Pure Refreshment 1.22 -> A Safety Lesson

15 November 2006

It was a trip I had made a number of times since moving to the Central Valley of California. Get on the freeway, drive to the local airport, and return home. The previous journeys weren't incredibly exciting or out of the ordinary.

Saturday morning changed all that.

On the way home, I heard a thump-thump-thump sound from the back of the car. Not sure what was going on, I turned down the radio and listened closer. Sure enough, it was there and was getting louder. However, I had just passed the last opportunity to avoid getting on the freeway. I had no choice but to pull over at a safe location and find out what happened. After accomplishing that task, I opened the door and looked to see what was the matter. I discovered two things in the process:

1) One of the car's tires was flat.

2) What I considered to be a 'safe' location was anything but safe. The car was less than two feet off the roadway, leaving the distinct possibility of another vehicle hitting me from behind. In addition, I was stopped on the beginning of an overpass, which didn't allow for me to get out and walk to a safer location.

After making a phone call for assistance, I sat and waited. And so began forty of the most nerve-wracking minutes of my life as a constant line of 18-wheelers barreled towards the car at 70 miles per hour.

And in the moments between the phone call and the arrival of the tow truck, I realized what it means to be truly safe.

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In today's society, safety is of the utmost importance. We lock the doors to our homes at night—and activate the security system as an added measure of defense. Computers are data storehouses protected by passwords, firewalls, and encryption. When my daughter goes out for a bike ride, the law says that she has to wear a helmet—and she does.

This insatiable urge to be protected extends to our personal lives. If a situation makes us too uncomfortable, we get out of the situation (or increase our distance from it). In order to avoid dealing with an issue, we fill our waking hours with nonstop activities. For some of us, getting dressed means more than simply putting clothes on—it means putting on a façade for the world to see.

Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, being comfortable and safe are not what God desires in our lives?

The Bible is full of stories about people, just like ourselves, that lived lives of relative safety. When God showed up, they were faced with a crucial decision: stay safe or take a risk. Their choices were based on what they believed about God (who he was and what he could theoretically do).

In the books of Genesis and Exodus alone:

· Noah builds a rather large boat in the middle of the Middle East (nobody even knew what a boat was at the time), then gathers animals and his family, preserving them from a massive flood (see Genesis 6:9-9:17);

· Abram (later known as Abraham) moves from a safe situation to a nomad searching for a land unknown to him (Genesis 12:1-6);

· Abraham later takes his son Isaac and places him on an altar to sacrifice (he doesn't, thanks to God's intervention—see Genesis 22:1-17); and

· Moses goes from tending sheep to leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, despite his numerous pleas to get out of the situation (see Exodus 3:1-4:14).

Think about this for a moment: What would Simon and Andrew's lives have been like if they had decided not to respond to Jesus' call to follow him (Mark 1:16-18)? More than likely, they would've lived safe lives as fisherman and missed an adventure that would change their lives as well as countless others. If Paul didn't listen and respond to Jesus' voice while walking to Damascus (see Acts 9:1-22), the New Testament would be a lot shorter.

Whenever God unveils something he wants us to do, our safety is put at risk. Changes have to be made if we are to obey his directions. Otherwise, we remain in our comfortable and familiar situations—and in many occasions, that's more dangerous than obedience.

While in college, we had a problem in my dorm with individuals pulling the fire alarm at all hours of the night. In two years, we heard the alarm over sixty (60) times. Each time, we got dressed and slogged outside despite the temperature and conditions outside. As the number of alarms continued to increase, it became more and more difficult to get out of our warm beds and leave the building. I shudder to think what would've happened if one of those fire alarms would've been real.

So the questions arise: What does being safe look like in your life? Is there something that God has told you to do, but for some reason, you've not combined faith and action together? Can you afford to trust God, whose ways and thoughts are higher than our own (Isaiah 55:8)? What will you do as a result?

While sitting in my disabled car on Saturday morning, watching vehicles whiz past, I realized that I live life too safe. It's time for me to place my faith and trust more squarely in God's hands. I pray in the upcoming weeks that you would notice the changes.

As God refreshes you this week, may you in turn refresh others.

