Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The trouble with Grady

The trouble with Grady.
let me tell you about a couple of friends of mine. Chris and Grady.
Chris is a big fella, 6 foot and goes about 285. you won't find  loyalty in a friend more than you will find it in Chris. whether rich or poor, cursed or praised, Chris is going to treat you consistently the same. If you have a need, and Chris has it in his power, then your need will be met. Chris has been my friend since the mid 90's, so you have to believe me when I tell you that what I just said is the truth, and this is also the truth, if you challenge my friend to a fist fight, well, let's just say that things aren't going to work out great...for you. He loves to fight, and he's good at it. If you don't like the flavor of your own teeth and blood, then I recommend that you don't order it from his menu.
Then there is Grady. A different kinda guy all together. He's  just a good dude. He doesn't really have much by way of material things to offer, but at parties, he's the guy everyone tries to spend a little time with. You see, Grady always has a smile on his face, and he is always glad to see you. Grady's priorities are simple, he pretty much does whatever he wants to do, and he just wants to enjoy himself, his surroundings, and everyone in it. Grady is really strong as well...at least, for someone who is 18 months old. oh yea, I forgot to mention, Grady is a baby, and Chris is his dad.
It was just a couple weeks ago, Saturday, June 4th. today is Monday June 20th, 2011.
 that weekend we were working in Chris's back yard and we had taken a break. Both Grady and his older brother Carson were playing in the dirt when Grady came walking toward us carrying a sharp pair of pruning scissors. After they were safely removed from his hands, i began to marvel at how this little guy could be so unimpressed with the red toy fire truck that was sitting in the middle of the yard, and so uninterested in the wooden playhouse that had been built for him, but instead, he gravitated so naturally to the one damn thing in the yard that could do him harm. I mean to tell you that he went right for it!
Chris and I talked about it for a while. Although it makes him and his wife Nora nervous, there is a calm that they both have about it. Evidently, this concept of constant danger is just a part of being a parent, so if you don't want to spend your life in a panicking attempt to protect your children, then the way is clear...DON'T HAVE KID'S!
ANYHOO, life goes on in this manner. Kids get into stuff, parents get 'em out. most of what damage that  kid's do to themselves can be cured with a mothers kiss, some anti-septic, and a juice box. then everything returns to normal, and by normal I mean chaos!
The very next day, Chris and Nora were on their way to see the Tim McGraw concert at Cricket ampatheater here in San Diego. on their way, they stopped to pick up some friends and leave the boy's over at their house. While the grownups relaxed in the living room for a while, all the children in the house played together...except for Grady, who was busy in fascination with what was going on in the fish tank. the man of the house had been doing some renovating, and all of the face plates had been removed from the electrical outlets. Once again, Grady's curiosity had become an unstoppable force in his life and he began to inspect the hole in the wall. Grady, grabbing onto a live, exposed electric cable, began to experience what executioners call "riding the lightning"! 220 volts of electric current began to course through his little body. he let out a blood curdling scream and Chris ran to him and pulled him off of it. because the current had passed through Chris briefly, his metal watch had burned a pattern on his wrist. 15 minutes later, Grady was still shaking, even convulsing. his veins turned purple under his pale, now cold skin.
And there in the middle of the chaos is Chris...this tough, tough man, now reduced to weeping so violently as he holds his dying son, that he can barely move...he can hardly breath.
What price do you think he would pay to bring order to this chaos? In that moment, what degree of emptying himself of his possessions do you think he could achieve if he could just have his boy healthy and strong again?
As I live, and as my savior compels me to tell the truth I tell you- to the last penny, and to the last of his possessions, and into any depth of indebtedness, this man would sacrifice it all without pause, and without regret.
Now...this actually happened. I actually know these people. all of this happened while you were doing whatever it was that you were doing that weekend. But this isn't really a story about Grady, it's a story about you. And it's a story about me. Because this is the problem with you and me. I'm not saying that this is the problem with you, and I somehow got over it and now I'm pointing out in you...NO! this is the problem with us!
We gravitate to the worst possible scenario so effortlessly, and so naturally that it would be impressive if it wasn't so tragic.
If you think that you don't because you are all grown up then please read on and I will do my best to break you out of that spell, and if you think that you don't still do that because now you stamp the name of Jesus at the end of your prayers, then please, let me know so that I can protect myself by avoiding your company at all costs!
Before we get to our lives in these times, let's review scripture like it was just a historical document shall we?
Adam and Eve, frolicking in the garden of pleasure and there was only one dangerous thing to avoid, and they were told to avoid it, and yet they were attracted to it much like rain is attracted to the ground. they went right for it.
Then from Moses and all through the prophets we see God's people doing the exact same thing that they were told to avoid. These weren't some evil devil worshipers who just decided to turn their back on God one day, they were just flesh and bone people just like you and me who were guilty of performing the one function that mankind has ever been any good at...hurting themselves!
You go back and read through the books of the prophets and you will see, every time a prophet came and told them that they were worshiping other gods, the people's response was always the same..."what are you talking about? we're still worshiping the God of our fathers!"
