Category: Church and Christian Life

Chance Encounter

 

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can’t count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!  And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Psalm 139:13-18 NLT

I left the college talent show audition with my head down and walked across the crowded conference center.  Not really wanting to see anyone I knew, I found a secluded patio and decided to lay low and nurse my wounds.  I had never done well with rejection, especially when it involved my singing.

Trying to work through my feelings, I sat on one of the benches, leaned my head back, and closed my eyes.  After a couple of minutes, I sighed heavily and opened my eyes.  To my surprise, before me stood a short, white haired, senior adult woman.

“I’m sorry if I startled you,” she said with a British accent, “But I saw you sitting here and I just had to come and speak with you.”

“It’s ok,” I replied.  “How can I help you?”

“Well,” she said, “I saw you and thought that I might be able to help you.”

“Me?” I asked.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I felt like God wanted me to tell you something.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, “But do I know you from somewhere?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Ok.  What is it?”

“You, young man, are unique and loved by God.”

“What?” I asked.

She smiled and repeated, “You are unique and loved by God.  He has very special plans for you.”

“And God told you to tell me this?”

“Yes, He did.”

“Thank you very much.”

She smiled once again, turned slowly, and walked away.  I tried to go back into my pity party, but realized that the words from that woman had encouraged me so that I could no longer feel sorry for myself.

That evening, while sitting with 1,500 other college students, I watched as that same lady was introduced as the main speaker for the evening.  Slowly she walked to the front of the stage, looked slowly across the audience, and said, “I am here tonight to tell you something very important.  You should never forget it.  I believe that God wants me to share it with you.  (pause)  You are unique and loved by God.”

I have long since forgotten the name of the woman, but her words still remain with me.  I think of them whenever I feel discouraged about who I am as a person.  It’s true for me and it’s true for you as well.

 You are unique and loved by God.

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You’re So Vain, You Probably Think This Post Is About You

You’re so vain, you probably think this song is about you.  You’re so vain!  – Carly Simon

What is it with vanity?  Why do people (not you and I, of course) get so impressed with themselves?  I looked back in time and discovered that people have always struggled with vanity.

In Greek mythology, Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection in a pool.  Not realizing that it was merely an image, he refused to leave that spot.  He later died in that same position.

In the Bible, Absalom, son of David, declared as the most handsome man in Israel, used to weigh his own hair which he only allowed to be cut once a year.  (Incidentally, his hair weighed 5 lbs)  Absalom was later killed by his enemies while hanging from a tree in which his hair had caught while he quickly fled.

In the 1600’s, Henry VIII was married six times and declared himself head of the church of England.  He is most often remembered as being morbidly obese.  Because of this, his health suffered in later years.  I’m sure that his appearance also put a damper on 17th century speed dating.

In the early 19th centery, Napoleon Bonaparte stated:  I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.  He spent the last years of his life exiled on British Island of St. Helena.  He is reported to have died from stomach cancer, but many believe his actual cause of death was arsenic poisoning.  No wonder that most of his depictions show him with his hand on his stomach.

From Narcissus to Absalom to Imelda Marcos, Wilt Chamberlain, Robert Tilton, and Kanye West, vanity has always caused lots of problems for lots of people.

Why is that?

Victor Hugo explained it best when he wrote, “Stupidity talks, vanity acts.”
Think about it – Stupidity causes people to talk too much about too many things without any proof or real knowledge of the subject they are discussing.  Vanity causes them to go further than just talking.  It is the dead certain belief that one’s own self is more beautiful, more entitled, and more deserving than others.

So, how does one overcome vanity.  It’s not an easy characteristic to conquer.  According to Robert Louis Stevenson, “Vanity dies hard; it some obstinate cases, it outlives the man.”

So what advice does the Bible give about vanity?  Especially those blood-bought, spirit-filled followers of Jesus?

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.  Romans 12:3-5 NLT

Wow.  Thinking about how we belong to each other really puts everything in perspective, doesn’t it?  We aren’t gifted and blessed for our own benefit, but for the benefit of others.  We must use whatever makes us special to help benefit the entire body of Christ.

So, it’s time for us all to get over it.  We need to use what God has blessed us with to honor Him and to benefit the body of Christ.

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Learning

B.B. King once said, “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”

If that is a true statement, then why is it that many times we simply don’t want to learn?  Is it because we don’t want to better ourselves or could it be that we simply get used to the ruts of the daily routines that we create for ourselves?  That’s an important question to ponder.  But, more importantly, why do we not want to pass on to others what we have learned?  Think of all of the wisdom and knowledge that we have gained over the course of our lives.  Why don’t we want to pass that on to others in order to make a difference in their lives?

When it comes down to it, I think that most of us really do want to learn.  We also really want to pass on to others what we have learned.  The issue is not with the desire to do these things.  The problem lies more in the application of learning and teaching.

This problem of learning often shows itself when we are dealing with children.  We want to share with them things that are important to us, but we simply don’t have the energy in the moment or we just don’t know how to start.  However, in the moments when we put forth the effort to really communicate with them, the results can be very rewarding.

I had one such experience last night while at my life group.  I volunteered to be the kid’s slot (life group kid’s lesson) helper and enjoyed listening to the leader share with the children about the boy in the Bible named Mephibosheth.  After letting the children act out the story, each child had the opportunity to make his own Mephibosheth paper puppet so he could tell the story to others.  To view one of the children sharing the Bible story with his puppet, click on the following link:

http://vimeo.com/48004315

*Clip used with permission of the boy’s parents

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