Amazon.com doesn't sell courage--so where do I get it?

Writers Note:  The following is a special guest post as written by David Lewellyn, Student Ministries Pastor at Life Center Foursquare Church in Spokane, Washington.  I am extremely grateful to David for his willingness to participate.  His insights are humorous and thought-provoking as we continue to discover pictures of God in our lives.

 

 

Several years ago, I was invited by Bobby, a mentor and friend, to attend a college basketball game.  At the game, I sat on one end of our group and Bobby sat on the other.  Bobby's young son chose to sit next to me.  Sitting on my other side was someone I did not know.  Someone large and imposing.  Someone loud.  Someone creative.  I went to public school, so I feel like I know my fair share of creative words, but this guy seemed to have a deep well from which to draw in this area.

 

Loudly and aggressively, he hurled insults and expletives at referees, players, coaches, and fans alike.  Unbeknownst to him, he was teaching me new words and creative combinations in which to use them.  He was also teaching Bobby's young son.  I knew I needed to say something, but I was nervous because he was much larger than me and clearly aggravated.

 

After practicing the request in my head, I spoke up.

 

"Excuse me, there are families with kids here.  So would you be willing to use language more in line with a PG rating?"

 

Directing the furrowed brow of his aggravated face (still attached to his excessively large frame) toward me, he snapped back, "Or else what?"

 

It was in that moment, as I attempted to retain the contents of my bladder, that I realized I hadn't thought through it that far. 

 

I was hoping for a response more along the lines of, "I see the error of my ways and will adjust my attitude and actions to greater reflect the person I hope to be.  Also, please tell me how to be a Christian...and do you want an ice cream cone?"

 

Unprepared for his actual response, I was speechless, hoping not to be beat to a pulp in front of my friend's son.  My eyes began searching to see if anyone was seeing my peril.  As I turned my head, I saw Bobby.  Even better, Bobby saw me.

 

There is something you should know about Bobby: he is a very big and athletic guy--much bigger than my new found foe.  He even played professional baseball for awhile.  Knowing that Bobby was now attentive to my situation, I gained a new sense of boldness.

 

"I said, cool it on the swearing!  There are kids who can hear you!" I jabbed back to him with my chest puffed in a show of confidence.

 

At this point the man noticed that he was being noticed (and by someone much larger than himself) and quickly became amiable.  With a silent grumble, he grabbed his coat and left.

 

I spoke to the man twice, once nervously and once with boldness.  What was the difference?  Did I get bigger?  Did he get smaller?  No.  The difference was not in my circumstance, it was in who was with me.  The difference was Bobby.

 

As Christians, we don't need to live in fear.  Not because of who we are, but because of who God is and in the fact that He is always with us.

 

God tells Joshua before sending him into battle, "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9  ESV)

 

Likewise, in some of Jesus' final words to his disciples before his ascension, he assures them, "...I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 NIV)

 

Just as Bobby's presence gave me courage, our courage as Christians comes from the presence of God.  No matter the difficulty of our circumstance.  Be encouraged, be courageous, God is with you!  Trust and rely on Him--and watch your language at basketball games or Bobby and I will find you.

Seeing the 3D World Through Magic Eyes

I was recently looking at an old book called "Magic Eye."  I think that was the title anyway, and if I am correct in that statement, I should make it known that that name is copyrighted and trademarked.  And well it should be, because they are wonderful pictures that challenge our vision and imagination while at the same time encouraging our creativity.  I love to stare at those pictures, moving my eyes back and forth, squinting and opening them wide while waiting for something unseen to jump to life.  And if I am persistent in my search, it always happens.

 

It is amazing really, how I can look at a two-dimensional illustration and see only an odd arrangement of colors and shapes; but when I look longer and harder while altering my point-of view, the reference soon begins to change.  What happens next is usually a slow but certain process in which an image begins to appear and then grow.  Once I detect that image, my eyes become more focused on the object, and soon what was unseen begins to make its presence clear.  And once it is clear, it somehow grows and expands.  It comes to life in three-dimensional clarity.  In fact, it stands alone and begins to obscure the randomness of the colors and shape so that randomness no longer seems to exist at all.

 

And when the image takes this form, it becomes the picture that I am looking at; and I wonder why I didn't see it in the first place.

 

"Magic Eye" pictures actually give you instructions on how to find the hidden objects.  And friends that are standing by add their own thoughts on what you can do in order to get "inside" of the picture.  The reality, however, is that the only way you can discover the wonderful reality which is lurking behind the randomness is to take the time to look for it.  And you must look for it with diligence and persistence.  And when you do, that is when you see something that seems like it was not there in the first place.

 

Even more incredible is the fact that once you discover the image, it doesn't go away.  It remains in your sight every time you look at the page, somehow exhibiting and expanding on the life which you at first did not recognize.

 

I have discovered that this is a how God looks in the pictures of our existence. 

 

While I have spent most of the years of my life looking at a world that seems entirely random, with shapes and colors and people and situations just sitting in places where they seem to have no purpose, I have come to realize that when I look harder and longer at all of the randomness of existence, a living picture begins to appear within them that I had not noticed before.  And the longer I look, the greater the clarity of the picture becomes.  Suddenly I see a new dimension that I did not know existed.  And it comes to life, growing in strength while making the randomness dissolve before my very eyes.  Each shape, each color, each situation, each feeling, is brought to life in the picture of God.