Has it ever occurred to you that the reason why they always said that is because in their mind, their worship was still pleasing to the lord. those people, just like us, had gotten into all kinds of weird beliefs, and vain traditions and they did it like it came naturally to them...because it did.
Fast forward to when the word of God was made flesh. three years of walking with God, literally walking and talking with God and being his friend, and Judas got angry with him because he was simply being honored with some expensive oil on his feet, and within days, the one whom all scripture pointed to was nailed to the cross with his skin torn from his flesh.
It happens so automatically. we don't even realize what we are doing until it's too late.
we spend our lives striving for money, and striving for status, and relevance, striving, striving, striving  and there isn't any part of God in any of it.
the condition of a man becomes infinitely worse when he decides that the striving of human effort is acceptable, even pleasing to the lord. he becomes worse when he begins to put a "Jesus" stamp on what he does in his own strength.
It is this ability to find the most dangerous thing in the yard and play with it that defines the human experience. it is arrogance, our arrogance that tells us that we have somehow grown out of it, or are exempt from it because we answered an alter call, or because we recited some prayer.
look at the condition of the bride of Christ in America. we have convinced ourselves that clever sermonizing will convince people to believe what we believe. the problem with that theory is...that's not what Jesus said.
we have convinced ourselves that if we can keep people's attention, and keep them entertained, then they will keep coming back week after week and therefore we have fulfilled the great commission. again...not what Jesus said.
Man! if people could just have a powerful emotional experience here in my building, then they will seek God on their own and I will be able to take some of the credit for it, be in control of it, and feel righteous in the process. one more time, NOT...WHAT...HE...SAID!!!
I hear preachers saying that the amount of money and social approval you get is in direct proportion to the amount of faith that you have. not what Jesus said and that is the doctrine of demons.
And so we gravitate once again to the worst possible scenario...a man made religion. A set of traditions and beliefs that have resulted in the same way that is always has throughout the pages of human history...in failure.
Failure on our part to know our God. Failure to listen to him. we would rather our pastor or some guest fortune teller, I mean prophet, to tell us what God wants us to know rather than to cry out for ourselves to the Holder of the stars to heal us of our deafness that we might hear his voice for ourselves. Have you heard the voice of the father?
Look at what our religious behavior has gotten us.  there are over 40,000 denominations in Christianity in America. So either God is divided, or we are not following him.
divorce in the church happens as often as it does for non believers. children are being orphaned in the name of convenience right in our midst, and yet we claim that Jesus saves. Either God has changes his position on divorce, or we have changed our position on God.
I tell you there is a day coming, and it won't be long, when the bride of Christ will face the wrath of a nation of orphans. their faces are painted with depression, and they are armed with murder in their heart.
A day is coming when all the people who we couldn't keep with our entertainment and our scripture based motivational speeches will not be there anymore to fund our excessive ways or give us validation by attending our theological lectures. Just look, you will see that they are walking out. Right now they are leaving because they don't believe what we say anymore, and why? because what we say doesn't have anything to do with the fathers kingdom.
Jesus came and said "look! you were born into the kingdom of darkness. the kingdom of light is within your reach! TURN AROUND!" Jesus said that the most important commandment is for you to hear! Have you heard the voice of your father?
I have. he is saying "how long will I not be enough for the children I have created?"
God isn't mad at us. he's not angry at the heathens or the falsely religious. he's not upset with Muslims or Jews. he's not in a twist over abortion, queers, or divorce...he's just sad.
He's sad and he is holding on to the lifeless body of his creation. God has emptied himself in an attempt to save the life of his sons and daughters. God allowing his word to get murdered wasn't just a gift, it was an act of desperation to give life back to his creatures who have so badly hurt themselves that there would be no hope for if he hadn't.  
Hear the voice of the Almighty, and the result will be that you will fall madly in love with him. madly, with all your heart and all your strength.
he has life for you. he has paid a terrible price to insure that you can receive it. If you don't know how to hear him, then just cry out, and confess you are deaf, and he will heal you. he wants it more than you need it! Hear his voice, he is a good father, he will save you, he does want you.
And when you gravitate once again to the deadly power cord, if you learn to hear his voice, you will find that you can hear the voice of a loving father saying " no no my child, that's ouchies!" and then you will find yourself instead gravitating to the loving arms of an approving father.
Yashua- God is salvation
oh, one last thing...Grady is just fine. he made a full recovery that day.

4 comments:

  1. That was great! I liked the content. I especially liked "So either God is divided, or we are not following him." So true! Praising God that Grady survived that!

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  2. Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12: 29 - 30 I love that Jesus quotes the Shema in the NT... Preach it Pete! I liked "you can hear the voice of the loving father saying 'no my child, that's ouchies!' and then you will find yourself instead gravitating to the loving arms of an approving father" ... we all need to be reminded of the many important points this article makes, thank you!

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  3. Wow good stuff man!! And your absolutely right a "Jesus" stamp does not justify your actions!

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  4. Wow! Thanks for sharing that story Pete. Excellent insight as well.

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