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SIDE BY SIDE

Parenthood is Convicting!

This never happens to me of course, but I have this friend...

Let's make up a name for her...uh...him...err...I mean...the person...who is not me...we'll call this person "Kana Jelley".

Well, see, sometimes when her kids don't do what she tells them to (mine always do, I'm just saying that Kana Jelley's don't always do that), they look at her and say, "I love you Mom!"

Do yours ever do that? I know. Mine don't either. But Kana Jelley's do.

(Have you ever seen actual steam come from someone's ears?)

Isn't that the most irritating thing ever? Wouldn't you just want to scream "If you LOVED me you would DO WHAT I SAID TO DO."

I mean...if you were the kind of mom that screamed at your kids.

And when I am tempted to do that, I am reminded of my Heavenly Father. Didn't He say just that? He was much nicer, but Jesus said to His disciples, "If you love me, keep my commands" John 14:15.

Ouch.

Sometimes I just stand there and say, "I love You God!"

You know: stand in church and sing a praise song to the Lord while feeling bitterness take root in my heart, or think a judgmental thought about what so-and-so is wearing to church (the nerve). Isn't that the same thing? Isn't that standing there and saying "I love You" but not obeying His commands?

Parenthood is convicting y'all.

Well, I mean, for people like Kana Jelley.

Response to News Reports

A couple of weeks ago the New York Times ran a story called “The Jihadist in Our Family.” A family in Asia was interviewed. The father went to Syria to be a martyr. Every day we read news about terrorists, about threats, about foiled plots, and on it goes. World leaders are trying to decide what to do, local authorities struggle to know how best to deal with threats and fears, and the rest of us wonder what to make of it all.

I observe two reactions to terrorism and extremism. First, there is anger. “We should make them as fearful as they make us.” “We should attack them like they attack us.” “We should get them before they get us.” “We should rid the world of them.”

The second reaction that I see is fear. “They are going to get us!” “Where can we be safe?” “All people of that religion are just like them.” “We should not be traveling to or living in places that have terrorists…it’s just too dangerous.”

The next time you see a report about on the news or read it on the internet or in the paper, stop and think for a minute. Which reaction does it evoke in you?

As followers of Jesus, I suggest that there is a third response: a better one. Love. Not gushy, feely love. Who feels gushy love after a news report about a terrorist attack? No one! That’s not what I am suggesting. I am talking about Gospel love. I am talking about the love that compels us to share with the lost. Lost people are just that…they are lost…even if they don’t know it. My unbelieving neighbor is lost. The jihadist in my city is lost. Neither one of them have experienced the freedom of forgiveness through Jesus.

So how do we respond in love? Well, that’s for you to figure out. But instead of a “Rain fire from heaven and get ‘em” prayer, or a “Please protect me from ‘em” prayer, may I suggest a “How can I be a conduit for the Gospel?” prayer. Try it, and open your ears and eyes to the creative work of God. Resolve to obey what you hear Him telling you to do. What will your response be?

A Twelve-Year-Old Girl

There is a twelve-year-old girl in a desert country who is helping her family reach families with The Best Story. You know what it is that makes her brave enough to do this?

It's not that she's fluent in the local language.

It's not that she's got lots of experience sharing the Good News.

It's not that she's the super poster child for TCKs*.

What makes her brave is that she has a nativity set. A nativity set and willingness.

Willingness to sit in the heat.

Willingness to sit through a long visit (and a lot of coffee drinking by the adults).

Willingness to let her dad translate for her (have you ever tried to speak with a translator? It's tricky and requires patience).

Willingness to say yes.

So a twelve-year-old girl in a desert country takes out her nativity set and arranges it on a flat space. She tells the story: The Best Story. And families in a desert country hear the story. Maybe for the first time ever.

*TCK: Third Culture Kid

The Good News and The Bad News

Enjoying a beach on the island.

The good news is: I get to live on this beautiful island.
The bad news is: I have to get a visa to do it. Not the plastic card to go shopping with. The boring paperwork kind.

The good news is: I can get one that lasts one year!
The bad news is: my year is up...time to apply again.

The good news is: I know how to do it since I did it last year.
The bad news is: some of the rules have changed.

