“Your hair is backwards,” the barber declared. While visiting my in-laws, I stopped in a barber shop near their house. I had never considered getting a haircut in their town, had never met the barber, and felt slightly mystified by what he was trying to tell me. “I mean, your part is on the wrong side based on your hair whorl,” he continued. “The hair on your head falls a certain way naturally, and if you try to comb your hair in the opposite direction, it sticks up, especially right after you get a haircut.”
This all caught me by surprise. Nobody ever told me about this mysterious hair whorl thing or suggested that my hair was backwards. No barber in my entire life had questioned the way I parted my hair. No one told me there might be a better way to do things. After 38 years, I just figured crazy hair, all akimbo on top, was my lot in life. But here was this random, unknown barber telling me differently; telling me “Yes, you can do something to improve your hair.”
After agreeing to let the barber cut my hair with the part on the other side of my head, I walked out of a barber shop, and for the first time in my life, my hair laid . . . flat. And I left happy, as if the barber had revealed a secret to me. But how would I have known or experienced the wonder of flat hair if the barber had not spoken up and called it to my attention?
And how can anyone know about Jesus unless we tell them? “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14) People everywhere have bigger problems than bad hair days, but how will they know that Jesus offers a better way of doing things unless we tell them?
July 30, 2009
June 1, 2009
Wink
The stroke robbed my grandmother of two major traits I thought defined her: physical humor and feistiness. Many years earlier, when her boys kept showing up at the breakfast table in their underwear, despite being told repeatedly not to, she arrived at the table one morning - in nothing but her underwear. Everyone showed up fully clothed for breakfast from then on. When I was small, she would put me in a headlock and give me noogies, but when I began to tower over her, she would flit around like a prize-fighter, playfully taunting me with “C’mon, put up your dukes!”
Once the stroke deprived her of most mobility and rendered her speechless, my perception of her started to fade. She just wasn’t the same person I had seen in action. Friends and family expressed similar feelings, usually with a hushed “Poor, poor Mary.”
One of the last times I saw her was during a dinner, just the two of us. At one point, she tried to lift a drink to her mouth, but dumped it all over herself. I expected to hear angry, frustrated grunts as I was about to jump up to help. But before I could move and before I heard anything, she glanced at me, shrugged her good shoulder . . . and winked.
The Message Bible paraphrases Proverbs 15:30 as “A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart.” That simple wink indicated all of the visible troubles and physical ailments I focused on had not touched the spirit inside her heart, a spirit that made it possible to exhibit all of those feisty and funny traits that I knew and loved. I judged how my grandmother should be feeling and acting based on what I could see. But that wink let me know how wrong I was.
Years later, I came to realize why I was so wrong. God is not concerned with how we look, as long as our hearts are focused on Him, because “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). As Christians, like my grandmother, we are supposed to be joyful always (1 Thess. 5:16), regardless of our circumstances. In other words, when everything appears to be going wrong, can you demonstrate where your heart is by mustering a wink?
Once the stroke deprived her of most mobility and rendered her speechless, my perception of her started to fade. She just wasn’t the same person I had seen in action. Friends and family expressed similar feelings, usually with a hushed “Poor, poor Mary.”
One of the last times I saw her was during a dinner, just the two of us. At one point, she tried to lift a drink to her mouth, but dumped it all over herself. I expected to hear angry, frustrated grunts as I was about to jump up to help. But before I could move and before I heard anything, she glanced at me, shrugged her good shoulder . . . and winked.
The Message Bible paraphrases Proverbs 15:30 as “A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart.” That simple wink indicated all of the visible troubles and physical ailments I focused on had not touched the spirit inside her heart, a spirit that made it possible to exhibit all of those feisty and funny traits that I knew and loved. I judged how my grandmother should be feeling and acting based on what I could see. But that wink let me know how wrong I was.
Years later, I came to realize why I was so wrong. God is not concerned with how we look, as long as our hearts are focused on Him, because “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). As Christians, like my grandmother, we are supposed to be joyful always (1 Thess. 5:16), regardless of our circumstances. In other words, when everything appears to be going wrong, can you demonstrate where your heart is by mustering a wink?
