Tag Archives: Christianity

Rescued

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rescued dog2Rescued

He and his sister were found left to die in a bucket of water.  His sister was quickly adopted but he was much worse off and probably wouldn’t make it.  The vet who found them, after a few days found a home for the male puppy.  But it didn’t work out and he was brought back to the vet.  He was heartbroken that this little life had been through so much in a mere eight weeks but Otis finally found another, forever home.  Now years later Otis is happy, full of heart and grateful love for his owner.  Otis seems to bear no grudge toward whoever left him in that bucket to die.  He lives a life of gratitude.  My wife tells me she has never known a rescued dog that didn’t feel that way.

Last Sunday I retold again the greatest rescue story of them all.  Standing before the congregation I read Matthew 26:14-27:66 taking us in those 128 verses from Jesus’ betrayal to the sealing of His tomb.  I can almost hear the hard “thud” of a heavy stone being rolled into place with the accompanying total darkness which would have filled that cold, stone crypt.  At times I found it almost impossible to continue reading as Jesus’ situation became more desperate, more hopeless with each moment.

I am a rescued dog.  I had no future.  I had no hope.  I was utterly lost and no one wanted me.  When we are surrounded by family or friends it is hard to realize that.  But the day came when, 1500 miles from anyone who knew me I awakened with that realization.  It was then that for the first time in my life, I began to feel warm, gentle and totally undeserved acceptance.  I found a willingness to adopt me by the One whose hands bore the wounds of that time I read about Sunday.   Each time I remember at what terrible Cost I was adopted I must push the tears back that, welling up, render me unable to speak.

The Christian life is a life of gratitude.  I am a rescued dog.  One lifetime is not nearly enough to repay the debt of love I owe.  Christianity is not about denominations, liturgy, meetings, dinners, building programs or programs of any kind.  Christianity is about rescue, tears of gratitude and the desire to bring pleasure at any cost to the One who has given us our Forever Home.

Forest Fire!

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fire flower 3Forest Fire!

Every year raging forest fires ravage thousands of acres in our western states.  There are terrible accounts of harrowing rescues and devastating, widespread destruction.  Heart broken, residents and reporters stand where luscious woodlands, loving homes and busy lives flourished.  Now blackened wastelands, smoking debris, shattered lives and broken dreams seem all that remains.

A few days ago while speaking with one of our preschool teachers we talked about a period of time in her life when, during a time of great loss, she was deeply saddened by grief.  Surprisingly, she smiled as she spoke of how life was even better than before.  We agreed that in many ways her experience was like that of a forest fire.  At first her life was characterized by floods of tears and a broken heart.  During that time it seemed like her life was over and she would never find happiness again.

In a similar way after fire has brought destruction it seems life in the woods is over.  But we know this is not true.  After some time has passed, almost without notice, life begins to return to the forest.  First rains come and begin to wash the ash away.  Then comes the warming rays of the sun bursting through where once the old growth canopy blocked it.  Fed by the sun’s power, enriched by nutrients in those ashes, new life begins where before it had no chance.  Without the competition of weeds, towering trees and hardened paths new life thrives!  In fact biologists tell us these fires are essential to healthy forests.

When loss leaves in its wake empty days, broken hearts and rivers of tears it also leaves opportunity for something new to flourish where before it never had a chance.  Now, several years past the ‘fire’ that ravaged her life that teacher agreed that good things had come to her which, without her loss, would have never had a chance.

We have no choice but to grieve when we lose something or someone special to us.  We do however have a choice of whether we allow that grief to give way to new life and opportunities or whether we live the rest of our days mired in heartache and bitterness. “In His grace there is life; weeping may be for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

ISS

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ISS

International Space Station

ISS

I remember looking up excitedly as I saw the new International Space Station passing right overhead!  That was more than a decade ago now.  This morning at precisely 6:43 am I looked up and, for the first time since then saw it pass over again, right on schedule.  Since I first looked up more than 200 visitors have been to the ISS while its odometer has approached the two billion mile mark! Since I first saw the ISS it has passed within my sight over 2, 700 times and not one time have I looked up to see it until today.

I have to admit though that while the ISS has circled the globe over 75,920 times I haven’t really thought much about it.  For me it has been ‘out of sight and out of mind’.  But though I have not been aware of it, looked up to see it, or thought much about it, none of this changed the activity, research or impact of the ISS on the nations and crews with their families who have actively worked with it.

Late one night in a conversation never to be forgotten Jesus chastened a very religious man, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? … But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about things that happen here on earth, how  can you possibly believe me if I tell you what is going on in heaven?” (John 3:10-12)  Just because we are unaware of what God is doing in the world and in people all around us it doesn’t mean He is not busily working in all sorts of ways!

My prayer for all of us is that the ‘eyes of our heart’ will be opened to become more aware of the God all around us who always has been, who is and who will always be. (Revelation 1:8)  It is only through knowing Him that we shall always be.

What to Wear?

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purple tieWhat to Wear?

    If I were an interior decorator we would starve!

    “I don’t do color,” I have heard myself say.  It’s not that I don’t like color.  I love color!  I just don’t have any sense of what looks good.   When I am out and about I sometimes see that I am not alone.  Now this morning I briefly toyed with the idea of wearing a purple tie.  I left it in my closet, not because it would not be right for today, but because I have no sense of style.

   Today is the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday.  Yesterday was Shrove Tuesday, the final day of Mardi Gras and the day when tradition dictates all fat should be consumed in the house in preparation for the season of Lent.  While I am a Methodist I have not always been one and so I realize that for many the word ‘Lent’ is simply a misspelling of that stuff that gets on your sweater.  However, in many churches Lent is the solemn season for fasting and introspection lasting about six weeks on the liturgical calendar.   I am comfortable with observing this season and also with not observing it.  The ‘liturgical color’ of the season is purple (hence the idea for my tie).

   We live in a day when communication seems to have broken down all over the world.  From Kiev to Moscow, from the board room to the ball room, from the state capital to the nation’s capital we are divided.  Much of this division has to do not with what we want but with HOW we want it.  Democrats and Republicans, Pentecostals, Catholics, Baptists and Methodists, Russians and Ukrainians, all want the same things.  We want to live in peace in this world and in the next.  What we differ on is HOW to get there.

  So while I will be observing an Ash Wednesday service this evening as the traditional beginning of the season of Lent I recognize that what matters is not so much HOW or even WHEN we in humility ask God to search our hearts but that we do.     The Scripture says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts:  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139:23-4).  If you have not asked this of God, no matter what your tradition, this might be a good time to begin.