As a man, I cannot begin to explain the earth shattering, sobering feeling of finding out you're going to be a dad. Time itself almost seems to stop. It's like God himself is saying, take a minute and just be in this moment because this is one of those moments where nothing will ever be the same.
Your life changes from that second on. Where it was once just my wife and myself living a carefree life, we were thrust into a family. We didn't know what was missing from our lives but we were also completed once we met our little Ellie.
This story is not about us though. You see, for years we've watched as some of our friends who have had to wait for just such an experience. They sought after it fiercely. Some waiting and offered prayers and some had even rationalized that maybe being a parent wasn't in the cards. For these families, we waited and prayed for them.
Once again, this is not about us because, for a few of them, their patience was rewarded. And when they celebrated, we were able to be a part of the joy. However, there has been one family that has continued to wait.
That is what this is about. Our friends, our extended family from Queens has waited the longest it seems. There have been many times, I waited to get the phone call. To hear the excitement and to know that joy. God is faithful however. I know that the longer you are made to wait for something, the better it usually is. His love shows in the details and the timing.
As of now, they are looking to bring home a child. They are waiting for that person that makes them whole. And we want to celebrate with them when that day comes. We are asking that your pray for them, that their prayers are answered. We're also hoping that their links will be shared and that their cause gets promoted.
I'm hoping that their home will grow by "2 feet."
Here are their links:
sooandgageadopt.com
facebook.com/sooandgageadopt
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Step out
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:25-31 NIV)
This verse stood out to me this morning. When Peter stepped out in faith at the word of God, impossible became possible. Just like Peter we sometimes refocus our attention on the "noise" and slowly slip under the waves. Even still, Jesus was there to catch him and remind him.
You may not be able to walk on water but impossible will always be possible when your focus is on Jesus and his word. You might slip up but that hand will always be there to catch.
Step out in faith.
Giants
Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. (1 Samuel 17:49 NIV)
David was a shepherd. A low glamor-less job. Strangely enough though it was here that God refined his skills and David was able to kill Goliath and turn the tide of a war.
We get caught up in where we are or where we were, never realizing that God has a plan and purpose for our lives. You may have to go through lows and situations but those experiences will be there as you head to battle "giants."
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Promises, Promises...
One of the hardest things for me to grasp as a Christian is the whole, Grace concept.
I would try and hold myself up to this unrealistic standard. I would pray, listen to Christian music, not swear, not drink or have sex and all in hopes that I'd be just a little bit better in God's eyes.
Somehow by doing all these things and living pious, I'd somehow earn salvation on my own merit.
The greatest thing about Grace is the fact that God knows we'll mess up and blow it. Since he's not constricted by time, he can be in the past, present and future all at once. He already knows we messed up before we do.
Which further blows my mind because, he's like, "yeah, you're gonna do this and I've already forgiven you.
...like before you were born."
You're allowed to mess up. Perfection is only a lie the enemy puts in your head to get you to focus off Gods Grace and shift it on to, well, you.
If your thoughts are on you then you can't really line your thinking up with Gods thoughts.
God promises us so many things... and all we have to do is trust and wait. I joke with people all the time, God's not asking you to lead an enslaved people out of Egypt. He's just trying to lead you into the life he's made for you.
God promises us that we don't have to be burdened. He actually says, I'll take your burden and you can have mine! (Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30)
I would start by standing on that promise. I would wake up and speak those words into my life daily and whenever I have negative thoughts of my situation. Stand on Gods promise.
Or Matthew 6:26 -
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus speaks to everyone and specifically you. It's basically his way of saying, "I know you're going to worry but...I got this."
and Hebrews 13:5 says: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Or Jeremiah 29:11 - 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
My whole point is that God does speak to you! He's giving you these promises and more blessing than we can fathom. You just need to start to stand on these promises and believe in them. When life is coming at you full force, you can look back and say yeah, this is kind of crappy, but it's not the end of me. It's not going to stop God's promises or plans for my life.
The minute you accepted Christ, you were adopted into royalty! Jesus gave you his Grace. You were forgiven before you were born and given all of these promises.
