Real Life Stories – Page 35

The little girl on the beach

Leave a Comment / October 31, 2011 May 24, 2015

The little girl on the beach was investing all of her childish energy into making obscure shapes in the sand and digging holes to find the tiny sand crabs and the water beneath the surface. It was the perfect pastime on this hot summer day. After awhile, she realized that she hadn’t seen a familiar face for awhile. She looked up towards the mosaic of colorful towels, beach umbrellas, and bathing-suit clad crowds all along the beach. Her little heart started to pound.

Where was mommy? Her heart pounded harder.

Where was daddy? She started to scan from left to right, growing alarmed.

As she stared at the horizon full of strangers, full-blown panic set in and she started to race down the beach as fast as her short legs could carry her. She had no idea where she was going. She just knew she was lost and she had to find someone to help her. Her safe, comfortable world had suddenly grown dark and frightening.

Meanwhile, her parents looked up to notice that their little girl wasn’t where she had been just a split second before. They started to panic as they searched in vain for her blonde head. The beach was especially full that day and the nightmare of a lost child—their lost child—started to become real.

Getting ready to head over to the lifeguard, the father gave one final searching glance that just happened to be in the right direction. He saw a little girl in a navy bathing suit running down the beach as fast as her chubby legs could carry her. It was his little girl. And she was running in the opposite direction.

Before he could even give it a thought he was tearing down the beach after her. His young, strong body was fast—but this tiny 6-year old was making it hard to catch her. The adrenalin flowing through her little body made her much quicker than normal.

As her daddy finally overtook her, she stopped. She looked into his face and she knew that she was safe. That familiar face changed everything. She grabbed her daddy’s neck and hung on for dear life. So very thankful and relieved he had found her, her daddy carried her back to safety.

That little girl was me. I don’t really remember all of the details, so some of them are from my imagination. However, I do still remember the fear and panic that was in my heart as I looked up and couldn’t see my family. I remember running. I vaguely remember the safety of being in my daddy’s arms. My parents tell me the story of how frightened they were when they couldn’t see me. I do know that after that incident I was deathly afraid of getting lost for at least 20 years. I was in my mid-20s before I realized that I was smart enough to find my way home if I got lost.

As this memory came to my mind a few days ago, it started me thinking about how sometimes we get scared in life and we just start running, searching for safety. We find ourselves in the midst of an unforeseen and uncomfortable trial and when we realize that we are in trouble, we start running like our lives depend on it.

Only we run away from God.

We run towards what looks like the exit door, only to find out it is not an escape from our trial at all but a fake exit door or maybe even a trap. Fake exit doors and traps take all kinds of shapes. They can look like a chocolate cupcake. Or a player-laden green field with lines on it. Maybe it is in the shape of a red Mustang GT or a nice boat. They can look like a thick best-seller or virtual military men on your TV screen. It may be in the shape of a wine glass or a small, white ball. It could be a court room or a corporate conference room. Whatever it looks like in your life, one thing is certain: There will be no escape there. Nor eternal peace or fulfillment will result from going the wrong direction.

But if you are one of God’s children, saved by His grace alone, God will catch up to you. He loves you and nowhere you can run can take you so far away that He can’t find you and catch you and bring you back to His fold. Just like my daddy did what he could do to protect me, so our Heavenly Father protects us. Even though, in ignorance, I ran a different direction than where my daddy was standing, he found me. Our heavenly Father will find us, too–if we are His.

This reminds me of Romans 8:38-39:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If we are His, then nothing can separate us from His love and care for us. We may get lost for a little while but He will find us. Great is His faithfulness!

May we find our safety and peace in God alone and not waste precious time running the wrong direction.

Figuring out the alarm clock

Leave a Comment / October 24, 2011 October 24, 2011

SO…the other night I was trying to set the alarm on my new alarm clock. I had finally splurged on an alarm clock that could play my ipod. I don’t usually set my alarm and just get up when I hear everyone stirring. But it was Saturday night and I needed to be the first one up the following morning. I had been enjoying my alarm clock’s music capabilities for awhile, but I had no idea what I was doing when it came to setting the alarm. At first, I half-heartedly turned around and started pushing buttons. I quickly realized that I was going to need to put more effort into it. At this point, I turned on the light and tried to figure it out. When that didn’t work, I got out of my warm, cozy bed to hunt for the instruction manual. I had intentionally put it somewhere that I wouldn’t lose it. Now, understand, I am famous in my house for this. Putting something somewhere so that it won’t get lost…and then not remembering where that place is! As I searched through every possible drawer, cabinet, and cubby-hole that it could possibly be, I became more discouraged. It was late and I obviously wasn’t finding the directions anytime soon. So I did the obvious thing–I asked my husband to help me figure it out!

