Reconciling

I ran across an interesting book the other day, entitled Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes. This is a retelling of the famous Fox and Grapes fable especially for children, wherein the Fox mightily desires the delectable grapes hanging just out of his reach. He is full of convoluted plans for engaging the other animals in reaching the tantalizing prize. But since he considers himself sly, clever, and smart, he rejects their other more practical suggestions. When all his efforts fail, he goes off in a huff, declaring that he wouldn't dream of eating those lousy, rotten, stinkin' grapes which are probably sour anyway!

The Fox's grand expectations were blindsided by cold reality. His independent thinking was confronted by an inescapable new understanding. He had a choice to make: either change his usual cocky attitude and listen to advice, or rationalize why he no longer was going after the delicious-looking grapes.

People as well as fabled foxes sometimes come to a place in life where we find ourselves saying, "This doesn't make sense. This is not how it's supposed to be," or "I don't see why doesn't this work out for me," or even, "I can't believe this is happening. I thought if I lived for God, He would look out for me." We say this because we cannot "reconcile" two very different views. On one hand, we have our customary attitudes, beliefs, and awareness of our selves. On the other hand are the realities or realizations that make us uncomfortable by being inconsistent with our previously-held view! When we cannot fully give up one in preference to the other but try to hold the contradictory ideas simultaneously, we may feel anxious, guilty, embarrassed, or angry. Like the Fox.

I have learned that I am not going to figure everything out. I will not always get my own way—even when I know good and well it's the right way! Not every new idea—even when it has the ring of real truth—will cause me to say, "Oh, that's right. Now I see!" I will have to give up knowing the reason for some things. I cannot define every decision as a choice between black and white. I will not be able to reconcile every duo of opposing ideas, deciding this one is right and this one is not. So what to do?

I will find peace in knowing that life's inconsistencies are not a problem for God. "He [Christ] was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross." (Colossians 1:18-20)

If you can't figure it out, let it go. If it doesn't go your way, well, maybe next time. If you don't know for sure what you think about a certain situation or issue, maybe you don't need to know yet. If you can't see the reason for something, relax; either you'll see the reason after awhile—or you won't. If you think that all your issues will be clearly black or white, you're missing the shades of gray that add perspective to a picture. And if you try to reconcile everything to yourself, you're really going to be frustrated because you're trying to take over Jesus' job!

MaryMartha

You may want to read: "What Job Learned about Reasons" [here]

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.