More Christlike or More Like Christian?

I wanted to tack onto the previous post: God prepares secret channels of grace for those who are willing to stay close to His prepared path for us.


The artist who designed the bookmark I use
in devotions is actually my best friend in Tokyo!
(oh--see the date?)

 ..and even for some of us who aren't always so willing. He had a special blessing for me today. June 11th is my birthday. Joyce took our family to a restaurant with the atmosphere of Japan in the era when the country was beginning to adopt western culture. All of us ordered the salad bar (including soup and a bowl of rice with curry sauce poured over the top) , along with side orders of sausages and fries, fritter-type foods of chicken or squid. I can picture some readers' faces wrinkling up at the thought, but it was delicious, and all of us left the restaurant satisfied and happy.

But near the end of the meal, I realized I had forgotten to get a picture of the treat. I couldn't believe myself! This time, I remembered to take the camera, asked Kinya to remind me to check that the battery was inside when we left the house...and then promptly forgot to use it!

That's just like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, I told myself, who, after an extended time of torment in the dungeon of the Giant of Despair, remembered that he had a key inside his pocket with which he could unlock the door and escape to freedom; he simply had not used what he had all along.

The Japanese have an expression, もったいない (mottainai).  It means something like, "What a waste".  It may refer to the feeling that comes when the only coin one can find in his wallet is a silver dollar, but he really needs to use a payphone that accepts any kind of coin... Or it could also express the sentiment of seeing a millionaire walk out of the store with his wallet in his back pocket still full and not a single purchase made because he thinks he left his money at home. It is the same thing, I guess, as realizing there are scripture batteries inside to do the work God wants, but the shutter has not been clicked ("What's On the Inside", Mar. 25th post).

Maybe I can console myself by saying I'm just becoming more like Christian?  もったいない、もったいない。