Do you know what's the best thing about being hit in the face with a baseball bat?
Nothing! Who in the world could find good in that?
I was a teenager and it was the week before school. My neighbor and I were shooting basketball in the driveway. Breaking ankles. Dropping dimes. Making buckets.
Then somebody had the brilliant idea, "Hey, hit the basketball with this baseball bat!"
I should've remembered something from science class that said "for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." Newton was brilliant! And as quickly as my bat struck that basketball it ricocheted back against my face. And did it ever hurt my face. And my ego!
How would you like to show up on the first day of school with a black eye and a humiliating story like that to make it even worse? Thank goodness there wasn't YouTube, Facebook, or SnapChat!
The only bright spot that day, and really for the next week, was the shiner around my eye.
We all have stories like that. Some funny. Others not so much. But stories, nonetheless, that we're constantly having to choose between pressing play or the eject button of our mind.
Abandoned. Ashamed. Betrayed. Cancer. Death. Desperate. Divorce. Finances. Grief. Guilt. Heartache. Hunger. Loss. Misunderstood. Poverty. Self-esteem. Suffering. Tragedy. Unwanted. And the list goes on.
We all have stories we wish we could change or wish would've never happened. And for some reason we feel like our experiences are unique and no one else struggles like we do. So we blame others for how we're feeling or hide in fear of being found out.
But we must learn to own our experiences without being defined by them. To realize we all struggle and we can actually learn from our past experiences and share in the process of moving forward when we're honest with others.
Looking back on that dreadful baseball bat experience I've come to realize this; I can relate, on some level, to everyone who's been hit with a baseball bat. I know it may sound silly but we have a common shared experience.
Some 2,000 years ago a man by the name of Jesus comes onto the stage. His incarnation had been forecasted for centuries. And now the time had come. A king was coming onto the stage of human history!
The people of Israel had been waiting and they were ready for justice to be served, their land to be preserved, and their journey to political, religious, and economic prominence to be restored. But what a twist in the anticipated storyline of a coming kingdom. No palace. No servants. No royal festivities. Talk about a major letdown!
He was born in a stable and placed in a feed trough so He understood poverty. He was questioned by His own family when they left Him in the city. He was in the wilderness and became hungry. He spoke of being homeless. He was surrounded by sick people. One of His best friends died.
He was called into question about paying taxes. He was criticized for having dinner with tax collectors. He was wrongfully accused by the religious and political authorities. He was stripped of his clothes and publicly humiliated. He was abandoned by his friends. He was mocked, beaten, and crucified.
His name; God with us. Jesus came. Why? To eliminate every excuse. He became like us, clothed in humanity, to feel, to think, to experience all the toils of this world. To have empathy for the world He loves.
God is not a god who doesn't understand. He completely understands. He humbled himself and came to this earth. He was tempted in every way just as we are. And He came out on the other side; blameless. In essence, He can, on some level, relate to every struggle we have ever experienced.
If He can predict His suffering, death, and resurrection then my confidence remains high that He will keep this promise; I will be with you. He will not abandon us. I really believe this; He's closer than you think. And you can trust Him!
Saturday, September 09, 2017
Friday, September 01, 2017
Irrevocable
Have you ever had your driver's license suspended?
Just wondering...
I suppose if you're a person whose schedule requires you to drive a vehicle from here to there, then, having your license revoked would create quite a hassle.
At which point you would have a significant decision to make: choose to break the law or be at the mercy of the next available Uber?
Isn't that kind of the way the world works? At any given moment in time we can be handed a title, a position, a responsibility, even a gift and in a matter of seconds it can all be taken away...
Revoked!
I remember years ago setting in front of the computer at the DMV successfully completing the test for my driving permit. I was a real licensed driver. Under close supervision, of course, but a licensed driver nonetheless.
A year later, sitting behind the wheel, ready to show the world my skills, I parallel parked my mom's mini van like a boss. [Actually, it may not have been a mini van.]
I was rocking this driving thing turn after turn. Until...
Until the attendant said, "Did you notice that sign?" "Sign?" I guess not. But I should have. The big white sign with black letters that said, "NO TURN ON RED."
I didn't break the speed limit. I didn't change lanes without a signal. I didn't run a stop sign.
But I made one fatal mistake. After looking both ways multiple times, I forgot to look up. And it cost me dearly. I was a mere 200 feet from the finish line only to hear her say, "I'm sorry. You will not be able to receive your license today."
