WRESTLING WITH GOD

      Ya'akov (Jacob) was an unlikely choice in the first place. God must have had his reasons for choosing him- one must accept that- but they are mysterious indeed. Jacob, whose name means "heel-grabber or supplanter," was the youngest of Isaac's twins, and he was his mother's favorite. Esau appeared first in the world, and he became a "man's man," hunting for his food and living off the land. Isaac, on the other hand, hung around the kitchen and helped his mother with domestic duties. The boys marched to different drummers and their parents took sides (as Biblical parents often did). Isaac loved Esau and Rebekah loved Jacob. However, it was a man's world back then, and Issac would've given all that he had to Esau... if it were not for Jacob and Rebekah's deception. They schemed to defraud Esau of his blessing, and they pulled their plan off. However, Esau was enraged and planned to kill Jacob after his father died, which gave Jacob cause flee to his uncle Laban's place... where he stayed in hiding and worked as a sheepherder for years. It was time for hiding and it was a time for work, but it was also a time for blessings. Jacob married Laban/s daughters- Leah (whom he was tricked into marrying) and Rachel (whom he loved dearly)- and he had children by both of them (and their hand maidens). He also amassed considerable wealth. Still, he longed for home, and he knew that he must go there, no matter the cost. So, he set out for home, fearing Esau's wrath at every turn.
      Ya'akov prayed for God's protection, divided his belongings into two groups, and sent his wives and children away. Then... he laid down by the wadi Jabbok. It was dark- pitch dark- and he was alone- completely alone. He had acquired a lot of material goods. He had two wives and several sons. He had a birthright and a blessing... but he didn't have peace! He didn't have peace of mind, or peace with his brother, or peace with his God. And he didn't have peace with himself. He knew how to bargain and he knew how to look out for "number one," but of shalom he knew nothing at all. He didn't know who he was and who he ought to become. So, he laid in the darkness and took stock of it all... when suddenly, he was blind-sided by an intruder... and the match was on! It must have been quite a sight- two men rolling around on the desert floor... grabbing, punching, kicking... all in an effort to subdue the other. "Say uncle." "No, I won't. You say it." "No way." And so it went... until daybreak. Finally, Jacob's assailant struck him in the hip and threw it out of place. The outcome of the match was no longer in doubt... but Jacob would NOT let go. The "heel-grabber" would not let go. He was determined to receive a blessing from the intruder, and he persisted. He may not win the match, but he would not give up!

      "I will not let go until you give me a blessing." That's what he said, and he was given one! A new name! A new identity. From now on, his adversary noted, you will be known as Israel... because you have striven with God and humans. You have done business with the living God, and within that struggle... you have found your own identity. Israel had a new name, but he had the same bold mannerisms. "Please tell me your name," he asked, knowing that- in his day- a person's name was a window to his or her soul. Moses would later ask God for his name, but that was later and this was not Moses- so Israel's request went unanswered. However, when morning came, he knew that he had struggled with God... and lived. So he named the place where the match occurred, "Peniel,"... and he limped across the Jabbok with a new name, moving toward reconciliation with his brother and a deeper understanding of himself, his purpose, and his God!  

      Peniel. Wrestling with God. Do we ever know ourselves until we've wrestled with the Living God? Can we ever get a new name unless we receive it in this struggle? How far can we run? How long can we hide? How often can we pretend that we aren't scared to death of dying? How long will we put up with being a "supplanter or a heel-grabber," when God offers a life of purpose... and a new name? Coming to grips with our deepest self will require a struggle with the Giver of New Names. We'll never find it by running, hiding and living by our wits.  Let those who have ears, hear!

DON'T LET YOUR EMPTINESS KILL YOU!

