Nothing is Not an Option

If our minivan is leaking oil and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If our marriage is struggling and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If my arteries are blocked and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If I have a failing grade in geometry and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If I splatter grape juice on a white shirt and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If I am living pay check to pay check and choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If I am driving down the highway and see the traffic coming to a stop and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If my past is negatively impacting my present and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

If a habit is ruining my life and I choose to nothing, what will happen?

Here you go; try one of your own:  If ____________________________ and I choose to do nothing, what will happen?

Nothing does nothing!

You and I are made in the image of God which means we were not made for nothing and we were not made to do nothing. 

God saw the universe void of order and he created life where there otherwise would have been nothing. 

God saw Adam was alone and so he made Eve from his side so that none of us need to walk this life alone.

When Adam and Eve sinned and hid, God came to the Garden and found them.

When sin broke God’s intended paradise for us, God explained the consequences and made the world a promise that their sin would not have the final say.

When the world got so bad that God’s heart was broken in regret, he told Noah to build an Ark.

When God wanted to raise up a people to become the light of the world and bless the nations, he gave a son to a couple who was long-past retirement.

When God’s people were suffering in captivity, He sent Moses to say, “Let my people go!”

When God’s people chose the desert over the promise land, God led them and provided for them for 40 years.

When a new generation was ready to trust God for more, he gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.

When those who received his gift forgot the source of that gift, he sent prophets to say what they did not want to hear.

When the people punished the prophets he sent, God let his people enter exile.

When God’s voice fell silent, God was still working through a remnant.

When the time was just right, God sent his one and only Son.

When Jesus was here he showed us clearly that God never does nothing! 

Jesus healed, loved, touched, taught, hung out with sinners, rebuked the religious and willingly suffered and died. 

After Jesus lay in the tomb for three days, God called him out!

After 40 days, Jesus ascended to heaven so he could send us his Holy Spirit.

When the people received the cleansing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the church was born and began to take the good news everywhere.

When God says it is time, Jesus will return removing all that separates from heaven from earth and returning what was lost with Adam’s sin. 

Nothing does nothing and everything in the Bible shows us that our God never does nothing!  And so now he asks us—his children, his church—what are we going to do?  And just in case you have not figured it out yet, nothing is not an option. 

Detours

You are driving down the road, singing along to a favorite song on the radio.  The sun is shining and life is good.  Then, suddenly, you start to see orange signs and arrows.  You keep driving in hopes that the signs do not refer to the road you intend to follow.  Even though the sign says, “Road ends in 1 mile” followed by another sign that says, “Road ends in ½ mile”, you keep driving forward in complete denial.  Eventually you find yourself at a barricade with a huge sign that says, “Road Closed.”  Still fighting denial, you look down the road to see if may be you can drive around the sign and still get to where you want to go.  Finally, you accept that your road has come to a dead end. 

So, what do you do?  Well, you do the only thing you can do.  You put it in park.  Turn the engine off and wait.  Hopefully, you have a granola bar in the glove box because it is going to be a while.  I mean what else can you do but wait for them to open the road you need to take to get where you are going, right?  Why are you looking at me like I have lost my mind?

No way!  If we come to a dead end on a road, we don’t stop.  We look for the detour signs and if there are no detour signs then we create one of our own.  The point is we would never let a closed road stop us from moving forward. 

The resurrection of Jesus delivers us that very message on an eternal scale.  As we read the story of God through the Bible we see that time and time again the road to God’s “plan A” was regularly closed down because of the choices of his people.  For example, I am sure Abraham and Sarah wished they would have not taken matters into their own hands and involved another woman in their marriage bed. I am sure Lot wished his wife would not have looked over her shoulder so that she would be more than salt at their dinner table. Samuel told the people that God said they would regret having a king, but they demanded one.  I am pretty sure David would have changed the channel instead of watching another man’s wife bathe and maybe she would have rethought bathing on the rooftop in front of the king’s picture window.  Solomon was considered the wisest man to ever live and yet he built God’s temple on the backs of slaves forgetting that God delivered his people from slavery.  On and on the story of God goes with his people making choices that create road blocks to his plan.  It reminds us of the power of our choices.  God’s own people can stop God’s plan from being unfolded.  Heck, God’s people nailed his only Son to a tree.  God so respects the will he has given us that he will let us completely circumvent the direct route to his purposes and plans.  But as powerful as our choices can be they do not create dead ends. 

In the end, God’s way always prevail.  His Son is risen! Whether God’s people choose to follow him is up to them, but God has already told us where he is going with all of this:

“Then I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

Translation:  Like it or not, God is going to make all things new!  Not even heaven and earth will stay the same. And there are no dead ends we can will into existence that God can’t reroute with a detour to get His true people there!

Looking for Someone

She took her place on the risers with the rest of her first grade classmates.  This was the day of the musical performance they all had been preparing for since the beginning of the school year.  The boys and girls were each dressed up in their homemade costumes.  Their excitement was undeniable.  Even the boys like our son, Seth, could not hide his smile.  This is a big moment.  Would they remember their speaking parts?  Would they sing loud enough?  Would they keep all the motions and lyrics straight?  Would parents and grandparents like their show? 

We took our seat in the front row.  Seth pretended not to see us though I was waved both hands in the air obnoxiously and shouted in pride, “Hi Seth!”  He didn’t acknowledge me but his smile was priceless.  But then I noticed one of his classmates.  She was on the verge of tears.  While the other children were talking to one another, waving to family or trying to act like their family was not there, this little girl was becoming increasingly sad.  Her eyes were frantically searching back and forth across the auditorium.  I heard someone ask, “What’s wrong with that little girl?”  How could they not know what was wrong?  It was obvious. Whoever she was looking for was not there.   She was watching her classmates catch a glimpse of mom or dad or grandma or grandpa, while she saw no one there for her. 

