Fish Bait

Freedom does require some imagination.

What we are going to look at today is how freedom works with evangelism.

Can you imagine for a moment what it would be like to be completely free.
No tie downs. No commitments. Nothing to make us feel enslaved to some system or person.
This is exactly the notion that Paul will bring to us in this passage.
"...I am free and I belong to no one,..."

When I first met my wife, there was a clear sentiment that she did not belong to me.
"I'm not your woman", is the phrase I'm sure I heard several times.
There was an older couple at my last church and the husband was known to call out to his wife when he wanted something, even at church - "WOMAN...."
We joke at home about that to this day as I call out to my wife, "WOMAN!"
In response comes the sarcastically uttered word, "MAAAAAAN!"

But, the idea of servant hood permeates everything that Jesus and Paul would have stood for in their lives. Jesus would say of himself that he came not to do his own will, but the will of the Father who sent him. In this passage from Corinthians, Paul makes it clear to his readers that he is free, but he is quick to leave that freedom for the chance to serve in order to win people to Christ.

Lets read.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

New International Version (NIV)

Paul’s Use of His Freedom

¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.   

Lets tie this in with the subject of fishing.

When I go fishing, I am free to use whatever I want to use. I can put whatever I want on my hook and toss it out there. Will I catch something? I don't know. It really depends on what I'm trying to catch.

Paul doesn't seem to be to concerned with what he is trying to catch.
He brings the whole tackle box. Everything. If one thing doesn't work when he casts it out, He will try something else. He brings the night crawlers, the grub worms, the wax worms, the artificial bait, his spinners and his chicken livers. Maybe he even cut up some hot dogs and made some dough balls.  He is ready to fish and has a full reserve of bait at the ready.

This says much to me as I think about evangelism.
What is our bait? What are we trying to catch? Are we trying to catch anything?
Or, are we simply willing to sit here and watch the world go by?

Back to the opening thought, are we to caught up in ourselves, what we want? Is it all about us?
Paul says that he is free and belongs to no one. But, he lays all of that aside to become a slave to everyone. In order that he might reach some people for Christ. He is here to serve. In serving, he gives up his right to himself. He forgets about what he wants and puts others first. It's not about himself. He is not looking to put his name up in lights. He doesn't care if anybody knows who he is. He wants the world to know who Christ is.

If we were fishing for men around here, how would we go about it?
I'd like to think we would take every opportunity possible, every chance to reach the people around us for Jesus Christ. Can we feed people? Sure can. Can we visit people? Sure can. Can we clothe people? Sure can. Here's a notion lying underneath all that...it requires us to go to them. It requires us to put something on a hook, on the end of a line, and actually cast it out there. It's not somebody else's work. It's our work. We have to claim it personally and go to it.

Listen to Paul's words again...
"I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some."
This is how Paul uses his freedom. To save others.
Not to worry about himself and what he wants. Not to make sure his name is out there.
His focus is on "the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings"

I recall a song by a Catholic guy named Eli, a christian singer from the mid-90's.
He wrote this song called, That's All The Lumber aka"The Lumber Song".
In the song, he works with the scripture that says, "Store your treasure up in heaven".
He brings out the idea that what we do here on earth determines how big of a mansion we might have up there. (He is catholic and there is an idea of the system of "works" here, but you'll like the spirit of the song.)

The fella in the song gets there and finds out he only has a two room shack while others have mansions up on the hill. He didn't spend his life trying help or reach others and, in essence, he did not send much wood up there to build with. There is a notion in the song that if we could go back and do it over again, then what would we do?

 St. Peter if you can
Send me back to earth again
Is that somethin' you can do?
Pete said: It ain't up to me
If it was I'd like to see
How you plan to improve
Said: I'd love God and fellow man
Take a wife and make a stand
Be the givinest guy I can be

What blessings will we share in? Joy, peace, heaven, everlasting life.
Just hearing the words "Well done, good and faithful servant". That'd be enough.

When was the last time we saw somebody get saved right here?
When was the last time we put it all out there in the hopes that somebody finds Jesus?