April 1, 2009
Take the Charge
“Take it for the team!” my junior high basketball coach would holler, hoping to motivate us for our least favorite practice drill – taking the charge. To take a charge, a defensive player works and moves and hustles to establish a position on the court in front of an onrushing offensive player, and then willfully lets that offensive player crash into him (or her). The referee calls a foul on the offensive player, and the defensive team gets the ball back. Taking the charge can be a great equalizer during a game because even the smallest player on the court can gain an advantage for his team by drawing a foul on the biggest player on the court.
Taking the charge is a tough-to-learn basketball fundamental because it requires a player to willfully and purposefully put himself in a position to get clobbered. In junior high, we practiced taking the charge by standing near the basket while all 6 foot-4 inches, 200-plus pounds of the coach came barreling at us, full speed. The lesson he tried drilling into us was that by getting flattened – and there is no way that you can take a charge without getting knocked to the floor – you were benefiting your team. Although charging calls do not happen very often, the momentum of the game can swing dramatically when they do occur.
When God’s wrath and anger against us all for our repeated sins demanded a sacrifice for atonement, He sent His only son Jesus to take the charge for you and for me. But Jesus did not just get knocked down. He was ridiculed, mocked, punched, slapped, beaten, spit on, flogged, and then nailed to a cross to be crucified, where He withered as He mercilessly suffered an excruciating death by suffocation. Isaiah prophesied “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV), “beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person” (Isaiah 52:14, NLT). Christ willfully and purposefully took up His position in front of God’s wrath, so we could all go to heaven. Talk about taking it for His team so we can win.
Taking the charge is a tough-to-learn basketball fundamental because it requires a player to willfully and purposefully put himself in a position to get clobbered. In junior high, we practiced taking the charge by standing near the basket while all 6 foot-4 inches, 200-plus pounds of the coach came barreling at us, full speed. The lesson he tried drilling into us was that by getting flattened – and there is no way that you can take a charge without getting knocked to the floor – you were benefiting your team. Although charging calls do not happen very often, the momentum of the game can swing dramatically when they do occur.
When God’s wrath and anger against us all for our repeated sins demanded a sacrifice for atonement, He sent His only son Jesus to take the charge for you and for me. But Jesus did not just get knocked down. He was ridiculed, mocked, punched, slapped, beaten, spit on, flogged, and then nailed to a cross to be crucified, where He withered as He mercilessly suffered an excruciating death by suffocation. Isaiah prophesied “He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV), “beaten and bloodied, so disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person” (Isaiah 52:14, NLT). Christ willfully and purposefully took up His position in front of God’s wrath, so we could all go to heaven. Talk about taking it for His team so we can win.
March 1, 2009
Gorillas That We Miss
You’d think someone in a gorilla suit would be hard to miss. Yet in 1999, Harvard researchers Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris discovered otherwise (Perception, vol. 28, 1999). As part of an experiment, they filmed one team of people in white shirts, and one team in black shirts passing two basketballs back and forth in an elevator lobby. Observers watching the film were asked to count the number of passes made by one of the teams.
Partway through the video, a woman in a gorilla suit walks right through the middle of the action.
After viewing the video, 58% of the observers failed to notice the gorilla. In a similar video shown to a different set of observers, the gorilla stops in between the basketball players, looks at the camera, pounds her chest, and walks off. Again, 50% the observers miss the gorilla. After being told about the gorilla and after seeing the video again, the observers typically responded with “I missed that?!”
Seems crazy, right? But how often have we turned the house upside down looking for keys clearly visible on the kitchen counter? Or searched for someone in a crowd and missed them, even after looking right at them as they waved at us? Just because our eyes are open, does not mean we are paying attention. Just as the observers in the Harvard experiment diligently counted passes yet overlooked a gorilla in their midst, we all neglect the seemingly obvious when we are preoccupied. If that preoccupation constantly focuses on our needs, our wants and our desires, we ignore important situations or people passing right through our midst.
In the final judgment described in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus divides the righteous from the cursed. The hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned passed in front of both sets of people during their lifetimes, but apparently the cursed failed to notice. Their response of “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?” (v. 44) sounds a lot like “I missed that?!” To avoid the fate of the cursed, who is right in front of us that needs our help and attention? Look closely, since they are probably not wearing a gorilla suit to get noticed.
Partway through the video, a woman in a gorilla suit walks right through the middle of the action.
