Betrayed

Our 14 year old Pomeranian is officially toothless, having lost his final canine earlier this week.  Despite what you may think, we have not converted to feeding him soft foods…unless you count his lapping up of his own vomit…that too happened this past week. 

He, (Coda), and I have been through a great deal together.  This small 10 pound pup and I have never seen eye to eye…even when I pick him up and attempt to stare directly into his face, he will always divert his eyes from me. 

It is obvious that he holds something against me…and after this week’s vomit…I have all the more reason to hold things again him. 

I have literally saved this dog’s life twice.  On two separate occasions he was attacked by a fellow pooch 12 times larger or more than he.  On both occasions I snatched the inferior pup out of harm,s way, placing myself between he and his attacker.  On one of the occasions, I was mauled by the large beast of a dog until his mortified owner hauled him away, apologetically in tears. 

Despite my self-sacrifice, this ungrateful mutt has betrayed me with affections toward all others but myself.  When my dad comes over for a visit, Coda will happily jump on his lap and bask in the kind petting of my dad.  Coda will gladly submit under the touch of my children and my wife.  But he will have nothing to do with me.  I dare to suggest, if anyone of you reading this were to come over to our house, you will indeed be greeted more warmly by this black and white toothless hound than would I.

I feel betrayed.  I have bought him food, bathed him, walked him, saved him and he has betrayed me with affection only toward others. 

I know that he is only a dog and his betrayal is insignificant, yet it paints a lighthearted picture of a much more severe event found in Matthew 26:47-56.  Here Jesus is about to give everything…literally…to all who will receive it, including Judas, and yet Judas will turn his back on Jesus and betray him.

Yet, Jesus’ response in the moment of his betrayal is what stands out the strongest to me.  While it appears that Jesus is losing, he is about to enter into the greatest victory story the world has ever known.

Even in Judas’ betrayal, we see the love of Jesus being expressed. What amazing grace, amazing love and what an amazing God we serve.

May we come to see that Jesus offers a grace that no one else can or has ever offered.  He along can save us.

 He Can Relate

There are a lot of things in life that I just cannot relate to.  I cannot relate to what it feels like to be an Olympic Champion…in fact, I cannot relate to what it feels like to be an Olympic athlete.  This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t have enjoyed knowing what that felt like.  I have not experienced childbirth…this however, DOES mean that I NEVER want to know what that feels like.

I cannot tell you what it is like to be a millionaire, nor can I tell you what it is like to skydive or bungee jump.  I cannot relate to anyone who has hit a “hole in one,” or gone on cruise.  I have never hunted Elk or Moose or Alligators or Hamsters.  I have never been to Paris, New York, San Francisco or Canada.  I have never fished for Salmon or sailed on the Ocean or panned for gold.

I do however; know what it is like to send a child off to college. I will be launching my third child just two days from now.  I know what it is like to stay up late rocking a sleepless crying child.  I know what it is like to clean up vomit off of the floor and excrement from a crib.  I know what it is like to have vehicles break on the side of the road, strike deer with a car and to be bitten by a squirrel.  I can relate to the grief of sending a child out of state to begin their career and the grief of losing a close relative and a close friend.

I know what it is like to burn the supper and then eat the same said supper.  I know what it is like to fall from a tree stand, to break bones, to have my body ache and to experience stress, anxiety and fear.

I often find it easy to overlook the struggles that others may also be dealing with, suffering in, and struggling through.  The more I learn about Jesus from the Gospels the more convinced I become that despite being “fully God,” he knows exactly what it is like to be “fully human.”

I think we find one of the most revealing moments of this in Jesus’ life when we encounter his time in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

It is the night that Jesus will be betrayed and arrested and we see his full humanity, his full anxiety, his full struggle with what is about to come.

Out of the several amazing truths in this passage, Matthew 26:36-46, I am exceptionally enamored with the reality that Jesus can fully relate to all of the struggles that we face as humans.