He spent some time looking at it and between the two of us, we tried to figure it out. I am not really sure we ever did. I think we set his alarm as back-up. At any rate, I woke up on time.

But, it got me thinking…setting that alarm clock without the instruction manual is a little like living life without the Bible. You try all kinds of stuff on your own power and intellect. And you may figure it out…at least occasionally. And you might get it mostly right…at least from the outside looking in..but you won’t really know what you are doing.

I have a lot of gadgets with instruction manuals. I doubt I use any of them to their full power. Why? Because I have never sat down with the instruction manual to see what they can really do. I do put the manual somewhere safe (usually!) where I can find it when I run into a specific problem…like setting an alarm! I guess we can be a little like that, can’t we? Putting our Bibles on a shelf, where they can be found in case of an emergency. And for church, of course. And when we run into a problem, after exhausting all of our human resources, we may run to the shelf and find a verse that matches our situation and encourages us. All of this–instead of abiding and walking with the Lord always. May our Bibles be well-read, well-marked, and used every day!

Amazing what you can learn from a silly little thing like an alarm clock, isn’t it?

Ignorance Can Be Costly

Leave a Comment / October 10, 2011 August 5, 2015

Our family observed the goings-on in the Port-Au-Prince airport around us with wide-eyed wonder. We stepped into the main building to hear a cacophony of voices in an unfamiliar language. We joined the mob waiting to go through customs.

As we looked around us, we saw black and white mingled together in one great mass of humanity. The place was hot and dirty and disorganized–nothing like any airport we had ever seen. We saw groups of matching t-shirts, signifying missionary or human aid groups coming to help the needy of that land. We saw Haitians coming home for a visit or perhaps returning from a trip to see a relative in America.

After what seemed like a very long time, we approached the customs officer. He took one look at our forms and handed them back to us. As we tried to understand the issue he was having with our paperwork, we were finally able to figure out that the problem was our daughter’s form, which she had completed in pink ink. He deemed the pink ink unacceptable, handed us a new form and a black pen, and shooed us off into a corner to re-do it.

Eventually, all six of us made it through customs and stepped into the area where we would find our luggage. Here, we found ourselves surrounded by pure chaos. Dark-skinned men moved with purpose, shouting to each other in Creole. The stench of body odor filled the air. We saw some travelers knowingly push through the pandemonium. But other faces mirrored our own–lost and bewildered.

A man came and grabbed my husband by the arm. He steered him through the crowd to an area where he had all of our pieces of luggage gathered together. He clearly expected to be paid for this service. While it was a relief to find our luggage had all arrived safely, we would have preferred to find it ourselves in the good ole’ American way. But here we were.

My husband looked at me with a question mark in his eyes. I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t know how to handle this, either. The man who had gathered our bags took the $20 bill Eric held in his hand and then promptly turned it over to another man standing close by. He explained that this was his helper and he would split that among his other helpers. He then asked for money for himself. At that point, we just wanted to get out of there, so Eric gave him a $10 bill he quickly found. The man grabbed it and then took us outside to be handed over to more luggage handlers (or shall we call them money-grabbers?)

Do you know that by the time we reached the doors, the word had spread that quickly that rich, dumb Americans were on their way, that we were absolutely mobbed?! Like bees on a hive, we were swarmed by men of dark color, all grabbing at pieces of our luggage. There are some things you will never forget in life and this would be one of them. We had a vague notion of where we were supposed to meet our contact and so we clung tightly to our luggage as we walked uncertainly in the most likely direction. If it wouldn’t have been so frightening, it would have been quite comical.

