Unhurry Hack: We were meant for an extraordinary life because we were created for an extraordinary relationship with God.
FIRST READ: Colossians 1:15-23
I’m told the odds are one in a million, yet on an ordinary day I stumbled upon something extraordinary. Finding a four-leaf clover is uncommon, but yesterday I happened to find a rare five-leaf clover. My heart is always so humbled to see examples of exceptional beauty in God’s creation. I don’t believe in luck, signs, or superstition because there is One True God who is bigger than all of that. Instead, I find myself moved to complete awe and wonder of the Lord. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16
There is much to praise when we slow down enough to take note of God’s glory. Who He is, what He’s done, what He’s doing even now. Evidence is all around us…His glory fills the pages of the Bible as the Living Word speaks to us of God’s great love and power. It tells us of His promises fulfilled and the promises we still await. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 4:11
My grandmother Martha taught me how to notice the beauty in simple things. With a savored pace, we often walked hand-in-hand through the field near her house. It was here that she taught me to slow down, listen to birds, and find treasures like buckeyes, four leaf clovers, and the freshly fallen spike balls from the sweet gum tree. She taught me to slow down, lean in, and take note.
Perhaps that’s why I was drawn outside with my afternoon coffee to walk along my garden and bent down to look at a patch of clover. As I was making mental notes of the weeds I needed to spray, it was here that I saw the extra leaves and a misshapen clump of heart-shaped green.
1…2…3…4…5 leaves on one delicate stem. I didn’t even know that was possible! Thank you Jesus for letting me see this extraordinary sight. I plucked the beautiful gift and tucked it into the pages of my Bible. Psalm 5 seemed a perfect place...
But I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love; I bow down toward your holy temple in reverential awe of you.
Psalm 5:7 (CSB)
Christian Standard Bible
We were meant for an extraordinary life because we were created for an extraordinary relationship with God.
I enter your house by the abundance of your faithful love...Clothed in Christ’s righteousness we are welcome in the presence God. How do we do that? It is only by surrendering our life to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21(NLT) New Living Translation
God’s glory fills the world in the beauty and vast greatness of His creation, and it reminds us that we are His. Who but God can speak the heavens into existence? Who but God can form and breathe life into man? (see Genesis 1:1-31)
God didn’t have to make us, but He did. What an amazing gift it is that though humanity broke away from that perfect relationship by sinning in the Garden of Eden that resulted in the fall of man, God loved us so much that He made a way for us to be redeemed and restored to that extraordinary relationship with Him.
Slow down, lean in, and take note. God’s glory moves us to awe and wonder, but also points us to the greatest example of His love—the gift of the Savior.
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 The Message
That is grace. Pure and simple. Just like there was nothing I did to earn, deserve, or accomplish my extraordinary 5-leaf clover…it is was gift. All I did was receive it. We don’t deserve or earn God’s gift of grace – this wonderful unmerited gift of salvation. We are saved from a life away from God and welcomed into His glorious presence now and for all eternity. We receive Christ, and from there we begin a new extraordinary life in him. It is time to live daily in God’s extraordinary love, hope, joy, peace, and power.
Would you like to pray with me and ask God for this extraordinary gift of salvation and new life? There is no special formula of words, just express your heart to God. I would be happy to guide you in a simple prayer like this one, similar to what I prayed when I decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ:
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. I receive your gift of your salvation today. I believe my sin has separated me from you God, and Jesus Christ is the only one who can make me right with you, not myself or any behavior or merit. I believe Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for my sin on the cross, was buried, and rose again. Begin your work in me today by your Holy Spirit, making me more and more like Jesus every single day. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
If you prayed this prayer or one similar, then “Welcome!” You have always been a beautiful creation of God, but now you are a Child of God. You now belong to the extraordinary family of God. What next? I like to say, plug in & dig in!
Plug in church family – fellowship with other believers and the shepherding of a pastor will help you grow in your daily walk with God and in the understanding of His Word – the Bible.
Dig in to the Word – The book of Ephesians is a great place to start along with the Gospel of John. The Bible can be overwhelming, and it helps not to read it intentionally and with context & care. A small group Bible study can really help foster understanding and friendship! And don’t forget to talk & listen to God in prayer anytime, anyplace, & about anything!