May we come to see that Jesus knows what we are going through…no matter what we are facing. May we also, seek to respond in the manner that Jesus responds…on our face crying out to our maker.

 Broke

I shared recently about all of the things in my life that are broken and are in need of fixing.  I am pleased to say that a number of those items have been repaired.  The brakes on our Ford were finished…twice, (yep…had a little issue), the headlight was repaired, (only to have the bulb on the other side go bad immediately upon completion), the hull of the boat and the lower unit have been successfully sealed and the broken clock has been fully restored.

A lot of people may have just taken the clock and thrown it away, but the clock held value to me.  This specific clock is 30 years old and it is a piece that I handcrafted myself and gave to a certain young lady when we were both still in college.  In fact, it was the first hand made gift that I had given to the woman who would eventually become my 1^st wife.  (Before you panic…she is my first…and only wife). The clock has hung in our home safely for our 26 years of marriage until about a month ago when it was inadvertently knocked off of the wall where it fell to the floor and exploded into about a dozen pieces…I blame the craftsmanship of my 20 year old self. 

Because the clock held value to me, it was worth repairing in my eyes.  I brought the piece into my shop and carefully removed fasteners and hardware, taking the clock back down to its most minimal state.   I then began some repairs on the broken wood, using glue and clamps. I was careful to avoid any further marring. I cleaned the joint areas so that they could receive glue again and then I started to reassemble.

As I finished the clock, I had a thought that paralleled my life.  Here I am, a mere piece in the hands of my creator.  One of the major differences is that I fall off the wall far more than once every 30 years.  Perhaps once every 30 seconds is more accurate.  Yet, God is doing a work…a good work…of restoration in my life, despite my brokenness. In fact, it is because of my brokenness that he does his amazing work of restoration.  Matthew 26:31-35, 58-75, we find the disciple Peter in a similar state.  Peter finds himself in a desperate need for restoration.  It is a restoration the he didn’t think he would ever need…and yet there he is.  Jesus does that which he promises to do, he restores him, (as recorded in John 21:15-25).

May we come to see, that Jesus sees us as valuable and though broken, he deeply desires to restore us!

 The Last Supper

My father-in-law, used to collect displays of Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper.  He had several of them arranged around their home in Michigan and whenever he made the trek to Minnesota, he would hit the local antique shops looking for other unique opportunities to expand his collection.  His assemblage included paintings, printings and wood carvings. 

The image is iconic.  It is the depiction of what is found in Matthew 26:14-30. Most people can recognize this famous work of DaVinci at a mere glance.  Yet, I wonder how many people would be able to actually name and identify each character in the piece?  When I was in college, I was required to write an extensive history paper on the painting of The Last Supper.  In doing so, I had to identify each character and assign reasoning as to what they may have been thinking, saying or acting at the captured moment within the painters mind. 

Even to this day, I remember…absolutely nothing…about what I had learned.  In fairness, most of my research was probably done in the final 24 hours of the deadline and I deserved every bit of grace I received to get a C- on the assignment. 

What has struck this week, as I have reflected on that famous painting of the 12 men with Jesus, is that from a distance, Judas could have been any of them.  As you get closer to the work you can identify Judas by the money bag in his hand but you still cannot see what is in his heart.  In truth, who’s to say that the betrayer couldn’t have been any one of them?  A quick look reveals nothing about what’s in a person’s heart. Of the 13 images in that picture, only Jesus knew who the betrayer was and what was in his heart, but for the rest of us…it could have been anyone.

We know that it is Judas, I am not arguing that.  What I am saying is that, who’s to say that, I wouldn’t have the same tendency within me.  The same could be said for Thomas, Matthew, Peter or even John. 

Each one of us is born with that nature…the sin nature…within us.  We are born to be betrayers…but Jesus changes all of that.  He takes me…a sinner…a betrayer…a denier, and he covers me in his goodness, not because of what I have done, but rather because I have said yes to what He has done.

May we come to see how the goodness and grace of Jesus can cover all of our depravity.