By the time we were walking through a shade-tarped tunnel on the sidewalk, the money-grabbers had succeeded in taking the handles of some of our luggage. They would hold on to it for a short bit and then pass the luggage on to another man who would grab it. We were in shock–and, if I am honest, quite fearful, too. Finally, about half-way through this tunnel to the parking lot, a man told us that he knew “Jim”, the man we were supposed to meet. What a relief! Here was someone who could take us to the man we were looking for! We gladly surrendered our bags to him and he, quite characteristically, demanded money for the privilege of doing so. By that time, my husband had had enough. He handed him $10. The man argued that he had many men helping him and would have to split this teeny amount among them. After handing him $3 more, Eric looked at him and said “Enough!” with a firm determination. I think the man knew he wasn’t getting more and turned around and started pushing our luggage to the end of the tunnel where we met Jim.

We left that airport $43 poorer. We found out later that the Haitians make a fraction of that amount after working a whole month! No wonder everyone wanted the privilege of handling our luggage!

Our ignorance had left us at a serious disadvantage. We left that airport poorer but quite a bit wiser. I guess that happens to all of us. But it is important we learn from these life lessons. I don’t think we will ever return to the Haitian airport and spend $43 again. But, if we ever go again, we will be prepared for the chaos of the airport and also have small bills in our hand instead of $20s and $10s.

We have to learn from life’s lessons or we are bound to repeat them.

But it is even better if we can learn lessons before it costs us. This can often be done by observing and talking with those around us.

I think this is especially true for young people. Older folks have learned so many costly lessons in life. There is great wisdom in old age. Life’s experiences teach us so much. Instead of scoffing and belittling those of old age, we should, with great respect, learn from them, so as to avoid the mistakes they made. Many parents and grandparents would appreciate the privilege of sharing some of their life lessons, if simply given the opportunity.

Let’s stay humble and teachable, no matter what our age, and in doing so, spare ourselves much pain and anguish. We will never be able to totally avoid trouble, of course, but in learning from others along the way, we can make our lives so much easier.

On this particular occasion, we learned our lesson the hard way. Of course, in the process, we made some Haitians very happy!

Persevering in the Grey

Leave a Comment / September 28, 2011 September 28, 2011

I opened my eyes. The missing sun cast its presence by its absence. Another dreary day. September had been full of them. I sighed. Somehow I would have to get up the energy to be productive for another day. With or without the sun. I hadn’t realized just how much its bright presence cheers me. As I stepped into the early morning, the humid air became a sticky blanket on my skin. So…it was dreary and humid.

As I went about eating my breakfast and tidying the house, I argued with myself as to why this would not be a good day to exercise. I had had the same losing argument with myself for every dreary day the past month. And there were a lot of them. It just wasn’t a good day to exercise. Surely, I don’t need to exercise in such conditions. In the meantime, by body, while not really gaining in pounds, had deteriorated substantially in tone and shape.

From somewhere deep inside, I recognized that I was going to have to push through the grey. Push through the humidity. Persevere. I reluctantly walked upstairs to put on my running clothes. Then I grabbed my iphone, my headphones, and headed out the door.

The first mile was tough. The stickiness melted my clothing to my body. Even when I was only walking. I kept going. I started to jog. I knew, even though this wasn’t fun, that I was doing the right thing. Not just for me. But for my family. I am a much better “me” when I exercise. As I jogged, the flourescent pink trim and laces on my new running shoes made me smile. There was a little brightness everywhere…if you took the time to look for it.

As I ran, I listened to these promising lyrics:

Everyday’s a brand new day
A chance to undo my mistakes
And be the me I know that I can be

Count my blessings one by one
Grateful for what God has done
Spending more time down upon my knees**

As I listened to this song, God showed me that my life choices weren’t so very different from this run of mine. Every day, we are given the opportunity to make choices. Good ones. Bad ones. The good ones are so much easier to make when the sun is shining. When there is a crisp breeze in the air. When the flowers and fields are sparkling in the sunshine. But when it is grey…when all is dreary and dismal around us, then the good choices are harder.

When we lose our best friend…when we get sick…when our spouse is struggling at work…when a child is rebellious…these are the times our minds cajole us, saying things like: “Eat what you want. You deserve it. Watch TV and escape the world. Go shopping. Go golfing. Escape with this book. Play this video game. Because you will feel better if you do this.”

