Chiseled Words

~~~ Exodus 32:15-24, 30-34 ~~~ Psalm 106 ~~~ Matthew 13:31-35 ~~~

I really love this time of the year because 

the school supplies are on every store shelf.

Pens of all colors and sizes and notebooks...I love notebooks.

When a particular notebook catches my attention

 I do not even need to have a particular purpose for it.

I have notebooks for journaling...notebooks for inspirational quotes...

notebooks for prayer cards....and most recently

 a notebook to record my food intake.

But at the end of the day none of these are permanent;

someday they will all find their way to the trash.

Over time pencil entries get smudged...

ink fades from the pages...

What was once valued disappears or is forgotten over time.

Moses turned and came down the mountain

with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,

tablets that were written on both sides, front and back;

tablets that were made by God,

having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself.

God was taking no chances that his

 Ten Commandments would survive.

He wrote them on tablets of stone, 

to withstand the passing of time.

Even if they get broken the message 

engraved into their surface would survive.

I know of nothing today to even come close to writing on stone.

We would not even have the stamina

 to chisel out a single word on a slab of stone

much less ten separate points.

Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of heaven being

 like a small mustard seed or a small handful of yeast.

Yet he still needed to explain the meanings.

Jesus often spoke in parables.

God writes his message on tablets of stone.

The permanence of stone is an indication 

of the importance of these commandments.

Today we follow Jesus by keeping the same 

commandments

 written in stone by his Father.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

Jesus came to do the will of the Father...

to glorify the Father.

When we keep the commandments

 we too are doing the will of the Father...

we too are bringing glory to the Father.

Today I invite you to find one of your notebooks,

dust it off, pick up your pen...

write a note to God.

Let it bring you comfort and strength.

Writing can bring clarity to your thoughts...

it can release pent up emotions.

It might even be time to search through those shelves of

school supplies for a beautiful new notebook.

Blessings in your written words to the Lord.

~~~Peace~~~