20 in 30 for 30

Yep. Just look at these two fools.

Adorable, right? Seriously, so much class.

The one on the right, with the Bomb Angry Bird clutched in his left hand, is my nephew Zachary. The other one is the nephew of my other brother-in-law. This was taken the day one of my sisters got married almost two years ago. I had the privilege of giving the wedding message. One of the coolest moments of my life so far.

Zach is a fun little dude. He makes little explosion and vehicle sounds when he's playing by himself, sometimes using very random objects as toys and his imagination. He's definitely his father's son. When "Baba" is in the room, there's no competition for Zach's attention. And from a story when Zach was with my mom at a grocery store, he knows how to work his cuteness with the ladies. Yep, lady killer in the making.

I couldn't help but think of him when I read this verse:

"Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright? Prov 20:11

One aspect of Zach's personality that I find freaking hilarious (his mom doesn't find it as funny) is that he loves to be "first." When we're walk together as a family, whether a hike or hanging around at a mall or whatever, he HAS to be up front. He doesn't like it when his older sisters are in front of him (Believe me, buddy, I KNOW the feeling). Because of this quirk, it draws out the competitiveness of his siblings, which in turn can get ugly, which in turn annoys my sister.

Who knows what kind of person Zach will be when he's a teenager, much less a year or two from now. But one thing is certain: He gets this little look on his face. We all know that look. The one that means you're up to no good, or your about to make the wrong decision because you want to. It's pretty obvious when he does it.

Sure, when we get older, we know how to hide it better, but not completely. Over time, as you build relationships with each other, you know how people react to certain things, like the stinking Myers-Brigg test. (*Sidenote, I don't really believe in personality tests... so take my opinion with a grain of salt).

"The purposes of a person's heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out." v. 5

As we build community with one another, wisdom aides us in communicating our desires, gifting, and love for Jesus to each other. It's not perfect (again, sin just sucks), but it's progress. The only one who has the ability to completely see you for who you are is Jesus himself. All over the Gospels, he could see the hearts and motivations of his opponents. I'm going to assume the religious leaders of the time weren't poker players, but I'm sure they had some non-verbal sub-conscious ways of showing their displeasure with Jesus in spite of their best efforts.

From all this, it begs the questions
- What are the purposes that are deep within you?
- Are you aware of how obvious/not-so-obvious you are with those desires to other people?

From this, we can gather a better self-awareness of how we interact as the Church. We contribute something to the Body of Christ, but it can't function perfectly if we don't understand each other. Even when we try to hide our motivations, it tells others that you've got something to hide. We can't be closed-books in God's Kingdom.