Reductionist Thinking

            I’m glad God is no genie.  Otherwise, I’d be in big trouble.

            For instance, a few minutes ago I was praying silently as I made my bed:  “God, help me not to lose what I’ve gained.”  I was thinking of the progress I’ve made in the last year or so in healthier eating habits.  But if God was a genie instead of God, he would take my words at face value, and I’d be supernaturally stuck with the pounds I’ve packed back on!

            Think how wonderful it is that God knows not just our words and not just our actions but our hearts.  He knows our motivations better than we do.  He knows what is prompted by love and what is not.  And though our hearts can so easily be sullied by sin and sidetracked from his purposes, he still loves us.  He accepts what we offer even as he refines and redeems our very selves.

            And in my case, I’m counting on him helping me to reduce as well.