The Wonder of It All

When her mother came to pick her up after the first day of Vacation Bible School, she took Mommy’s hand and led her into the big meeting room. With wide eyes and a quiet kind of awe in her four-year-old voice, she said “This is where the music is.”

Then she escorted Mommy all around the room, slowly showing her the dozens of balloons (an attempt to look like undersea bubbles), the inflatable shark and sea-turtle, the pictures of whales, the big sea-horse, the big fishing net, and the place where the lady stood and led them in all those fun songs about Jesus.

Over and over she said, “Look, Mommy!” as she pointed at another picture or balloon.

“Look Mommy!”

“Look Mommy!”

“Look!”

And, though she wasn’t speaking to me, I too began to look. And to see.

During much of our preparation for Vacation Bible School, during which we tried to transform our sanctuary into a kind of undersea world, I could think of little except how much work our volunteers were putting in. But then, as the first day of our week-long adventure drew to a close, God gave me a glimpse of the whole endeavor through the eyes of a four-year-old. Suddenly, the wonder was there, as it should have been all along.

The wonder is not simply that a group of busy adults would spend more than a hundred hours decorating a church building for a VBS program. That kind of effort commonly takes place, in churches throughout this community, many times over every summer. The wonder is not that these adults and youth put in hours of preparation and prayer, baked thousands of cookies, and put up with unnumbered inconveniences to make their church’s Vacation Bible School programs as successful as possible.

The wonder is not in the effort or the program.

The wonder truly is seen in what lies behind the effort: hearts touched by God, full of His love, and gripped by a passion to share His love with others and let the little children come to Him, no matter how much work it takes.

The wonder is in the outpoured love of God seen in His Son dying on the cross for wide-eyed four-year-olds and weary middle-aged pastors alike.

The wonder is the fact that He loved His rebellious creation so much that He came and lived among the rebels themselves, and even took the just punishment for their rebellion upon Himself.

I remember, when I was just a little child myself, my dad singing the words of a song made famous by one of the singers in Billy Graham’s ministry, George Beverly Shea. “Oh, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all! Just to think that God loves me!”

Indeed. Just think of it. And then, like a little child, come to Jesus again, and thank Him for how much He loves you. It’s a wonder!

Trust and Tragedy

For Christians, part of living out our trust in Jesus Christ is dealing with things we don’t understand. If ever there was such an event, the horrifying murders at Virginia Tech are a perfect example. In our effort to comprehend this calamity, our brains are about to short-circuit.

Questions penetrate our souls like bullets of doubt and fear. How? Why? Who?

It reminds me of the biblical account of Job. In the course of a single day, he suffered immense personal tragedy, including the loss of his nearly twelve-thousand head of livestock, and the murder or kidnapping of dozens of employees, and the death of his ten children.

His response is both astonishing and informative. Scripture declares that when he learned of the terrible events of that tragic day, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped” (Job 1:21).

Let’s unpack the amazing actions of this mighty man of faith, and see what we can learn from them.

First, Job tore his robe and shaved his head. In ancient Israel, these two actions were expressions of extreme grief. What this shows us is that Job wasn’t just a stoic. He was truly devastated. His losses were great and they affected him greatly. He was in deep and serious anguish, and he didn’t care who knew it.

But notice what else Job did. Though he was an emotional wreck, he didn’t let this keep him from worshiping God. In his grief, he “fell on the ground and worshiped.”

Why did he do this? For that matter why would we?

One obvious reason Job worshiped in the midst of tragedy was that he was a worshiper. In other words, he understood himself as a person who lived to worship God. Job’s practice and response in all circumstances was to worship God. Worship was not a circumstantially-motivated action for Job. Worship was the core of his being. He worshiped. Period. So it was natural that when catastrophe struck, he worshiped then too.

What about you? Do you think of yourself as a worshiper, someone who lives to worship God? Or do you just worship when things are going well?

Another reason Job worshiped in the midst of disaster is that he saw beyond the situation to the goodness of God. He knew God for Who He truly is, and thus, his worship was motivated by the truth about God, not the circumstances of his life. Because he had spent so much time getting to know God, Job had developed a deep and abiding confidence in His everlasting goodness and grace. No trials of this temporary life could shake this trust.

How much time do you spend getting to know God? How much energy do you devote to the development of a trust relationship with Him? When tragedy strikes, it may be too late for you to develop that relationship. Now, today, while you still have the opportunity, is the time to run to Him and worship. With all your questions, praise Him. In your confusion and grief, bow down to Him. He is there, waiting and worthy for your worship.