Denied.
Is it any wonder why so many people walk through life the way they do? Looking for land mines and waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under their feet.
Why?
Because the thought of revocation is frightening. Rejection is painful and sometimes too difficult to handle. To be denied becomes a form of brutality to our souls.
There was a time when life's circumstances had placed all odds against my favor. I looked up and felt abandoned. I looked within and felt so empty. I looked around and it seemed like the people that mattered were busy and preoccupied. And I began to question all that I had ever known.
We're convinced that nothing is permanent. That nothing can last a lifetime. That jobs will be lost. Promises will be broken. Our greatest treasures will lose their value. That even the good gifts of life can be taken back.
And yet I'm supposed to believe some anomaly that there is this one person making this one promise that I can take to the bank. Yeah right! Why should I believe that? If everything and everybody in the world has the capacity to fail me, why should I trust anyone?
And yet there's this one phrase tucked away in a letter written by this rebel, a murderer, after his life had been transformed by the God of the universe, "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."
That what this God says and what this God gives cannot be taken back. That's incredible! God is making irreversible promises to His people and no form of evil, not even our own selfish desires, can thwart His inscrutable ways.
There is no question that God placed an undeniable call on my life. And that call has been more clear than any word ever spoken over me. More than my parents' words. My teachers' words. My coaches' words. More than any word meant for pain.
What God established before the foundation of the world will never been shaken. The word that brought light out of darkness and everything from nothingness is the same word that has spoke truth over you and me. How incredible is that? His word, His calling, is irrevocable!
Just wondering...
I suppose if you're a person whose schedule requires you to drive a vehicle from here to there, then, having your license revoked would create quite a hassle.
At which point you would have a significant decision to make: choose to break the law or be at the mercy of the next available Uber?
Isn't that kind of the way the world works? At any given moment in time we can be handed a title, a position, a responsibility, even a gift and in a matter of seconds it can all be taken away...
Revoked!
I remember years ago setting in front of the computer at the DMV successfully completing the test for my driving permit. I was a real licensed driver. Under close supervision, of course, but a licensed driver nonetheless.
A year later, sitting behind the wheel, ready to show the world my skills, I parallel parked my mom's mini van like a boss. [Actually, it may not have been a mini van.]
I was rocking this driving thing turn after turn. Until...
Until the attendant said, "Did you notice that sign?" "Sign?" I guess not. But I should have. The big white sign with black letters that said, "NO TURN ON RED."
I didn't break the speed limit. I didn't change lanes without a signal. I didn't run a stop sign.
But I made one fatal mistake. After looking both ways multiple times, I forgot to look up. And it cost me dearly. I was a mere 200 feet from the finish line only to hear her say, "I'm sorry. You will not be able to receive your license today."
Denied.
Is it any wonder why so many people walk through life the way they do? Looking for land mines and waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under their feet.
Why?
Because the thought of revocation is frightening. Rejection is painful and sometimes too difficult to handle. To be denied becomes a form of brutality to our souls.
There was a time when life's circumstances had placed all odds against my favor. I looked up and felt abandoned. I looked within and felt so empty. I looked around and it seemed like the people that mattered were busy and preoccupied. And I began to question all that I had ever known.
We're convinced that nothing is permanent. That nothing can last a lifetime. That jobs will be lost. Promises will be broken. Our greatest treasures will lose their value. That even the good gifts of life can be taken back.
And yet I'm supposed to believe some anomaly that there is this one person making this one promise that I can take to the bank. Yeah right! Why should I believe that? If everything and everybody in the world has the capacity to fail me, why should I trust anyone?
And yet there's this one phrase tucked away in a letter written by this rebel, a murderer, after his life had been transformed by the God of the universe, "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."
That what this God says and what this God gives cannot be taken back. That's incredible! God is making irreversible promises to His people and no form of evil, not even our own selfish desires, can thwart His inscrutable ways.
There is no question that God placed an undeniable call on my life. And that call has been more clear than any word ever spoken over me. More than my parents' words. My teachers' words. My coaches' words. More than any word meant for pain.
What God established before the foundation of the world will never been shaken. The word that brought light out of darkness and everything from nothingness is the same word that has spoke truth over you and me. How incredible is that? His word, His calling, is irrevocable!
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