Lindsay C. Cutshall
[09/09/81 - 08/15/04]

Lindsay & Jason
Jason S. Allen
[05/16/78 - 08/15/04]

♥ "The sun is going down on the horizon, and all I see is the beams shining on the cliff face, and I know that God is awesome. I look around and see His Creation all around me." --Lindsay ♥                                                                                 ♥ "As I stir this Mac & Cheese, I think to myself, what a wonderful life. I've just spent two awesome days with my fiance, Lindsay. Can life ever be so perfect? Only with a person who is so great. God gives me this privilege in life and He has given me a wonderful woman to enjoy it with." --Jason ♥                                                                                 ♥ "Live for things in heaven, not on earth." --Lindsay ♥                                                                                 ♥ "Heaven will be a wonderful place of no suffering, hurt, loneliness; it's a great thing to look forward to." --Lindsay ♥

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Life's purpose...

This is pretty awesome... it speaks of exactly what many of us have learned in the wake of Jason's & Lindsay's untimely deaths. Truly, though no one likes to experience and endure suffering, it serves to allow us to experience God's grace and lessen our grip on this earthly life. It gets us looking forward to eternity... and that is what we need to be doing. It is so easy to get caught up in life as we know it... but things like this change our perspectives. God is at work in our lives and our hearts. I love what today's "Purpose-Driven Life" devotional had to say:


Check Your Lane
by John Fischer


"When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane."

I got this from one of those joke pages flying around the Internet. Actually, having everything coming at you may not necessarily mean you're in the wrong lane when it comes to personal growth. I would go as far as to suggest that everything going your way is probably a condition to be less trusted than feeling like you're driving into oncoming traffic.

I just don't see God as doling out ease and contentment. His business lies more in the areas of refining and shaping us to conform more to the image of Christ, and none of that comes easy. Scripture indicates that the process by which this comes about includes, among other things, trials (James 1:2-3), suffering (Romans 5:3-4), discipline (Hebrews 12:7), and a growing sense of our own mortality (2 Corinthians 5:4-5).

In one illustration, Paul uses the metaphor of an earthen vessel to explain our human condition and how God uses us (2 Corinthians 4:7). To think about an earthen vessel (a piece of pottery) is to get an accurate picture of what we can expect in this life.

A pot begins as a lump of clay that is kneaded and slammed until all the air is out of it and the lump is the right consistency to form into something useful. Then it is placed on a potter's wheel where the potter molds and shapes it, spinning it in his wet hands, until its sides are stretched out and up into a shape that can hold something. Then it is set on a shelf and allowed to dry before the real fun part begins -- the firing -- after which it is glazed and fired again. (I hope you are imagining yourself going through all of this because that's the idea.) Finally it is ready to be used, and that usually includes some pretty rough treatment -- a seemingly endless pattern of getting dirty and being cleaned only to get dirty again. Over time it ages and cracks with use, but according to Paul's illustration, this only lets out more of what it contains, which is described as the light of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6) -- for we are indeed this vessel. It is a process that gradually de-emphasizes us and more and more emphasizes what we contain.

Which is to say that when everything seems to be coming your way (trials, hardship, testing times) you are probably in the right lane after all. It's the society we live in that thinks it deserves to have everything go its way. God never guaranteed anything of the kind, at least in this life.

2 Comments:

At 12:52 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Jenna, I worked with Jason at Beyond Malibu Young Life Camp. I am a youth pastor in Detroit now and as you know life as a youth pastor can be tough. I was thinking of Jason today while having one of my strong cups of black coffee. I was wondering how progress with the case was going and in doing so I found your blog site....I didn't know it existed. He was a good friend of mine, he came up to Mt. Pleasent to visit me once before going to guide rafting trips in VA. It was a great time of encouragment for me due to his laughter. I listened to the radio broadcasts off your blog site, thanks for providing those. I am agian encouraged by my memmories of Jason and so pleased to see Kids in Creation-what a cool thing....thanks agian for making an eternal difference in young peoples lives for the kingdom of God--In Christ, Frank

 
At 8:13 AM, Blogger Janna said...

Hi Frank,

If you see this, could you e-mail me a quick note? I think that Jason's parents would like to write you to see how you're doing. My e-mail is: jkuiphof@gmail.com

Thank you so much for leaving your comment. I know that the Allen's really enjoy talking to Jason's friends and acquaintances.

God bless & take care,
Janna

 

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