Life Thoughts
Trooper Bob
Well, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. This is that time where we all take inventory of our lives. We look at what we did or did not accomplish last year and make resolutions to drive our focus for this new year. As I myself have begun my own personal inventory, I saw something that has created alarm in me. If you have been around me at all, you probably have noticed it as well. I will tell you what it is in a minute . . .
I have lived in Washington for over six years now and have met and got to know many people. One of those people shared a couple of years ago at a men’s retreat, kinda a personal story and It challenged me then and it is challenging me again today, not so much his story but the message it contained.
I want to apologize if I fail to acurately retell things precisely as Bob did, but I hope you get the sway of the message. Bob and his family had been going to the church awhile before we started and I am not really sure what he was doing professionally at the time we met, but over a little period, Bob transitioned his life, as a middle aged man who had worked several professions into the role of a Washington State Trooper. Bob began to notice after he became a trooper that people began to treat/talk to him differntly, alot around his role as a trooper. Bob was proud to be a trooper but one day realized that he was Trooper Bob. Somewhere along the way Bob the seasoned believer and man of faith was now recognized at church as trooper Bob.
Strange how that happens, how our lives can take on an identity and somehow we assume that identitiy and soon that becomes us and without such we dont have definition anymore. For me I noticed it probably a couple of months ago when I realized that some of my friends didnt really call anymore, and then hearing myself as I met new people, I realized why; I had become Divorced Dave, the dissallusioned dad, single sufferer! I found myself telling that story and thats what people began to know me as.
If you have every been their, you know it is a rut. It is hard to break free when you latch onto one of those identities. Perhaps part of it is a midlife crisis but I have come to realize without real definition, my life has become defined by my circumstances and not by who I am. How did that happen?
A story from scripture that I think is related is in the book of John, chapter 5. There was this man, who had been an invalid for over 38 years. And he sat at this pool with all the other people who were lame, paralyzed and blind. Jesus walked up to him one day and said, “Do you want to be healed?” Surprisingly the man did not answer yes, but began to make excuses as to why he was not healed. I like how Jesus responded, he said “Get up!”. Imagine, living 38 years as an invalid and then a man walks up, one who you do not even know and says “Get Up” and all of the sudden you can walk! No more excuses, No more invalid, No more who you thought you were! Identity has been changed!
Thats what I want this year! Break free of the identity I have allowed to wrap me and walk in who I really am! I hope that is your prayer for your life as well. You are more than what you have allowed yourself to be defined as: Alchoholic, Cheater, Liar, Workaholic, Selfish, Sinner. I challenge you to listen, is Jesus asking you today, DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?
I do!
Proverbs 22:1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
Myself
Enough about you, let me tell you a bit about myself! I like attention. I like to be in charge. I like people to praise me for my skills and accomplishments. I dont like to take crap from anyone! And I dont need anyone, other than to compliment me! I am extremely smart, smarter than most of the human population. I am handsome and any woman would be blessed to have me! I understand God better than most theologians.
I can see it now, some of you are thinking,”Thats not Buck, he’s not that way at all!”. Others are saying, “You nailed it! Thats him to a tee!”. Still others are saying, “I think some of those things are true and others are not!”
The truth is, that list is me! Those are some of the things I struggle with and have struggled with much of my life. They are some of the things that hinder my relationship with people and with God.
But on the flip side I also don’t like the spotlight. I like to remain annonymous and go unnoticed. I am very happy just following and serving. I like to praise people for their talent and accomplishments and often feel embarrassed when I get noticed and complimented. I need people. My life is vacant and lonely without human interaction and touch! I strugle with comprehension and often feel very lacking in my knowledge of life, the world and its wonderful Creator. I am not a very attractive man, and I would be blessed for the attention of woman. Understanding of the ways of God often elude me and require much thought and processing to lay hold of the simplist of truths.
You see that description is me as well. I often feel like I am struggling with two “Bucks”. That can be a real challenge for me, and for anyone who is connected to me. I think at times I am crazy, but then I find that I am not alone. In Romans 7:21-24 Paul says ” . . . Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!”
Now I know many of you, and the truth is, we all struggle. And that can be a hard thing when we live in relationships. Not only in couple relationships, but even in friendships and acquaintences. We all desire to do good, but often don’t! For me personally one of the things that helps me is to keep in mind what Paul said in the book of Phillipians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Now let that soak in just a moment . . .In our relationships we are to become the servant! Now I want to deviate just a second here. There are some that teach that this means dying to yourself. And to a point I would agree. But that death only happened once. You see when we came to the knowledge of Christ and acceptance of Him and began the life persuit, the Bible says “Old things are passed away and all things become new” Thats it right there. We died! That very moment we were reborn! Just as Christ died once for all, our death was a one time event! Baptism signifies that!
