Jimbo's Jots

I remember one of the “quiet” games we could do as kids growing up in church was to play the game Connect the Dots. You remember, right? You created a grid of dots. One person started by drawing a line to connect two dots together. What you wanted to avoid was to draw a line that gave your opponent the chance to complete the square because then they captured the square. The one who captured the most squares won the game.

We still sometimes play connect the dots . . . maybe just not on paper. Doctors will run a battery of tests to confirm a diagnosis and treatment. Law enforcement agents will scour a crime scene looking for clues to connect the dots to create a storyline of what happened. Teachers will teach students how to connect the dots so they can learn to solve similar problems on their own. Even in my own counseling work, I try to help people look at connecting the dots that they may not have been able to see before and in doing so, begin to connect the dots on their own to work through their struggles.

And then you get to the Bible and see Israel struggle with their own choices. Making a golden idol. Complaining against God. Eventually rejecting God and God then allows them to be taken into captivity. They had a hard time connecting the dots.

Take a look at what God said to Solomon at the dedication of the Temple that Solomon built (2 Chronicles 7). There are several “if-thens” spoken in these words to the King of Israel. All that Israel had to do was to listen to God’s words and God’s warning. But God doesn’t stop with the nation. He targets King Solomon as well.

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David . . . But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.” (7:17-20, NIV)

And we know the rest of the story. It wasn’t until several generations has passed before God allowed the Jews to return to their homes.

What about us? What are the “if-thens” God asks of us? How are we at connecting the dots? And maybe in completing a square or two, claim some victories along the way?!

Be blessed connecting your dots! Be a blessing to others as they connect theirs!

PS – See if you can guess the banner and then follow the dots to confirm!