Do you have a pole? Do you have some bait?
I'm willing to bet you do and don't even realize it.

Can you love people? Do you have that capacity within you?
Can you give and not worry about yourself? Not put yourself first?
Can you share what you have so that other might have a chance to know about the love of Christ?

You can. Does it mean we might have to get our hands messy? Maybe.
Not so much like getting your hands dirty in a dozen night crawlers trying to put one on the hook of a fishing line. But, it might require us to get our hands dirty in other ways.

And, we'll share in the glories of the next life.
The blessings from above are ours when we forget about ourselves and out others first.

Here's the bait. Take some and go catch something big.

Hide and Seek

The found is in the lost.

We all grew up playing it. Hide and seek.
The thing about the game was that we sure did like getting found a while lot more than we liked having to find. To seek. To count. One child against a score of others.

There really is no middle of the road here. You either despise this game or you love it.
The thrill of seeking and finding is exciting for some. Monotonous for others.
You either threw your hands up and said, "Woohoo!" when the game was called or you groaned in anticipation of having to be the one who would count, forever it seemed, and then had to go looking.

Some were easy to find. Some children went to the same place every time. You knew where to find them and you knew where to look. Then there were some who put a little more effort into it. The ones who found those tricky, unsuspecting places to hold up through the game.

Didn't you hate it when you couldn't end the game because you couldn't find that one kid?
The skinny, freakishly small kid who could hide in the most out of the way place that you just didn't think to look? Or, the strong kid who could climb up into a tree and be hidden by all the branches and leaves? He could sit up there all day and you'd never think about that spot.

1 Timothy 1:15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

I could spend a lot of time telling you my horror story of growing up (and I did some back on Father's Day) but there is one person who has us all topped. The Apostle Paul. His life is an example of what it means to be 'hiding in plain sight'. Paul thought he was living for God. Paul thought he was doing the right thing. And, then the light came on. Not just figuratively either. Truly. The light came on in the sky and Paul's life was changed forever. When the light comes on there is no more hiding.

When Paul is saying that he is the worst of all sinners, it is not an excuses to keep on doing things that he knows is wrong. In his time and also in ours, there can be too much attention given to our old life where we hid from God. Too much glory given to past faults. Paul has heard many of his counterparts sharing and telling wild stories. He notes in other places in his writings that we should not boast of anything except the cross of Christ. Here, he puts all debates to rest. "I'm the worst, end of story" Paul's life was spent in persecution of those who followed Christ. Now, he is on the other side of he fence. He might be saying, "I played hide and seek with God. I lost. End of story."

Luke 19:10

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

As I sat here writing and preparing the thought crossed my mind. Does God to play hide and seek? He wants us, in our faith, to revert to the mindset of a child. "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enters the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18.3

Children like to play games. Children like to pretend they can hide and nobody sees them. The silliest is when a child will put their hands over their eyes and simply think that because they cannot see the person in front of them that means the person in front of them cannot see them either. Teaching my children to play hide and seek was a silly time. The same held true for Caleb and as it did for Gabby. We started with the hands over the eyes. Then we moved to the dining room table. (The favorite place to go and hide.) Every time they would go to the table and hide there. It was never hard to find them. Then we move on to not being quiet wile in the hiding spot. "Come and find me!" "Are you looking for me?""I'm in the bathroom!!!"

It can be a little scary to hide. We aren't sure if we are going to get found. We sit and we wait and we wonder what's going on out there. I return to my original question. Does God like to play hide and seek? I don't know if he likes it per say, but it is the reason he came. He came to seek. He came to find. He is the hide and seek champion and if you want to challenge him, go ahead. He came for this purpose. Putting him to the test will result in simply realizing that he is fulfilling his purpose. He will find you. And, he will not quit until he does.

