Middle Man

Are you aware of all the areas in life where we need a middleman?

Just now, I was looking at a gift that my friend and real estate agent left on our porch yesterday. It is a bucket full of Halloween goodies. Attached was a note that asked, "Know of anyone buying or selling your home?" This made me realize how often we all need a middleman to guide us through life. The middleman keeps the peace between humans who quickly regard another individual as an enemy. The best example of this is driving in traffic. Now you have a visual of how easily you regard the person in the car next to you who just cut you off. The anger flares up in almost every one of us. The middleman then intercedes to walk us through the process of dealing with accidents or speeding tickets. You get the idea.

I heard a story recently about the angel at the gate in heaven. He asked the murderer, who was on the cross next to Jesus, "What are you doing here?" The angel asked him three times, and then he replied, "I don't know; the man on the middle cross said I could come." Jesus was our middleman. We all needed Jesus to come into this world to show us the way of peace. Jesus connects us to this world. Jesus is love, and His love was essential to reveal itself in this world to remind us to love well. His love also connects us to God the Father in heaven. This is a mind-blowing revelation. His presence fills our lives with the true riches of life: joy, love, hope, and peace.

Yesterday was my husband's and my 33rd wedding anniversary. He had some Moh's surgery and was closed up in the morning. Following dinner, we were standing over the sink tending to a lot of blood. He looked up and through the window and saw a deer with small antlers staring at both of us. He said, "A deer." I looked up too, and saw the most beautiful deer staring back at us through the window. It was perfectly and symmetrically positioned between the posts at the end of our porch. He was so still and regal, staring at us for about 5 minutes. My husband and I cannot stop thinking about this deer. He thought I had put the deer out there and that it was fake. Just this minute, he walked by me and said, I can't stop thinking about that deer. I thought you had maybe hung a picture out there. Seeing the deer at just that moment last night, grounded us and made us feel peaceful and love.

Reflecting on the deer this morning, I realize it was a symbol of love, a gift to us for our anniversary. Whether it was from God or my Mom, it was an offering of love and peace. We have never seen a deer in our yard or on our street, for that matter. We couldn't celebrate our day properly yesterday, so God sent a middleman to make us feel His loving presence. The peace He sent was positioned in the middle of our sight line for us to enjoy and make us feel centered.

Remember how important it is to have a middleman whose presence is peaceful and loving. The world can bring difficult people into our lives who aren't meant to stand between us and someone we love. God gave us Jesus to bring a peace offering and connect us with love for one another. Jesus commanded us to love one another. That is what we are called to do. Go and love well, dear friends!

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need." -Romans 12: 9-13