Bits of Heaven. Russell J. Levenson Jr.

Bits of Heaven

with the reality that we are all created in God’s image, and instead have tried to fashion themselves in an image of their own making. My mentor John Claypool used to tell me, “One of the real problems with our human nature is that while we may believe we are created in the image of God, we too often try to return the favor.”

If the person in the mirror looks more like a person of your own making, and not like the image of God, then something is awry. Spending some time with this question about image may reveal to us that we are allowing ourselves to be made in the image of something we were not intended to be. Maybe I want to be made in the image of a great humanitarian—such as Albert Schweitzer or Archbishop Desmond Tutu; perhaps a well-known capitalist like Warren Buffett or Bill Gates; maybe a historic hero such as Abraham Lincoln or Rosa Parks; or a well-known celebrity, politician, athlete, and so on. It may just be the guy down the street or the woman who works across the hall; but you were not . . . you are not created in those images. You were created in the image of God Almighty.

When you lose touch with that, even for a moment, you lose touch to some degree not only with God, but also with your reason for being. One of the best ways to go back to that image, again and again, is to respond to God’s simple words, “Kids . . . let’s go.” To rest your image not in anyone’s hands but God’s by spending more and more time with him . . . at work, at play, at rest . . . when all is silent . . . when loudness shatters the quiet, just be with God. In time you know you will look in the mirror and hear a divine whisper, “You look just like your daddy.” Toward that end, image is everything.

A Bit of Heaven

In whose image are you? Are you made in God’s image? Or are you being made in an image of your own making? What can you do, concretely do, to put yourself in his presence more and more? What can you do to get in touch with the reality that you are, indeed, made in God’s image?

A Prayer

Almighty God,

by Whose spoken Word

all things came into being,

speak yet again within me

that by Your Holy Spirit

I may increasingly become

the child You created me to be

in your image, your very own.

Amen.

2 John 4:24.

Meditation 3

Fruit Stands

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it . . . .”

—Genesis 1:28a

Do you relish God’s creation?

Most of our summer vacations were spent on the Gulf beaches of south Alabama and northwest Florida. Before high-speed expressways were built, these trips often took an entire day as we drove slowly through one small town after another. Peppering the edges of every single one of these towns were wonderful fruit stands.

While we did not stop at all of them, we stopped at many and “stocked up” for the beach week ahead. The larger ones were under tents, cooled not by air conditioners, but by large space fans, blowing flies away and causing the tents to flap in response to their oscillations. Tables stood like rectangular cornucopias pouring out before us an ocean of colors, smells, and tastes—okra, peppers, eggplant, vine-ripe tomatoes, apples, sweet potatoes, peaches, dark green watermelons, and dimpled cantaloupes. We would load up our bags, carry along the tasty gifts, and usually get started on a juicy peach before the car pulled away from the stand.

When God created man and woman, he told them the fruit of every plant was theirs to consume, use, and be nourished by; and reminded them that they were gifts, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food” (Genesis 1:29–30).

When someone gives us a gift, it is usually an expression of their love for us. But it is given with the hope that we will enjoy it . . . relish it. God gave, and gives, lots of things for lots of reasons. Some of those reasons are deep, mysterious, and serious; some, however, are simply for our pleasure—rich food and drink, time with loved ones, a good night’s rest. God gives because God loves. And as God loves, gifts come with the hope that they will bring us joy.

Mirroring the stoics of old, some skewed interpretations of our faith would suggest life is not to be so much enjoyed as endured. Clearly that was not God’s intent in the birthing of creation, and it is not God’s intention now.

My hunch is that somewhere today, God will put a fruit stand before you. It may be an invitation for a cup of coffee with a workmate, or an unexpected call from an old friend. It may be the fish you did not expect to catch or the joke that brought a smile to your face. You know, it is okay to enjoy it. It is okay to really relish God’s creation. Enjoying life is a byproduct, if you will, of stopping at God’s fruit stand. As Paul Tillich suggested, “Joy is the emotional expression of the courageous yes to one’s being.” Why not take some time today to enjoy what fruits God brings your way, not because you should, or because you have to, but because in receiving and enjoying, you bring great delight to your Heavenly Parent?

A Bit of Heaven

Consider what fruit stands God Himself may place before you this day. Can you receive them as gifts? Can you enjoy them? Can you relish them and, as you do, give thanks as well?

A Prayer

In the beginning, God made the world:

Made it and mothered it;

Shaped it and fathered it;

filled it with seeds and signs of fertility;

filled it with life and with endless ability.

All that is green, blue, deep and growing,