This Sunday is my installation/induction/commissioning service and therefore I will not be continuing on in the "I am" series, which leaves me open to write a blog about whatever I want. The freedom is overwhelming! Next week I will continue with "I am the good shepherd", but until then it's all up to me...so here we go!
I have chosen to write on joy in sufferings, since I believe struggles may be something we all have from time to time.
A couple of weeks ago I was driving to work, as I often do (for those who are wondering if pastors actually show up at the office). In front of me was a mini-van, driving at a painfully slow pace. Behind me was a Land Rover, who could not handle the current speed and believed by driving really close to me they would somehow be able to speed things up. The Land Rover had those bright blue lights, you know the ones that when they hit a bump you think that they are flashing their high beams at you. I felt myself growing annoyed, go figure. I have been a commuter for less than a month and I already know the controlling power of road rage.
At last the single lane opened up into two lanes and the Land Rover sped past me and the van. I too passed the van, but driving a kia sephia, you rarely speed by anything. I was now in front of the van having pulled into the right hand lane again, while the Land Rover was ahead of both of us in the left hand lane. Then God stepped in and before the Land Rover could react he was stuck behind someone turning left, allowing both myself and the van to pass. The Rover was now forced to pull out behind the van just as the two lanes returned to one. At seeing this I began to laugh. What started out as a little snicker soon evolved into a full out sinister, in your face Land Rover, kind of laugh. It took me the rest of my trip to stop laughing. You would have sworn I had just brought Frankenstein to life by the way I was carrying on at the misfortune of my fellow traveler. I must say, I did feel a little silly when I finally composed myself.
Paul instructed us in Romans 5 to rejoice in our sufferings. I am sure he did not mean for us to rejoice in the sufferings of others as I had done. What's so amazing about this concept is what follows this particular statement. It is through our sufferings that we begin to persevere. It is through our perseverance that we develop character. It is through our character that we are given hope, and hope does not disappoint. There is no one thing that takes place on its own, but rather, they are developed sequentially, in order that we may end up at our final destination, hope. If the world needs a dose of something, hope would be it, but often that hope can only come about through our sufferings. And remember, hope is not a wishing, instead it is a promise that will not disappoint, if the hope we have is placed in the Christ who died for the ungodly.
Rob
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
"I am the Gate"
During training week, years ago when I worked at camp, was the time when names would be given to new staff. Each staff member would be given a name based on either an attribute or an earlier event which had taken place. This particular summer, there was a new staff member named Matt. Matt was a big guy at 6'3" and 195lbs of muscle. When you stand out as much as Matt, names are easy to come by. The obvious names were however not given and instead he was given the name skid and not because he came from Keswick.
One night, Matt decided he would go for a bike ride; no helmet and no light and this on one of the camp bikes. Riding as fast as he could, he left the camp and headed towards the conference grounds about a kilometer away. When Matt approached the beach area, still traveling as fast as he could ride, he did not know that at night they put a chain gate across the road to keep vehicles from coming in during the night. It apparently could also stop a bike pretty fast as well. Matt hit the chain just below his handle bars and flew over his bike onto the gravel road on the other side, landing on his face. To give you an idea of how hard Matt hit the chain, the forks of the bike bent almost in half. When he returned from hospital, Matt looked like the scariest man I had ever seen. Children were terrified of him for the first three weeks of camp and in our compassion we thought it only appropriate to name him skid, in memory of the "skid mark" his face had left on the road. Matt would be fine!
It always amazed me that the chain never broke. Such a simple gate, but yet so strong. When Jesus said "I am the gate", he was telling us that while under his care nothing could get past him and get to us. It was the job of the shepherd to lie across where the gate was, so that nothing could get in unless he first allowed it. This meant risking much, against a hungry bear or lion as in the case of David the shepherd boy; but Jesus was willing to offer us this protection while in his care. To carry on this example, one must wonder what awaited a sheep who were not under the shepherds protection.
It was also the job of the shepherd to inspect the sheep as they entered the pen to see if they had run into thorns and needed attention, or perhaps were simply thirsty. The shepherd would clean their wounds and offer fresh water so that they could find rest and heal while he kept them safe from those who would wish to do them harm. Jesus told us that he is that shepherd who will do more than lie across the gate for us, instead he became the gate, so that we can find protection and rest in him. Rest, heal, and drink and know that you are loved by the one who was willing to lay his life down for his sheep.
One night, Matt decided he would go for a bike ride; no helmet and no light and this on one of the camp bikes. Riding as fast as he could, he left the camp and headed towards the conference grounds about a kilometer away. When Matt approached the beach area, still traveling as fast as he could ride, he did not know that at night they put a chain gate across the road to keep vehicles from coming in during the night. It apparently could also stop a bike pretty fast as well. Matt hit the chain just below his handle bars and flew over his bike onto the gravel road on the other side, landing on his face. To give you an idea of how hard Matt hit the chain, the forks of the bike bent almost in half. When he returned from hospital, Matt looked like the scariest man I had ever seen. Children were terrified of him for the first three weeks of camp and in our compassion we thought it only appropriate to name him skid, in memory of the "skid mark" his face had left on the road. Matt would be fine!
It always amazed me that the chain never broke. Such a simple gate, but yet so strong. When Jesus said "I am the gate", he was telling us that while under his care nothing could get past him and get to us. It was the job of the shepherd to lie across where the gate was, so that nothing could get in unless he first allowed it. This meant risking much, against a hungry bear or lion as in the case of David the shepherd boy; but Jesus was willing to offer us this protection while in his care. To carry on this example, one must wonder what awaited a sheep who were not under the shepherds protection.