John 3:17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

In the Old Testament, their is one guy who knows the salvation in a mighty and personal way. King David. You might say he was "hiding in plain sight". He was king. He had it all. And, he squandered it all, over one woman married to another man. He was said to be "a man after God's own heart". Then he would know the seeking and saving power of God. Ascribed to David are many of the Psalms that we read. Psalm 139 is ascribed to him. Words maybe he writes after going through a seeking and finding experience.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

Running from God, hiding and trying to flee from his presence can manifest itself in many ways. Andrew Durano from the Philippine knows this story all to well. In his personal testimony, he describes being infected with hepatitis at an early age, about 14. His family lived in a secluded, out of the way place in the southern most portion of the country and medical help was not easily attainable at that time. The youngest of 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, the disease would have a crippling effect on his life. As 'the runt of litter' in every sense of the word, he was not given much of a chance to survive or make it in this world.


In the midst of his tragic illness, he woke up one morning to go feed the chicken and discovered he could in fact walk without help. He could even run! His parents were amazed and the event was called a miracle. But instead of being drawn closer to God through the experience, he saw the instance as a chance to run and flee life where he had grown up. His family was a close knit, Christian community and the call to ministry had been on his life from an early age. But, he sought to leave. To go and study to become a lawyer. Through the events of moving away and finding a wife outside of their faith, he lost touch with his family for some time. His father abandoned hope of his son ever returning to a life of faith.

In 2003, however, things were about to change. Andrew spoke of this moment n his life "where he knew no God and did not not attend church at all. He uttered no prayers." He had a job within the local goverment of his city. One night as he sat outside looking up at the stars, the realization that he had missed something in life began to wash over himself. He remembered words that his father has spoken. He remembered life before he ran away and tried to make it on his own. That night on that rooftop, he felt the need for a savior. He cried out in forgiveness and found there was a God to met his need. He found his family again and community he was missing. There was a place to return home to and a family that loved him.

We all can find the hope and the help we need if we stop running. If we stop hiding from God and the love that we so dearly need. Do even realize we are running in the first place? Do we realize how much we need him? A simply game of hide and seek can turn deadly to our faith as we try to do things our own way. Then we realize we have ventured off too far and we don't know how to get back. But, God knows where we are. We can't hide from Him. He can't run from Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to find us. He wants to help us. But we have to let Him. We have to want to be found. Maybe we have to cry out and let God know where we are. "I'm in the bathroom"

Reach out today. Open your heart. And, find what you've been missing.
Come out of your hiding place and find the full light of day.

The Lost Boys

 

 A story of the one that got away....and came back.

Father's Day can be a real hard time for lots of folks.

Depending on what kind of relationship you had with your father growing up today is either a cause for celebration or a day to forget and move on.

Today is especially hard for me. I grew up in the "dysfunctional family".
My mom was divorced when I was 2 1/2. My brother had just come into the world.
My "dad" is truly my step-father. I call him dad because he is the only one I've ever known.
My mom remarried when I was 4 and he adopted me and my brother giving us his last name.

Over the years our relationship has had it's ups and downs.
Moments of pain and suffering and moments of being ok with each other. 
Knowing that this man was not my biological father did not make things any easier for me.

In fact, for the first 30 years of my life, I didn't even know my biological father.
In 2001, when I finally found him (through the wonderful thing called the internet) we met at a restaurant in Columbus for a face to face. He showed up with some woman from his past. A woman he had known back when he was with my mother. A few years later, out of the blue, he called and we met again. This time he showed up with a completely different woman. And, so has it been with him down through the years, come to find out.

Life situations like this can leave one feeling "lost".
My story is truly not unique. In today's society the missing link our children's lives is far to often the fact that a mother or father figure is gone from the picture.

The feeling of lost-ness can stem from one of two places.
Either because our societal woes bring consequences beyond our control upon us at an early age or, as we will see in our scripture passage, the personal choices we make bring consequences beyond our control upon us in a regrettable fashion.

Lets read about the "lost boy" in this scripture passage.

Luke 15:11-32

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

The key thing to remember about this passage from Luke is simply this - it's a story, a parable.
It is quite possibly one of Jesus' best crafted story that he will use to explain the kingdom of God.