But you never do. You never feel better. You always feel worse. Oh, maybe for a minute or two I will feel some satisfaction from eating some Chocolate Chip Mint ice cream. But as soon as the last bite is done…if I am eating it for the wrong reason…then the guilt comes.

As I finished my exercise with a brisk walk, the sun made a brief appearance and I heard this in my headphones “Now the bridge leads on…to a brighter dawn. It’s waiting for me.” And I realized that the bridge does lead on. That we who love Jesus Christ have the hope of an eternal dawn. Where there are no grey days. We need to persevere…we need to make good, wise choices–no matter what our circumstances– as we move ever closer towards that eternal, brighter dawn that is waiting for us in glory.

**Higher Calling by Blessid Union of Souls

Apples and People

Leave a Comment / September 22, 2011 September 22, 2011

As I was preparing apples for a dessert the other day I couldn’t help but think of some similarities–

1. Sometimes the skin is spotted or dented in a place or two, but underneath there is still firm flesh that is healthy. Sometimes people may have a scar or a physical defect that doesn’t look very pretty, but that doesn’t give any indication of who they are inside.

2. Every apple has a core. An annoying core that needs to be cut out and worked at and sheds all kinds of brown dots on the clean apple as you’re are working on it. Aaah…we humans are a bit like that, aren’t we? Our evil hearts full of sin (Jeremiah 17:9) need to be changed and transformed and the process is often messy, leaving “dots” of consequences all over us and often over others.

3. A good apple is firm and crisp. Have you ever bit into an apple that was sandy or mushy? Yuck! Perhaps people who are mushy and inconsistent can be a bit like that. It reminds me a little bit of that passage in Revelation (3:15-17). “These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ¹⁵ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,^[g] I will vomit you out of My mouth.” We need to be firm, passionate, and consistent in what we believe and in our actions, instead of being tossed to and fro by every doubt, as James talks about in chapter 1.

4. The seed within the apple is what brings about more apples. We each have seeds to plant that will grow into fruit. The question is what kind of seeds are we planting? For example, almost every personality trait is a double-edged sword, is it not? Depending on the situation, a person can be firm and respected or domineering and arrogant. Perhaps they are instead insecure and wishy-washy or merciful and sweet. You see, all of us have the tendency to take the way God made us and use it for good or for evil. May we desire to spread seeds of Truth and goodness and kindness all around us, no matter what our personality.

5. And one last thing. I decided to go with a variety of apple that was unfamiliar to me for this dessert. The sign said it was good for baking, so I thought, “why not?” And you know what? The sign was right! It really was a very good apple for baking and the apples are really good for snacking, too. Sometimes I get into such a rut of buying the same type of apples…Galas and Yellow Delicious, mostly…that I forget there are literally hundreds of other varieties. Sometimes we may do the same when choosing who to have as a friend or even to work with on a team or committee. We choose the varieties of people we are most comfortable around, whether it be an age thing or a personality thing. But sometimes going out of our comfort zone and having a real conversation with someone who makes us a little nervous or uncomfortable can yield great reward. Instead of locking ourselves into the same circle of friends all the time, let’s be adventurous and try some different “varieties” once in awhile!

The Amish Boy and the Cigarettes

14 Comments / September 19, 2011 August 12, 2019

I didn’t even notice him at first. I was standing in line with my Wawa coffee and peanut butter pretzels. It was about 8:30pm on a Sunday night and we had stopped on our way home from the beach to stretch our legs. Ahead of me in the line was the boy. He was about 18 or 19 years old. He wore black pants, suspenders, and a royal blue shirt. His blonde hair was cut in the typical bowl-cut style used by the Amish. Nothing unusual about him. As he got to the counter, I remember thinking that he had nothing in his hand to buy, which caused me to ponder, as it was highly unlikely that an Amish boy was going to buy gasoline. So I watched. I did not have to watch long. I heard him mumble something that the clerk apparently understood. The clerk reached for a pack of Camels and laid them on the counter. The boy, a little sheepishly, gave him the money and walked away. As I watched the whole thing unfold, I thought about the absolute incongruity of the whole situation. Here was a boy who is part of the Amish church. This church is famously known for its policy of keeping separate from the world–down to its horse-driven plows and their favorite mode of transportation, the horse and buggies (because engines are worldly). They only use gas lights (because electricity is worldly) and use no modern-day conveniences within their homes. And yet he was buying cigarettes.

