That Day

That day will come. "The day", the one that we all know and fear. The day that our mortality comes to an end and our time on earth, with those that we love, comes to an end. In that moment, most of us, regardless of our religion and/or faith believe that we will have revelation as to the truths of God and the universe. Those of us who are followers of Christ believe that in that moment our faith will be validated and we will be welcomed into Heaven, a place of perfection and eternal peace.

This week we lost a member of our community, a man in the prime of his life, whom was taken in his sleep. He was a business man, the owner of a local beachfront restaurant and bar, overlooking one of the most beautiful beaches on earth. He was a family man, with a wife and two sons, 12 and 15. He was not a poor man, and by all appearances his needs were well tended. I have to imagine that if asked, he would say, that in most ways he had it all. I did not know him, though I do know his family somewhat. But I can see the devastation that his death has caused. I can see the sadness and questioning throughout a community, who has lost one of their own before their time.

I wish I could just convince everyone, this is why you need to find Jesus, and do it now. Because that is, what I believe, they need to do. But I can also say that I am, as a believer in my own eternal salvation, still somewhat unsettled when it comes to my own mortality. I don't want to not be able to see my kids grow up. I don't want to not be with my wife, my family, or even my friends. I am scared. For just as this man in our community died, just as my sister died, or even for that matter just as Michael Jackson died, we never know when our moments on this earth will come to pass, and that is terrifying. Even as a Christian, it is scary, I am glad I have that to hold on to the help assuage my fears.

I know when you really stop and think about it, many things in life become unimportant, insignificant, even ridiculous. If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, would you really spend today arguing with the guy at garage about the cost of brake pads, would you make sure to spend the day shopping for a new refridgerator, would you sit in the office all day trying to make that last dollar? I hope not. I know I would would want to spend it with my family and maybe even my friends, doing something incredible, something that I love. It is not that it would even matter doing what, just enjoying my time.

I also know I would also want to devote some of that day to prayer, not praying for my entrance ticket to eternal salvation, though I know I would ask, but praying for God to bring comfort to my family, friends and community as they experience loss. I would pray for God to care for and look after each of my family members and help them navigate the puzzles of life. I would also pray that each and every one of them find it in their heart to have a relationship with God, so that selfishly, I would be able to see them again.

So today this is my prayer for "Trukie", his family, and our entire community. God please comfort each and every one of us, but Lord give special grace and comfort to his family. Father may our fears and frailty be overshadowed by your love and understanding, and we all as individuals be drawn to you. May we feel you love and presence and may through this tragedy, we all find comfort in the fact that we have the opportunity to reunite again in your loving arms. Father, may we put less importance in the demands of the world and focus our time on earth on what is truly important, spending time with those we love and loving those we spend time with. Be with us Lord, and comfort us in our mortality, in Your name I pray. Amen

Yhea God!

The Crickets Song

Do you try and do the right thing? Most of us do. I know that, I, for one, have devoted a large portion of my life to doing missions work and helping those less fortunate around the world. Many times I have put my safety and comfort on the shelf, to be a beacon of hope to those in need. I have tried to do it humbly and not with any personal gain in mind. Though admittedly, there have been times when I have had to consciously keep my ego in check, as to not make my time serving about me and the attention I was getting from doing it.

Would I say I care about others? Yes, I do. No questions about that. Would I do it for those I don't know? Of course, I do it all the time. After all my rallying cry has always been Matthew 25:40; “And the Lord will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ So in the parable of the good samaritan, where do I fall? As the one the comes along and helps, right? Well, in theory at least.

Last month this theory was put to the test, and I am sad to say I failed, miserably. Yes, me, Mr. travel the world helping people, loving them, feeding them, I failed the true test. I was driving through the barrio of Liberia, a moderate sized town about 20 minutes from our home in the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. The particular barrio was just outside of town and was quite poor with an extremely rough and rocky road. I was coming back from picking up my car at the mechanic and though I was not overly late, I was on a timetable. As I am driving and older guy obviously well beyond drunk was staggering down the road. As I approached him I slowed way down, less he stagger in front of my car. I can see as he gets closer that he is babbling something to himself. Immediately, I feel bad for him.

My pity rapidly turns into panic as I watch him fall face first onto the rocks. He landed on his face, no attempt by his hands to break the fall. Yep here it is, my confession. I watched as he tried to get up. Bloodied and unable to right himself, I watched. Knowing I probably could not understand his inebriated version of Spanish. Knowing, I did not want his blood all over my car. Knowing, that I had no idea where to take him or what to do. I drove on, hoping the next car coming down the road would have his good Samaritan. As I failed him, I failed myself, and I failed my God!

So now I sit here knowing that it is not Matthew 25:40 that guided me when the chips were down, but Matthew 25:45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me."

Yes, Lord, I have failed you, forgive me. I am not the man I thought. I am not the man I want to be. I heard my conscience, but chose to ignore it out of convenience. This has been riding on my for the last six weeks. I doubt the man died, I doubt it was the first, nor last time he walked that street with the same result. But I could have made a difference, I could have been the one to promote the change. I didn't, but I pray that next time I will have the courage to do it.

So my prayer for each of us is that we sing the song of Jiminy Cricket and always let your conscience be your guide. We know what is right, but are we strong enough to do it? So far, I have yet to prove myself, but I refuse to give up!

Yhea God

Faith, it is an all in proposition.

Early this morning, long before the sun came up, I was outside praying, meditating, and pondering the realities of life. I was thinking of some of the daily challenges that we each face, and I stumbled upon the thought that I hope I have enough faith to deal with the challenges that will come my way today.

Suddenly, it was as if it was daylight all around me, lit by the HUGE cartoon lightbulb that appeared above my head. Not literally, of course, but it was almost that dramatic. The veil was lifted and the the view was clear. There are no degrees of faith, you either have faith or you don't.

The dictionary defines faith as; "great trust or confidence in something or someone." Great confidence, not some level of confidence, but great confidence. That does not leave much room for doubt.

I remember one time while driving through Central Mexico, with a pastor on the way to a mission trip. We were behind a slow truck on a twisty mountain road and we were lamenting the need to pass this truck. He looked over at me as we started into a blind corner he hit his left blinker and said,"Randy, tienes, fe?" (Randy, do you have faith?) He was just kidding, but there was a time of silent counting in all of our heads, waiting to see if a car or truck would come flying around the corner that would have represented our death. For the record, it would not have ended well. My kids and I often play that game now to pass the time while driving.

But that game in the car defines faith, a blind trust in a yet to be determined outcome. But in that game, and in life, it is a yes or no proposition. There are no degrees or maybes. You are all in or all out. It does not mean you can't think about your decision, but at some point faith requires a firm commitment. Are you in or are you out? Do you have what it takes to pull into the other lane?

So my challenge to each of you today is "tienes fe?" Do you have faith? Well... do you? If so, put your turn signal on and move to the other lane, as life is a journey and you are already on the highway. Of course this blog is about religion and spirituality, but I truly believe that this applies to every part of our lives!

Yhea God!