It was also the job of the shepherd to inspect the sheep as they entered the pen to see if they had run into thorns and needed attention, or perhaps were simply thirsty. The shepherd would clean their wounds and offer fresh water so that they could find rest and heal while he kept them safe from those who would wish to do them harm. Jesus told us that he is that shepherd who will do more than lie across the gate for us, instead he became the gate, so that we can find protection and rest in him. Rest, heal, and drink and know that you are loved by the one who was willing to lay his life down for his sheep.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
"I am the light"
Sleep has never been something that has come easily to me. I often struggle to fall asleep and even after having finally falling asleep, I am often woken again in the night. When I wake up I am often inclined to get out of bed and get a drink, usually of milk. After having left my bedroom as quietly as possible so as to not wake Becky, I begin to make my way down the stairs. Remembering that I have two small children I recognize the need to turn on the light so as to not step on a toy or other misplaced object, thus falling down the stairs ensuring that I would not sleep again that night. The instance I flick on the light after having just woken up I can feel the burning discomfort as I squint my eyes so tight I begin to see purple stars. You see, even though I realize the light will expose the things I will need to avoid in order to have a safe journey down the steps, it does not take away from the initial discomfort as my eyes adjust.
For anyone who has had a parent suddenly open the blinds to hurry up the wake-up process or has been fast asleep as a college friend enters the room and turns on the light with no thought of how this might affect you or simply wakes up before the day begins; you will be able to relate to that painful adjustment that inevitably takes place.
When Jesus enters into our lives it often comes with a sudden realization of the darkness we were in prior to his coming. Since our eyes were accustomed to the dark, the light brings a certain discomfort, even though it reveals all things.
As a child when I had bad dreams, I would close my eyes tight under the assumption that if I can't see it, it can't hurt me. On the contrary, it is what we cannot see that we need to fear the most. Allow Jesus to shed some light on the matter and, although you may not like what you see, you will now have the ability to allow God to fix the problem, and who better to guide us in this dark place than the one who said "I am the light"
Rob
For anyone who has had a parent suddenly open the blinds to hurry up the wake-up process or has been fast asleep as a college friend enters the room and turns on the light with no thought of how this might affect you or simply wakes up before the day begins; you will be able to relate to that painful adjustment that inevitably takes place.
When Jesus enters into our lives it often comes with a sudden realization of the darkness we were in prior to his coming. Since our eyes were accustomed to the dark, the light brings a certain discomfort, even though it reveals all things.
As a child when I had bad dreams, I would close my eyes tight under the assumption that if I can't see it, it can't hurt me. On the contrary, it is what we cannot see that we need to fear the most. Allow Jesus to shed some light on the matter and, although you may not like what you see, you will now have the ability to allow God to fix the problem, and who better to guide us in this dark place than the one who said "I am the light"
Rob
Friday, January 4, 2008
"I am the Bread"
When I was in bible college I attended a "field trip" to the city, where as students we were going to learn what it meant to live on the streets. The purpose of this trip was to live on the streets for a short period of time in order to expose us to the harsh realities of street life. We were told to "dress appropriately" and to not have eaten for 24 hours prior to our coming.
Coming from a school which focused largely on outdoor education, we naturally understood "dress appropriately" as "dress warm". So as our class poured out of the school vans, fully decked out in North Face and other such expensive outdoor clothing, we soon realized we had already begun to defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Being a college aged boy, the fact that I hadn't eaten for what seemed like an eternity, started to play a role in my experience. We were instructed that we could only eat if we either panhandled for the money, or scrounged for the food. I instantly made my way to the Eaton's Center cafeteria and had the feast of a life time on other people leftovers. I was so hungry after having not eaten for less than a day, that I was willing to gorge myself on the scraps of others. If this was the feeling I had, imagine how those on this same planet must feel when they haven't eaten for days.
When Jesus says "I am the bread" in John 6, I don't think people are really grasping what he is saying. In our North American culture, bread is often something we try to avoid since it is high in carbs and goes straight to the hips. We are so over fed that while in other parts of the world people are struggling to find food, we are desperately trying to cut ours back. When Jesus said "I am the bread", he was saying "I am the sustainer of all life, apart from me there is only starvation".
Jesus is not just a preferential religion that we can choose should it be the one that suits us best; he is the only life that we can ever have and apart from him we are dead. Perhaps if we desired Jesus like a person dying of starvation hungers for bread, our churches would look very different.
Rob
Coming from a school which focused largely on outdoor education, we naturally understood "dress appropriately" as "dress warm". So as our class poured out of the school vans, fully decked out in North Face and other such expensive outdoor clothing, we soon realized we had already begun to defeat the purpose of the exercise.
Being a college aged boy, the fact that I hadn't eaten for what seemed like an eternity, started to play a role in my experience. We were instructed that we could only eat if we either panhandled for the money, or scrounged for the food. I instantly made my way to the Eaton's Center cafeteria and had the feast of a life time on other people leftovers. I was so hungry after having not eaten for less than a day, that I was willing to gorge myself on the scraps of others. If this was the feeling I had, imagine how those on this same planet must feel when they haven't eaten for days.
When Jesus says "I am the bread" in John 6, I don't think people are really grasping what he is saying. In our North American culture, bread is often something we try to avoid since it is high in carbs and goes straight to the hips. We are so over fed that while in other parts of the world people are struggling to find food, we are desperately trying to cut ours back. When Jesus said "I am the bread", he was saying "I am the sustainer of all life, apart from me there is only starvation".
Jesus is not just a preferential religion that we can choose should it be the one that suits us best; he is the only life that we can ever have and apart from him we are dead. Perhaps if we desired Jesus like a person dying of starvation hungers for bread, our churches would look very different.
Rob
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)