What parade? Why wasn't I invited? The parade is your life and often things come up that we don't see coming. We are so focused on our parade that we fail to see things coming that will have the makeup to rain on us. Sometimes the parade and the rain take a different direction and we end up playing catch up with those directions. I confess that I neither like others directing my parade or sending the rain to put out any fire that may have been burning. This phenomena isn't just a passing event. Layer after layer of circumstances usually support the building that the parade becomes. I know I am mixing examples and ask for a bit of leeway with this topic(s).
A long time ago on a distant planet I had the opportunity to be integrated with my parade and all those marching in it. Choices that they and I made caused our parades to take different streets. Within that journey each parade entered their own building which was multi storied. The height of the building dictates how tall the parade building is. Mine, for example, has many stories and reaches to the sky. Not a good thing even if I could cash in on the square foot rental. Each day brings events from different floors (often fires).
My job is to turn over the building and all it's events or fires to Jesus. He is the landlord of the building when I step out of the way. Some floors have multiple tenants lie family, friends, co-workers, and even a floor for enemies. Sometimes two floors for enemies. Because I can barely manage the floor corner office with no view that I'm in, Jesus' job is sometimes very difficult to complete. There is no fire escape from my office. I can't jump from the building and run away. Neither can I expect Jesus to remove me from that building to become owner of a new building.
I get so tired of walking up and down stairs to put out the fires that threaten the whole building and its occupants. One day I looked out the window and my building appeared to be moving. I went outside and found out that my building was actually mounted on a merry-go-round! So were the buildings of my friends, family and enemies. There was no switch or button to push to stop the merry-go-round so I could get off the ride. So, there I was on my parade where it was raining and there was no means leave the parade. Hmmmm.....
That was when I discovered the truth that was shrouded in the whole structure. The parade, occupants, the building and the merry-go-round had only the power I gave to them. The more power I gave the more they wanted. Until there came a time where I was given a choice. I was given the option to get off the parade, out of the rain, and away from the merry-go-round. I didn't like the choice and balked at making that choice. I could live dead in the water or I could live on the shore. The cost of the choice was my life. I could either give over my life to Jesus and die to live with him or I could live in my troublesome world with no way of escape. The second option wasn't a choice at all. The first would change or maybe even kill the world I had been constructing with the help of others.
What choice would you make?
Part 2 will be here tomorrow!
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