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track."
-- Proverbs 3:5-6 (The Message)

"All happenings, great and small, are parables whereby God speaks.
The art of life is to get the message."
-- Malcolm Muggeridge

Pure Refreshment 1.21 -> Manufactured Impressions

A few weeks ago, the city of New Orleans reopened one of its most recognizable landmarks to the general public. Once known as the eighth wonder of the world, the Superdome was used as an evacuation shelter during Hurricane Katrina. However, the storm's winds and rain combined to rip sections of the roof off the building, eventually forcing the evacuation of everyone inside.

I watched the grand re-opening with interest for a number of reasons. While on a trip to the city in 1996, I met my wife for the first time. In addition, there was a football game to be played that evening. After all the events that had occurred there, I got chills as the minutes neared to kickoff.

Then something caught my attention.

Just as the announcers were making their final comments, the television station cut away to a live image of people running onto the field. A few minutes later, there was a mini-concert, headlined by the bands Green Day and U2. Later, the home team took the field and proceeded to win an emotional game whose outcome was never in doubt.

So why was I interested in a group of people running across the floor of the Superdome? The answer may surprise you.

In recent years, important football games have featured a pre-game or halftime show with a major singer or band. Because of the nature of a football field, the performers sing in the middle of the stadium, leaving the crowd a considerable distance from the musicians at all times. However, in an attempt to make the performance feel (and look) like a real concert, a number of spectators are allowed to get on the field and stand next to the stage. This creates the impression (to those watching on television, at least) that a concert is occurring, with adoring fans in close proximity to the singers. Of course, most of the 70,000 people in attendance were still in their seats watching the performance.

This got me thinking about the impressions we try to make on a daily basis. There will inevitably come times when we're not completely happy about something. Maybe it involved being overlooked for a promotion at work. Maybe a person we considered a friend wasn't around when their presence was needed. Maybe there was a disagreement about something.

I'm amazed that individuals who claim to know Jesus as Forgiver and Leader are so adept at manufacturing impressions that everything in life is under control (myself included). A notable example is an argument between husband and wife on the way to a gathering of friends that conveniently ends when the car doors open at their destination. These attitudes actually serve two purposes: a) they hide the true feelings, and b) they (in effect) say to others, "This type of attitude and concealment is okay and acceptable."

The question then becomes a simple one: Why?

Perhaps it's because we feel inadequate about something. Perhaps we're concerned about what others will think or say if they find out. Perhaps we've followed the mandate of popular culture to never show any sign of weakness, and in so doing, have created a suit of armor that we cannot get off.

Know that it's time to be real, because we were not created to be somebody different than ourselves.

While Jesus was on earth a few millennia ago, he never walked around the dusty streets of Israel trying to create a false impression about himself. When he was sad about the death of Lazarus, he didn't act stoic, but cried (see John 11:33-38). When he saw in a synagogue a man with a shriveled hand, I can imagine seeing his frustration with those gathered who wanted to see him break a law instead of perform something more miraculous (see Mark 3:1-6).

If there's one thing that God doesn't want his people to be, it's inauthentic. It makes the faith they claim to be shallow and prone to change with the next passing fad. Instead, he desires his people to be written letters that others can read to discover the true source of their hope, optimism, and love (see 2 Corinthians 3:2-5).

Being authentically real isn't easy to do. It involves being comfortable in who God has created you to be, while not being arrogant, pompous, and obnoxious at the same time. That's where love comes into play, as it helps us convey our feelings in ways that others can relate to effectively—after all, love shows patience, kindness, and trust, refusing to partner with pride, envy, and self-centeredness (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

It's time to stop creating manufactured impressions of ourselves. And now is the perfect time to do it.

What are the impressions you've been making lately? What do you think people can read about you and your faith through the life you portray to them? What do you want them to read instead?

Think about these questions and answer them honestly. And as God refreshes you, may you in turn refresh others.

"My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we are living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves."
—John, 1 John 3:18-20 (The Message)

"Love wins."
—Rob Bell1

1 Bell, Rob. NOOMA 009|Bullhorn (DVD). Flannel/Zondervan, Grand Rapids MI: 2004. A bumper sticker with the quote is prominently displayed in the production.