The good news is: I get all the passports and forms and documents together and I'm ready to go to immigration.
The bad news is: It takes all morning to drive to the mainland, sit at immigration, and wait for my turn to turn in my paperwork.

The good news is: I get to see/meet all sorts of interesting people in the waiting room. Saudis, Sikhs, monks, Indian, Asian, European, children, couples, families.
The bad news is: I have to wait for an hour for my turn and the whole time I have to go to the bathroom.

The good news is: once I turn in my paperwork, I'm done until next week when I come pick up the passports, AND, I know there's a bathroom downstairs.
The bad news is: The one western style toilet has a hose in it. I'm not going to pee on the hose and I'm not about to touch it to take it out just in case someone else DID.

The good news is: There are two Turkish toilets (otherwise known as squatty potties) so I can use one of them.
The bad news is: There is water all over the floor and I have long pants on and am carrying a purse and a large plastic expandable file.

The good news is: I can somehow manage to do my business in a wet bathroom with no shelves and when I slip I don't fall or do the splits...not entirely anyways.
The bad news is: I almost did and I pulled muscles in my leg while trying to save myself.

But the GOOD news is: my kids should get their visas in a week.
The bad news is: my visa will expire in the meantime.

The good news is: They will let me apply for an extension when I go next time.
The bad news is: there are three more next times because I'll have to do this all over again three more times before the process is complete.

The good news is: when it IS complete, I'll get to live on this beautiful island!

Soccer and the Good News

Almost every week I visit a temporary housing neighborhood with a partner. We pray for the people there and often get to share stories, including The Best Story. Last week I met a young boy. He enjoyed practicing some English and was also surprised that I could speak his language.

"Where do your children go to school?"

I told him.

"Yes, I know. They come to my school sometimes."

"Oh really?" My oldest son volunteers at a local school. He has helped play games, teach songs, and practice English with the students. They are all of the majority religion here. "My son's name is A."

"Yes, I know him."

"Really?" I was doubtful.

"Yes, does he speak our language?"

"Well, yes he does speak a little."

"Yes," said the boy. "I know him."

Wow, there I was in a poor neighborhood with people I was only meeting for the first time. Actually my son has met their children. Little did I know that my own child was touching this neighborhood long before I arrived.

God is good! I went home excited to tell my son that he had a part in the spreading of the Good News to this neighborhood. Sure, he was teaching English and kicking the soccer ball. But his presence made an impact on this boy. And the people in this boy's neighborhood are getting exposed to The Best Story. Maybe they will be more receptive now that they know we care about their kids too.

There are a lot of ways kids can help spread Good News. What are your ideas?

When Horizontal is Vertical

You know the story. There are two brothers.

The older one works hard. He's strong, he's tan, he probably wore the world's first overalls. Cain, the successful farmer. He's a man's man y'all.

The younger son sits around a lot. Sure he walks a bit, and flicks a stick around. He sits in the shade. He plays the world's first harp because it's boring to sit in the shade all day. He's Abel the able shepherd.

One day Cain decides to give God an offering. I mean, since God created all of his harvest anyway, why not give Him some of it. Abel decides to do the same thing.

Both of these guys give God an offering but only one of them is accepted. Do you remember who?

Abel's offering is accepted and Big Brother Cain's is not. That really chaps Cain's hide. This is not ok with Cain.

God speaks to Cain. God warns Cain that his heart is not right. God even gives Cain a pep talk. Cain does not listen.

Cain let's his own personal problem with God rupture his relationship with Abel. He must have become obsessed by his anger toward Abel. Finally, Cain actually kills Abel, his only brother.

God punished Cain for the murder of his brother. The story in Genesis 4 documents Cain's response, which borders on the absurd. He says that his punishment (for MURDER mind you) is too much for him to bear. I am amazed at God's patience with Cain.

When I read the story of Cain and Abel, this is what strikes me: our broken relationships with others often are the result of our strained relationship with God.

When we hit a rough spot in a friendship, are we quick to inspect our own hearts and our own relationship with God? Or are we quick to blame or compare or get angry?

This week I am thinking a lot about this. When my horizontal relationships (with friends and family) are suffering, it is mostly likely because my vertical relationship (with God) needs some attention.

What do you think?