      "No man or woman is an island. To exist for yourself is meaningless." (Denis Waitley) "To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity." (Nietzsche) "Our prime purpose is to help others, and if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." (Dalai Lama) "You keep waiting for the (purpose) of your life to become obvious, but it never does. Work, work, work. No moral. No plot. No eureka! Just work and schedules and days. You might as well be living inside a photocopier." (Douglas Coupland) "What is the chief and highest end of man? To glorify God and fully to enjoy him forever. (The Catechism- Westminster Assembly, 1647) What is man that God is mindful of him? Are we here to serve God in little, but powerful ways- to touch others and be touched by others, so that we and they become more than we were? Someone once told me that when I stand before God, he will have but two questions: 1) what did you do with the talents I loaned you and 2) what did you do with my Son? Is this, then, my purpose- to love God with all of my being and to faithfully serve others with every talent that I have?
      I want to talk about purpose for a moment, but I confess it at the outset: I lived much of my life without purpose... and didn't even care! I simply followed my feet, or my heart, or my desires... from one place, one job, or one cause... to another. I didn't have any purpose in mind when I enrolled in college, when I started my career, or when I reared our family- I just sort of reacted to things as they popped up. Matters of emotional, physical, and spiritual health were not given much, if any, thought by me. I was hopelessly unreflective and entirely unaware of who I was, whom I ought to become, and what direction I was heading in. Frankly, though I had some good times and a modicum of success, I didn't have a clue. I simply came and went, showed up and left, and I neither felt bad for the things I did, nor felt guilty for not doing more. BUT I WAS SUFFOCATING FROM AN EMPTINESS THAT WOULD NOT LEAVE ME ALONE. I wasn't aware of much, but I was aware of the void in my soul and the emptiness that was engulfing me. Praise God, I felt entirely empty... because I believe that emptiness in one of the ways in which God speaks to us.
      I didn't know much about the meaning of life then, but I did learn that an empty life isn't worth living. Take my word for it- your own emptiness will crush you if you lead a life without purpose! At least mine did. It was the emptiness that did me in! Long before I was given a purpose, I began to see that I was badly lost. I didn't know how or why, but I knew that I was lost... and that I absolutely had to find a purpose! So, without really believing, I prayed the same prayer again and again-"God, if you're listening, please show your face and take control of my life." I've had enough, I said. I'm tired of just wandering around, Lord. Please, take my life and do what you will with it. And He did! Praise God, my prayer was answered, and I came to see enjoying God's blessings and sharing his love was my purpose. It is still my purpose, and it will always be my purpose. I'm not talking about perfection... but purpose- and my purpose is to give as much of myself as I can to as much of God as I understand, to love all of you at least as much as I love myself, and in word and deed, to let people know... that they're forgiven, loved, and freed in Christ... and that God has a purpose for them- a purpose that will fill them with joy and advance His kingdom here on earth/
      I am convinced that everyone alive today is alive for a purpose. They may or may not claim it, or come to know it, but they're in God's plans! He's known us from the beginning, and those whom he's known, he has predestined, and those whom he has predestined he has called, and those whom he has called, he has justified, and those whom he has justified, he has glorified. Friends, we are an integral part of God's plan. We are entrusted with talents and opportunities given to us, and we're charged with the task of making things right and whole in His name. We are part of God's great work of forgiveness, renewal, and salvation... and not molecular accidents going nowhere for no purpose. This is the great truth of Genesis, and we can claim it boldly because we are in God's hands. Yes, as the song goes, He's got you and me brother in His hands, which doesn't mean that we're the center of everything, that we'll always be pampered, or that we'll always walk downhill, but it does mean that we can fulfill our purpose without fear ...because God is with us and within us. He surrounds us, and leads us, He gives us drink and pasture... and carries us. O yes, we are God's. We're in His hands and we can be great... if we find our purpose in Him.
      God has a plan for each of us, which doesn't mean that we'll win the lottery, or cure cancer, or become a movie star... but it does mean that we can transform things and lift people up... in His name... and it does mean that there's a purpose for us, in which we will be fulfilled... and be of some good to the world at the same time. God has a purpose for you... which is not you, although it will give you joy. I am sure of this because, in God's hands, everybody is SOMEBODY and nobody is ever NOBODY. Amen.

