Saturday, December 21, 2024

Pure


One sunny spring day I walked into the store.  I was sweating, not from the heat, as it was a cool day, but rather from the stress.  Never had I been quite so anxious about walking into a store before.  My heart was thumping against the inside of my chest like a caffeine hyped hamster in a snake tank.  My palms were sweating. My throat was dry and my pocket was bulging with 200 one dollar bills.

I hadn’t taken two steps past the sliding glass doors, when a tall man in a dark suit named Andre accosted me, “Hello sir, what can I help you with today?”  His French accent was smooth…and fake.  (I had watched enough Pink Panther movies to know that much.)

“Well…umm…I guess I am looking for a ring…I’m just looking though…you hear me!?...just trying to see what is out there.” I stated with mock authority.

“Of course, of course, Monsieur. Might I ask what the occasion for such a ring might be?  Class ring? College Ring? Or perhaps, it is…how do you say, something a little more special?”

“An engagement ring…or wedding ring…or whatever…I am not sure which is which and stuff.”

“Congratulations! Right this way Moi Garcon. She said oui then?”

“Well…umm…no, not exactly.  I haven’t asked her yet.”

“Of course, of course! A little surprise for the girl, oui?”

“Umm yes.”

Andre led me to a vast display of rings.  As he did I had wished that I had brought my sunglasses to shield my eyes from the shine of the glittering diamonds and gold. 

The fake Frenchman opened a glass case and pulled out the largest ring resting amid the vast array of options.  The diamond was the size if an almond and as the light struck the facets I fully expected John Travolta to leap out of the back room and dance to Staying Alive under the disco ball like light.

“This is a nice one! It is a full carat marquee cut, very nice…very nice.”

Apparently he had not noticed the Pizza Hut uniform that I donned, as I was on my way to my next delivery shift.

“How much is it?

“Very good diamond, very high quality,”

“How much”

“How do you put a price tag on your love?”

“Easy…is it over $200?”

“Oh…I see,” said Andre, his French accent being suddenly replaced with common upper Midwestern. 

He slipped the ring back into the case and waved me further down the line of cases.  Near the very end, tucked into a corner was a small case of about 5 rings.  “Maybe something like this is more in your realm.”

I pointed to a dainty and simple ring with what I felt was a respectable diamond and asked, “Tell me about this one?”

“Sure, it’s simple…maybe a bit plain…1/4 carat…but if you like it.”

“Are there any flaws in the diamond?”

“Ha! We don’t sell flawed diamonds…here let me show you.”

He took the diamond and placed it under the magnifying machine and said, “Take a look.”

I did so. I noticed a couple of tiny black spots and white streaks. 

“What about those black spots and that white streak?” I asked.

“Oh…well every diamond has some of those…that is to be expected.  There really is no such thing as a 100% pure diamond.  Three factors are used to evaluate diamonds; cut, clarity and carat.” He said.

“Are they not still considered flaws?”

“Ehh…kind of…but not really…”

It didn’t make sense to me, but I let it go.  I told him that I would take it and provided him with every dollar in my pocket…which covered a mere 25%.  I came back several weeks later after I had earned enough tip money to pay for the remaining balance.

This has caused me to wonder, is there anything in life that is 100% pure? Even what is known as pure raw honey has impurities, though the antibacterial properties keep it from spoiling.  We can purify water, killing perhaps all bacteria and still when the liquid makes contact with your glass it has suddenly become unpurified.  Our disinfectant wipes only kill 99.9% of germs. You get the idea…is anything really pure?

I have come to learn that I have no mental compartment to contain what it would mean to be “totally pure.” Yet, Scripture has a word for it…the word is HOLY.  God is HOLY.  He is the great I AM…the Holy One.  JESUS…IS…THE I AM…JESUS IS THE HOLY ONE.

John 8:12-58, reveals Jesus as the I AM! He is pure and he is Holy!

The pure and Holy one of God…God himself, came to be born and laid in the most impure place…the world…in a cave…with animals…in a feed trough. 

May we see that the HOLY ONE of God has come.  He is Immanuel…God with us…the Great I AM.


Saturday, December 14, 2024

 GPS (A Light has Dawned)

 


I have hunted deer in the North Woods of Minnesota for 37 years.  Astoundingly, I have never missed a hunting season in the vast northern wilderness.  There may come a day when I am no longer able to navigate the challenging hills and valleys of the tumultuous topography, hopefully not until the day that I am dead.    

My affection for this land runs deep.  It began many years before my 12 year old maiden voyage into a deer stand.  Even as a preschool boy, my dad used to take me and my brothers into the forest each October in preparation for the upcoming November hunt. 

For nearly 45 years I have been navigating these lands, committing all of the ridges and vales to memory.  I know this land exceptionally well and yet on several occasions I have found myself in a position where I no longer knew where I was. 