Big tears began to run down her little cheeks.  She was doing her best to fight them back, but her heart was breaking and she could not hide it.  She just wanted someone, anyone to be there for her. I was tempted to jump up, introduce myself, lie and say that I had come especially to see her and Seth, but I knew it would not be anything more than a consolation prize. She was not just looking for anyone.  She was looking for someone in particular. 

The program was about to begin and the Music Teacher offered her opening words of introduction.  The little girl gave up trying to fight back her tears, which now flowed freely.  Finally, a man walked in by himself to the back row.  I have no idea who he was, but I was so glad he came because when the child saw him, her tears stopped as a look of relief washed across her face.  He must have mouthed to her, “What’s wrong?” Because she mouthed back, “I was looking for you.” 

We are all looking for someone to be there for us, aren’t we?  O, we have long-since learned to stuff our tears and hide our disappointment, but I am convinced that even as adults we look around to see if anyone cares enough to be there for us.  It is a special gift to know that someone cares enough to show up just to show you that they care.  And it is a tragedy to be looking for someone to show up when you need them the most and no one comes. 

In a day and age when social media allows us to be more connected than ever loneliness is practically an epidemic.  One of the things I love about my role as a Pastor is that when people will allow me the honor, I love to ask one question, “So, what is your story?”  Time and time again, as I listen to people of all walks of life share their story I am amazed to hear how much those moments of someone either showing up or not showing up impact them for good or bad. 

I suppose it is at this point, when it might be expected that I sum it all up with a simple message about how when you look all over the auditorium of life and see no one there for you that Jesus is standing in the back row trying to get your attention and asking, “What’s wrong?” If it would be helpful for you to go there, please feel free.  However, it would seem that Jesus would rather you receiving something with skin on.  You see, that is why when he left us here to wait for his return, he gave us both his Spirit and his Body.  We who have his Spirit in us are to be that somebody for one another and for the world.  On those days when we see a brother or sister fighting back tears, we are to stand up, wave lovingly and say, “”I’m here!  In Jesus name, I am here for you!”  And on those days when we are looking for someone to be there for us, we are not to fake it and then be disappointed that others did not figure out our need, but to say to the church family, “I’m looking for someone right now; someone who can pray, listen and just plain be there for me for a moment.” 

Romans 12:15 gives us this snapshot of the Body of Christ:  “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”  Jesus not only gave us his Spirit to be there for us, but he also gave us one another.  Of course, that is easier said than done.  All kinds of things can get in the way of us loving one another.  The rest of Romans 12 admits that and gives us truth to help us overcome our differences.  But why did Jesus not just give us his Spirit—it certainly would be less complicated?  Because God said in the beginning, way before sin entered the world that it is not good for us to be alone.  God does not want even one of his children to look across the auditorium of life and find that no one is there for him or her. And that is why God sends us, His Church, into our community and to the uttermost parts of earth so that tears may be wiped away as those searching for someone, finding no one can hear, “We’re here!  Don’t cry!  In Jesus name, we care enough to show up for you!”

Stepping Out and Pressing On

On Sunday we talked about how Jesus came out of the grave to call us out of the same!  The story of Matthew 14 is a perfect illustration as Jesus calls Peter out of his boat.  But it was not until Peter and the others saw the resurrected Christ that they went from being afraid to step out the boat to being willing to give their very lives for his sake.  The bottom line: If you want to walk on water, you have to step out of the boat.  This week I have been honored to have people share with me about the boat out of which they heard Jesus’ call them on Sunday.  As I have been praying for us all to be brave enough to obey Jesus’ call to come out to the water where he is, I was given an illustration to share with you.  I hope it encourages you as you take that first step out of the boat.

Yesterday, I picked Anna up from gymnastics and she was absolutely beaming.  “Daddy! Daddy!” she exclaimed, “I did it.  I get to move up to the next class.”  This year, Anna decided she wanted to give gymnastics a try.  We quickly learned that most girls interested in gymnastics did not wait to start at age 9.  Nevertheless, Anna did not let it bother her that the other girls were much younger.  She breezed through the first class.  However, the second class was a different story.  One time.  Two times.  Three times.  Four times.  She watched as other girls younger than her were passed through to the next class while she was told she was not yet ready.  Each time Anna would get the disappointing news, she would say to me, “It’s OK, Daddy, each time I take the class I get better.  It will help me be better prepared for the next class.”  It was that perspective that not only kept her going, but also seemed to gain the respect of her instructors.  I watched as the instructors started giving her extra time and tips. They were rooting for her to succeed.  I admit that I was starting to feel bad for her.  I was tempted to say, but I didn’t, “Are you sure you want to keep doing this?”  But Anna did want to keep doing it.  And when a lesser person like me would have given up, she persevered.  And yesterday it all paid off.  She passed! 

I can’t seem to tell her enough of the character trait that I see her nurturing and how proud I am of her.  However, the reason I share this is because as I saw the joy and confidence on Anna’s face as she held up her certificate of completion, I believe I was given a glimpse of what Jesus desires for you and me.  There are plenty of logical reasons to stay in the boat rather than walk on the water.  But this Sunday we will talk about how Jesus’ resurrection invites us to see past the storm.  Anna saw the prize set before her before she attained it and so she found the courage and motivation to press on.  How much more ought the promise of the resurrection to spur us on in the midst of the storm?  How much more ought the prize for which we have been called heavenward to remind us that no matter how bad the storm gets it will not have the final say for he/she who believes?  How much more can we persevere being encouraged by what will follow the storm? 

I hope you will join us Sunday as we talk about how to persevere once you step out of the boat.  Thank you, Anna, for your example and letting God give me an important reminder.  I sure did need it this week as I try to step out and press on!