A LOVE STORY

      Several years ago, we formed a small group so that we could enjoy an ongoing source of fellowship and support. For a year or two we gathered for dinners and just had a good time together. We helped one another individually, and we were more than willing to tackle household projects together... but for the most part, our group was a social group. But then... things began to happen.
      My wife, Sherry, was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and Bill was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. Mike came down with Guillain-Barre syndrome and then he was diagnosed with Lymphoma. Barb lost her husband to a lung disease, and Steve struggled with a defective hip replacements. After a valiant fight, Edna's cancer took its toll and Don was left alone. Shirley was diagnosed with cancer, and Jim was too. As a group we shared many blessings too- shopping trips and golf outings, anniversaries and birthdays- and life went on. Bill continued to work for awhile, but finally quit to battle ALS (and he is still fighting the good fight). Mike received an allogeneic transplant that cured his Lymphoma, and he and his wife found a buyer for their family business. After her husband died, Barb sold their family business as well. She moved to the Chicago area to be near family, although she is still an integral part of the small group.  Allison retired at an early age, and she and her husband continue to rear their two adorable daughters. Larry and Carol bought a condo in Florida, and they live there several months a year. They are still active members of the group, however, and have been both givers and recipients of support.
      Over the years, many of our mountains became more like hills, and with a few more scars and a little less hair, we still gather and enjoy one another's company. Bill doesn't make it as much and Jim has slowed down. Sherry and I relocated to the Quad-Cities, but our love for the others has never dimmed. We've shared their tears and their laughter, and they've shared in ours. We've seen the power of prayer and we've seen the power of concrete action (by building accessible ramps, providing meals, making phone calls and visits). There is no doubt that our small group has become a family, and they are (or are surely among) the best friends we've ever had. Our experience shows what God can do... when we're willing to love and be loved by others. The members of our group are not the same age. They don't vote for the same candidates, and they aren't in the same income group. We've experienced different things in life, and we have different priorities ... but none of us has ever allowed any of these things to affect our love for one another... which brings me to my final point.
      One of the dearest people in the world to us is Mike and Linda's daughter, Jennifer, who has been on dialysis for years and has already had one unsuccessful kidney transplant. She is a grace-filled and courageous young woman who has a loving husband and an adorable son, whom I call "Drew." She is a positive and hopeful person, and we've been praying that, against all odds, she would receive one more transplant- one more chance- and that through this gift of life, she and her husband would enjoy a long life together. It was too much to hope for, but we prayed that Drew would have his dad... and his mom... for years and years to come. Jennifer's healing was our boldest prayer, but who would ever expect that her angel would be a member of our own small group? I certainly didn't, but without anyone's knowledge, Barb began to investigate whether she was a match with Jennifer or not. Quietly, she visited physicians and discovered... that she was a match for a kidney transplant for Jennifer. A perfect match. A courageous act of love, and the surgery date was set.
      Barb and Jennifer had their surgeries two days ago in St Louis, and by all accounts they are both doing extremely well! Jennifer's new kidney is performing like a champion, and Barb is on the mend. Pray, dear friend. Pray that there will be a complete healing this time, and that Jennifer will never look back from this time forward! Pray also for Barb, who put another ahead of self. Pray for her recovery and let her know that she is a hero of mine. Sherry and I knew that God had blessed us with a strong support system when our small group was formed, but who would have known that God had also blessed us with the stuff of miracles?  

ARE YOU GOOD SOIL... OR ROCKY GROUND?