Now, of course, you can’t live anywhere near an Amish community, without knowing their tradition of “rumm-shpringa”, where boys and girls sow their wild oats for a period of time in their late adolescence. This is often celebrated by drinking and dancing parties. And I guess cigarettes, as well. I confess I have never understood how such a tradition could have ever started and seeing it in action has given me no more insight.

But it did make me wonder. How many things do we Christians do that are so incongruous to what our Lord stands for? Over history Christians did not drink, go to the movies, gamble, swear, or dance. They wouldn’t dream of wearing immodest clothing, much less a bikini. Christians went to church on Sunday mornings. The world recognized this “portrait” of a Christian. That was part of how you could tell if someone was a Christian. Of course, not everyone who behaved in this traditional way was an actual true believer. There were many hypocrites. So much so, that,about 25 years ago, we decided to throw the baby out with the bathwater and decide that God only cares about the heart and we can do whatever we want (although I am not sure what it says about our heart if we desire to do so many of these worldly things…just sayin’). This is the latest thing, is it not? Rationalizing our gambling, our R-rated movies, our swearing, our school dances, and our bikinis. Actually the tide has turned so much that there isn’t much rationalizing going on anymore. Most of the things in that list are already accepted as okay for believers to do.

And how it must break God’s heart. Nowhere in God’s Word is there any indication that we should ever sacrifice our personal holiness to reach the world. In fact, I would say that the whole philosophy has back-fired and we aren’t reaching much of anyone. The people who are reached are those who just want fire insurance. The opportunity to do what they want while “knowing” they will end up in the “good” place for eternity instead of the “bad” place. But salvation that doesn’t include personal holiness isn’t salvation at all.

Of course, there are some new Christians who struggle as they learn God’s Word. They struggle learning what is acceptable in God’s sight. But our Christian culture has gone so far down into a pit, that I truly find myself wondering what exactly would be the description by most Christians of “worldly”. If James tells us to remain unspotted from the world (James 1:27) can someone explain exactly what he means in light of our current “Christian” standards? If we are to be separate (2 Corinthians 6), how is this accomplished exactly? John 15:19 goes so far as to say we will be hated by the world, because the world loves its own.

Wow. This was not really the direction I was headed when I started writing about that poor, pathetic Amish boy. The boy who has “permission” from his “Church” to do and behave in whatever way he wants for a short period of time. Seeing this tradition in action makes me realize how silly we Christians look in our worldly actions. Claiming to love a Holy God, and being anything but holy in our behavior. It is utterly incongruous and quite sobering, indeed.

Water in the Basement

Leave a Comment / September 15, 2011 June 24, 2015

Last week brought record flooding to the Eastern United States. Water gushed into the basements of thousands. Carpet and furniture were ruined. TVs, computers, and video game consoles were rendered useless. Photos, toys, clothing, and boxes of Christmas decorations all needed to be sorted through–many of the items tossed into the trash dumpsters that needed to be ordered for the occasion.

Now tell me this–what would happen if someone just decided not to clean up the mess created by the water? What if they just decided to shut the basement door and ignore that it ever happened?

Of course the whole home would become uninhabitable rather quickly. The smell itself would drive out the homeowners. But along with that would come mold and mildew and creatures and sludge. And then, if someone was crazy enough to continue living there, bacteria, infection, and disease would eventually make their presence known.

But, of course, this is a ridiculous line of thought, right? No one in their right mind would let it go this far.

However–

While we might not allow things to rot in our basements, let’s think about our relationships for a minute.

Many of us–maybe even all of us–try to ignore things in our relationships with spouses, children, parents, or friends. We just think if we ignore it it will go away. But would that horrible stench in our basements go away if we just ignore it? Of course not. So why then do we think the problem in our relationship will disappear?

I think this is often the underlying cause of those later-in-life divorces. You know the ones–where they have been married for 25 or 30 years and then, suddenly, out of the blue, the one spouse wants out and the other one never saw it coming. I guarantee you that somewhere in the hazy craziness of all that is going on with that couple, one of them made a decision to ignore something that was really bothering them.

Another example that comes to mind is our teenagers. So many of us just want to ignore the trash on the iPod or the inappropriate texting. Because for the moment, it it the easiest thing to do. But ignoring things like this will lead us to big-time regret.

