Good Samaritan

The other day a man from the community that i didnt recognize wondered into the neighborhood. Kinda strange how the local pack of mutts never bark unless there is someone in the area who seems like a threat. They see hundreds of new mission workers every month, and every week in the summer. But they always seem to know when there is a trouble maker in the midst. The guy who wondered into our neighborhood was drunk as a skunk. And then some. He came into our building looking for help. He was too wasted to even receive the help we were trying to give him. After a while he wondered away, reclaimed the beer he had carefully hid in the bushes and started down the road. My mind quickly fixated on other things. A few minutes later my buddy greg who lives accross the street from my office hollored over "Hey, theres a guy layin in the ditch by the road down there". Funny, its not something you hear every day and yet it didnt phase me much. I walked upstairs to a big window in my bosses office to see if i could see him. THere he was. I could only see his head sticking up and his right arm was laying in the street. The rest of him indeed was in the ditch. Somehow he looked pretty comfortable there. Before my boss and i headed out to rescue him from the ditch we decided to first call the local shelter to see if there was room for him. As i waited for my boss i sat and stared at the poor soul. I thought.... wow.... now thats the bottom of the barrel. His life is so sucky that he is literally laying passed out in a ditch in one of America's poorest communities. Of course the Good Samaritan came to mind. I watched two or three cars come by, see him, slow down, move out of the way so as not to runover his arm and keep on going. The UPS guy was the first to stop. He didnt get out of his truck, he called someone on his cell phone and moved on. Sad part is that since he is a stranger, no one knew who he was. They didnt know he was a drunk who deserved to stay there and suffer a while. For all they know, he could have been hit by a car. I actually began taking pictures of the whole scene. I excitedly snapped photos of passers by and yelled to my boss. Dude!, this is just like the good samaritan. He laughed and shook his head at the fact that i was way more excited about recording a visiual aid than was anxous to get to the rescue. As we started out the door, two of our staff folks had finally stopped and helped the guy. He was angered by the fact that we asked him to get rid of his beer if he wanted to get in one of our cars. He refused. He stumbled away. What was his name? Where was he from? Did he have a wife or kids somewhere? Did somebody love that guy? His parents? What had he been through? Did he go to college? Did he have a job at some point? Im not sure ill ever know. But i do know this. This guy is one of the people that Jesus came to see. Its this guy that the servant of the rich man throwing the banquet said to invite to the party when the rich, religous right stuck their noses up at the gift of grace. Hes the reason Jesus came. This guy and the hors on the corner are gonna enter the gates before and or instead of the religous right who have placed themselves on the highest wrung on the christian ladder. Unless of course they all join Joel Osteen and think positive thoughts and concentrate on their best life now.

Kill a Cat, Save a Child

At the risk of alienating all of you cat lovers out there i thought i might put human life into perspective. Last year (07) Americans spent approximately 1Billion dollars on pets. Not farm animals and livestock. Cats, dogs, snakes, hampsters, rabbits, etc. As i dog lover and owner of two great dogs, the word Billion hit me between the eyes. Why did it hit me? Because in the time of one day that elapsed as i considered this blog, several thousand children died of preventable disease or were orphaned by parents with HIV/Aids. Using World Visions latest statistics, Africa will have 25 million orphans by the year 2010. $36 a month to sponsor a child gets close to $400 a year. This $400 a year saves a life through food and clean water, provides basic medical and dental care. Grade school education is also provided. For $400! If we kill every domestic pet today, a year from now that 1Billion dollars that we spent on pets would assure the food, clothing, care, and schooling for.... are you ready... 2,500,000 kids. That means that you litterally exchange the lives of your pets for 2.5 million human lives. I challenge you to figure out what your monthly budget holds for pets. For $36 a month you could save a childs life. Dont want to kill your cat? Could you sacrifice something else in your budget to make that amount available? Lower your cable package, Cell phone package, starbucks budget, clothes, etc. How could you spend less on your pets? Once the ones you have head off to the big zoo in the sky, consider not replacing your pet and commit the funds to saving human lives. If you are interested in saving a real human life today. Go to www.worldvision.org.

I've been preaching about the Kingdom of God for a long time. I recently ran accross this description in a Bryan McClaren book and thought it was pretty tight.

The Kingdom of God is available to everyone, starting now. When Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God, He doesn’t mean something that happens after we die, far off in heaven; He equates the kingdom of God with Gods will being done on earth as it is in heaven. So the kingdom of God is life as God intends it to be – life to the full, life in peace and justice, life in abundance and love. Individuals enter the Kingdom when they enter into a relationship with the Liberating King, when they trust Him enough to follow His ways. But make no mistake, the Kingdom is about more than our individual lives; it is abut the transformation and renewal of all God has created. It may start with our individual responses, but it doesn’t stop there.

centered

I'm not sure what the ocean does for me, but somehow it centers me. I realize that sounds a little new age-ish, but its true. Maybe i get centered because its the end, per ce. Maybe, and more than likely, it puts me in perspective with the world. Its so big. I think big should be qualified by the fact that you can't see one end. Like the Empire State building is big, but you can see the end. The Grand Canyon is big, but you can see across. Either way the ocean reminds me of how small i am in relationship to everything, God in particular. You cant see the end of the ocean of the Mojave desert or Lake Ontario. You cant see the end of God, or His Son or His Spirit, or His creation and thankfully, His grace. The ocean centers me somehow. It prepares me to face my problems which quickly seem small. It reminds me that His power is unlimited. It reminds me that He is in charge. It reminds me that He created me with the same care and creativity that He created the ocean and every weird thing that lives in and under it. There are some really weird things down there. When my children play on the beach they tend to play with more abandonment. They run with greater freedom it seems. They laugh louder and scream with a higher pitch. The salt water and air clears thier sinus' too. What centers you? Where do you need to go? What do you need to do? What or who pushes you back to the center; that place where you find yourself well connected to God and at the same time recognize your relative place in His Kingdom that has no end.

Travel

Excited about some time off. We are headed to Easton, PA. For Christmas. We will celebrate with the Miller family. Then its off to the beach! Well, sort of. We cant wait to join our friends the Samuels and Elliots in the great town of Pawleys Island, South Carolina. The temps wont be hot, and there wont be any swimming. Although i distinctly remember skinny dipping in the Atlantic at the stroke of midnight, New Years eve, 199-? in Pawleys Island a few years back. Garry , Matt, Jayson, Johno, etc. Buck naked and freezing. Talk about shrinkage. Not sure we still have the energy for those kinds of highjinks. But im sure it will be plenty warm for strolling along the water and some great golf.

snow

There is snow in the hills of West Virginia. We recieved about 3 inches on Tuesday and about 5 or 6 more yesterday. No school for the girls!!! Sled riding in our yard (trecherous). Had to bust out the Ford 1310 to pllow the 1/2 mile driveway. Gotta love my sexy tractor. Its been very cozy by the fire, enjoying our view, coffe, tea and our christmas tree from the Christmas Tree Capital of the World (Indiana , PA) We are off to Virginia tommorow for a speaking event for the National Presbyterian Church of D.C. Pray that God moves in the lives of the young people who will attend. Come and visit!!! bring your sled.

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