 

But if you want to see God in the two-dimensional picture of life, you have to look at the picture longer and harder.  You might have to squint sometimes, and other times you might have to open your eyes wider.  But when you keep looking, anticipating the reality that there is something more to the picture, I am sure that you will find God.

 

And when you finally do see the picture of God in the tapestry of man, I assure you that you will begin to realize that every time you look at the world, you can find God in it.  He will be living, strong, multi-dimensional, and challenging your senses.  When that happens, you will never see another picture of life that does not have God at the center.

 



"PLAY 60" but "Don't Drag That Dirt Onto My Rug!"

In my last post, I said that parents want their children to go outside and play.  The benefits of getting outdoors--exercise, fresh air, and interaction--make it time well spent, even if the child gets a little dirty in the activity.  When they send their little ones out to play, however, there is one thing that they look forward to more than the time away: that is knowing that their children are going to return and come back into the house.

After a session of outside time, however, it is expected that the return into the presence of mom and dad will be preceded by a removal of the dirt which has attached itself to clothes and shoes.  Most of us have heard our mothers say, "Don't drag that mud all over my clean floor."  Though parents want us to go play in great outdoors, they don't want us to bring it into the house.

Most homes have a door in the garage or rear of the house where children come to remove articles of dress that have been covered in mud or snow.  They are required to return home through that entrance.  And moms and dads are more than willing to help the child get clean before they come in.  The clothes will be taken and washed once they have been removed from the child.  They are not going to make the child stay outside until they have cleaned themselves up, rather, they are going to do whatever they can to make sure that the process is completed correctly.  Parents want to be around their kids--they just don't want to hang around with the dirt that has attached themselves to those precious ones.

When I think of God and the joy of being in His presence, I am assured that He also wants us to step out from time-to-time for exercise, exploration, and interaction.  But He always longs for our return.  And when we do so, usually tainted with some impurity, He is going to direct us through the one door where the cleaning takes place.  Jesus says that He is that door.  He removes the dirt, cleans our clothes, and rejoices in the company of His loving family.

God does not expect us to come to Him already clean.  He knows that there are contaminants in the world that will attach themselves to us.  But He does expect that when we come, we will let Him clean us.  God doesn't want us to drag mud all over His carpet.  So, when we come to the door, He cleans us.

And as it turns out, when we let God do the scrubbing, we clean up pretty nicely.

READERS NOTE:  I am excited to announce that in the next few days we will be having a special guest post written by David Lewellyn, a speaking pastor at Life Center Church.  While listening to David preach a few weeks he ago, He related a wonderful picture story that I felt needed to be shared with my readers.  David has agreed to do so.  I think you will be truly blessed by what he shares.  So, be looking for that.  God bless you all!

 

Grass Stains and Muddy Sneakers

"Play 60" is a campaign that the National Football League is promoting to battle childhood obesity by encouraging vigorous, but fun, outdoor activitity.  It is a program that uses the allure of popular athletes as motivation.  The idea is not new, however.  In my youth, children were also encouraged to get outside and play for substantial periods of time.  Only the method of encouragement was different.

 

"Shut the television off right now and go play outside.  It's a beautiful day!"  That was what our encouragement sounded like, though the tone and use of "colorful" words varied from family-to-family.

 

Parents in our day knew that outside activity was good for kids, so they encouraged it.  They know it today as well, but because many moms and dads are working away from the home, they are not always present to encourage the shutting down of computers and televisions in order to experience live-action playing.  Society, as in the NFL and others, also understands the value, however, and have stepped in to use their clout to encourage good, heart-pumping behavior.

 

There are consequences to going outside to play, however.  And while we focus on the positive aspects, there are things that are less-than-appealing.  First, we are going to get dirty.  There is mud to get on our shoes and grass stains waiting to besmirch the knees of our pants.  There are rocks to trip over and friends that are not going to be nice or play fair.  There are bikes to fall off of.  And there are competitive games waiting to embarrass those of us who are less skilled in the "physical arts."  And perhaps worst of all, if we play too hard, we might end up out-of-breath.  The outside world is filled with undesirable things.

 

But parents still insist that their children go there.  They are well aware of all of the things that I have just mentioned, but they know that the positive benefits far outweigh the negatives.  They know that children can't get stained knees until they experience the soft, beauty of grass.  They know that their shoes can't get mud in the tread until they have traveled to mysterious, new places.  They know that their children can't get their feelings hurt by anyone until they have interacted with others.  And perhaps most important of all, they understand that they cannot impact the world until they have made themselves a part of it. 

 

The positive results that come from getting outside cannot be attained without first stepping out.

 

I think that sometimes God might be saying, "Turn off the spiritual television and go outside."  I think He might get tired of us watching and expect us to interact.  Certainly He is aware that when we do, our knees will get stained from falling down.  He also knows that dirt will attach itself to the bottom of our shoes.  He understands that our feelings will get hurt and we will be treated unfairly.  But He also knows that we will get fat and lazy if we don't exercise.  He knows that we will become selfish if we don't interact with others.  And He knows that we won't be able to impact the world if we aren't a part of it.

 

I think He's willing to let us get a little dirty, tired, and mistreated if ultimately we are able to take His love outside, into a world that really needs it.