Faith of a Child - Part 2

I see the moon and the moon sees me.

The moon sees someone I can't see.

God bless the moon and God bless me.

God bless someone I can't see.

A coworker of mine quoted this prayer to me. She learned it when she was a little girl. We agreed that it was a sweet prayer for a child to pray. Then we both thought about it for a few minutes. It is more than a child's prayer. It says much more.We live in a world of goodbyes. We always have. But in this day and age, this world is smaller than ever. Thanks to unlimited texting, free long distance, FaceBook and Skype, 'goodbye' is temporary. It only lasts until the next 'hello'. That leaves only one question, 'Can any of these amazing creations replace the connection of a hug or the touch of a hand?'

They cannot. And there are always going to be moments that we miss. Moments when we can't see the ones we love. Parents who are deployed throughout the world. Broken homes. Job transfers. The fact remains that the same moon we see above us, is the same moon those loved ones see as well. And the same God, sees them just as closely and intimately as He sees us.

So those moments when all you want is a hug from that missing loved one; when you long to hold their hand; when you long to sit next to them in sweet silence, remember that prayer. Remember that the Lord of all the universe holds you both in His Hand.

God bless someone I cannot see.

Faith of a Child - Part 1

13-16The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

Mark 10:13-16

The Message

Over the next few posts I will be writing about the beauty that is faith from the perspective of a child. So often, we Christians, over analyze, over complicate life and all it entails. You can't fake it for long with children. They tend to see the bottom line. They don't worry about the manners or embarrassing truths that we avoid mentioning in 'polite' society. There is so much we can learn from them. There is so much we can learn by returning to the simple things. The Bible stories, the prayers, the songs. We may know them all, but how often to we concentrate on the words? On the truths?

I have the next two posts already, but if you have your own ideas, please leave a comment. This group of posts can be as long as we want. So put down your pens and pick up your crayons. Stop walking and skip a few steps. Take your mom's or dad's hand and hold it. Don't worry about your grammar or spelling, just say it. Go to bed early. Watch an old cartoon. Sing at the top of your lungs, whether or not it sounds good. Throw your head back and laugh loud, long and hard. Be 'little' for a while with me. Let's see where it takes us.

Stabilze

Walk into any emergency room in the US and you will see the same things. People waiting. Loved ones, waiting to hear. Sick and injured waiting to be seen. Worry. Pain. Fatigue. Impatience. But follow the hallway and through the doors you will find a different picture. Oh, you will still see the worry, pain and fatigue. But in the place of all the waiting, you will see motion. Nurses, radiologists, lab techs and doctors. All moving. You see, in this area, these are the most emergent cases. These are the patients who can't wait in that room. Here you will find trauma. Here is all the action. And what's the name of the game? Stability. All the professionals are working toward that goal. Keep those lungs working. Stop the bleeding. Get that heart pumping. These are not the professionals who worry about scars. Life is the goal, not the quality of it.

Do you ever feel that you're in God's ER? Maybe you're waiting... Waiting... Waiting... Maybe you're bleeding out. Maybe you're lung is punctured. Maybe you've experienced a spinal injury and you can't feel anything. Something isn't working and it's a major crisis. You're on the gurney. Worried. Hurting. Tired. You can't feel or see it, but He's working. His goal is to get you stable. And what's next? Maybe getting stable is all the help you need. Sometimes the problem is much deeper. He's working on the symptoms because you aren't in a healthy environment. He's pumping you full of fluids. Watching your blood pressure and heart rhythms. And once you're stable?

Then He moves you. He finds a clean room and bed. He puts the right staff around you to monitor you. He's gotten the bleeding stopped. Now it's time to treat the cause. Now it's time to get you healed. It may required extensive surgery. Or painful therapy. You weren't ready before, but now you're stable. It's a mess. You're a mess. But you're one step closer to healing. Sometimes it's just a paper cut. But many times, it's worse. A lot worse.

It's a long and painful process. Lonely. But this hospital, this place of healing, is full of people. People who are going through this very process. Just at different levels than you. Don't rush it. Take it at His pace. He knows the beginning and the end better than you do. We have all been there and His are the gentlest of Hands.

Judge Not...

There is a reason that God, in His infinite wisdom, told us not to judge others. He did tell us to watch the actions (fruits) of others. He did tell us to be wise. He also commanded us to love. How can we truly love when we are grilling someone on the witness stand or strapping them into the electric chair?

Judging is some serious business. When we judge, we decide that we are God. We decide that we are better than He. We decide that we know more than He knows. There are some problems with that, besides the fact that we are NOT God. All we can see are the actions, the words and the results of that person. While those can be very damning, there is something missing. And that something is very large. That is the heart of the defendant. We cannot see, no matter how well we know them, what their motivations were. Even if we spent days, weeks or even years trying to learn their heart, we would never understand them as their Maker does.

The basic reason for this can be found in the Book of Genesis. The story of the Tower of Babel. When we all speak the same language, when we all think the same, we can make the decision that there is no need for God. So He introduced languages to the builders. It was quite disastrous at the time, but something beautiful (and frustrating) came out of it. We found that we need a Mediator. And who better than our Lord?

So the next time that car cuts you off on the interstate, pause. They may be rushing to a loved one's side. The next time your office manager speaks sharply, pause. They may have just received bad news. The next time a dear friend doesn't notice your pain, pause. They may be in pain themselves. Ask Him to see through His Eyes. Have you taken the time to hear the heart of the defendant? Have you taken the time to put yourselves in their place? Be quick to listen and very slow to judge.

