4 Amazing Girls

I promised Bebe, Brianna, Courtney, and Shelby that I would write a blog about them and in all honesty they deserve one. Because being my friend isn't the easiest thing in the world. They put up with my pessimistic comments and my flirting. In all honesty I'm not quite sure why they are still my friends but they are so thanks! So that was kinda general so I'll write in specifics. (in alphabetical order)

Bebe:

This girl is one of the most fun girls I have known. She is incredibly nice to everyone and is always encouraging. She asks me whats wrong when she knows when something is up even though she probably doesn't even really care to know. And then she listens. And I know that she listens well to her other friends as well. She is passionate about Christ and asks how others are doing in their relationship with Him. Also, she is really big into Best Buddies which I respect her a lot for. That is an area that I am not to great in but she is really good at it because of her nice nature. I'm sure God will be using this later in her life.

Brianna:
Brianna is definitely one of the smartest girls I know. The questions she asks and the comments she makes challenges me both intellectually and spiritually. I really haven't seen too many people who think as deep as she does and are willing to openly discuss the questions she has about things. I really enjoy talking about that kind of stuff. Also, Brianna is incredibly funny. She is always making everyone around her laugh and in general makes hanging out a lot more fun. She is pretty sarcastic, which if you know me at all then you know that that is something I find to be really funny. Also, it is really fun to do Junior High Bible Study with her. She is good at teaching and is a good example for the junior highers.

Courtney:
Courtney is really loving. It goes along with her natural tendency to be a mother. I don't know if she likes being called that or not but I think its a good thing. Probably because I'm a momma's boy but whatevs. Back to Courtney though. She is incredibly nice and is genuinely concerned for her friends when something is wrong. There have been many times when she simply says, "Sam, need help". Sounds mean but really she means it in a nice way. Or at least thats the way I take it. Courtney is also a really good leader. She does great with FCA. I've been there when they discuss things and she is really smart, focused, and has a passion for people and Christ.

Shelby:
I haven't known Shelby as long as the other three but she is great. Personally I think she is kind of motherly like Courtney but I don't think anybody agrees with me. She is very smart and practical. She is really funny and is often sarcastic, which again is one of my favorite things. Shelby is also very good at listening. She truly wants to know whats going on with her friends and how she can help. She is very nice and is also very talkative, in a good way though. She isn't annoying about it. Also, she has an unnatural affinity ketchup. Its kinda funny.

So those are 4 of the best girls ever. They are constantly challenging me spiritually, constantly making me laugh, and also constantly putting up with my crap. I really couldn't ask for much more.

More

More. We never have enough. We never have enough from people, ourselves, and we certainly don't have enough from God. From the beginning of humanity we have never thought we had enough. We have always wanted more.

Adam was created by God and God was generous enough to give him a partner. He gave him a good land with a beautiful animals, good food, and easy work. One rule was given to us, do not eat from the tree in the center or we will die. We had it all, but we wanted more. So Eve took a bite into that apple creating a vicious cycle of humanities unquenchable thirst for more.

God punished us for taking the fruit and then immediately helped us by clothing us and sending us to a knew land. He provided children and gave us techniques to know how to work the land which was hard because of our own selfishness. Was this enough for humanity? No. We wanted more. So people went around having sex, making idols, and sinning their lives away to the point that God was sorry He made us. In His wrath He was about to send a flood but in His grace he decided to save the family of Noah to rebuild humanity. So he sent the flood, gave the punishment of death we deserved and started over with a righteous man.

Were we satisfied with God's grace in letting us live? Were we satisfied with His promise to never flood the Earth again? No. Instead we decided to build a temple that reached to Heaven, in essence so we could go there without having to accept what God had commanded. So God took us and scattered us to many places and gave us different languages. Each had his own piece of land.

Were we satisfied with our own piece of land? No. We decided we wanted more than what God gave us so we started making war with each other for our own selfish purposes. And we started making our own governments and our own God's. Israel was one of the worst offenders. God's chosen people chose to go their own way and live a life of rebellion. God punished them but soon after He would send the Son of God down.

Were we satisfied with the Son of God? No. We rejected Him and His teaching. We plotted to kill Him and screamed insults at Him as he healed our people. Trying to trap Him, we asked Him hard questions and put Him to the test. He refuted all of this and continued to live His life the way God intended it. But instead of following Him we killed Him. Floggings, beatings, spitting, and mocking he carried the cross to the hill. We killed Him and He used it to save us from our own sin which got us into the whole "more" cycle anyways.

Are we satisfied with Him saving us from our sins? Are we satisfied with the ultimate price He paid? Sadly no we aren't. Although we accept His forgiveness sometimes we do not accept Him. We take what we want and when we pray for more and it is not immediately given to us we get angry. It is not what we pray for that is necessarily selfish, it is that we don't trust His timing to answer or we don't respect Him when His answer is no. Time after time I myself struggle with this and time after time I learn this very lesson but it never sticks. I still want more.

Our thirst for more will never be fully quenched until we are in Heaven. At that point we will be able to live with God and His Son which will be enough. This is what we are to strive for today. If we are going to want more let it be more time with Christ. Let it be more reading of His scripture. Let it be more of Him. Although humanity is too deep into the "more" cycle to break it, why not try? God didn't intend for us to be unsatisfied. God intended for us to be complete in Him. Yet we kept wanting more. And He kept showing us grace and giving us more of what we didn't deserve. Every time He gave us something we wanted something else. What is He giving us now that we are rejecting?