I love watching tennis. A few weeks ago there was a tournament held in California and now there is one in Florida. The weather is beautiful in both places, but it's much more humid in Florida which makes the players sweat that much more.
Tennis is one of the most beautiful sport I've ever watched. There can be thousands in the bleachers that surround the two players but during the match a pin drop could be heard. On the court, there are about a dozen people who either judge the match or catch the stray balls and supply the players with new ones. The people on the court stand like statues during play and then move like clockwork when there is a pause in the match. The tennis players are truly athletes. Their servings can get the ball up to 139 miles per hour. Imagine that yellow ball moving 139 miles per hour and running in its direction in order to send it right back where it came from. Incredible!
There are many other aspects of tennis that are both beautiful and impressive, but I must confess; I don't have any idea what the rules are. I think "love" relates to the tennis score and know that the ball can't be outside certain lines, but beyond that I'm clueless.
I was halfway watching the California tennis matches as I was preparing a bible study lesson when I had a rather strange thought; it's possible to read the Bible in the same way I was watching tennis. I could read the Bible from an the audiences' point of view, just as I watching tennis.
It would be easy to read the Bible and recognize its masterful poetry or its rich history. There are stories of great men and women and with an expert's touch the Author weaves their stories right before you. The Bible is full of wisdom and advice on how to live a good life. Spending time in any of those areas would make anyone a better person.
As honorable of a pursuit as that may be, something could still be missed. Hitting that rubber ball over the net and away from the opponents tennis racket is probably much harder that it looks from the audiences' seats. Everything changes once the audience becomes a player. The rules and challenges are for the players, not the audience. And it's in that same way that a person could read the Bible. After becoming a child of God, the world is no longer for that person but at the same time the child of God has to battle and fight his own desires. Reading about the failures and successes of former Saints is not merely for the enjoyment of the audience, instead it was written for the players. The players are those who have submitted to God and recognize that it's only through Jesus does anyone become a player in God's story. Once a person becomes a player in God's story, reading the Bible just isn't the same.
So please, don't read the Bible like I watch tennis - from the audiences' point of view. Instead join me and my brothers and sisters as we are all players on God's team.
A few days later I got an email that said the ants wouldn’t be mailed out until the average high was about 80 degrees which ensured that the ants would arrive alive. When the hot summer finally cooled down and the ants arrived but my son’s summer visit had been over for quite some time.
What does a good dad do with his son’s ant farm and live ants even though the son isn’t around? He puts the ant farm together. And that is what I did. All the ants died in a few weeks. Now before you start making accusations, I want you to know that I did everything that the instruction book told me to do. I made sure to water and feed them with the right frequency and so on and so forth. Just as some don’t have a “green thumb”, I guess I don’t have an “ant farm….thumb”.
During this ant killing time in my life, I was also taking care of my newborn son and as I was taking care of my newborn son, I though of Mary’s newborn Son. (Don’t worry; my newborn son is doing much better than the ants.)
As I worked in futility on my son’s ant farm I had a fleeting thought: The ants and I are probably closer in intelligence and physicality than God and I. God is infinitely better/more than me, the ants and I at least live on the same Rock. Thinking of Mary’s newborn Son and these ants I asked myself, “Would I send my newborn son to die if it meant that it would save these dying ants?”
I know the question is laughable. But think about it. There is no one on earth who would trade his newborn son to save some dying ants. But isn’t that what God did for us? In unimaginable humility, Jesus took on human flesh to die in our place. “Amazing” doesn’t adequately explain this event.
As you look at your kids think to yourself, “Could I offer one to save some dying ants?” Thank God that unlike us, He sent His Son to save you and me. After all when we compare ourselves to God all we are a bunch of dying ants.
The chipped tooth Brad Pitt turned around and asked the back seat passengers what they wish they would’ve done with their lives as their out of control car sped towards a head on collision with a semi-truck.
Morgan Freeman asked Jack Nicholson what he wished he would’ve done with his life as the two men laid dying in a hospital bed.
Moments like these grasp us. We scramble to answer the question for our self. “What if I only had 5 seconds to live, what would I wish I would’ve done?”
I’ve never been to a funeral when the dollars of the corpse were counted but the number of people who attended is often quickly noted.
What should be on your list?
If it’s something that can be bought or sold than ironically it probably doesn’t have much value.
If your list is filled with things that cost you something, such as loving another or loving God than you will probably live a rewarding life. Maybe the best way to live is in such a way that your list is zeroed out each day.
The Hebrew/Christian concept is interesting – no pictures/ statues/images of God allowed. No detailed description of Jesus’ physical appearance is known. We never hear anyone talk about Jesus’ health, weight, or hair color.
The gods of the ancients were seen, existed in their homes and on their nightstands. Yet, even with this contrast, how many ancient gods can you or I name? How many of their ceremonies could we duplicate?
-None-
Perhaps the Hebrew/Christian abstract idea about God isn’t only brilliant, but divine.
Maybe the existence of a One Sovereign God is something to consider, after all – it seems to have stood the test of time.
Psalm 96:5 “The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens!”
