Adventures in Babysitting

Have you ever been asked to babysit?  If so, you know the immediate reaction to such a question is anxiety and fear – fear that you won’t be able to keep them busy enough and anxiety about doing a good job.  But there are actually only three things you need to know to babysit (besides how to dial 911).  They are:

1.    Don’t lose them

2.    Don’t break them

3.    Whatever you do, DON’T GIVE THEM SUGAR!

Can you imagine what it was like for Jesus when He finally chose His 12 disciples?  For thirty years Jesus had a chance to grow up in body and spirit, experience love and care within His family, and go about His daily business of building things.  I’m sure He had to watch His siblings sometimes if Mary had something to do, but no doubt He was up to the task.  But now He was undertaking a new adventure.  He was going to spend EVERY day with these twelve “gentlemen”, so I wonder if He felt a bit like a babysitter as He worked to ready them for the task of taking His gospel to the world?

Walking and sleeping and eating side-by-side with those twelve must have been a bit like a weekend camping trip with 9^th grade boys.  Think about the smells, the dirt, the chatter, and the strutting that must have gone on.  We know the disciples were competitive, so they probably spent evenings arm-wrestling or who-knows-what-else to show their superiority.  I’m confident there were disagreements and even fights among them that weren’t recorded in Scripture.  Apparently, what happens in Galilee stays in Galilee.

But the most important thing that happens in any babysitting adventure is that those who are being cared for get to see the caregiver in stressful situations – and learn from the experience.  The disciples got to see Jesus get angry over injustice (Matthew 21:12).  They saw how He handled being overloaded by work (Mark 1:38).  When Jesus lost a close friend, they saw Him heartbroken (John 11:35).  Some of them were there when He felt overwhelmed by what was expected of Him (Matthew 26:38).  And they saw Him suffer in silence as He carried their sin to the cross (Luke 23:33).

What makes the adventure Jesus undertook so great for us is that WE get to learn from His experience as well.  The stories in Scripture aren’t just there to tell us about history, but to shape us for the future.  It MATTERS to me that Jesus’ heart hurts when someone close to Him dies, because mine does, too!  I CARE that Jesus felt overwhelmed at times, because I need to see that prayer will help me get through the trials just like it helped Him.  And apparently, all that time Jesus spent with the Twelve made a difference, because more than a billion of us today follow Christ.  And it’s a good thing the 12 paid attention, because Jesus didn’t have a Plan B.

Which causes me to ask, “Are YOU paying attention to the lessons Jesus is teaching even now?”  You see, Jesus, when He knew He had to leave His disciples behind, promised them a new babysitter – the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).  Please don’t think it disrespectful to speak of the Spirit in that fashion.  Because the Holy Spirit of God is with each believer, every moment, offering the very same guidance and oversight that Jesus offered to His chosen twelve.  Now THAT’S an adventure.  I feel safer already.

Always under the Spirit’s watchful eye…

Jacob

The Cat in the Hat becomes a Cat in the Box

Isn’t life much simpler when we’re young?  We start out believing our world is pretty easy to read – like a Dr. Suess book.  But as we grow up, we discover that complexity, not simplicity is more the norm for life.  So many conflicting ideas confront us that it seems all of life is a paradox.  A popular television program often refers to the curious dilemma of “Schrödinger's Cat”.  This paradoxical problem was first presented by the scientist, Erwin Schrödinger, back in the 1930s.   In it, a cat and a flask of poison are placed in a sealed box. At some moment in the future, the flask is shattered, and releases the poison that kills the cat. The illustration was devised to create a paradox – that at any point in time, since we can’t see what’s happened inside the box, the cat might be alive or dead, so it can be thought of as being BOTH.  Yet, when one looks in the box, the answer become apparent.  I told you it was complicated!

