A Blessing

I came across this great blessing - a challenge really from one of my college professors facebook notes. I liked it so much that I had to share it with those who read this blog.


May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen.

Sometimes Life Hurts

Last Friday I took Joshua to a doctor's appointment. It was the routine four month check. I am happy to report that he is healthy and growing strong. A part of the four month check up is immunizations. The word immunizations sounds so much nicer than shots. The nurse came in with three syringes of various immunizations to shoot into my four month old son's legs. My job was to hold his arms and head while the nurse held down his legs and gave him the shots. He screamed a painful cry as the needle penetrated the skin. Big crocodile tears dripped down his face and then he looked at me. I am not sure what his mind is able to comprehend or how he processes his thoughts; but it seemed to be a look of "Why are you letting this happen to me?" It broke my heart. I did not want to see my child hurt. I did not want to see him in pain. I wanted to hold him and tell the nurse to keep those needles away from my baby boy. But I did not. I knew the temporary pain of receiving a shot would help him be stronger and more equipped to fight off sickness in the future.

I began thinking about that and realized it is similar to our spiritual walk with Christ. Sometimes life hurts. We go through trials, persecution, hardships, sickness, and pain. We like Joshua do not understand what is taking place and we look to our heavenly Father with a "why are you letting this happen?" attitude. Nobody enjoys pain (unless there is something deeply wrong with them), yet we all suffer pain. Nobody likes to hurt. We do not like suffering. We do not like persecution, yet we all face it. I believe the trials, persecution, and sufferings we face are making us stronger and more equipped to stand strong in our faith. They serve as a spiritual shot, an immunization, preparing us to fight against the sin that seeks to overtake us.

When the shots were finished, I picked up my son and held him close. I softly talked to him telling I love him. I sang a song to him. I let him know that he was loved. When I make it through a trial, I feel my Lord grab me and hold me close. He whispers that everything is okay. He sings over me. No, I do not hear an audible voice or feel a physical touch from God, yet I experience something much deeper. I experience an amazing renewal and transfromation that moves me closer to God.

Sometimes life hurts. It is during those times that we must learn to listen to what God is seeking to teach us. He loves us and He does not want to see us in pain, but He knows that when we overcome this temporary trial - we will receive something much greater.

The Denial

John records a scene in chapter thirteen of his gospel about Jesus that is so heartbreaking. Jesus knows that his time to bear the cross is drawing near. In verses 37-38, we are told of an incident that brings tears to eyes of many. “Peter asked him, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” Can you see the tears in Jesus’ eyes as he speaks those words? Can you hear the pain in his voice? He knows that Peter loves him. He knows that Peter is sincere, but he also knows that Peter will indeed deny him three times.

How many times do we deny Christ? How many times do we say with all sincerity, “I will lay down my life for you,” but when the hardship comes we deny him? With a compassion that can only be felt by our Lord, he weeps and cries over us. With tears in his eyes and with nails in his hands and feet, he says, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He forgave Peter for denying him, just as he continually forgives us.

Today, we choose to celebrate that forgiveness. We rejoice with Peter in experiencing the grace and mercy of a God who loves us beyond all comprehension. Even now as you have so many thoughts on your mind and heart about all those times you denied your Jesus, you can take comfort in those words spoken on the cross and for eternity, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Sickness

What a strange title to a blog post. Let me explain. Sickness seems to be going around our house. I was sick for a couple of weeks and when I started to get better, it hit Timothy. He is fine now, but Kellie is really sick. It is never fun to be sick, but it seems to be a part of life sometimes. I wish people did not have to get sick. I wish we could all live happy, healthy productive lives without sickness. However, we live in an imperfect world. We live in a world that is sick and diseased. We live in a fallen world.

I have learned some lessons that I think are good reminders through this season of sickness. While I did not enjoy being sick, I hated seeing my family being sick. I hate the sad look on my kids faces and I hate seeing them hurt. I hate seeing my wife struggle with the most basic of tasks due to sickness. I wish I could take it from them. I wish I had the ability to take their sickness upon myself in order for them to be free of the sickness.

I believe God has the same feelings in regard to us. We are His children. He hates to see us suffer from the sickness in our lives. Although I believe he never intended for us to get sick, we live with sickness in our lives. This sickness is much deeper than a cold, flu, or even cancer. We live with a sickness in our souls. We are in need of someone to take this sickness away. This sickness affects our families, our relationships, our lives. This sickness of sin creates a vacuum that separates from our Father. This spiritual cancer penetrates our hearts and we become termanally ill. That is until a cure is found.

The good news for us is that Jesus is the cure. God saw our sickness. He observed our pain. He looked at the tears in our eyes. He saw our hopeless situation and he responded. He sent His Son to be our cure. Jesus took our spiritual sickness and carried it to the cross. He is the cure to our soul's diseases. He is the perfect remedy to our sinful hearts. His name is Jesus - and He is our healer!

Fatherhood

Life with three boys is an adventure! I have experienced things since becoming a father that I would have never experienced otherwise. I started coaching Drew's soccer team a couple seasons back and it is now soccer season again. Timothy has really started to like soccer as well. I knew nothing about the sport until I started coaching. I could not name the positions or tell you the roles of the players, but because I was coach, I somehow had the authority. I know a little more now, but will not be coaching past U-6 (under six years old). I have learned a lot through this experience. I have learned the importance of team and the importance of example. Some parents want to win at all costs, and I must admit it makes my ego feel better when our team wins too. However, I feel it important that everyone be on equal ground. The kid on our team that is not very good and has a habit of kicking the ball in the wrong direction is as important as the kid who scores almost every time they get the ball. I realize that philosophy will not work in a more competitive age range, but I believe it is laying a foundation for the future. We are all equal. We are all valuable. We are all loved. We are all created in the image of God. I want these children to know that they are valuable and they are loved. It has nothing to do with their ability to kick a soccer ball, but it has everything to do with the fact they were loved so much that Jesus died for them.

Fatherhood teaches me a lot about life. Everything is an adventure. When we ride in our car - it is an adventure. Every time we go under an overpass, the boys pretend it is a cave. "We have to duck under the cave daddy" the boys will say. Sometime I pretend to bump my head on the cave and the boys will not stop laughing. Each time we go on a bridge the boys pretend they are running across to make it to the other side. It is quite an adventure. I believe life in Christ is also an adventure. It is an amazing journey when we walk with Christ. There are caves we have to get through and bridges we must walk across and while at the time it may seem difficult or pointless, we realize that we have gained something form the journey. The ride in the car gives me a special time of bonding with my kids. It is a great adventure that I know one day I will look back at the teenagers in the back seat with the headphones in their ears and wish for times of laughter once again. However, I pray that the journey we experience now will provide the foundation for a great future.