Right and Not-So-Right

Do the Right Thing.
Good advice.
While I was training as a Centurion, mentored by such moral and theological giants as Chuck Colson, Glenn Sunshine, T.M.Moore, Kenneth Boa, and others, I often heard that phrase. It has become a catch phrase for Centurions as we strive to winsomely encourage others to develop and practice a Biblical Worldview.
I always assumed that, once the right thing was laid out in front of me, it would be easy to choose to act on it.
Not so true.
This past week, I was challenged, by my own sense of right and wrong, to act in a situation. It was definitely not something I wanted to do. But my sense of justice and fair play was shouting at me. Screaming at me.
I am a leader. I am a shepherd. I have responsibilities. To all my sheep...including the "black" ones.
Did I act? Not immediately.
I spent 2 sleepless nights...praying...studying the Word...begging God to show me what to do...pleading with Him not to allow me to chase off after "my own understanding", seeking to be released from this responsibility.  I sought spiritual counsel from 3 trusted Christian friends...without breaking confidentiality...which was not easy.
Here is what I did NOT do. I did NOT tell God what I had decided to do and then ask Him to tell me what He thought of it. I wanted to come to Him with a completely blank slate and let HIM tell ME what to do.
And He did.
And I didn't like the answer.
He wanted me to stand up for what was right.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to.
I knew that it was going to hurt.
And it did.
Taking action, as God led me, in this particular instance, was one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life.
I call myself a Christian. I am a follower of Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in me. I practice the Spiritual Disciplines. I love God with all of my heart. I KNOW that I am saved by the Blood of the Lamb and that I will be in Heaven for eternity. I have read the last pages of the Book and I know how it all ends...and then begins.
And yet...doing the right thing was hard.
It was a complex situation. One in authority to me was not being supportive.
And there have been consequences.
There will continue to be consequences.
It is unpleasant.
It will continue to be unpleasant.
I am no longer "trusted".  Perhaps I never was.
I have a slightly deeper understanding of what a "whistle-blower" must experience...in trauma...pain...confusion...fear...repercussions.
It would have been much easier to cave in and do the not-so-right. 
So it has come to my mind...a thought...if it was that difficult for me to do the right thing...how much more difficult is it for those who are not grounded on the Rock?
A thought.

My and Our

 

Did you see the animated film where the seagulls chase their prey, yelling “mine! mine! mine!”?  “I”, “my” and “mine” are probably the most often used words in our language. It just seems to come naturally to us to use those words.

A while back, one of those funny-to-share emails made the rounds, about the child who says “all toys are mine…unless they are broken.” It was funny…and true. Sadly, it’s more often than not also true of us adults.

Do you speak of My Father in Heaven or Our Father in Heaven? Yes, I know…He’s a personal God. And that’s a good thing, especially when contrasted with the god-who-doesn’t-care (Allah) or the non-god (Buddha) or the 21^st-century-pantheons (fame, material goods, sex, political correctness, equality, choice, etc.)

I grew up in a church that did not recognize a personal relationship with a personal God. They worshiped God; they talked about Jesus, but there was no indication of making that connection with either of them. And then there was that spooky Holy Ghost. Going to church was a little like putting on those flimsy, plastic, color-coded sterile gloves. Worship from a distance, but you can’t get too close.

And then I learned to say MY Father, MY Jesus, MY Holy Spirit. The God I had searched for most of my life became personal. And that is a good thing.

So what is the “our” deal?

Jesus patterned prayer for us, and He said “OUR Father”. Why do you suppose He did that?

OUR God is all about relationships. He is in relationship with Himself, in the Trinity. Not easy for us to understand, but it is a basic truth. He wants a relationship with us. He sent His Son to prove it, and to show us how. And He wants us to be in relationship with each other. Sometimes we forget that. Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…”

When we accept Jesus, the Son, then we have the right to call God our Father. John 1:12: “Yet to all who received him, (The Word, Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God__”

That’s right. We are all His children…and He is our Father. Jesus wanted us to remember that. We are a community. We are a fellowship. We are a family.

OUR Father.

Salt and Light

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Matthew 5:13.

When I was in 3^rd grade, I learned that Columbus found the New World because he was searching for a short cut to the Indies. They wanted spices. Spices! Mmmm. Cinnamon and nutmeg and my mother’s home-baked pumpkin pie!

In 8^th grade, I learned that they wanted salt, an ingredient we seldom used at our house. Salt tasted funny and I didn’t like it. It was probably the iodine that they added to it. Remember the little girl with the umbrella on the label? In both cases, I just didn’t understand. What was the big deal about spices?

In high school, I learned that salt was a rare and treasured commodity. Why? Because it PRESERVES. Refrigeration had not yet been invented, and food treated with salt would resist bacteria and travel long distances without spoiling.

We are called to be salt, not to season, but to PRESERVE. We are called to preserve the history, the lessons, the promises, the Inspired Word of God. We are told to pass it on. It is not to be forgotten. Some will hear…and read…and understand.

Be salt.

“You are the light of the world….let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.

We are told to let our light shine. Why? So that we get to see the results? No. We seldom get to see the results. If we saw the results, we might start wanting to take the credit. Well, then, why do we let our light shine? So that God will be praised.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God…In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness grasps it not.” John 1:1-5.

Do you get discouraged when you don’t see the results? I did. I wanted so desperately to make a difference that when I didn’t SEE that difference, I felt useless. But it’s not really my job to make a difference. Even Jesus’ light was often not “grasped”. It is God’s job to make the difference. It is our job to be light, to live our lives so that others can SEE the difference. Some will see the light…and search for…and find Him.

Be light.

Lost and Found

"I once was lost, but now am found." Words from an old song, familiar to many of us, one of the most often recorded spiritual songs in the secular catalog, "Amazing Grace".
A few years ago, while driving across the Mojave Desert in California (which becomes the Mohave Desert in Arizona), late on a moonless night, I heard a news bulletin on the radio. Two children, ages three and five, were lost on the desert. They had last been seen in light cotton clothes, barefoot. It was a winter night with that signature high desert bitter cold. I wondered what those two precious little children could be doing out there alone. I whispered a prayer for them. "O Lord, You know where they are. Protect them from the cold, their little feet from the cactus thorns. Keep them safe from the marauders, and also from all the desert scurriers that bite, stick and sting. Send Your angels to surround them and let them know deep in their little hearts that they are not alone and that You are with them."
Several hours later, I heard that they had been found, unharmed, not far from a rest stop outside Barstow. What a miracle!
The desert, not unlike our world, is an unfriendly place. A friend of mine, a desert guide, states that there is no such thing as "Desert Survival", only "Desert Preparedness". You take with you a compass, protective covering, shelter, and of course, plenty of water. You always let someone know where you are going and when you expect to return.
As you travel through life, do you feel lost? Are you barefoot in the cold of an uncaring society, walking on the thorny ground of despair, deceit, disbelief? Are you surrounded by the marauders of chaos, confusion, crime, and by all the pain...physical, emotional, spiritual...that bites, sticks and stings? Know that there is a compass, there is protective covering, a shelter, and water for you. The Compass is the Bible, the Inspired Word of God. The Protective Covering is the Blood of Jesus Christ., shed for you on the Cross. The Shelter is God's Love for you. The Water is the Living Water of Life, given to you by God as a Gift, and symbolized in Baptism. Know that WITH God and IN God you are never alone. His angels hover over you, in His Protection for you.
Remember this: God's Hand is reaching down for yours.
Reach up and take it.
Reach up.