On one such morning, I led my son to his stand while it was still dark and began to walk the relatively short distance to my own stand.  Unfortunately, I could not seem to find my regular trail and wandered aimlessly for 45 minutes looking for any sign of my trail or my stand.  My son would later express his confusion as to why the light of my headlamp was wandering all over the woods while it was still dark that morning.  In order to save my dignity, I assured him that I was just trying to trample down all of the brush around his stand to give him a clearer shot, should the opportunity arise.   

After working up a fully drenching sweat and finding my glasses fogged thicker than grandma’s mashed potatoes, I flopped myself down on the side of a hill, exhausted and blind.  By this time it was fully light and still nothing looked familiar.  I had meandered for nearly an hour on familiar knolls and dales and yet had no idea of which direction to head.  I could head south and eventually find the road, but I knew that I could not be all that far from my stand and so I resisted the notion to completely start over. 

At this time I slid out of my backpack, pulled out my water bottle and took a big draft.  Next, I dug deep into the bottom of the pack and found my GPS.  I powered up the handheld device and waited several minutes for the unit to lock into the satellites and triangulate my position. 

Once my position was found, I commanded the device to take me to waypoint #1…”Ryan’s Stand”.  I selected “Go to,” and instantly, I knew where I was and where I needed to go.   I was a mere 75 yards south west of where I needed to be.  A few minutes later I was in sitting in my stand, with my sweat soaking the ground below me. 

I believe that every human being has suffered this same fate…though in a spiritual sense.  I fear that far too often however, we never realize that the answer is there right before us…and we never turn to the proverbial GPS. 

In roughly 740 BC, God gave a prophecy to a man named Isaiah.  To this man God said, “A world living in darkness has seen a great light, on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…for unto us a child is born, a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God everlasting father, prince of peace….He will reign on David’s throne…forever.”

Approximately 800 years later this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.  Jesus himself speaks of this light that is fulfilled in him, but says that “people loved the darkness instead of the light.”

We have the answer…it has been given to us…we simply have to put our trust in Him and not ourselves.  He is the light…He is the way…and I am not.

May we come to see Jesus as the light and follow his ways and not our own ways this Christmas.

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Watermelon


I remember my Social Studies textbook sitting open atop my desk in Mrs. Wright’s 4th grade classroom.  It was not uncommon, that I would find myself in a panic as I awaited my turn to read the one of the upcoming paragraphs.  Mrs. Wright would regularly have each student take a turn reading one paragraph at a time from the assigned portion of the day’s unit.  I rarely listened to what the other students read, rather, I spent my time counting students and paragraphs in order to identify which paragraph would be my assigned portion.  Once I found the prospective section, I would attempt to read it over several times before the arrival of my turn, so that I could read it smoothly and avoid embarrassing myself any more than my poor reading skill usually warranted.  Despite my preparatory efforts, Anna Harrington usually derailed it by reading her paragraph flawlessly…and then the next one…and the next one…throwing the whole rhythm of the unified recitation. Anna would continue to expel the words fluently from her lips…the lips of the devil if you ask me. 

On one occasion, I recall Mrs. Wright blowing my dyslexic mind by saying, “Everyone…take a moment and look at the picture on the bottom of page 61.  What do you think of that image?”  It was a famous picture depicting the revolutionary war.  The image included a piccolo-ist with a bandaged head along with a couple of drummers and someone carrying a very tattered version of an early U.S. flag.  I don’t recall all of the details but I do remember Mrs. Wright stating with pleasure, “You know a picture is worth a thousand words!”

“Wow!” I thought.  “If Social text books could be written with strictly pictures it may solve all of my reading problems.”

The words are important.  Words express thoughts and ideas.  Words contain power, but not all words are true.  I remember my dad telling me one time that I had a watermelon growing in my belly after I had swallowed a watermelon seed.  Needless to say, I believed him.  In fact, not only did I believe him…I worried about the excessive fruit growing in my belly for the next couple of months.  Honestly I was scared to death! I had no idea what this would do to me…and how in the world would I ever get it out!  I had heard of mothers having babies and they always talked about the excessive pain in child birth…is that what this was going to be like?

Six to eight weeks after the initial lie from my father I asked him, “Dad, how long does it take for a watermelon to grow?”

“Most of the summer, why do you ask?”

“Because I swallowed that watermelon seed.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot about that.  Let me see your belly.”

I showed him.

“Yep, looks like it is growing to me!”

This did nothing to ease my panic.

Here I am 43 years later and no watermelon has passed…at least that I am aware of.

I have come to believe that the things that we say should reflect who we really are at all times.  Despite the fact that I believe this…I do not live this.  Perhaps this is one reason why John 1:1-14 is so impactful to me.  This powerful passage speaks of Jesus as being the very Word of God…and that Word is God.  Jesus is the expression of God himself…in the flesh. Everything that God says is trustworthy and true.  Jesus is full expression of God’s truth and love to mankind. 

May we come to see the truth of who was really placed in that manger more than 2000 years ago…it was God himself…in the flesh…named Jesus.