Subtitle: Ask God to change your initial reactions to something that is completely different from you and your taste. Ask Him for wisdom to care most about what truly matters.

Excerpt: Ask God to change your initial reactions to something that is completely different from you and your taste. Ask Him for wisdom to care most about what truly matters.

Author: Rich Holt

Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Ezra 3:12, “But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy.”

Background

We were talking with some friends the other night, and the topic came up about favorite movies of all time. Our friends happen to be avid movie-goers, and my kids were fascinated to find out what their favorite recent movie was, as well as their favorites over the last ten years, and so on. But when it was all said and done, one guy’s favorite was unequivocally Phantom of the Opera. He had seen it dozens of times, had seen the Broadway version, owned the dvd, and simply loved everything about it, from the music to the story to the characters. On the other hand, he also greatly enjoys the gruesome horror flicks like the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street series that made Jason and Freddy Krueger famous characters. I didn’t happen to weigh in with my opinions, but suffice it to say that neither Phantom nor the horror series would be anywhere on my radar. I appreciate that Phantom is a classic, but there is nothing about it that appeals to me. I don’t know if it’s because my first exposure to it was seeing some of the original black and white version from two generations ago or what, but there is nothing within me that desires to see it. And I realize that I am probably in the minority, and that my lack of refined taste is only made more apparent. But that’s alright by me, and I’m content to live without it while appreciating how the majority of others deeply enjoy it. It’s just another small, daily reminder of how different we are, and how little those differences actually matter.

Application

The old timers back in Jerusalem cried when they saw the new temple going up, saddened over the differences between the glorious first temple and what was being rebuilt. But the younger ones shouted for joy, simply ecstatic that they were seeing the temple erected and actually getting to take part in it. And neither group was necessarily wrong. It was fine for the elders to mourn what once was, and proper for the young to rejoice. It’s not always an either-or situation. Not then for them, and not now for us.

Charge

As we seek Him today, ask God to change your initial reactions to something that is completely different from you and your taste. Ask Him for wisdom to care most about what truly matters.

Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words