      In ancient times it was common for teachers to teach in parables... in which a familiar story (or image) was cast alongside a deeper truth, which the hearer was invited to interpret. Jesus often taught in parables, using situations that were part of everyday life to make a deeper point. For instance, since the vast majority of people in Israel were desperately poor in Jesus' time, they could easily relate to a poor woman who lit her light and swept her dirt floor until she found a single lost coin. They knew how valuable a single coin was to a poor person. They would've crawled on their hands and knees... to find the coin themselves. They could "feel" the woman's joy when she found her lost coin, and they were able to see how valuable and important they were to God.
      Jesus told scores of parables, but we are invited to consider his parable of the sower (Mark 4:3-9) at this time, recognizing that we are soil-types because God is the sower and his word is the seed. In Jesus' day farmers sowed their land by hand- with a sweeping motion they scattered the seed as they walked along. Everyone knew this and in their mind's eye, they could readily picture a sower sowing seed. They had seen it time and again and they knew that some of sower's seed would fall on his best soil... and some of it would fall on the pathways, some of it on the roads, some of it on the rocky areas, and some of it would fall in "hard to get to" places where it would be less likely to thrive. They could picture the sower in their minds, and since the rain and sunshine fell on good and bad soil alike, Jesus' listeners appreciated the value of the soil.
      As a boy from Iowa, I know about good, rich, productive soil. Things just grow well in Iowa, but they don't grow well everywhere. Things don't grow well in the desert... unless they get a lot of love. and things (other than a weed or two) don't grow on the roads and paths between the fields (not even in Iowa). I can sow all the seed I have on I-80 and never reap a crop... because the seed cannot penetrate the concrete. Some of us, Jesus noted, are like concrete. For any number of reasons, we are totally resistant to God's word of grace. Maybe the good news is the too-good-to-be-true news to us; maybe we are too complicated to accept simple offers; maybe we don't believe that we need a savior; maybe we don't even believe that the sower exists. People become rigid and hardened for a number of reasons... but one thing is clear: even a city boy knows that seed will not grow in concrete!
      The sower knows it too, of course, as so he moves along, realizing that some of his seeds will never take hold. Most of the seed, however, will find some sort of land. Most of the seed that is sown will have a chance... but according to Jesus' parable (and our life experience) some of it will have a better chance... because the soil on which it lands will be deep and rich. Some of the seed will fall on fertile ground, but some of the seed will fall on shallow soil, which is not deep enough to sustain long-term growth. Hearers who are "shallow soil" get off to a deceptively good start, precisely because they are shallow. It looks at first like the seed (the word of God) is really taking hold in their lives. They join in religious activities. They show up at fellowship events. They learn the words that people like to hear... but it's just an illusion. They have not received God's word in depth... and therefore, when the sun shines hot and the rains fall hard, the seed either dries up or washes away. They may have been well-intended; they may have been less than honest in the first place; but in any event, shallow soil will not yield much of a crop!
      The sower knows this. of course, and he keeps on sowing, knowing that some people will never receive the good news and that others will only embrace it when things are going well for them. The remainder of the sower's land in fertile. It is good- like Iowa farmland- and the sower is optimistic about the yield that this land may give Him. But alas, much of the could-have-been-good soil becomes weed-ridden. A weed here and there... becomes a hundred of them, and then- you know it's true- the weeds choke off and overrun the crop. It's a sad thing to see, and it's even sadder to see a man or a woman who had an open mind, a teachable spirit, a vulnerable heart, and a "felt" need... become a weed patch. The weeds of life are pride (the person never surrenders), self-will (he never surrendered), envy, resentments, and other spiritual cancers, and "sins on the side." No one will yield a crop for God is he or she is serving two masters- faith and sin- because sin (weeds) will always win.  I have not had a drink of alcohol since October 10,1976- which will be 38 years soon. Yes, I've missed out on wine coolers and a lot of fun drinks, but my point is this: I first quit drinking in the summer of '76, and I should be celebrating 38 years right now... but on a business trip, I found myself standing in front of a liquor store asking, "Should I or shouldn't I"? And the rest is history. I did what I intended to do in the first place, and I got rid of the weed in October!
      Friends, the Sower is God, the seed is His word, and we are the Soil- each one and together. Take stock today. Examine yourself now. Are you shallow soil? Are you in it for yourself? Are you concrete? Are you unteachable and unreachable? Are you filled with weeds? Are you nurturing secrets and unresolved sin? Sherry and I knew a deacon in Omaha who hired what he thought was a hit-man to kill his wife, kids, and family dog! So, you see, we are talking about a receptiveness toward and a nurturing of... God's grace-filled news... and we are not talking about church membership, attendance, or even church offices. God is doing His thing. He sent His Son to Calvary for you and me, and through His Spirit, He is freely sowing His word so that none of us need perish. Some will, of course, because they never gave Him a chance or because they tried to have their cake and eat it too.

