Turtles

Turtles

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if
any comfort from his love......if any tenderness and compassion,
make my joy complete by having the same love."
Philippians 2:1-2

With the awesome cabin we stayed in, the swimming pool with a slide and the hot tub, the lake for boating, great food, and a very nice game room, the highlight of this week's Kids Camp was none other than the turtles which populated the lake we were staying at. Those hard-shelled creatures were alternately described as cute, loveable, adorable, and friendly, as in "my turtle is so friendly". And because of that, five families now have a new pet or two to take care of.

We can learn much from nature and God's creation, and turtles are no exception. They have the ability to withdraw into their dome-shaped shells which serve to protect them from any predators that would try and sink their teeth into the little fellows. They hide behind their shell; a good system that keeps them inside and their enemies outside, protecting them from everything except the determined kids who come to camp with a big net and a soft heart.

I couldn't help but think, as I was observing the turtles, of the shells that we often form when we are hurt by others. They are invisible to the human eye, and often unknown by even the person who has them, but they serve as a protection to keep us from being hurt again by the words and actions of others. But our unconscious attempts at self- preservation come with a cost, keeping out not only people who might hurt us again but also those who love and genuinely care about us. And the ultimate problem with those turtle-like hard exteriors is that they can also keep God out when He is trying to come into our hearts and bless our lives.

We've been called to be tender, a word whose definition includes such things as soft and yielding, highly susceptible to emotions and impressions and having a sensitive character or disposition. God's mercy toward us, in fact, is often called "his tender mercies because it includes those qualities in his dealing with each of us. He is soft and yielding knowing our weaknesses and sensitive to the needs in our lives.

The loveable turtles can't do it but we can break up the shells that surround us, giving God and others free access to our hearts, asking God to make us tender and yielding, and in the process opening ourselves up to a greater freedom than we have known.

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church