I'll close on this. If you had an estranged Aunt who left you billions of dollars but all you had to do was claim it and wait for the check to come in the mail or clear the bank, you'd be both excited and patient because of what it would mean to you and how it would change the quality of your life.
God's promises are exponentially worth more than billions. And just like the inheritance... this is yours for the claiming. But you have to decide to claim it!
Stop trying to be the rock and let Jesus be your rock. ...cuz you rock!
I would try and hold myself up to this unrealistic standard. I would pray, listen to Christian music, not swear, not drink or have sex and all in hopes that I'd be just a little bit better in God's eyes.
Somehow by doing all these things and living pious, I'd somehow earn salvation on my own merit.
The greatest thing about Grace is the fact that God knows we'll mess up and blow it. Since he's not constricted by time, he can be in the past, present and future all at once. He already knows we messed up before we do.
Which further blows my mind because, he's like, "yeah, you're gonna do this and I've already forgiven you.
...like before you were born."
You're allowed to mess up. Perfection is only a lie the enemy puts in your head to get you to focus off Gods Grace and shift it on to, well, you.
If your thoughts are on you then you can't really line your thinking up with Gods thoughts.
God promises us so many things... and all we have to do is trust and wait. I joke with people all the time, God's not asking you to lead an enslaved people out of Egypt. He's just trying to lead you into the life he's made for you.
God promises us that we don't have to be burdened. He actually says, I'll take your burden and you can have mine! (Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30)
I would start by standing on that promise. I would wake up and speak those words into my life daily and whenever I have negative thoughts of my situation. Stand on Gods promise.
Or Matthew 6:26 -
26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28“And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Jesus speaks to everyone and specifically you. It's basically his way of saying, "I know you're going to worry but...I got this."
and Hebrews 13:5 says: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Or Jeremiah 29:11 - 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
My whole point is that God does speak to you! He's giving you these promises and more blessing than we can fathom. You just need to start to stand on these promises and believe in them. When life is coming at you full force, you can look back and say yeah, this is kind of crappy, but it's not the end of me. It's not going to stop God's promises or plans for my life.
The minute you accepted Christ, you were adopted into royalty! Jesus gave you his Grace. You were forgiven before you were born and given all of these promises.
I'll close on this. If you had an estranged Aunt who left you billions of dollars but all you had to do was claim it and wait for the check to come in the mail or clear the bank, you'd be both excited and patient because of what it would mean to you and how it would change the quality of your life.
God's promises are exponentially worth more than billions. And just like the inheritance... this is yours for the claiming. But you have to decide to claim it!
Stop trying to be the rock and let Jesus be your rock. ...cuz you rock!
Monday, November 21, 2011
altar of faith
As I meditated in the moment, I thought of how I rationalize this flaw. I accept it as if it were my eye color or even the scar on my leg. I've prayed many times to be free of this one vice which is even more odd considering my faith and how I know that God has both set me free and given me his grace. I even know 2 Corinthians 5:17 by heart, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone , the new has come!"
So... If I'm forgiven by Grace and I'm a new creation in Christ, why is this area the easiest for me to fall apart in? Why do I accept this label of addiction and hold it hand in hand with my Grace? The not so simple truth is, that I put faith into both. I put faith in my eventual failure and run back to Grace under the weight of my conviction.
God then began to show me Abraham. He gave me a glimpse into the mountain of faith this man had to have in him and the almost insane amount of trust he had for God. So much so that it staggers my imagination. His faith in God and God's promises were always met with unfathomable blessings. It was in this moment that I marinated on this one thought:
"Put your faith in me as Abraham did."
When you do, you will get a glimpse into who I am. You say you know how big I am, but do you?
You say you trust in me, but will you?
Greatness starts from faith a small as mustard seed but your faith cannot be divided by both your trust in failure and the trust that I made you into a new creation through Jesus Christ. It's one or the other and never both. Will you stand on the faith of my promises as Abraham did and accept that you will fail no more, that you will be distracted no more and that you will no longer claim this addiction as if it was something I put in your heart?
"Put your faith in me as Abraham did."