HIS YOKE IS EASY

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, and I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.” (Lev. 26:13) “Is this not the fast I choose- to loosen the bonds of wickedness, and to break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6) “It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:29-30).

The Bible has a lot of references to Yokes, and none of them is connected to an egg. Other than in a store, I've never seen a yoke ... but I know that yokes were used to unite beasts of burden so that they could work as a team, and I know that the apostle Paul warned the Corinthians against marrying non-Christians because they would be unevenly yoked if they did. That's not a politically correct thing to say in our time, but still it's good advice. If you've ever been in a relationship with someone who didn't share the same values and priorities that you did, you know how difficult it is to walk smoothly, gain momentum, reach a common goal, or even go in the same direction... if you are unevenly yoked! 

Being yoked evenly with a significant other is important because your life will be a tug-of-war if you aren't... but the Bible also talks about the yokes that people, or even a people, carry ... as a burden... like the women we see in third world countries carrying two pails of water, one attached to each end of a long pole that sits across their shoulders. Sometimes, just eeking out a living is a burden. Surely poverty is a burden, and poor health can be a burden too. Sometimes we're born with a yoke across our shoulders... because we're born to a crack addict, or into an abusive home, or with a trait or disability that others won't accept. Sometimes, our yoke is a sign that we were victimized somewhere along the road of life. Maybe we were sexually abused, maybe we were horribly mistreated or abandoned, maybe we had to steal and lie and sell ourselves to survive... and that moment in time becomes our yoke. Sometimes people of color, female, disabled, or gay share a yoke which society systematically lays upon the entire lot of them... by setting up barriers and denying opportunity. 

Sometimes, the yoke we carry is the yoke we choose to carry. It's a burden that we picked up ourselves. Some people are burdened by addictions- alcohol for sure- but there are many other candidates as well- drugs, lies, sex, work, power, prestige, wealth, and people-pleasing come to mind, and some people are burdened by their need to be loved, to be in control, their need to be perfect, and its cousin, the fear of not being good enough. All of these and each one of these is a yoke that separates us from our fellows and from God... and some of them... will take our family, our hope, and even our soul!

However, there’s one yoke that we all share and that's the yoke of sin, which is in and of itself a death sentence. Friends, even if we're good people, even if we mow our yards, go to church, and pay our taxes, we’re enslaved to self and sin. We’re all bundles of pride and fear, scared to death of hanging on and of letting go, and we're all prone to go our own way. None of us loves God with every fiber of our body and none of us loves our neighbor as ourselves, and therefore, whether were a pauper or a king, a sinner or a saint, we're yoked to sin. We need a savior because the issue is NOT a matter of being yoked or not yoked, but simply a matter of whom (or what) we'll be yoked to and how choking that yoke will be. Those who can’t believe in simple things and who can’t bring themselves to let go… will never lay their burdens down…but to those who are burdened and seeking relief, Jesus says this: come to me. Yoke yourself to me as a disciple and learn from me, which is what disciples did in those days. They left their families… to learn from their teacher. They traveled with him, observed him, and became like him. His priorities became their priorities. His values became their values.  His passions-their passions- his joys their joys- his tears their tears.  

Being yoked to the right teacher was fulfilling and empowering…but Jesus' yoke is also liberating and life-giving. It's easy because it will free you from your past, your wounds, your pride, your worries, your fears, your false gods, your sins, and yourself, which is the real source of your slavery. Take my yoke, he said, and you’ll be free. Take my yoke and you’ll discover the joy of living and a peace that passes all understanding. Take my yoke and you will find rest for your souls ... for my yoke is easy and my burden is light! Amen.