My tendency in life is to seek out the clear answers that are to be found, and I’ve found them most often in the words of Scripture.  Clear teachings that anyone can understand, related to the character of God – “God is love”; “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”; “Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”.  All the truth you need to know to trust your life by faith to the Creator who made you.  But some passages start me thinking about that cat.  Not the one in the hat, but the one in the box:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Philippians 1:21

“So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”  Matthew 20:16

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:10

“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Matthew 23:12

“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”  Luke 17:33

Just when we think we have it all figured out, we run up against passages like these!  How can I be weak AND strong?  How can I be first if I’m last?  It seems we live life inside a box, too.  The confines of our environment don’t always allow us to see and understand what’s going on beyond our experience.  Simply put, there are questions that are too big for the box we’re in.  Those are the ones that seem to be paradoxical – no answer provides a clear understanding for us.

I don’t know about you, but I have lots more questions than I have answers.  And I want answers!  So I have to resign myself to the truth that there are things outside the box in which I reside that are beyond my control or understanding.  There are answers, but I just don’t know them yet.  Answers about life and death, about reward and punishment, about good and bad.  Someday, the box will be opened and I’ll discover what’s outside.  I’ll understand completely.  But for now, all I know is that I trust God with what’s happening outside the box and I trust that the Holy Spirit of God is with me inside.  So you know what?  This cat’s all good.

Jacob

Rainbows and Butterflies

When my daughter was very young, I’d tuck her into bed at night, give her a reassuring kiss, and remind her, “Dream about rainbows and butterflies.”  The words were meant to remind her (and me) that everything in her world was OK – she didn’t need to fear and could drift off to sleep knowing her life was filled with lovely things.  It seems we need someone to do that for all of us right now!  The few days of this week that have just passed have been filled with senseless death and unbelievable tragedy, and it makes for uneasy days and sleepless nights (I’m writing these words at 4:00 in the morning).  Where do we turn?

One of those deaths that rocked our collective world this week was the tragic loss of a young boy who was drowned by an alligator at the “Happiest place on Earth”.  Read the last half of that sentence again.  How is it possible that all those words should describe a real event in our world?  But as horrific as that experience strikes us, we are faced every day with challenges that drain the joy from our hopeful lives.  Whether it’s the distress caused by terrorist acts, the daily drain of battling cancer, or the fright over what might be lurking in the water, life is uncertain at best.

King David, who the Bible records enjoyed so many mountain-top experiences, also faced the horror every parent fears.  His child was gravely ill and facing death:

David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted, went home, and spent the night lying on the ground… On the seventh day the baby died…When David saw that his servants were whispering to each other, he guessed that the baby was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the baby dead?”  “He is dead,” they replied.

Then David got up from the ground. He washed, anointed himself, changed his clothes, went to the Lord’s house, and worshiped. Then he went home and requested something to eat… His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”  He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let him live.’  But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”  2 Samuel 12:18-23

David had the same perspective as the apostle Paul when he wrote:

So when...this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  “O Death, where is your sting?  O (grave), where is your victory?”  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Corinthians 15:54-57

Both David and Paul knew intimately what we need to remember: change is coming for each of us.  A transition from earthly to eternal.  A metamorphosis from daily life to eternal life.  One moment a sluggish caterpillar, inching along a dusty trail; then quickly enough, a transformed butterfly lifted into flight on gossamer wings.  It is the promise of Christ that whispers peace into our souls each night.  I hope you’re listening.

I think I’ll head back to bed now. 

Jacob

Pascal’s Wager or Jesus’ Admonition?

Few of us would remember the name, Blaise Pascal, from our days in either math or science class.  Pascal was one of those over-achieving over-thinkers who paved the way for both modern science and mathematics.  “Pascal’s Wager” was a probability-based argument to mankind that since God either exists or He doesn’t, we are all betting our lives on whichever reality is true.  So, he reasoned, why not bet your finite life, behavior, and wealth on the premise that God DOES exist in the hope that you will gain an infinite eternity in God’s presence if you are correct?  While Pascal supposed he was encouraging his fellow humans to live unselfishly to gain eternity with God, it is clear he lacked a theologian’s perspective on salvation.  Pascal’s encouragement to good deeds and sacrifice won’t get ANYONE to heaven, which is only offered to those who trust in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

But like Pascal, Jesus encouraged a similarly unselfish life when He said,

Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:19-21

If putting our earthly “treasures” to better use than our own selfish wealth accumulation doesn’t get us any closer to heaven, then why does Jesus admonish us to do so?  Because in Jesus’ view of things, our accumulation of whatever can waste or rust away is dumb.  He isn’t just saying to take all the money and possessions you have and somehow “invest” them in heavenly things.  It’s not about just giving your money and stuff away.  It’s more about not accumulating those things in the first place.  Why should believers spend day after day, and year after year, trading their lives for stuff?  I guarantee you can’t take it with you to heaven!

