By Tom Wiles | For The Times-Post
Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. — Exodus 24:1-18
Immediately, I glanced over at my sweetheart who was next to me in the car.
Her eyes were as wide as saucers.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?” I said. “Yes! I was sure we would see it pop out again after we turned that last corner.”
The shooting star we saw that night was so bright for so long, we were convinced for just a moment that we had seen something extra-terrestrial.
Moses and the gang climbed the mountain that day at God’s command.
The covenant from God had been read to the people. They had agreed to it.
There were offerings, sacrifices and the sprinkling of blood.
The only thing left was…dinner. A covenant meal shared by the two participants in the agreement.
In this case, God and the Israelites represented by their elders.
What they saw that day is the subject of much debate.
However, the significance of it isn’t.
How about that, God sharing a fellowship meal with his people.
Images from early in the Bible of Adam and Eve walking with God in the garden flash through our minds.
Centuries later, we see God the son sharing the last supper with his disciples before his death.
There he instituted a new covenant.
There he told them that a time would come when he would once again share a meal with them in the coming Kingdom.
Today, we see by faith that which we will one day see face to face.
Contentment
Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless; it is chasing the wind. — Ecclesiastes 6:1-9
Many of us suffer from the “almost” malady.
It normally flares up when we’re exposed to “more.”
When we see people who have more money, nicer cars, bigger homes, better vacations, and styling clothes we think to ourselves, “Hmm…I’m almost there, but not quite.”
Of course, “there” is a moving target which leaves us continuously stuck in “almost.”
Solomon was the guy who everyone else looked at and concluded, “I’m not there yet.”
He did have everything.
In the midst of having it all, he discovered that peace wasn’t found there. It was found in God and enjoying whatever he has given.
Comparing ourselves inevitably leaves us envious.
Enjoying ourselves and being thankful for that which God has provided us leaves us at peace, positioned to love others.
What’s driving the discontentment in your world today?
It may not be stuff.
It may be our job.
It may be our marriage.
I don’t know, but discontentment is far more likely to be resolved with a spirit of gratitude than a change of circumstance.
Let’s start reshaping and refreshing our hearts and minds through the biblical practice of giving thanks.
Tom Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.
