| 2 Kings 6:1-7 "Take it Up!" |
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| Written by Rev. Don Lee | |
| Saturday, 26 April 2008 | |
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Prayer: God, just as you have been there for us, help us to be there for you and your church. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. In the early days of Israel’s history, there lived a prophet named Elisha. And Elisha was the leader of a group of young people in training, in other words, Confirmands! They lived, worked, studied, worshipped, played, and ate [holy donuts] together. And Elisha taught and modeled how God wanted them to act and be in the world. And because God was with them, the group soon outgrew their meeting place. So it was decided they would construct a new home for their fledging group down on the bank of the Jordan River. Borrowing an axe, they began construction of their new retreat center. Excitement grew as one-by-one trees were felled and then rolled into place. And then disaster struck: While cutting down a tree with the borrowed axe, the axe head flew off and plopped into the muddy Jordan River. Embedded in inches of mud, deep under the waters of the Jordan, it would slowly begin to rust away in the swift moving waters (this was pre-scuba!). Of course, the Confirmands had no money to replace the axe head and without it, the handle was useless. Ever lose something of great value belonging to someone else? Somehow “my bad” just doesn’t seem to cover it, does it? What would become of their dream to construct a new place for them and future generations of Confirmands to live, study, worship, and eat holy donuts’ in? A dozen or so Confirmands seated on tree stumps, their faces in their hands, scratching their heads, not sure of what to do next. And someone said, “I knew this was a silly plan from the start. The old place was just fine for my needs…besides, we couldn’t afford it anyway. Why we even had to borrow the axe!” Luckily, someone thought to pray. “God, what we really need here, is a miracle.” And God heard their prayer and answered it. A miracle is what? Something that defies nature! Their leader, Elisha, walked to the place where the borrowed axe head had fallen in the muddy Jordan. He took a stick and flung it into the water like a warrior’s spear. And “poof,” the iron axe head appeared. Elisha turned to one of his Confirmands and said, “Don’t just stand there silly, take it up!” And that’s the end of the story. Now I know what you’re thinking… A floating iron axe head….right! So let’s go there. The miracle is central to the story but two understand it, you need to remember two claims of scripture: 1) That we are all flawed, failed (sinful) human beings. Romans 3:23, All have sinned (All) and fallen short of the glory of God. 2) That God is at work in the world. Philippians 1:6, I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. God’s activity is called GRACE and it is Amazing! So whether it’s causing a piece of iron embedded in inches of mud to float or God causing you to do something totally contrary to your nature (like loving someone hard to love or forgiving someone who’s hurt you), then it’s a miracle! Let me put it another way: Sometimes the miracle is not that God makes things better for you. Sometimes the miracle is that God makes you better in a given situation. Here’s an example:
Okay, so here’s the million dollar question; “Where is Jesus in this story?” You could read this story 100 times but never hear the name “Jesus.” But that doesn’t mean Jesus isn’t in the story. In fact it’s been my experience that you can find Jesus everywhere, even in the middle of conflict and crisis! We’ve become so afraid of conflict in our society and in the church that we run in the opposite direction instead of engaging conflict in a healthy, constructive, and God-pleasing way! The Bible calls you to be peacemakers, and you know what? You can not be a peacemaker if you’re always running from the fight! Remember the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel? When Jacob gets hurt, what does he do? He hangs on! Why? Because he knows that unless he holds on, he won’t get blessed! If you want God to bless you and others, quit running from conflict and learn to stay in the fight. Hang on and refuse to let go until you find the blessing in the conflict. It isn’t the hero who runs from the fire. The real hero runs toward it, to help put the fire out and save lives! Look for the blessing in conflict, it’s always there. I believe that your generation can solve the problem of world hunger in your lifetime, if you so choose to stay in the fight! 2ndly, Keep saying yes to God. It’s easy to say “no” to God. That doesn’t require any effort. Sometimes “no” comes in the form of apathy or indifference. But confirmation is your enthusiastic “yes” to God! One of my favorite scriptures says, “And God will equip you for every good work to do his will.” Hebrews 13:21 You gifts, your abilities, your talents, your interests, your dreams for the future…are all on loan to you from the One who created you. Use them well for God’s purposes. Ask yourself, how can I use this talent, this ability, this gift in a way that would make Jesus happy; that would further God’s kingdom; that would make for a more just and loving world? All three questions are the same question! Remember my story a couple weeks ago about the child who prayed for ice cream and the fellow diner who thought the prayer was inappropriate and said so. The child was inconsolable but an elderly man comforted the child saying, “I happen to know God thought that was a great prayer." "Really?" replied the child. "Cross my heart.” Then in a whisper he added, "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes." Well I didn’t share with you the rest of story: The child’s mother did order desert, but when the child’s sundae arrived, he picked up his ice cream and without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. "Here, this is for you,” he said. “Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; (and then he added), and my soul is good already." There is always the temptation to use your gifts, your abilities, your resources to make yourself happy; to further the interests of your own kingdom, to keep your desert for yourself. Here’s another option; learn to share your desert…your soul is already good! You’ll find it tastes just as good when it’s given away. And finally, on your journey of faith; keep your eyes open and your hands on the steering wheel. I was at an intersection last week, driving my daughter to school. When the light changed we cross Hebron Parkway but noticed oncoming traffic was at a stand still. That’s when I noticed the driver of the car blocking traffic, had his head cocked back, mouth open, eyes doing the REM thing. The light had changed, people were honking, and this guy was fast asleep! Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t fall asleep at the wheel of your life. Keep your eyes open and your hands on the steering wheel. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus said the gate is narrow and the road hard that leads to life and few find it. Confirmands, this is not the end of the road; it is only one leg on the journey of faith. And if you want to keep moving forward, keep saying “yes” to God. And when things go south, as they often do in life, look for Jesus…he’s there (in the crisis). Hang on and don’t let go, until you find the blessing that is there for you in it. So what does this have to do with the Capital Campaign? Absolutely nothing! Except that if miracles aren’t just about what God does to make things better for us but about how God makes us better, then perhaps you and I need to ask God what it is we are supposed to do for God’s church and then do it, even if its hard. Because there’s a blessing in there somewhere! Hang on until you find it. Prayer: Jesus, thank you for these amazing Confirmands. Bless them in all that they do and continue to work in them all that is pleasing in your sight. And let all the people say, AMEN. |
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