Funeral’s are sad depressing events! Most of us walk around like that in our lives. Like we are at a daily funeral. Mourning the loss of ourselves. That can be a big hindrance in our relationships. You see it becomes hard to balance the concept of “life and life abundantly” with death and dieing. They are polor opposites. Yet we often live in death durges and wonder why our spiritual lives are so sickly and wretched.
So today, if you are a follower of Christ, you died that day. For me it was September 14th, 28 years ago. I died that day. But I was born that day as well! Celebrate your life, not your death. Live! Live in your relationships. Serve each other with joy and gladness.
Paul wraps up Romans 7 and into chapter 8 with this: ” Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ”
FREEDOM – embrace it and live it and share it together!
Had to share
Sitting at the airport, looking through the blog of a fellow seeker and just had to share this:>
Christmas Journey
As we head into celebrating Christmas, the day celebrated by Christian’s as the birth of Christ, I thought I would post a few thoughts about Him.
Jesus never spoke of salvation as a recitation of a prayer. Thats right I said it! Now if you are like me and grew up in the Bible belt of the south, you heard it every week and probably still do! You need to pray the sinners prayer. No dont misunderstand me. I prayed that prayer at 14 and my life was forever changed. And many of you who prayed that prayer also can attribute a changing point in your life to that time. But it wasnt the prayer! It was the decision. The decision to believe! Believe that God is real! The decision to follow God! No matter where that might take you in life, to follow. The decision to allow Jesus to be Lord of your life. Yes, not just believe and follow, but to follow whole heartedly giving it all to Him. You see it was not just an event, but it was an event and a process.
A process! Belief and action! A journey in pursuit of God, as experienced through the mercy and grace of Jesus! And just like visiting your relatives on the holidays, we have to remember that any journey is riddled with great wonders and deep conflict and occaisional tragedy. Yes, you know what I mean. Those uncomfortable moments where uncle so and so said something and everyones eyes got as big as silver dollars or that grandpa pissed off your mom!
Somehow we have allowed the concept of being a Christian to morf into something entirely un-Christian. We have moments where we sense a deep presence of God and exclaim “God showed up today!” and other moments where we find ourselves in so dark a hole that we cry “Why have You forsaken me!”. Yet strangely, I recall that my Sunday School teacher said God is everywhere, all the time. Hmmmm. if that is so, how can He just show up, or how can He abandon me? No, perhaps it is more that at times ,I welcome and recognize Him who is always there and at times I totally ignore Him, even though He is sitting right across from me here at Starbucks today.
We love the sermons that teach prosperity, peace, love and joy, but Jesus didnt describe it that way. He said the journey is hard and full of sacrifice, their is a cost to following. In Luke 9:57-62 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
The one about the plough really gets me. I grew up in rural East Texas and for several years lived with my grandparents. And I remember Jack, my grandfather’s mule. Yes, grandpa plowed up 1/2 acre every year for a garden. He had an old mule named Jack. I would sit and watch as he hooked Jack up to his plow and all day he would drive jack back and forth across the garden, breaking up the soil, hitting rocks and large hard lumps of dirt. I was always amazed at how grandpa kept Jack on task. That crazy mule would try to veer left or right and would have, but it was important that grandpa keeps looking forward, because jack really didnt seem to have a good sense of what was straight. If grandpa let him alone he would stray all over, no grandpa had to hold the plow and reighs and work straight on. Thats kinda what I think of when I see that scripture.
No it is not an easy journey. Jesus described it as being born again. I remember as each of my children was born, that process was not easy. I remember watching as Sandy gave birth, the pain, agony, and joy and wonder all at the same time. That is what I think Jesus had in mind. It is not easy. It is not all smiles and hey brother! No their are moments when the path is clear and paved and times when it is overgrown, thorney and flat out full of ravines.
So as you head into this holiday season, consider this: did you simply pray and prayer, or did you embark on a journey? A journey that will consume the entirity of your life. O, sure sometimes you might stumble off the path, or get run over, but thats part of journey. If you are well on the path, WAY TO GO! But if you are strugling and feel lost. Stop. Look deeply, He is right there! Perhaps you need to refocus, line back up! Or perhaps you prayed a prayer, but never embarked on the journey. If so I pray that the holidays are a time you do that!
God bless you on your journey.
