We are well over a thousand now—and counting. I have been writing up these little things so long I can’t watch something happen without thinking the phrase above. In fact, more than once Keith and I have looked at one another after some oddball event and said it in unison: “There oughtta be a devo in that.”
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise,” Solomon wrote. “Look at the birds,” Jesus said, and, “Consider the lilies.” Both of them taught valuable lessons from the things around them. The parables were nothing more than every day occurrences with analogous meanings. Parables were not uncommon in the Old Testament either, and many of the prophets taught lessons with the visual aids of their own lives or actions. Hosea and Ezekiel come instantly to mind.
Even the writers of the New Testament used athletic contests, farming truisms, and anatomical allegories to teach us what we need to know about our relationship with God, with one another, and in our homes and communities. Telling stories is a time-honored and perfectly scriptural way of teaching God’s word.
In fact, maybe if we started looking at the world that way, at the things that happen in our daily lives as if they had some meaning beyond the mundane, some deeper spiritual use, it might just be that our lives would change for the better. It might be easier to see where we need to grow, maybe a place we need to make a one-eighty before we get much further down the road. There is something about watching a dumb animal and thinking, “I didn’t even have that much sense,” that will straighten out your attitude.
If I have done nothing else for you in all these years, maybe I have accomplished this. Maybe you have learned to look at the things around you and say, “There IS a devo in that—I need to make a change.”
But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? Job 12:7-9.
Dene Ward
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise,” Solomon wrote. “Look at the birds,” Jesus said, and, “Consider the lilies.” Both of them taught valuable lessons from the things around them. The parables were nothing more than every day occurrences with analogous meanings. Parables were not uncommon in the Old Testament either, and many of the prophets taught lessons with the visual aids of their own lives or actions. Hosea and Ezekiel come instantly to mind.
Even the writers of the New Testament used athletic contests, farming truisms, and anatomical allegories to teach us what we need to know about our relationship with God, with one another, and in our homes and communities. Telling stories is a time-honored and perfectly scriptural way of teaching God’s word.
In fact, maybe if we started looking at the world that way, at the things that happen in our daily lives as if they had some meaning beyond the mundane, some deeper spiritual use, it might just be that our lives would change for the better. It might be easier to see where we need to grow, maybe a place we need to make a one-eighty before we get much further down the road. There is something about watching a dumb animal and thinking, “I didn’t even have that much sense,” that will straighten out your attitude.
If I have done nothing else for you in all these years, maybe I have accomplished this. Maybe you have learned to look at the things around you and say, “There IS a devo in that—I need to make a change.”
But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? Job 12:7-9.
Dene Ward
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