In the 15th Chapter of Luke, Jesus talks of 3 lost things.
A coin, a sheep, a son.
All lost in situations beyond their control. The coin was simply dropped, somewhere. The sheep wandered off, most likely lost in it's animal instincts. The son might just be following something also. His 'animal instincts'. This need to do his own thing. This need to sow his 'wild oats'.
Not carrying where life drops him as long as its far away from home.

Conveniently, Jesus leaves out some important details in the telling of this parable.
What kind of relationship does the boy have with his old man?
What led up to this moment of demanding his inheritance?
How many arguments and fights have transpired in the past weeks and months?

In doing so, Jesus can be vague and yet direct.
Everyone's situation is different. Every parental relationship with their child is different.
Sometimes the child wanders away. Sometimes the parent.
No matter what the situation, we could put ourselves in the shoes of the prodigal.

But, the lets be specific here, for the sake of context.
How many parents have watched their children wander away with no control over their circumstances? That is to say, the parent can do nothing about their child's circumstances.
We'd like to think we are in control of everything in this life.
In raising our children, we'd like to hang on to the notion that we can guide their steps and they follow our every whim and direction. To often, it simply is not so.

I must shoulder some blame for myself. My hardships are not all my father/dad's doing.
I did not listen in many cases. All I wanted was the freedom to make my own choices and walk my own path. But, freedom is a tricky thing. With freedom comes the word responsibility. 
And, at the ripe old age of 18, how many of us could truly be called "responsible".

For all the bad I could say about my dad, there is plenty of good.
And, much of it is connected to God, Jesus and church.
He rescued us from the basement of my grandparents house.
He adopted us, which was a point used to explain God's salvation to me later in life. (Romans 8)
He built us a brand new home in the country with his bare hands. He worked and still works tirelessly just as he saw his mom and dad do before him. He gives it his all.

I could complain about his being indifferent and sarcastic and sometimes just plain not caring about what others think. But, I'm that way too. Maybe it's his fault. Maybe it's mine for taking him to literally. A couple of years ago the two of us had it out on the phone. As I approached this milestone of "40" I found myself in a place I did not like. I heard myself repeating things that he would have said, to my mom, to us as kids. Knowing me as well as he does and having raised me like he did he had trouble with my choice in life to follow this path into the ministry. After we duked it out on the phone there was a 2 year silence. Very few words exchanged. Only spoke to him if I had to.

It is strange what we pick up from our parents. The words we repeat. The attitudes that get carried on. As I approached 40 years old, I truly felt I went through a mid life crisis. I fretted over my identity and what kind of man, dad and husband I would be in the future. I caught myself saying things to my wife that I did not like. Things I had heard from earlier in life. I caught myself saying things to my children. Things that I had endured earlier in life. I had to ask myself, "Do you like what you are? Do you like who you are?"

The scripture for this Sunday morning is personal to me. At times I have felt like the prodigal son. There truly a time where I wandered and needed to 'come back'. I have felt like the older brother at times. My younger brother garnered a different kind of attention than I did. And, at this point in my life, I am beginning to enter the father phase. My kids are growing. My daughter reminds me that in 8 years she will be driving. My son is learning to speak in complete, clear sentences.

What kind of man do I want to be? What kind of father?
It will be hard to simply let my kids go and grow up and make their own choices.
As the scripture tell us, "he came to his senses" and truly realized what he needed.
My folks had to do it. I'm sure it was hard. It will be just as hard for me.

I want to be the kind of father who has his arms wide open.
Ready to welcome them back home if need be. Ready with a robe, a feast, a hug.
Our heavenly Father gave everything. He 'killed the fatted calf' in Jesus for us.
He leaves the 99 to look for us. He sweeps and cleans and moves things until he has found us.

We are that precious to him.

Those who are closest to us, who grew up around us, who lived with us and put up with us, those are the ones we want to reach or the Lord. There is our connection to evangelism. We want to reach those members of our family who we think have wandered away. The problem is we have to wait for them to come to their senses, in essence.

Sons need to wake up, see their own need and return to the father.
Fathers need to be shaken awake, see those who need them, and return to their families.

Let us make sure that those in our inner circles of family and faith know that we love them beyond a shadow of a doubt.