God is Ready to Party! Are You?

Do you remember Jesus’ story of "The Wasteful Son." (Most people say "The Prodigal Son," but when I learned that "prodigal" means "wasteful," I decided to call it that.)

In this great lesson Jesus taught, the younger of two sons claims his inheritance, then goes out and wastes it on the worst of sin. In dire need, he takes a job feeding pigs, and gets so hungry that the hog slop looks appetizing. Finally, he comes to his senses and returns home, admitting in a rehearsed speech that he doesn't deserve to be in the family, but would be glad simply to become one of Dad’s servants.

Dad won't think of it. Instead, he arranges a feast to celebrate the homecoming of his long-lost son.

Meanwhile, there's the older son. While his kid brother is out wasting Dad's money on sin, the older son is busy at home being a respectable family member, faithfully managing the family business and preserving his own inheritance. Then one day, Junior returns, and incredibly, instead of kicking his sorry carcass out, Dad throws a bash for the bum! The senior son wants no part in the party. He’s furious, and won’t even enter the house for the celebration.

The story winds down with Dad going outside to invite the older son to come in and rejoice that Junior has finally come home. Then it ends, rather abruptly. Does the older brother come into the party or not? It leaves us hanging, wondering.

It’s an odd ending, and we usually miss its importance.

We all know that the younger brother represents those who waste their lives straying from God. The Dad in the story clearly represents God. But, who is the older brother?

I believe he represents all of us folks who have served God more or less faithfully down through the years: In other words, the senior son is the church.

This parable clearly teaches us that God will accept anyone who comes to Him in true repentance and humble faith. Therefore, sinners of all sorts are welcome to come home to God, if they just realize they need His pardon. He embraces them, and forgives them with rejoicing.

But the question raised at the end of the parable must be addressed: is the church as willing to welcome repentant sinners as God is?

What if they're unpleasant? What if they don’t dress properly? What if they're impolite, and don't know what to do in the worship service? What if they can't recite the creed, and don't know the Lord's Prayer?

If someone with well-known sins would come to your church this Sunday, how would you feel? Would you be ready to party, like God is?

The fact is, Jesus reveals to us that His Father is a lavishly welcoming God. All may become His children who repent of their sins and trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

However, I wonder how the rest of the family feels about it.

THIS IS EASTER

This Sunday, all around the world worshipers will gather for Resurrection Sunday, recalling the fact that Jesus, after dying for our sins, didn’t stay dead, but rose to life again. I encourage you to join the crowds in church, celebrating the resurrection, sharing the songs, enjoying the worship, and saying or singing the ancient words, “Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!”

We say that, but do we mean it?

The fact is that we sometimes live as if He neither lived, died, nor rose again!

Every time we face our problems with a feeling of hopelessness, we’re acting as if He never came out of that tomb. Whenever we make decisions based upon fear or frustration, we’re denying the reality of His resurrection. When we let the problems of the past determine the direction of our future, instead of following the guidance of His Word, we are living as if He were still dead.

Every time we hold a grudge, refuse to forgive, indulge our pride in a pity party, cherish hurt feelings or recite wrongs done to us, we’re denying by our actions the very words we say and the truth we affirm on Easter: Jesus Christ, the Son of God crucified for our sins, dead and buried, has really, truly, literally risen from that grave.

But . . . if we are not living our lives by bringing the minutest facets of daily existence under the influence of His resurrected presence, it’s as if it had never happened.

So, how do we make Easter more real?

I believe we have to stop playing religious games with Him. We have to let Him mess with our stuff. To whatever degree we may have developed a habit of being a certain way at church and another way elsewhere, we must confess that form of sin, and learn to let Jesus run our lives moment by moment, breath by breath, choice by choice.

After all, He didn’t come out of the tomb just to be admired by crowds one day a year. He’s alive to be worshiped and obeyed 365 days a year. Long after Sunday’s special worship services are over, Jesus will still be very much alive, commanding our obedience, requiring our service, and expecting our allegiance.

At its most basic, the resurrection incontrovertibly proves that Jesus is exactly Who and What He claimed to be. He Who declared Himself to be the only way to heaven also predicted that after His death, He would come back to life. If His tomb were still occupied, it would put the lie to everything else He asserted about Himself. Conversely, His resurrection verifies His claims.

So this Sunday, when you say or sing, “Christ the Lord is risen today,” remember what that means for you: it means He expects and deserves for you to trust Him as your Savior, and to serve Him as your Lord.

This is Easter. Nothing other, nothing less, and nothing else.