March 28, 2023 - Speedo

     We continue to await some additional news from Mayo Clinic.  I have never figured out if delay in medical information implies good news or bad news.  We usually think the latter.
     I got up early, not because I am such a spiritual guy, but because I went to bed early.  After beginning the day with our Lord, I decided to get in the swim spa for a swim.
     This may be hard for you to believe, but I put on my speedo.  That might not be the image that would bring a good start to your day.  To top it off, Megan purchased the speedo for me.   How many dads could say that their daughter had bought them a speedo?
     It was the first time I had ever worn a speedo and I had some difficulty getting it on correctly.  Finally it felt somewhat comfortable.  On my head.
     That’s an even worse start to your day, an image of the pastor wearing a speedo on his head.   You may not know, as I didn’t, that Speedo makes more than skimpy swim wear.   They make other stuff, including skim caps.
     Megan bought me a Speedo swim cap before Christmas because her mom had told her that I had quit swimming in our spa because I felt like the water pressure on my head was causing me to lose what little hair I still have left.
     There is vanity in all of us.  I lost weight last summer for medical reasons, but looking better couldn’t be ruled out as part of the motivation.  We all try to look as good as we can with what we have.
     When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we know the consequences of the Fall.  Sin entered this world.  All of life was affected, even creation itself.  Paul says in Romans that creation is in travail, awaiting its redemption.  Rarely does a week go by that we don’t see this truth.
     Of course, illness and death were two of the major consequences of the Fall.
     Another of the results of Adam and Eve’s sin is seen in Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
     They realized that they were naked.  One of the results of the Fall was that for the first time Adam and Eve had a sense of self-awareness.  They had not been focused on themselves until they sinned.
     Self-awareness in itself isn’t a sin.  We all need to be aware of signs and signals in our lives, like a racing heart, a change in a spot on our skin, a lump that hadn’t been there before, a tooth that is aching or a multitude of other physical things.
     We also ought to be aware of our emotions, our responses to others, and where we are with our walk with the Lord.
     What happened in the Fall was that self-awareness brought self-centeredness.  It wasn’t long before Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent.
     At least for me, there are two major things that need to be restored in my life to overcome the results of the Fall.  One is a reconciliation between God and me.  That reconciliation has happened because Jesus came and died at Calvary.  The veil of the Temple was torn into when He died, opening the way for there to be some sense of return to walking with God as did Adam and Eve before the Fall.  That will never be complete until I step into heaven.
     The second area that needs to be restored in my life to “pre-Fall” conditions is overcoming the self-centeredness that sin has brought to all of us.  That is far more difficult to overcome and to restore.
     Jesus understood that the challenge to lay aside self and focus on others wouldn’t be an easy one.   He also knew for us that it would be a daily one. 
“Then He said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
     Taking up our cross isn’t bearing some struggle or heartache of life.  My cross to bear isn’t dealing with cancer.  My cross to bear is to die to self with His help and by His grace.   It begins with the willingness to deny oneself.
     It is a daily triad for me.  Deny, take up, and follow.  It is never easy. 
     Lord, help me by Your grace and power to be able to move from seeing what is best for me in the circumstances and situations that I will face today.  Help me to be aware of others and what they may need in their lives.