I believe Jesus’ Admonition is all about PERSPECTIVE.  Instead of working more and more hours to make more and more money to buy more and more stuff, why not understand what James wrote to us?

You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.  James 4:14

James wasn’t trying to discourage us, but instead trying to drive the truth home that this life is such a little part of the whole of our existence.  We need to remember that in Christ, we are eternal and so it makes lots of sense for us to spend our days “working” for eternal stuff.  How do we do that?  By remembering that the greatest treasure we have is our knowledge of the Gospel – the promise of God to everyone who might believe in Jesus.  So we “work” to live lives that honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us; we share the truth we know with those who need to hear it; and we find a way to love the people God puts in our path while we walk this earth so they will know God loves them, too.  That all adds up to heavenly dividends!

Pascal’s reasoning might inspire us, but Jesus’ admonition should change us.  I’m ready.

Jacob

Beverly Hills or Apartment 3-G?

“Where do you live?”  It’s a pretty common, and perhaps innocent question when we meet someone.  We must believe it helps us identify WHO they are by where they reside.  Don’t you sometimes form opinions of others based on where they live?  We might think, “Oh, that’s not a very nice part of town.”  Or the old stand-by, “They live on the wrong side of the tracks”, whatever that’s supposed to mean.

Well if you had a choice, would you prefer your address to be “Beverly Hills” or “Apartment 3-G”?  Most of us would opt for the mansion.  It seems in our culture we prefer huge over efficient; walls more than fences; and hiding out in our luxuriously-equipped homes rather than engaging with our neighbors.  Doesn’t that sound like Beverly Hills to you? 

But what if we’re people of faith?  I know many who cling to the hope that the old King James Version of the Bible has the correct translation for John 14:2-3:

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Doesn’t that all fit?  If we’re headed for heaven to walk on streets of gold, doesn’t it make sense that we’ll all live in mansions?  After all, we’ve been the humble, the downtrodden, and even the persecuted while we’ve lived on this earth.  We deserve a mansion for all we’ve had to put up with!  But it’s always bugged me that the passage says “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”  I’m a practical guy, so how can there be mansions in God’s house?  How does that work?

Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I believe other translations are more accurate when they say, “My Father’s house has many rooms…”  It can be understood as “places to dwell, or apartments, but you get the idea.  “What!  You mean I don’t even get my own place in heaven?!”  And my answer would be, “Why would you want your own place when you can dwell with others who have been redeemed by Christ?  Why wouldn’t you want to stay as close to Jesus as you could?”

When Jesus told his disciples in the passage that He was going to prepare a place for them, He was speaking like a groom making ready a place for his new bride.  Jewish young men lived at home and when they were ready to take a bride, they simply built a room on to the family home.  They “prepared a place” to bring their beloved bride so that she could be where he was – to live where he did.  Because life in those days wasn’t about Facebook time, or video games, or cell phones, or pizza and a movie at home.  It was about relationships.  It was about sharing your heart with one another and hearing everyone’s stories about life, both past and present.  Life was lived TOGETHER.

Does it make sense to you that we who are followers of Jesus spend most of our time apart from other people?  Can it be a good thing that we almost never interact with those who DON’T know Christ – those who have no hope but will certainly never hear the Good News from us?  Building walls now that separate us makes even less sense now than it will in heaven.  Get to know your neighbors and make sure they know about Jesus.  Who knows?  They might be living in Apartment 4-G in heaven – right next to you.

Jacob