Fighting the Inevitable

18 On the seventh day the child died. David's servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, "While the child was still living, we spoke to David but he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate."
19 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realized the child was dead. "Is the child dead?" he asked. "Yes," they replied, "he is dead."
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
21 His servants asked him, "Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!"
22 He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.' 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

2 Samuel 12:18-23

David knew that this child was going to die. Nathan, the prophet, had told him that because of his repentance, David would live, but his son would die. Even so, when the boy became ill, David fasted and prayed. Why did he fight it? Then, why did he not grieve afterward? So many times, I wish that the writers of the Bible would give me more information. I want to know how David felt in the days, weeks, months after his son died. How did he feel and act on the anniversary of his little boy's birth and death? We won't know this side of Heaven. But I still wonder.

I have fought the inevitable. For a year and a half, I grasped at straws, pretended not to hear my doctor when he used the word hysterectomy. I tried to bargain my way out of infertility. Then I stopped fighting. I gave up what I had always wanted and always believed would be my future. Are there moments when I grieve? Absolutely. Do I believe that this was God's road for me? Absolutely.

So, is there something wrong with fighting the inevitable? I don't think so. Without hope, how can we survive? Didn't Jesus, Himself, ask for some other way moments before He was taken by the Roman soldiers? The God we serve is not threatened by our fears, our anger and our tears. In other words, He is not threatened by our fighting. We cannot see our futures, but He can. We cannot see around the bend of our road. But He can.

There were many people in the Bible whose prayers, fasting and cries moved the heart of God. Moses, Jonah, Hannah. Find their stories. Read them. Learn from them. Fight the inevitable. You never know when it isn't inevitable.

The Cost

How much does it cost? How much would you be willing to give up to follow Christ? That is a question that is rarely asked. In this 'feel good' society and time that we live in it isn't a very popular thought. Has Jesus' question to the rich young ruler ever plagued you? Is He asking the same of all of us?

C.S. Lewis stated (with my interpretation) that we welcome Him into the tiny house that is our hearts. We open up the rooms that we want Him to see, but lock the one that we don't want Him to see. He is not interested in leaving our hearts the way in which He found them. He begins to open locked doors, knock down walls and begin a complete renovation. The goal is become as Christ-like as possible. He builds a mansion out of our tiny little bungalow. While the end result is stunning beauty and there can be moments of amazing joy and beautiful moments with Him. However, changes like this also cause pain along with facing what we have stored in those locked rooms.

In the Japanese culture, the present generation's job & duty is to keep a shrine. That shrine is to be kept clean & spotless. It is at that shrine that the Japanese pray. They pray to their ancestors. This is how they honor the generations that came before. When a Japanese person becomes a Christian, they stop praying to their ancestors and begin praying to the one and true God. They turn their back on their ancestors. They turn their back on their parents, their family. To become a Christian means that they pay a high price.

So, we are back to the question, how much does becoming Christ-like cost us? And are you willing to pay it? The rich young ruler couldn't turn his back on his riches. What habits, sins and cultures are we going to turn our backs on? And what do we get in return?

A Lord who stays closer than a brother. Freedom that comes from binding ourselves to Him. An entirely new family. I believe that there can only be facades of peace and happiness without Him. As Jesus told the woman at the well, the thirst is only quenched for a short time. She would have to come back again and again to the well. He is the well that never runs dry. And the cost for this well? Nothing we could hold onto is worth losing what He has to offer.

It has been happening since almost the beginning of time. And no, it's not the procrastination that has kept me from posting, that's just me. No, it's that pesky little thing attached to our hands. You know that finger, the one that's next to the thumb? Adam was the first human to use that finger. And he made sure that it didn't point to himself. Was he right? Was it Eve's fault? Sure. But was he blameless? Absolutely not. Yet that reaction of his seemed to catch on like a virus. And all of humanity is eaten up with it. Blame.

In dealing with children, you have to be careful how you approach them. At the youngest of ages, they will quickly point their fingers to someone (anyone) else. 'Not me!' seems to be their favorite answer. Unless it's, 'They started it!' If you don't think that adults will pull out those excuses, imagine your next staff meeting when your bosses are trying to figure out who is responsible for wrong behaviour. I am no theologian but I would be willing to bet that this habit is wrapped up in that ugly thing called human nature. You could search for a thousand years and never find any part of God in human nature. We are born in sin and live with these habits to our dying days.

So what's with all the bad news? Just because God can't be found in our failings, doesn't mean He can't be found. He makes Himself available. If you don't agree, just cry out right now. Call to Him in your heart. He will answer. In His time and in His way, but be assured He will answer. How do I know? Let me take you back about 25 years. Oh, my heavens, I feel old! My brother, sister & I were in Bible College. Richard was the only one of us with a car. He had bought it just about a year and a half before. It was used, but we loved it. It meant everything a car can when you are college age. Freedom and independence. Even if it belonged to your brother. Then it happened. Lisa wrecked our brother's first car. Now we three siblings had lost our freedom and independence.

Lisa had a hard road to walk. She was at fault not the other driver. She was responsible. She actually felt that forgiveness was not available to her because the wreck was her fault. If you have accepted forgiveness from Jesus Christ, you know the truth. He shared that with Lisa. As she was crying out in her prayers, she felt the Lord telling her that the fact that it was her fault had nothing to do with forgiveness. While the consequences of the wreck did not go away, God is always ready to forgive.

He does not point fingers. He didn't when He was on trial, and He doesn't now. He didn't when He was being executed, and He doesn't now. He didn't when He reunited with those who betrayed Him, and He doesn't now. Your mistake, no matter how small or how horrific, can be forgiven. You may have to walk out the consequences, but you can walk forgiven by the Saviour of your soul. So look to the only One who isn't pointing His finger at you.