Knots
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another,
even as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Bowline, clove hitch, 2 half hitches, monkey’s paw, and
tautline. If you these words ring bells in your head, you are probably a former
boy scout or a mother of one. They are a few of the many types of knots. These
knots are each useful for different things. I couldn’t tell you what, though. You
could ask my boys and they could tell you.
They learned these knots and how to make them. They did their very best
to teach me, but were mostly unsuccessful. There is one thing the scout leaders
tend to not teach, though ; how to get the knots undone. If you are a mother or a teacher, you have
untied or tried to untie thousands of knots in shoe laces, jump ropes, fishing
line and necklaces. Sometimes the harder
you try to untie a knot the worse it gets. You usually have to trace back
through the tangles and find the end of the string or rope. Knots and tangles
can make the object difficult or impossible to use.
This is a lot like life.
Today there are 3 particular knots in my spiritual life. Worry,
resentment and fear. I wish I could tell you that I can untangle my own knots
because I am so wise and spiritual, but that would be a lie. I know the truth,
that God calls me to forgive and be merciful, but some knots of resentment are
too tangles and deep seated for me to undo by myself. I know that God is
faithful.
when
I look at the things that he has brought me through just in the last few weeks,
I am amazed. I have a human heart, though, and when I look at what I need this
week and what I have to accomplish, I slip into worry. Then if I am not
careful, the same enemy that tempted me with worry come against me with guilt
for worrying. The point is, I cannot untie these spiritual knots any more than
children can untie complicated physical ones. What did we do as children when
we had a knot that we couldn’t untie? We went to our parents. We need to do the same thing in our spritual lives, and take them to our father.
1 Pet 5:7 says "Cast your cares upon him for he cares for you." and matthew 6 tells us the folly of worrying. These should remind us to let God untangle our knots of worry. Ephesian 4:32 says Be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, even as God through Christ has forgiven you. In the sermon on the mount, we are told that if we have anything against our brother to leave our gift at the altar and go and be reconciled.
We need to let God take our tangled situations and emotions and untie them. Thank him for his faithfulness and his provision and let him love others through you when you can't do it yourself.
1 Pet 5:7 says "Cast your cares upon him for he cares for you." and matthew 6 tells us the folly of worrying. These should remind us to let God untangle our knots of worry. Ephesian 4:32 says Be kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, even as God through Christ has forgiven you. In the sermon on the mount, we are told that if we have anything against our brother to leave our gift at the altar and go and be reconciled.
We need to let God take our tangled situations and emotions and untie them. Thank him for his faithfulness and his provision and let him love others through you when you can't do it yourself.
