WHAT is your Go To? The recipe you turn to when people come over because it’s glorious every time. Or the outfit you pull from the closet when you’re going out because you know you look goooooood! What about the playlist you put on repeat to get good and sad? We all have one.
WHO is your Go To? The person you call to celebrate a victory because you know their reaction is straight up confetti. The friend you pull in to be the first to hear your news so it feels real.
WHERE is your Go To? The place you can settle in and immediately feel like everything is going to be alright. Or maybe it’s the place just loud enough for you to forget it all.
Thinking over my own Go To makes me squirm a little. What’s your Go To? You don’t have to tell me yours. But, I’ll tell you some of mine. When the calendar is bursting with schedules/agendas/commitments/practices, I go on a “cleanse” of sorts. I’ll tear through the house, fill several bags, load up the Suburban and head to Salvation Army and the dump. I guess because I can’t clear the schedule, I clear the closet? I don’t know. But it works.
Or how about my big necklaces? Oh man. When the medical whatever with my body is feeling completely out of my hands, I put on a big necklace. I can’t say what’s happening inside my body but dang it, I will put on strands of coral beads to off-set the self-pity.
Thinking over my Go To reveals a lot about my patterns, my reflex. I’m pretty transparent, right? I know. I have control issues. My weekly purges and bold necklaces are harmless but not THE Go To.
Now, Jesus, on the other hand, surprise surprise, he has it down.
Jesus’ pattern, his reflex, his habit was simple and powerful.
Jesus’ Go To:
1. Love Everyone
2. Talk to God
His habit was to Love Everyone and Talk to God. There are so many examples but here are just two.
In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 11- Jesus is with his disciples. They’ve lived and walked beside Jesus long enough to take notice of his patterns. And so they ask him, “Lord, Teach us to pray.”
So, Jesus says, “When you pray, say: Our Father, holy is your name…” Jesus pull his listeners in with love, to teach them. And notice, he doesn’t say this is how you pray to my father, Jesus starts with “Our Father” – mine and yours.
In John’s Gospel, Chapter 14 – The scene is of Philip asking Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Awww, poor, sweet dumb-dumb Philip. The guy has seen, with his own eyes, Jesus feed thousands, give sight to the blind with mud, heal lepers. And still, Philip can’t see who is in front of him. Jesus could have grabbed his face and said, “Seriously?!?!”
But Jesus asks “Phillip, don’t you know me?” He might have been so angry but he didn’t show it. He might have used EXTRA punctuation to make the point!!!! But he didn’t.
I feel like Philip. This dumb dumb keeps looking for necklaces and making donations instead of seeing the simple example of our beautiful Jesus. Let love be the reflex and talking to God the habit.
Jesus Go To is THE How To live.
Let love be the reflex and talking to God the habit.
Let love be the reflex and talking to God the habit.
Go To Homework for real life: so, when we’re in the car on our way to lacrosse and a certain child discovers she has field hockey gear instead of lacrosse gear……. I will respond with LOVE-ing patience and TALK TO GOD about how I didn’t smack her.
Jesus’ Go To:
1. Love Everyone
2. Talk to God
We got this.
how the light gets in 