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Never Again List...
(By Betty Miller)
Never again will I confess "I can't" for "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
Never again will I confess lack, for "My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Never again will I confess fear, for "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).
Never again will I confess weakness, for "The Lord is the strength of my life" (Psalm 27:1). "The people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits" (Daniel 11:32).
Never again will I confess supremacy of Satan over my life, for "Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Never again will I confess defeat, for "God always causeth me to triumph in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Never again will I confess lack of wisdom, for "Christ Jesus is made unto me wisdom from God" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Never again will I confess sickness, for "With His stripes I am healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus "Himself took my infirmities and bare my sickness" (Matthew 8:17).
Never again will I confess worries and frustrations, for I am "Casting all my cares upon Him, who careth for me" (1 Peter 5:7). In Christ I am "care-free."
Never again will I confess bondage, for "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Never again will I confess condemnation, for "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). I am in Christ; therefore, I am free from condemnation.
Never again will I confess loneliness, Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Never again will I confess curses or bad luck, for "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us...that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).
Never again will I confess discontent because "I have learned, in whatsoever state (circumstances) I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).
Never again will I confess unworthiness because "He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Never again will I confess "I can't" for "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
Never again will I confess lack, for "My God shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
Never again will I confess fear, for "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).
Never again will I confess weakness, for "The Lord is the strength of my life" (Psalm 27:1). "The people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits" (Daniel 11:32).
Never again will I confess supremacy of Satan over my life, for "Greater is He that is within me than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).
Never again will I confess defeat, for "God always causeth me to triumph in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Never again will I confess lack of wisdom, for "Christ Jesus is made unto me wisdom from God" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
Never again will I confess sickness, for "With His stripes I am healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus "Himself took my infirmities and bare my sickness" (Matthew 8:17).
Never again will I confess worries and frustrations, for I am "Casting all my cares upon Him, who careth for me" (1 Peter 5:7). In Christ I am "care-free."
Never again will I confess bondage, for "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Never again will I confess condemnation, for "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). I am in Christ; therefore, I am free from condemnation.
Never again will I confess loneliness, Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).
Never again will I confess curses or bad luck, for "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us...that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).
Never again will I confess discontent because "I have learned, in whatsoever state (circumstances) I am, therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).
Never again will I confess unworthiness because "He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Monday, June 13, 2011
jon the fisherman, a recap!
I know that God answers prayers.
My soul feels so overwhelmed that I cannot fight back my tears of joy. My heart is broken - (in such an amazing way.) I listened to my brother as he talked. For so long, For so very long and so many times I prayed. I listened and as he told me about how he listened to the preacher. I listened until he said, he accepted Christ.
After he said that, I tried so hard to listen to what else he had to say but could only focus on those beautiful words. "I accepted Christ..."
I am now overwhelmed with the amazing gift God has given me today. I'm speechless. I'm awed and I'm trying to fathom God's unending love for us, for the world, for me.
I'd be lying to say that this hasn't given me fresh fire.
THANK YOU GOD
FOREVER
Below is a post from a little while ago. It makes me smile to look back on it!
Jon the fisherman???
by Jon Durnell on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 at 8:50pm
In my head, you are slow to stand. Out of place in the most of accepting of places...Seeing you in church of all places seems almost foreign.
It's a place where no one would think to look to find you. And yet, In my head I see you. I see the look on your face. That slow sinking realization...
You are, the missing piece of this puzzle. You're the one that I can't give up on. You're the one that matters most to me.
I stood up on faith. When asked to step out in faith, to believe for someone... anyone... I thought of you. Only you. The person I promised myself that before I focused on the world...
My heart breaks for you. And rightly so. You're the hardest person to talk to...especially when it comes to faith. This fantastic God and this incredible man named Jesus. How would I explain such a thing?
I remembered standing defiant. Refusing to give up on you. So much so, that I stood up in front of people. Walked in front of a crowded room. No one else moved for such a call. But to believe that by moving you'd be the person to come to know Christ.
My heart breaks for you. And rightly so. You're the hardest person to talk to...especially when it comes to faith. This fantastic God and this incredible man named Jesus. How would I explain such a thing?
