Russellings of the Spirit

We made the bed this morning.

Yipppeee!! Skippy!!

And when I say, “…we made the bed,” of course I mean JOAN – on her own – made the bed. 

Sometimes I help with the bedmaking. When I am around, that is. But many times, I am up and out the door before the bedmaking time happens.

And so, Joan cheerfully tucks and straightens the sheets, fluffs the pillows, folds the comforter, and carefully puts those little, purely decorative pillows in their places.

“Hold on now. Why does this silly stuff even matter?” you are no doubt asking me right now. “Who cares about you and your absurd housekeeping practices? Let’s spend this time talking about some REAL stuff… stuff like Ukraine… or COVID… or abortion. You are really testing my patience here, clown boy.”

First of all, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think? And second of all, hang in there, bub. You just might discover there is more here than meets the eye. 

Let me start my defense by asking you a question; when you open your front door and peer outside, what do you see? What kind of world lurks out there? 

Here is what I see: I see a world of pain. And chaos. And brokenness. I see a world desperately seeking redemption. I see a world largely without answers. I see a world that – for the most part – I really don’t have even a microscopic amount of influence over. 

I’m convinced it is also a world that God – because of God’s infinite, unconditional love for this world – spends a LOT of time weeping over. 

Beyond what I see, I also hear something. I hear God’s gentle, urging voice. It is whispering to me, “Russell, GO. Do what you can. Be MY hands and feet and heart. Create a corner – even if it is just a tiny corner – in that broken, pain-filled world that reminds people of what MY kingdom looks like.”

And for me, one of the key characteristics of God’s kingdom (i.e., a kingdom that works according to the blueprint God had BEFORE Adam and Eve messed everything up) is ORDER. 

A place for everything and everything in its place.

Harmony.

Cohesion.

Connection.

Interrelationship.

And so, I choose to start my day with a regular, tangible picture of what order looks like. 

I choose to make my bed.  

(Rather, as you saw above, JOAN chooses to make my bed. But you know what I mean.)

By my count (rather, by the count of the special feature on my Bible app), Jesus talks about the kingdom of God at least 117 times. It is clearly a topic that matters to him… a LOT! 

And yet we remember that Jesus also lived in the middle of a broken, pain-filled, unjust, chaotic world. He lived in a world that was DESPERATE for redemption, healing, and wholeness. 

And so, when he talked to people, he tried to paint vivid word pictures of what a healed, whole, restored world might look like. He talked about mustard seeds, and grains of wheat, and pearls of great price, and treasures hidden in a field. He tried to help them understand the reality of the Hope Beyond Hope at the center of his earthly ministry. 

In other words, he tried to help people visualize what The World According to God will look like when it comes to be. 

And although I can’t provide you any actual, scriptural warrants for it, I am pretty sure Jesus made his bed every morning.

Don’t worry. In case you are not inclined that way, I am pretty sure God loves non-bedmakers just as much as He loves bedmakers. Be that as it may, He is saying the same thing to you that He says to me every morning. He is saying, “GO. Do what you can. Be MY hands and feet and heart. Create a corner – even if it is just a tiny corner – in that broken, pain-filled world that reminds people of what MY kingdom looks like.”

And then, when you get home at night, sink restfully into that beautiful, orderly, well-made bed and REST!

Abundant blessings;