Photo from vicguinda @ flicker.com
The news is full of horrid stories, but this story should've come with a warning. This crime is so awful that most courts would probably at least welcome life in prison, if not the death penalty. The story read something like this:
A 46 year old man performed an abortion on a 19 year old girl. This wasn’t a doctor who was emotional detached from his patient; this was a father performing an abortion on his daughter with a box cutter.
The father didn't welcome his daughter's pregnancy, especially since she was carrying his child. He probably did the abortion himself because going to a clinic would've raised too many questions.
The father was probably happy that his operation was successful, until he realized that he couldn’t stop his daughter's bleeding. As a result the daughter lost too much blood and died.
Rape. Incest. Abortion. Murder x 2
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This story echoed in my mind, the sheer horror was hard to shake. Several hours later when I picked up my Bible and began reading Romans 5, it was still fresh.
Romans 5 says that Christ died for the ungodly. Did you catch that? Christ died for the ungodly, not the good but the ungodly. In fact Christ died for the ungodly even when the ungodly were in the midst of their sin. God demonstrated His love for a bunch of sinners by giving Christ's life in their place.
After reading that I put the Bible down and let my mind start chewing on that passage. I was really taken back by the fact that Christ died for the sinner while the sinner was still sinning. The sinners didn’t have to be cleaned up first to make them worthy of God's love or Christ's death.
It’s no surprise that while I was thinking about this passage my mind wandered back to the murder scene described in the news. Surely the father would be one man that wasn’t worthy of God's love and certainly not worthy of Christ's death.
I reread that passage looking for a loophole; I was kind of hoping that there would be a clause that wouldn’t allow a man like that to benefit from Christ's death. But I reread it and it was all inclusive. Christ died for all ungodly. No one was excluded.
I'm sure that you can make the connection. God loved the ungodly enough that He sent Christ to die in their place. So that means that God loved this murdering man enough to have Christ died for him.
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Now I've had a couple days to think about this, you on the other hand just had all this dumped on you. Take some time to think about this story and read Romans 5:6-12. Am I right, does this man qualify for God's love and Christ's death? If it's true, what does it mean to you?
I had the recent pleasure of being a guest at the local hospital. It wasn't a planned stayed nor welcomed, but needed nonetheless. About the time I was feeling better I was doing everything I could to get medically released.The medical staff requested that I walk around the floor I was staying on a few times to make sure I had the strength to be released. Like an 90 year old man I grabbed my wife's hand and slowly set off for a couple laps.
Being on the 16th floor of the hospital gave us some wonderful views of our fair city. I could see where we live, the beautiful downtown buildings, and the tree tops that seem to coat the city as it sprawls out.
Another window provided an entirely different view. From this window I could see where the hospital gathered it's trash. For most people driving by this area they would simply see a building and a fence, but being 16 floors high gave me a different perspective.
Now I'm not sure if Texas grows larger than normal pigeons or not, but I could clearly see several pigeons walking on the ground looking for food from this trash area. With the pigeons was a man who was doing some sort of work. I was looking straight down at him, seeing mainly his head and shoulders. His body was hidden from my view so it just seemed that his head and shoulders were walking around doing work.
It was interesting to see a man and pigeons seem to be almost the same size. In fact, because I could only see his head and shoulders there wasn't much difference between him and the pigeons. If I had to assign value based on size, the man wouldn't have been any more valuable than the pigeons. I was kind of struck with fear when I thought of that. Because if I am only 16 floors from the ground and mankind already begins to lose his worth from this perspective, what do we look like to God from His perspective?
I began fighting these thoughts proving to myself that we were valuable to God. Jesus was my proof of our value.
But then I looked back down and that man again seemed to be just as equally worthless as those pigeons. I had to be honest with my self - what would that man look like when compared to the universe? A dot? A speck? Whatever is smaller than a speck is what man would appear to God. This was scary to me.
I walked away from the window processing all this information. It just didn't make sense in my mind for God to love men and women so much that He gave His Son to die. Nope not much sense at all. Yes I'm grateful that He found value in us, because I certainly couldn't find any from my 16th floor window.
Honestly, it still doesn't make much sense. If you are looking for a wonderful awe-inspiring ending you won't find it here, because we really aren't that great and certainly not worthy to be saved.
Yet He does find us valuable, even more valuable then pigeons. For that I will rejoice.
I just got off the phone with my worst enemy.
Every time this person calls, my stomach turns.
Whenever someone has told me to imagine my worst enemy - this person would come to mind.
Unfortunately, aside from death there was no getting this person out of my life. If a person could experience personal plagues, this had been mine for the last eight years.
I could go on and on, but I suppose you get my point.
A couple of months ago, during another "have to" conversation things were different. Not slightly different, but incredibly different. I was extremely cautious at first. Sure a person could be nice once in a while, but it's quite another thing to do it over and over. Since that first change in conversation several dozen positive conversations have followed. On a couple occasions we have tried to determine what has changed. Neither of us have any solid answers.
I think that this is needs to be chalked up to God.
God is so powerful that He can turn my enemy into a friend.
Six months ago, I would've laughed at the mere notion.
But, God is so powerful that He can turn my enemy into a friend.
PS. That phone call that I just had was with my (former) worst enemy who was calling to offer several baby toys, even a car seat.