I remembered standing defiant. Refusing to give up on you. So much so, that I stood up in front of people. Walked in front of a crowded room. No one else moved for such a call. But to believe that by moving you'd be the person to come to know Christ.
How can I be ashamed of tears? How could I possibly care about myself? Or foolish things like my pride?
What a small price to pay. And yet...
What a small price to pay. And yet...
In my mind I believed what I saw: My brother...My best friend. Standing... Believing in Jesus.
My God... My beautiful God... I will always believe for him. I trust you when you say step out in faith. I believe you when you say, Believe. My little faith to move mountains... to walk on water... For Jesus to mean to him what it means to me.
What could I possibly pay for my gratitude? What measure would ever be enough? My God...My beautiful God.... May he see what I see. May he know you more than I know you. May this heartbreak finally end.
Thank you Lord, for my brother.
Friday, April 29, 2011
My Beautiful Letdown
My finale for speech class -
________________________
________________________
My beautiful letdown
It would seem obvious to anyone of any faith or thinking that this life is only temporary. We as a civilization and a species share similar ideas, flaws and ambitions. What could I possibly say to anyone what life is, being that I have yet to fulfill this life? It seems unrealistic, wouldn't it, that since I haven't finished living that I should talk about what the meaning or purpose of this life is?
I think it would be safe to assume that I have struggled in vein along with everyone else to find such a purpose. It seems like each of us has this hole inside of us that needs to be filled. I have chased after the world looking to fill that hole and find that purpose. I have found many amazing things in my short time of existence but I never seem to find that piece that makes me feel whole.
C.S. Lewis said, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." Such an incredible thought. You see, I have tried to find that experience that he speaks of. There's a famous story of a prodigal son that I identify with. We both have these parallels in our lives of living these fast times and like this prodigal, the high times of the party never lasted. We both came to a place where we saw ourselves as we really were.
I never found myself in the drugs, the drinking or any girl. The more I tried to fill that hole in my soul with material things and temporary flings the bigger that hole seemed to get. I never understood it though. I mean, everything I thought meant something never seemed to hold up. I was the life of the party and I had nothing to show for it. According to the world and TV and movies I should have had everything I needed or wanted. I was letdown to say the least.
Anyone feel alienated yet?
You see just like C.S. Lewis and his thoughts of another world, I could only think to myself that this couldn't be it. With my brief time on earth this couldn't be the answer. If this isn't the answer then what is? A friend of mine said it better than I ever could. "I found grace or better yet, you could say that grace found me."
I titled this speech, "my beautiful letdown" because I'm actually happy to know that there's nothing in this life that I look forward to more than what's next. However, I know that there are others out there who were like me looking for what could fill that void in their life. I don't want to come across as preachy because I'm not selling anything. If anything, what I've found from finding this grace leads me to be a better person.
I close with the inspiration that brought me to this topic and I'd like to read the words :
"It was a beautiful letdown when I crashed and burned. When I found myself alone unknown and hurt. It was a beautiful letdown the day I knew that the all the riches this world had to offer me would never do. In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt I was trying so hard to fit in, until I found out that I don't belong here."
I know I don't have all the answers. I hope to inspire others and change their perceptions and to let them know what sets me apart without condemnation or judgment. I sincerely hope that when others search for answers they might come to the realization that I have and that it's okay to be letdown by this world. Especially when there's something so much better.
I pray that you are found by grace.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Rearview Mirror
Cliché songs mutter out the lyrics of something to the extent of, "live like you were dying." But the idea is nothing new, though the thought is still cause for reflection. Even in the poem by Horace you embrace the term, "carpe diem," or "seize the day." Each day we are given is a blessing. However, when you stop to think about all of them in retrospect it makes you wonder. Me personally, I imagine myself one day being very old and I wonder, when I think back over my life what will I think of?
