I remember standing in the garage as a child, while my dad
was replacing the front brakes on his 1978 Chevy pickup. He had lifted the front end and secured it
with jack stands. As any good father
would, he told me to keep back so as not to get hurt…or accidentally kick him
in the face as he crawled beneath the vehicle to inspect the ball joints. I recall him telling me a story, as he crept
along inspecting the under carriage, of a young boy who lifted a car off of his
dad when the car accidentally fell on him.
I stood there pondering his story.
“Interesting timing,” I thought...it was a little freaky to think about
the car falling and crushing your dad while he worked beneath. Finally, I
replied, “Don’t get your hopes up…I can hardly carry the big pieces of wood to
the fireplace.”
He rebutted, “Sometimes when faced with incredibly difficult
challenges…we can find ourselves going beyond what we thought we were capable
of.”
“Really! Like lifting a car?”
“Yep, when under stress, your adrenaline can empower you to
do amazing things.”
“Wow!...What’s adrenaline?”
“It’s a hormone”
“Oh…ok…What’s a hormone?”
“You’ll find out when you’re 12.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.”
I have yet to lift a car by myself…although, 3 fellow high
school wrestlers and I, did pick up my buddy Norman’s car and turn it sideways
in his parking spot after school one day.
I have, however, found myself doing things that were indeed beyond what
I could have expected…like singing a duet at a wedding! The father of that
bride could sell ice cream to an Eskimo…because…I can’t sing…I don’t sing…my
voice is like a screaming frog fighting its way out of a blender! It’s bad…really
bad…yet, there I was…somehow finding myself going beyond what I thought myself
capable of!
Similarly, during a recent spring day, I found myself
playing basketball with Isaac and two high school freshmen. I play basketball like a pit-bull with the
jumping skills of a donut. Yet, when I
saw these two kids and the basketball, I knew that God was calling me to
something beyond my own comforts. I was
convinced that I needed to submit to the leadings of the Holy Spirit and engage
these students…a refugee and his buddy, into relationship. I want to love
people more than I love pain free living…more than my comfortable relationships…and
more than self preservation.
The Bible is filled with stories of God calling people to go
beyond what they could do on their own.
Moses, leading the people out of Egypt…Gideon fighting the Midianites
with only 300 men…Israel conquering Jericho…Daniel facing the den of lions…the
stories go on and on. I must
wonder, “Does God still call us to go
beyond what we can do on our own?” I
proclaim the answer with an exuberant, “YES! Yes He does!”
In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul expresses to the young church
in Ephesus the amazing transformation that each one of them has
experienced. A common bond existed…and
still exists…each and every one of them has once been “dead in their own sin”!
Now, they are alive in Christ! What is even more stunning…is that Paul is speaking
to both Jews and Gentiles…racial opponents.
We too, hold to this common ground…with every man and woman who has ever
lived. We are all dead in our
sins…without Jesus!
I think that the time has come where we must see others for
who they are…men and women created in the image of God…and JUST LIKE US…they
are desperate for Jesus. We need to go
beyond where we are comfortable…beyond what we know…and allow Jesus to do what
only He can do…save people. Our job…is
to go beyond what we can do…and let the Holy Spirit work. We do not need to be afraid. 1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love drives out
fear.” We can’t love perfectly…it is
beyond us. Thankfully, Jesus calls us to
go beyond what we can do on our own…and by His power…love perfectly.
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