The ultimate expression of love the created can give to The Creator is to give over our freewill so that we are no longer a slave to our sinful way of living but instead we become a slave to the only right way, the only perfect truth so that we can live the only life worth living.

As a new year begins I thought I would revisit the first blog post I made. I believe it is a fitting message for all those who desire to seek a deeper more obedient relationship with their heavenly father in 2018.

Pumped full of the inspiring words of our cultural icons and heroes, overwhelmed by the messages embedded in the media we consume, we set out to be anything but what we were created to be.

Nothing like reading the first post from a novice blogger and thinking I’m not going to make it through this and I’m certainly not going to start reading his next one.  Before you give up reading the thoughts of this “not as cool as he thinks he is” father, husband and grandfather, aren’t you just a little bit curious about where this is going? Me too!

Let’s start again.

Pumped full of the inspiring words of those I consider cultural icons and heroes, overwhelmed by the messages embedded in the media I consume, I set out to be anything but what I was created to be – a puppet.

No one wants to be called a puppet and no one wants to live like one. The metaphor creates in my mind images of a lifeless representation of what its creator envisioned as an effective medium for his message.

The puppet only acts when it serves the plan of the puppet master. The puppet can only move the way the puppet master moves it. The puppet only comes to life when it serves the puppet master’s plan. The puppet only uses what is made available to it by the puppet master.

In a Pinocchio like plot, life for us is possible outside of the control of the puppet master.

Bolstered by the feel-good messages posted in our news feed or communicated through our favorite TV show, we believe that if we work hard enough we can do anything and no longer need the puppet master’s help.

Those who grow tired of the broken dreams of self-reliance seek to restore relationship with the puppet master, a return to our Geppetto if you will, believing it to be the happily ever after end to the fairy tale.

Pinocchio needed Geppetto just as we need God even though the strings are no longer attached.

This is the end of the fairy tale but for the Christ follower it is only the beginning of the transformation. Restored relationship between us and our creator is the first step in a life long journey to become a lifeless puppet so the puppet master can once again pull the strings – all of the strings.

1. God’s plan
2. God’s way
3. God’s timing
4. God’s chosen resources

 

The puppet only acts when it serves the plan of the puppet master. The puppet can only move the way the puppet master moves it. The puppet only comes to life when it serves the puppet master’s plan. The puppet only uses what is made available to it by the puppet master.

I don’t want to be called a puppet – I don’t want to live like one, but I need to.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)

View this passage and much more at BibleGateway.com