What if God had a Facebook page?

Certainly His following would be immense and the number of “likes”off the chart.

But what would He post?

What words of wisdom would fill His timeline?

What pictures would He share?

But wait a minute! God already has a “Facebook” page, in fact not just a page but a book of pages that reveals to us His “face.”  He posts a picture of who He is when we read about His Son Jesus who entered humanity.  For even Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me, has seen the Father.”  Our God has posted thousands of words sharing His gift of salvation, His wisdom and guidance.

But we need to like His Facebook not just by giving it a thumbs up.  Not just by having His Facebook as an app on our phones.  But rather we need to intentionally set aside more time to delve into His Facebook.

Perhaps like me, you need to set aside your phone more often – spend less time catching up with FB friends, checking for the latest Instagram pics, tweeting on Twitter or linking up on LinkedIn – and set aside more time to seek the Lord, to see His face in the gift of His book, the Bible.

Just saying!

My daughter, Allison, called with an unexpected request.  Our grandson, Owen, wanted his grandpa to be a chaperone on the 5^th grade field trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts.  Honored by the request, my husband cleared his calendar and gladly accepted the invitation.

As the date for the field trip drew near, Joe received all of the requisite instructions regarding the duties of a chaperone, but he also learned there would not be enough room for the chaperones to ride on the bus with the students, so he would have to drive to the DIA and meet the students there.  (You are correct, if you right now you are thinking that Joe was not a bit disappointed about that news!)

Well, on the day of the field trip, Joe drove to the DIA and soon located the other chaperones – all mothers.  As he walked up to them, he introduced himself.

“Hi, I’m Joe”

There was a polite reply.

“Hello!”

Then Joe added:

“And I’m Owen’s grandpa.”

Then almost as if it had been scripted, in unison with great enthusiasm they declared,

“Ohhh!  You must be Allison’s dad, too!”

Not only is Allison a teacher in their school, but her children attend there as well.  So these mothers know her both as a teacher and a fellow mother.  It wasn’t my husband’s name; it was his identity that triggered their enthusiastic response – his identity as a father to Allison and a grandfather to Owen.

As Joe related this story to me, I couldn’t help but reflect on the significance of our spiritual identity.  Certainly I am a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, teacher, friend and more.  But my earthly identities are all grounded in that most vital spiritual identity – my identity as a child of God.

An identity I didn’t earn.

An identity not based on any measure of perfection or worthiness in me.

My core identity as a child of God is all because of His love.

“So what kind of love the Father has for us, that we should be called the children of God, and so we are.  (1 John 3:1)

Each of us have a name.  But when we get to heaven(that eternal field trip), we will be welcomed by the Father and his angels with a joyous  response, because our name is wrapped in the identity of who we are – a child of God!

In our house we had a Saturday morning tradition.  We would watch a PBS favorite called, “This Old House” followed by its sister show, “Ask This Old House.  While “This Old House” focuses on a total renovation of an old home, “Ask This Old House” focuses on specific projects that can be accomplished in just a few hours.  In one such episode a woman requested the expertise of Roger, the landscaper.  She needed help planting a garden in her backyard.

For me this was nothing new.  Years ago my dad had commandeered a section of our backyard to plant a garden.  Having grown up on a farm, he relished this opportunity to teach us how to grow all kinds of vegetables.  So we learned how to plant beans, beets, carrots, zucchini, and lettuce – all from seed.  But when it came to tomatoes, we always started with small tomato plants – which is exactly what Roger did.

But to my amazement, he did something we never did.  Roger instructed the homeowner to plant the root of the tomato seedling deep into the ground, so that even the stem of the tomato plant was covered with several inches of soil.

Now this was counter to anything I had learned from my dad. We always planted the stem or stalk of any plant a few inches above ground.  So I was puzzled.  But fortunately Roger explained his reasoning.

While the stalks of most plants need to be planted above ground, the stem of the tomato was unique.  When it is planted deep into the ground, horizontal roots grow out from the stem.  Thus a strong root system is developed – roots growing vertically and horizontally – providing the tomato plant with much needed stability to support the tomatoes it would produce.

As I pondered Roger’s instructions, I couldn’t help thinking how it parallels a spiritual truth.

In Col. 2:6-7, we read this exhortation:

“Let your roots go down deep into him (Jesus) and let your lives be built on Him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught.”

We need to be planted “deeply” into the soil of God’s grace.  We need a strong root system for our faith so we can bear the “weighty” fruit of Christ’s character in us:

• the fruit of love for the Lord and for one another
• the fruit of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, obedience, and self-control
• the fruit of good works

But how do we “let our roots go down deeply into Jesus?”

By making the intentional choice to be:

• Planted deeply in God’s Word where His truth can take root in our heart and mind.
• Planted deeply in His presence by carving out dedicated times of personal prayer.
• Planted deeply in a church where our spiritual growth can be nurtured.

Then our faith will grow strong and our lives will produce the “fruit” of Christ’s character.  Who would have thought that a tomato plant could teach us such an important lesson!

Three times he was beaten with rods.  Five times he received 39 lashes of the whip.  Three times he was shipwrecked and once stoned and left for dead.  Yet, the Apostle Paul declared that in every situation, he was content.

Whether he had little or plenty, whether he was in a place of comfort or in suffering, Paul declared:

“I (Paul) have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation . . .” (Phil.4:12 NIV)

Beaten, flogged,

stoned, shipwrecked,

hungry and suffering, yet still content?

With the turmoil and uncertainty that come with 21^st Century living, who doesn’t find it at times, maybe even most of the time, a struggle to be content?  And when I am faced with uncomfortable challenges, difficult situations, or overwhelming events in my life, my typical response is just to “grit my teeth” – “to grin and bear it” – to just endure it.  But certainly I wouldn’t declare that I am content in those situations.  But not Paul!

He learned how to be content in the most difficult times of his life.  Even while imprisoned in Rome facing certain execution, he possessed an inner peace.  But fortunately for us Paul didn’t keep this secret of living, the secret of how to live in contentment, to himself.  For in the very next verse, he reveals his secret:

“(For) I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”             (Phil 4:13 NLT)

Paul’s secret was to draw on Christ’s strength which empowered him to be content even in uncertain and adverse times.  And what was true for Paul remains true for us today.  We can learn to be content when we face uncertainty and adversity – by turning to the Lord for strength.

After all it was Jesus who taught us to pray this way:

“Give us this day our daily bread.”  (Matt  6:11)

Surely this means more than asking the Lord for a daily provision of food.  It means we can also ask Him for the bread of strength each day – strength that comes from His wisdom, His comfort, His mercy, and His favor.  This is the daily bread that will strengthen us as it did Paul, so that we too can be “content in any and every situation.”