I sat down, cup of coffee in hand, and gazed at the words on the page. The Parable of the Tenants.

I stopped and thought,

“I am just a tenant.”

How many times have I read that parable? Never before did the word tenant jump off the pages like it did this morning. The truth that the word of God is living and active plays itself out once again.

As I continue to read, the wrestling match in my cranium makes it difficult to focus. A headache kept me from my usual early start and as much as I want to sponge up truth from the pages in front of me my brain is already shifting into the duties of the day. My mind drifts to the long list of items yet to be acquired for Darling number one. Departure for his first year of college is just a week away.

“I am just a tenant.”

Beloved husband is busy as ever. I’ve neglected him the past few days. I wonder, “God, how can I help him today?”

“I am just a tenant.”

Two more Darlings begin another year of high school in three days. I imagine what is in store for them. How will their classes go? What new friendships await them? I am excited for them but my enthusiasm is tempered with concern and I whisper, “God be with them.”

“I am just a tenant.”

A beloved actor takes his life. My heart hurts for his family and I am filled with sadness over the outpouring of pain his departure has unveiled. Public response reveals a tidal wave of souls who struggle with depression and suicide.

“I am just a tenant.”

The news is full of atrocities in faraway places. Brothers and sisters I have never met are making a choice…the choice. The choice I’ve wondered. “Would I do it Lord? Would I choose you over life? Harder yet, would I choose you over the life of my children?” Particles of a cloud, heavy with evil, have drifted half way around the world and landed where I sit this morning.

“I am just a tenant.”

The words keep coming back to me like waves in the ocean. Peace begins to cover me because,

“I am just a tenant.”

God has created me and allowed me to occupy this tiny space in the cosmos. He’s given me a role to play where he’s placed me but I am not responsible for the big picture. It’s not my job. That’s the job of the land owner. And frankly, I’m relieved.

Don’t misunderstand, I don’t believe it means I’m called to cloister myself in my corner of the planet. On the contrary, lately I’ve sensed that He’s calling me (perhaps many of us) to go…to reach…to stretch ourselves farther than we ever imagined. Its just that His words this morning remind me that He’s in control.