But it is so much work.

But it is too hard.

But I don’t feel like it.

But I hate conflict.

But it just isn’t worth it to fight.

But I give up.

But I am tired and do not have the energy to deal with this.

But, but, but…

I am afraid we cannot afford the “buts”! What if the basement was flooded and the homeowner pronounced those words?

“I am too tired. It is too hard. It is not worth it. ”

That would be ludicrous, would it not? Why then is it okay for us to do this when we have an issue in a relationship?

Many a marriage has ended in divorce, many a teenager lost to the world, and many friends forever parted–all because someone was not willing to say, “hey, I love you, but this is a problem. Let’s figure this out together, because you are worth it to me.”

Do you have a stench in one of your relationships? Is mold and mildew growing there? Is there a mess that needs to be cleaned up? I know it will be hard work. But it is worth it! Let’s care for and protect our relationships, just like we care for and protect our homes!

Be careful…your character is showing.

1 Comment / September 12, 2011 September 12, 2011

The two boys walked lackadaisically across the street. I waited in my car. Watching them. They both looked unaffected by the fact that a 4500 pound piece of metal on wheels could be used as a weapon with the wrong driver. They looked unaffected by much of anything, actually. I suppose that no one ever told these boys that jay-walking is illegal (in other words: wrong). I guess no one had told these boys that walking slowly and lazily across an intersection- even at a crosswalk- is not only selfish and unkind to the motorists waiting for you, but perhaps a little dangerous, as well. From all appearances, these boys did not feel any responsibility to walk faster. In fact, I am quite certain they were completely wrapped up in their own world and cared about no one but themselves.

I can’t help but contrast these boys to the heroic video showed last night in honor of the tenth anniversary of 9-11. The day that is forever etched in many of our minds. Hundreds of human beings stepped way outside of their selfish box. They stepped up to meet the needs of people they did not even know. For hours. And then for days. They searched and dug by bucketfuls through the dust and the rubble. Looking for both the living and the dead. One firemen talked about his dread of doing that work each morning. But he did it. Because it was what he had to do. Often, character and strength will show up in situations like that. Adrenalin moves in and humans do what needs to be done. It is what a hero is made of. I believe I know many heroes. Men and women who would not hesitate to do what’s right in the midst of a crisis. And I am thankful and proud to know them.

But, let’s face it–it is the daily grind where our real character shines through. It is our daily decisions that show who we really are. Our lives are not shaped by a heroic moment or two. They are shaped by each and every decision. It is so very difficult to do the right thing when there is no one watching. It is difficult to do the right thing when the decision (we believe) will affect no one but us. It is difficult to make the right choice when our parents or our spouse or even our children aren’t there to question us.

Whether it is something as small as lazily walking across the road and forcing people to wait for you or as big as landing in prison for selling drugs, they both show a selfish character. A character that says “I am going to do what I want!”, without care for anyone else. Most of us stay within the “acceptable” social guidelines of selfish. There are hundreds of different, very socially, acceptable ways to be selfish in this culture. But it is still selfish. No matter what the culture says.

As you walk through your day, think about each decision you make…and why you are making that decision. Let’s examine ourselves today. Let’s live beyond the status quo.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

P.S. God just showed me…like, literally right now, just how selfish I am. As I poured a cup of coffee and had a conversation with my daughter, it quickly turned into a mild argument…because I was being selfish. I may not like this “examine yourself” stuff!

Declaring who you are

1 Comment / September 8, 2011 September 8, 2011

My friend and I tried not to stare at the person in front of us. We had spent a few minutes looking at our menus and this “person” came to wait on us. The problem was we had no idea if it was a boy or a girl. There were so many different clues, declaring both to be true, that we found it impossible to tell. After the person took our order and left our table, we spent a few moments discussing it quietly…sharing the clues each of us had picked up on. There was an “I Love Boys” bracelet. But there was no bra…or anything to fill one. There was the high-pitched voice. But there was the short, cropped hair. We tried to solve this puzzle all through lunch and we just never did. We both left that restaurant still wondering if we were served by a boy or a girl.

This made me wonder…do we make people wonder about our Christianity? When they search for obvious clues can they find them? Or are we confusing people with our signs, so that many people shake their heads and never do really figure out if we are Christians?

