Visions & Verses

Saved Savers Saving

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.  ~Romans 10:9-10

In my town this week, a police officer was shot, another was killed and a firefighter lost his life, all in the line of duty.  I am in awe of these brave men and women who, knowing the danger to themselves, still run into perilous situations to protect and save others.  To me, these brave people are very much like Jesus - fighting injustice, sacrificing themselves for others, demonstrating true love by helping people unconditionally, regardless or race, creed or wealth.

And yet, no matter how many people they save in this life, will they be saved for eternity?  My hubby is a cop, and I really don't think I could stand the anxiety of his job without knowing with certainty that if he went on before me, he would be waiting to meet me in Heaven.  Knowing that this imperfect earth is not the end, but merely the beginning gives you the courage to boldly love others, boldly defend others and boldly serve God.  If, by contrast, we just sit on our butts, hiding our lights under a bushel and not being the hands and feet of Jesus, we really are no better than coins buried in a field.

I pray that these brave men were believers.  I pray that God might somehow use the tragedy of their deaths for some good.  I pray that their families will be comforted, and that their faith will be ignited or renewed.  And I give thanks that with every generation there are still men and women willing to put on a uniform and defend, protect and rescue us.

Ninja Raccoon and the Eternal Prize

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  ~1 Corinthians 9:25

I'm from Baltimore, and I love football.  If you love football, you probably understand that I am experiencing quite a bit of disappointment.  Defeated in the playoffs, my beloved Ravens will not win the prize this year.  They trained, they practiced, but their hopes for a Superbowl trophy and diamond-studded rings have faded away.

And that's how life is.  The flowers have faded away, covered by snow.  The leaves are gone.  Retirement accounts have dwindled.  Jobs end. Every bit of our existence which seems so important, necessary, or indispensable truly does become ridiculous compared to just remaining alive.  I realize now that Jesus had this perspective.  Knowing that he was going to die in a year or two or three, what use was a big house, or fancy clothes or a fast donkey?  The important thing was to save lives.  If not his own, then as many others as possible.

We had a little scare the other night, and it genuinely seemed at that moment that someone was trying to get into our house at 4:00 in the morning.  In that desperate moment, nothing we owned had any value except our lives and the lives of the family.  Upon further investigation, it was most likely a raccoon, but the jury is still out.  Nevertheless, it has given me the opportunity to ponder my mortality.  Life IS fragile, and there are no guarantees.  And whatever prizes we may be pursuing in this life, we can be sure that they will not save us from death, nor last much beyond it.  There is only one prize that will last forever, and that is our salvation through belief in Jesus who gave up His life to save ours.  If it had been an intruder with evil intent, I know where my family and I would be when we left this world.  Everlasting life IS truly a blessed assurance.  But now the challenge is to rededicate myself to saving others.  Witnessing is a life-saving mission, as real and as necessary as rescue helicopters, police, or emergency medical teams.

I suppose I knew all this, but it becomes so much more real when you stare death in the face at 4am--even if it turns out to be a raccoon or the wind.  So thank you, raccoon, for giving me a scare that put life in perspective.

Pointing the Way

so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.  ~Philippians 2:15

Epiphany...I like that word.  Coming from an un-churched background, I learned its secular meaning before I ever knew of its spiritual meaning.  Webster defines epiphany as: a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure.

The birth of Christ was all of the above.  As Immanuel, He is God manifested in human form to reveal God's plan for His creation.  And Jesus grew to become the embodiment of Truth, God's ultimate reality.  But the disclosure of Jesus' manifestation came through the use of the stars.  Whether one bright super nova, an alignment of planets or stars, or the appearance of a symbolic planet in a constellation, we may never know what the Magi saw that started them on their long journey to Jerusalem.  But we do know that it was God's plan.  Some 'star' guided them.  And now we are called to also be guides -- like stars in the sky lighting the way for a crooked generation.  Jesus was the light of the world, and now we are called to be lights.

It is curious that God said 'let there be light' days before there were heavenly bodies.  I believe that light is the light of love.  That force that people say binds the world together, is love.  Not physical love, not lust, but compassionate love, agape love, the love that makes people sacrifice for each other, to do random acts of kindness, to send money to kids around the world that they've never met.

So, my epiphany is that in this new year, I need to let my little light shine brighter.  I need to be a star shining for others so that by my light, or by following my path, I might guide people to Jesus.  I could never fully express the wholesale, radical changing in outlook that knowing Jesus has brought about in me.  I've tried every diet and I'm still fat; I've had at least 10 different jobs, and am currently unemployed; I couldn't even count all the colors my hair has bee; but since the day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I've never looked back.  He settled my soul, and my joy is to help others find the way to settle theirs...true peace.  I pray that for you in this new year.