After viewing the video, 58% of the observers failed to notice the gorilla. In a similar video shown to a different set of observers, the gorilla stops in between the basketball players, looks at the camera, pounds her chest, and walks off. Again, 50% the observers miss the gorilla. After being told about the gorilla and after seeing the video again, the observers typically responded with “I missed that?!”
Seems crazy, right? But how often have we turned the house upside down looking for keys clearly visible on the kitchen counter? Or searched for someone in a crowd and missed them, even after looking right at them as they waved at us? Just because our eyes are open, does not mean we are paying attention. Just as the observers in the Harvard experiment diligently counted passes yet overlooked a gorilla in their midst, we all neglect the seemingly obvious when we are preoccupied. If that preoccupation constantly focuses on our needs, our wants and our desires, we ignore important situations or people passing right through our midst.
In the final judgment described in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus divides the righteous from the cursed. The hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned passed in front of both sets of people during their lifetimes, but apparently the cursed failed to notice. Their response of “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?” (v. 44) sounds a lot like “I missed that?!” To avoid the fate of the cursed, who is right in front of us that needs our help and attention? Look closely, since they are probably not wearing a gorilla suit to get noticed.
January 1, 2009
Stuck
The earth grabbed me firmly right around the chest and held me like it didn’t want to let go. I was stuck in a hole right near the end of the Wild Cave Tour offered at Mammoth Cave National Park. A Ranger led our small group as we crawled, wriggled, slithered, scraped and shimmied through the natural underground labyrinth. All morning long, we nudged in and out of some very tight spaces. But this time, I was wedged in tight.
“Relax,” said the Ranger calmly. He understood tense muscles tighten and constrict, and relaxed muscles remain supple. I, however, did not care, and fumed at him for being so calm and seemingly useless, just sitting there, while I was trapped. So, I gritted my teeth and determined to free myself, especially with the rest of the group watching. I strained and I pushed and I flailed. But the more I struggled, the more the rocks held firm.
The truth is, though, the rocks and earth did not have a hold of me. My own actions kept me from freeing myself. My own struggles kept me trapped. The stubborn belief that I could take care of the situation myself left me stuck.
The Ranger left no impression whether he believed in God or not, but his advice neatly summarized Isaiah 30:15: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” I would never have gotten free unless I had made the conscious decision to not worry any more about the situation, heed the Ranger’s advice to relax, and let go. Likewise, it is not until we acknowledge that Jesus is in control of everything that we can let go of the many things that hold us, confound us, constrict us, and trap us.
The truth is, no matter how much we struggle to free ourselves from bad habits, addictions, relationships, or any situations that grab us, bind us, anger us and scare us, we cannot free ourselves by focusing on them. We cannot slip through the trouble spots of life until we consciously decide to rest and relax based on the truth. The truth is, lasting peace comes only through Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
“Relax,” said the Ranger calmly. He understood tense muscles tighten and constrict, and relaxed muscles remain supple. I, however, did not care, and fumed at him for being so calm and seemingly useless, just sitting there, while I was trapped. So, I gritted my teeth and determined to free myself, especially with the rest of the group watching. I strained and I pushed and I flailed. But the more I struggled, the more the rocks held firm.
The truth is, though, the rocks and earth did not have a hold of me. My own actions kept me from freeing myself. My own struggles kept me trapped. The stubborn belief that I could take care of the situation myself left me stuck.
The Ranger left no impression whether he believed in God or not, but his advice neatly summarized Isaiah 30:15: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” I would never have gotten free unless I had made the conscious decision to not worry any more about the situation, heed the Ranger’s advice to relax, and let go. Likewise, it is not until we acknowledge that Jesus is in control of everything that we can let go of the many things that hold us, confound us, constrict us, and trap us.
The truth is, no matter how much we struggle to free ourselves from bad habits, addictions, relationships, or any situations that grab us, bind us, anger us and scare us, we cannot free ourselves by focusing on them. We cannot slip through the trouble spots of life until we consciously decide to rest and relax based on the truth. The truth is, lasting peace comes only through Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
December 1, 2008
Act of God
Hurricanes. Floods. Tornados. Earthquakes. Blizzards. Epic, powerful, disastrous forces beyond the control of man. In insurance policies, they are referred to as “acts of God.” When reported in the media, terms like “. . . of Biblical proportion” are used to describe their aftermath. People typically think that when God moves, mighty, formidable and enormous things happen.
