Eggs in the Freezer

Yesterday I found eggs in the freezer. I have absolutely no recollection of putting my carton of eggs in the freezer but they were undoubtedly there, and frozen. I find myself noticing little lapses such as this. Words sometimes transpose from my brain to my mouth and until the word comes out I don’t know why I said what I said. Worse is when I don’t notice and my kids tell me what I’ve said. “Are you sure?” I ask skeptically, thinking they misheard or are joking with me. But in the end I watch my confidence in my competence become a little less cocky.

I just read another Timothy Keller book- Counterfeit Gods. I am so thankful that God created smart people that also love him. (I read The Reason for God last year by Mr. Keller, and both are outstanding.) This book talks about the idols that we may have in our lives, both that we are aware of and those more insidious that sneak into our psyche without our awareness. Each chapter made me realize how much I need God. I cannot in my own power and desire to be good overcome desires for love, greed, money, or power that can root their way into our everyday and become normal.

When’s the last time you talked to a neighbor and they were discussing how they really have too much materially? When’s the last time you overheard someone stating that while family is good, God is better? How often do we recognize that our very lives are in God’s hands not our own? I tend to take even the good things that we are blessed with and give them more status, attention, praise, effort than is perhaps necessary.

I think in living our lives on autopilot we find ourselves putting the eggs in the freezer. The eggs now have cracks and are not useful, but it is only an inconvenience. I wonder though what is happening with our spiritual lives as we try to glide through. Some things I may catch, but I imagine there are areas lurking about that aren’t as easily spotted. I can overlook that my desire for security through money is just as harmful as someone else’s overspending. I can overlook that taking on complete responsibility for my children might be as disastrous as leaving them to their own devices. I can overlook the pride in a beautiful appearance that might be as detrimental as being prideful in having an ‘appropriate’ look since both keep me noticing and comparing the outside. Even scarier are perhaps the things we don’t even notice until something or someone points it out. It seems that being a Christian necessitates that our confidence in our competence is a little less cocky.

Salvation while free - costs everything. If I truly want to embrace grace I must realize while it is for me, it is not deserved or earned by me. I must give up anything that prevents me from realizing Christ is the only thing. If I try to do it on my own I’ll just end up with eggs in the freezer.