She goes to the food bank on Saturdays. But she dresses unseemly and immodestly throughout the week. She goes to church on Sunday. But she was at the bar the night before. He plays in the worship band. But he has an ongoing, angry argument with a family member. He would give you the shirt off of his back. But his language is worse than most truckers.

We are confusing people with our wobbly stance on worldliness and sin. Sure, we all sin. We all make mistakes. But habitual sin and worldliness brings not only heartache for us, but confusion and bewilderment to the unbelievers who are watching us. Are they a Christian? Aren’t they a Christian? Are we sending mixed messages?

I can’t help but wonder if that person who waited on us is happy? I have no idea about the personality or background of this person. Why he OR she chose to live in the middle…somewhere between man and woman. But I do know that straddling ourselves between two opposite sides is a painful, tense place to be.

Let’s declare our Christianity and then make sure our actions match that declaration. Let’s live for the Lord and cast our own worldly desires aside…so that when someone is watching us, we can be certain they will say, “there goes a Christian.”

Fitting God into our Box

Leave a Comment / September 1, 2011 November 4, 2016

Have you ever tried to pack a suitcase of winter clothing and keep it to the 50 lb airline regulation? Perhaps you were going on a ski trip. Or maybe on a mission trip to a winter land. Whatever the reason, you needed to get a lot of clothing into a very small box. So you fold and you roll. And then you remember the shoes. So you start over. Folding and rolling and stuffing. But the physics of the box demand that you can only put so much stuff into it. So you sit there and stare at that rectangle laying on your bed thinking what can I live without for a couple of weeks? And you start pulling things out until you can get that zipper closed.

Perhaps we do that with God, too. Is it possible that many of us try to fit God into a box that we create? And then when it all doesn’t fit together to our liking, we start discarding the characteristics of God we just do not care for–

God is Just (Deuteronomy 32:4). We don’t understand this one, so we just remove it. We can’t wrap our brains around how God can be loving and just at the same time, so we just forget the Just part and concentrate on the Loving part. Many of us live with a God box that only has love in it. But the Bible says God is also just.

God hates sin (Psalm 45:6). We really dislike this one, so many of us take this one from our suitcase almost immediately, filling our suitcases instead with God’s forgiveness. No matter what I do, God will forgive me! Yes, that’s true and a very important part of God’s character. But let us not forget that God hates that sin we commit and that He forgives. We are grieving Him when we sin. So many of us have such a lackadaisical attitude about sin. Like it doesn’t matter. When is the last time you spent some time confessing your sin to your Heavenly Father? We hardly even hear that word anymore. Confession.

God is Holy (I Peter 1:15-16). If God is holy, and He wants me to be holy, then that means a complete change in who I am and what I do. Some of the words used to describe holy at dictionary.com are “saintly“, “godly“, “dedicated service to God“, and “spiritually pure“. Now think with me for a moment about what you played on your radio yesterday or what you watched on your television or the last movie you went to see. Do these words come to mind in describing your choice of entertainment? Or how about the last time you had a disagreement with a family member or friend? Do these words describe how you responded to them? This Truth extends into all areas of our lives. It is especially a difficult one to keep in the box. It affects how we treat people. What we talk about. Who we hang around with. What we allow in our homes. Where we go. And what we do when no one is watching. And so many, many Christians have effectively moved this right out of their “God box”. They might still mouth the words, but they do not live them and have effectively removed the thought from their minds, too busy, instead, rationalizing why certain behaviors are just fine (and even talking themselves into the belief that they are promoting God’s Kingdom by their worldliness–another “box” issue we won’t go into here).

Above are just a few ways that come to mind about how we try to ignore truths about God that we are given in scripture. Sometimes we also add things to our “God box” that aren’t true. Whatever our tendency, it is a good idea to examine our definition of who God is. Does it agree with all of scripture? If it doesn’t, we had better start over. Go ahead and examine your “God” box. Does it go along with the Word of God? It is time to remove the falsehoods and replace them with the Truth. Because it is only when we have an accurate view of who God is, that we can truly grow and thrive as a believer.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

Psalms 45:6 Your throne, O God, [is] forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness [is] the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness.

I Peter 1:15-16 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.