Before the Lord spoke to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13, powerful winds tore apart rocks, an earthquake shook, and fire burned. But “the Lord was not in the wind,” “the Lord was not in the earthquake,” and “the Lord was not in the fire.” When the Lord spoke to Elijah after all the commotion, however, the New International Version describes it as “a gentle whisper”, and the King James Version describes it as “a still small voice.”
This Christmas, when there arises such a clatter, before you rush to the window to see what is the matter, remember the presence of God is not necessarily there. The constant commotion and hyper hype of the holiday season serve as a poignant counterpoint to how God spoke to us on Christmas. When He decided to move on His momentous, earthshaking plan to save the world, He did not choose to announce His plan with an event of Biblical proportions.
He used the quiet cooing of a helpless, fragile, tiny baby.
Before the Lord spoke to Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13, powerful winds tore apart rocks, an earthquake shook, and fire burned. But “the Lord was not in the wind,” “the Lord was not in the earthquake,” and “the Lord was not in the fire.” When the Lord spoke to Elijah after all the commotion, however, the New International Version describes it as “a gentle whisper”, and the King James Version describes it as “a still small voice.”
This Christmas, when there arises such a clatter, before you rush to the window to see what is the matter, remember the presence of God is not necessarily there. The constant commotion and hyper hype of the holiday season serve as a poignant counterpoint to how God spoke to us on Christmas. When He decided to move on His momentous, earthshaking plan to save the world, He did not choose to announce His plan with an event of Biblical proportions.
He used the quiet cooing of a helpless, fragile, tiny baby.
November 1, 2008
Three Points of Contact
Teetering on two feet and a fingertip. Wobbling on one foot, a hip and an elbow. Shaking on a shoulder, one foot and a forehead.
Contortions are the norm when straining at the top of a 20-foot ladder, trying to paint a spot close to 30-feet above the ground. No matter how precarious the situation though, if my body had three points of contact with something solid - the ladder, the side of the house, or the roof – I felt a little steadier and a little more secure. I was just happy for some sense of stability by touching something firm and grounded, no matter which combination of body parts I used.
Moving off the ladder and onto the firm, but sloped, roof was no prize either. While painting around an electrical line feeding the house, I limboed under the wire with one foot and my bottom scraping along the lower roof, and a white-knuckle death grip on the upper roof above me. As I scooted under the wire, I released the upper roof, and quickly jammed my other foot against a 1-inch wide window frame edge to re-establish a third contact point as fast as I could. Take away any one of those contact points, and I slip down the roof and right into the emergency room, covered in paint.
When trying to put Jesus in a precarious position, the Pharisees tested Him by asking “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36) Jesus’ reply indicates we need three points of contact between us and God for peace, clarity and security: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22: 37).
No matter how wobbly, rickety or shaky things seem at work, at home or in the world around us, these three points of spiritual contact with God bring more than just some vague sense of stability. In time, through prayer, fasting and Bible study, we will be able to stand grounded and firm on “the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:4), even though it might seem like we’re just hanging on by a fingernail, a hair and an eyelash.
Contortions are the norm when straining at the top of a 20-foot ladder, trying to paint a spot close to 30-feet above the ground. No matter how precarious the situation though, if my body had three points of contact with something solid - the ladder, the side of the house, or the roof – I felt a little steadier and a little more secure. I was just happy for some sense of stability by touching something firm and grounded, no matter which combination of body parts I used.
Moving off the ladder and onto the firm, but sloped, roof was no prize either. While painting around an electrical line feeding the house, I limboed under the wire with one foot and my bottom scraping along the lower roof, and a white-knuckle death grip on the upper roof above me. As I scooted under the wire, I released the upper roof, and quickly jammed my other foot against a 1-inch wide window frame edge to re-establish a third contact point as fast as I could. Take away any one of those contact points, and I slip down the roof and right into the emergency room, covered in paint.
When trying to put Jesus in a precarious position, the Pharisees tested Him by asking “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36) Jesus’ reply indicates we need three points of contact between us and God for peace, clarity and security: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22: 37).
No matter how wobbly, rickety or shaky things seem at work, at home or in the world around us, these three points of spiritual contact with God bring more than just some vague sense of stability. In time, through prayer, fasting and Bible study, we will be able to stand grounded and firm on “the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:4), even though it might seem like we’re just hanging on by a fingernail, a hair and an eyelash.
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