This year I turn 30, a milestone in its own respect. However, when I was 18 I honestly didn't think I'd live to make it to here. Perhaps my close mindedness couldn't see more than what was in front of me. However, looking back lends such an interesting perspective. I couldn't even begin to tell you what was important to me. I could tell you about the trivial things, girls, my popularity, which lunch table I got to sit with and how it reflected my status. That was about as rough as it got. I minimalize those events because, being almost 30, I honestly don't have those same priorities.
Say I make it to 90 years old. Awesome. Will I still say, "awesome?" Better yet, what will I think back on of my thirties? How was I worried about paying rent? or being worried about buying a house? or paying off a mortgage? Where is my next check coming from? How will I ever afford this? When's a good time to have kids? Am I too old for this? I wonder what the 90 year old experienced me what say to me now. What would his advice be? And what the heck are next week's winning lottery numbers?
Truth be told, I know the gravity of what that 90 year old will face. It's the same reality the 18 year old faced and even this 30 year old. Will the trivial things of this world keep me from experiencing what God has in store for me? Will I have spent my entire life spiritually chasing my tail or will I one day, sit back and experience what it is to fully understand what God meant by setting into motion the events that lead up to the cross? What will I ultimately see in my review mirror as God shows me my life?
I really think God is showing me something big. Something so big that it cannot be kept. I know that at the least, God will help me step out of this apathetic Christian pose and be more than someone who knows about the cross... but someone who truly knows what it is to experience what the cross has to offer.
Review mirrors are an amazing tool to know what's going on behind you so that you can know where you're going. I pray tonight, a very simple prayer for the both us. Tonight, I pray that God will crush these hardened hearts and that we can learn to be more like Jesus Christ in how we think, act and live. That when we do see our judgment day, we won't have to worry about our rearview mirrors but instead we'll get to focus on the God of eternity. No looking to the past because hopefully, we'll hear the words our souls cry out for, "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT."
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Something More
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'Matthew 25:40
God has introduced me to a brother in Christ who comes from this village. I am beyond trying to put into words how my heart breaks for anyone who has no choice to live like this. And yet, they are still considered fortunate. To love a fellow person just because is to be loved as Jesus loved us.
Currently, They are building a church! How amazing is that?! The thing that is sought most is not items or materials for gain but to have a place of worship to show their love to a gracious God! They don't have shoes but they don't care! They want to love Christ and to have a church!! Amazing!
In the other pictures you will see some of the women who carry pots on their heads. In some villages the women and girls must walk several miles of rural country to provide drinking water for their families. Their sacrifices mean that they are not able to go to school.
You will also see 3 motorcycles (of sorts). These bikes are transportation to main roads and the villages only means of transportation (besides their feet of course)
We live like kings amongst others who are blessed beyond measure. I see these children and these people and realize I have an opportunity to help others. I have little to give but God can use my gifts and talents and take my gifts and multiply them over and over beyond measure.
I have a chance to help someone I may never meet. I have been blessed with the opportunity to bless someone else. I have been invited to be apart of non-profit organization that will help people like these.
It is in the early stages but I believe in power of an AWESOME GOD. I will continue to keep people posted and only ask for prayers. Prayers to make the right decision and prayers to do the will of the father! When other opportunities arrive, I will let you know as soon as possible should you wish to be apart of it. But, as I said, right now I only ask for prayers. Prayers for these people and those who are to help these people.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Prodigal
Give me a heart for the lost. Help me find those, who can't find their way. Where the prodigal child goes I know all too well. For as the prodigal son came to himself, so did I.
Luke 15 kicks off with Jesus telling 3 parables. All 3 stories talk of losing something precious and then finding it. The lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Each one a hierarchy of importance to an Israelite. A sheep being lost, a silver coin, a son.
I'm not a biblical historian but I'm pretty sure if Jesus puts the silver coin in the middle, he's making a point to say that it's worth more than a sheep but nowhere near as import as the value of a son. Pretty simple way of understanding right?
Something of value is in jeopardy in the stories. There is an action from the person seeking what is lost and there is an action when what is lost is found. There is also an imbalance and then there's a restoration. Something is incomplete that later becomes whole.
