Doc is a keeper. I’m a throw-awayer. (Thank you for letting me make up words. One of the many reasons I love you all.) He and I couldn’t be any more different in this regard. The good news is that after nearly thirty years of marriage we’ve begun to see the merits of both.

Of course like Doc says, “The outcome of a rain dance has a lot to do with timing.”

There are times, seasons of life, when it is good to hang on to things. Dare I say even people? And yet, if we’re mindful of the seasons, we’ll recognize that there are times we need to let go.

I have to think that no one grasped this better than the apostle Paul.

Paul loved (really loved) his Israelite heritage. Consequently, he felt called to zealously purge his country of Christians. Their profession that Jesus Christ was the Messiah was, in his humble opinion, mucking it all up.

So purge he did. That is until God granted him vision. The vision was so powerful it blinded him.

Funny how sometimes we have to lose our sight in order to see.

Paul did a one-eighty. Big. Time.

Although his heart pined for his Jewish countrymen, God used him to reach the Gentiles. The Jews that rejected Christ were now before a figuratively closed door. Paul had to re-frame his purging criteria. On the surface the situation seemed cut and dry. Kind of like Doc and I…save or throw.

Oh, but for our incredible God!

“Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom?” Romans 11:33 MSG

Thank heaven God had something more in mind.

“But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God’s kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back. What a homecoming!” Romans 11:12 MSG

God’s ultimate goal is to “collect” as many people as possible.

My finite mind limits Him. Limits His sovereignty, power and purpose. But more than anything, I limit his goodness.

When the season or timing doesn’t suit me, or escapes my comprehension, it’s easy for me to mistrust.

May He remove the scales from MY eyes!

I scan the words of chapter eleven further and this is what I see.

“This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house.” Romans 11:25 MSG

Of course!

God’s desires a full house!

If we’ll squint our eyes and peer down the sidewalk, we’ll see the image of our Father, standing at the threshold of home’s front door. Waiting. Wanting.

Nothing makes the Father more pleased than to see all of his children come home.

“But with the door held wide open for you, they have a way back in. In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what is means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in. Romans 11:31-32 MSG

Are you in a season that feels more like a parting, purging or paring down? Or maybe just plain stuck outside?

My prayer for you is the same one I’ve prayed for myself:

Lord, help me see this closed door for what it is.

1. A matter of seasons.

Remind me of the temporary nature of life. Even though what I’m facing may feel like forever I know “this too shall pass”.

2. A matter of opportunity.

Remind me that you waste nothing and that everything…EVERYTHING…circles back to your goodness and the good desires you have for me and each person on this planet.

Sweet DoAheads, there is nothing God wants to “collect” more than us! May we embrace the truth that every single one of us are His treasures, His beloved!

“The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV

{Be sure to stop by Suzanne Eller’s #livefree community in the next few days. The convo is about “collecting”. You’ll be glad you hopped over…pinky-swear promise.}

Your DoAhead Friend,