10-Foot Ceilings

There are a couple of rooms in my home with 10-foot ceilings. I have little girls that have been walking a year now, maybe. They are used to seeing the ceiling above their head. Of all the whining I hear during my time with them, what they don't whine about is trying to touch the ceiling. To them, it's not something that is attainable. If you asked them if daddy could touch the ceiling, they'd probably say 'Yes!'. They'd be wrong, but they think I can do some amazing things.

I get used to seeing that ceiling. It becomes a dimension of my reality. If there is a storm going on outside, I hear the thunder and I may see a flash of lightning, but if I look up and around, I see the ceiling - and some walls. The reality of the storm is really pretty distant. No incessantly cold rain drops in my eyes. No howling wind... no small hailstones... or sleet. Just a knowledge that there is a storm - and meanwhile there is this ceiling. What a sad box for a Spirit-filled person to live in. For my kids, the reality is far more distant, as they have NEVER been caught in a storm.

If I wanted to change my profession and go into storm-chasing, I'm certain I could get quite a few credentials and certifications by sitting at my computer and doing some bookwork. I could learn all the terminology. I could figure out the computer models. But sooner or later, I'd have to take that knowledge in meteorology and hit the road. I'd have to examine the conditions outside. I would have to ride into, through, and out of some storms. Otherwise, the very limits of my storm-chasing experience would be my 10-foot ceilings, and when it came to credibility in my field - I'd have none.

Welcome to Christianity today. It is very easy to go to church, and attend bible study, and not cuss (okay... not always that easy). Attaining the credentials as "Christian" is very easy. But Jesus said we would be known by our love for each other.

Joh 13:34-35 LITV
(34) I give a new commandment to you, that you should love one another; according as I loved you, you should also love one another.
(35) By this all shall know that you are My disciples, if you have love among one another.

Do you know what this tells me? It says that every other 'brotherhood' offered by this world that claims it will love you - won't. Jesus says that IF you are truly loving each other, then you ARE one of His disciples. Do you know what it's like to be truly loved by someone - or to truly love someone? Maybe it's time to see past the ceiling of religion, or family, or work, or the bowling team. Get some credibility to go with that Christian diploma above your PC.