the glory in our hurt, but if we suffer in Christ's name, as a pawn, what a joy to be counted worthy. Is it easy? By no means. It wrenches us beyond belief. But is God good? Yes. Does He love us? Yes. We only know partial now, but then we will fully know.

Pawn moments are not bad, and they are not unnatural. Jesus promised us if we followed him that we would have troubles in this world. But we can never loose sight of the fact that in God--there is life.

I think one of the best glimpses of not getting lost in our pawn moments is birthed from the origin of the song "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillian:


How He Loves : A Song Story from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.

In perspective of His love, I count my life worthy of whatever may come.