Jesus starts his stories talking about sheep. If you have 100 sheep and you lose 1, you will pretty much stop what you are doing to find the one missing. I wouldn't because I don't care about sheep per say. But that doesn't negate the fact that if I had 100 anything and I lost one of it, I wouldn't look for it.
Before I leave for work in the morning I have a bunch of things set out in a particular order. As I'm getting ready to leave the house I pick up my wallet and then my keys. Then I go for my crackberry and finally my iPod and Oakley's. It's 5 simple things but if I can't find one of them, you can forget it. I'm not going forward with my day. I'm am going to take my time and look for whatever is missing. I will not take the time to look for a sheep but I will lose my mind if I can't listen to my ipod at work! Can't find my sunglasses... ah nope. Can't do it. I live in Texas where it's not only hot year 'round it's like the sun is vacations here.
So I get what's going here. I see the importance. You're not going to leave it to chance. You're going to find it because it has value.
The second story is similar because a woman loses a piece of silver. I love the fact that Jesus uses this amount. I really do. When the Bible talks about shekels as an amount I am clueless of its importance. Silver and gold, relates really well to us. It's a value that I get and comprehend. My fiancé has gotten charms from James Avery so I get the idea of the value of silver. Plus everyone can relate to losing money. You will retrace your steps, you will tear a couch apart you may even accuse your mom of taking it. People get funny with money.
The third story is the best. A man has two sons. The father loses his youngest son after he goes out into the world, messes up, has a hard life and eventually gets to go back home. I'm paraphrasing of course but that's just because there's a lot more going on there.
All 3 stories rotate around the lost. It's not a coincidence that Jesus uses 3 stories to make his point. Clearly he's not just talking about a sheep or a coin or even simply a son. In his master ability to convey a point he explains in earthly words how God sees us. How he sees the lost children and conveys their value to him. Jesus conveys to us that God can't forget about what's lost. It bothers him.
When something is lost and it is important to you, it will drive you crazy. It will bother you and eat at you. And here Jesus is explaining to us that the God of heaven and Earth, infinite and finite, the center piece of creation and God can't let it go. The value he puts on people is so immeasurable he can't bear the idea of losing one person.
In the story of the lost son, the son first disrespects his father by asking for his inheritance early. He goes out and lives this fast life and burns through all of his inheritance. He is quickly destitute and is forced to do the unthinkable until it dawns on him that, "hey, it wasn't so bad back at home. My dad is kind of a nice guy, maybe if I go back and beg he'll let me be a servant." So he heads home, disgraced and embarrassed. But here's the thing: it says in Luke 15:19 "...But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him.."
He was a long way off and his father saw him. I was in the Navy for 4 years and when I was out on the ocean I can attest for a fact that unless you are really looking for something off in the distance you're not going to see it. Stuff doesn't just kind of appear, you really have to look for it. And here Jesus is saying that this son is a long way off from home and his father sees him. He sees him, the father sees him. Things don't just appear from a distance unless you really look for them right? Here, the father sees him!
Just like the sheep and the coin, I picture this father not being able to function right. I picture a man who can't go about his daily life or fit into a routine because he's bothered by an absence. He's troubled because he is incomplete. He couldn't have coincidentally looked up, he had to be looking. He had to be searching and scanning the horizon for this son.
Jesus' whole ministry can be wrapped up into these stories about God's love for us as individuals. God doesn't sit back and forget about his children out in the world. He waits and waits and searches the horizons for his children. Waiting to run to them.
I picture in my head this beautiful God who saw me when I was a long way off. I came to myself and realized where I was and all I wanted was tell him how sorry I was. And just like this prodigal child, he saw me from the distance. He ran to me and threw his arms around me and said, I love you. And he won't even let me talk about my mistakes. He was busy making me royalty when I never deserved it. He was busy giving me life when my wages of sin called for death.
I think about the others now. I think about this love of a God who can't bear to be without us. I think about the value of what we are to him. I think about the price that was paid for us. I think about the children who are still a long way off.
I think that God is calling on this generation. I think we are surrounded by the prodigal.
I think when people finally come to understand how much God loves us
...and come to know that God through Jesus Christ then...
...then we will get to rejoice for those who are found.
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