Alabaster Jar

It is difficult to know what exactly makes us the way that we are. Certainly, there is some God created science behind our height, skin color and hair quantity, but what about the things that we like and dislike and the things that value and the things that we demerit? For example, my wife greatly values traveling.  She grew up going on vacation to different states and enjoying such experiences.  I on the other hand have mixed memories of vacations that include broken down trucks on the side of the road and riding 30 hours to Florida in the hatchback of a Chevrolet Chevette…notice that it only “rhymes” with Corvette. 

One area that my wife and I both share is that of frugality.  I have been called, “cheap” by a number of acquaintances over the years, but I prefer the term “hyper-thrifty.”  I am generally a very “non-wasteful” person, so much so, that I tend to repel wastefulness. My mother has learned to either discard leftovers out of my sight or simply offer them up to me to take home after our visit.  Here lies my dilemma. When I read Matthew 26:1-16, I find that I most likely would have sided with the disciples in their rebuke of the woman with the alabaster jar.

I kind of feel humbled and even ashamed by the reaction that I know that I would have had.  So here is what I am learning.  I am learning that I tend to value the items in my hands more than the greatest treasure the world has ever known. 

The incredible act of this woman reveals that her heart has been transformed by Jesus.  She is the one who sees the true value of Jesus, more than the disciples and certainly more than me. 

May we all come to see more clearly the great value of Jesus and then respond to him as extravagantly as he deserves. 

 Dad Can Fix It

Just as my daughter was arriving home from work this past week, her passenger side headlight assembly fell out of her car.  The unit dangled from the “eye socket” of her right fender, being held by the minimal optic nerve of the wire harness. The lens bounced and rattled on the outside of the fender until it finally fell off and was crushed under her front tire…and then pulverized beneath the rear tire.  All the while, her mother was calling to her to “stop, stop,” while I was in the house watching and yelling, “Why aren’t you stopping?”

I immediately pulled out my laptop and ordered a new lens from Amazon.

This seems to be a crazy pattern in our lives, so much so that it feels that we are living within the spin cycle of washing machine of destruction.  Recently, as I was performing a simple oil change on my son’s truck the oil filter collapsed as I was wrenching it off. Even after completely destroying the filter and hammering endlessly with my air chisel, I failed to find success.  After 2 hours of hammering and frustration I towed it to the local mechanic who removed it in about 25 seconds for $25. That translates to about a dollar a second…I am a cheap man…but that was worth every penny,

The air conditioner broke this past Tuesday, (hot week for that, I can tell you).  Fortunately, after paying 3 times the fair market value for a new capacitor, at a local establishment, the AC was up and running again in a matter of hours. 

It seems that I am constantly fixing everything around me. I am currently needing to fix; a clock, boat motor, boat hull, boat transom, house shingles, roller shades, brakes, idler pulley, lawn mower deck and a list of other things that I can’t even remember.

As a dad who is too cheap to hire most things out and tends to be a lifetime learner…I end up being the one…mostly by choice…who inherits the role of Mr. Fixit.  I know that I am not alone in this. 

Because I take this self appointed role of fixing the family dilemmas seriously, it becomes particularly difficult to find your children off to college, hours from home with broken vehicles.  It has happened to both our oldest daughter and our son. 

A couple of years ago our daughter found herself with a flat tire and could not find a place that was willing to fix it for less than $300.  “Great Scott! Hannah! You can’t pay that much!”

“I know Dad! But what am I supposed to do?”

“If I was there I could deal with it for you!”

“I know, but you are not here.”

I called my sister and brother in law who lived relatively close to our daughter.  “Matt, would you be willing to take a look at Hannah’s tire and see if it can at least be plugged, so that she might be able to get home I can deal with a more extensive repair?”

In a matter of hours, my brother in law, had the tire plugged and holding air. 

Matt’s willingness to help out his niece was an act of service directly to me. 

I think that it is times like this that reveal perhaps what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 25:31-46.  Here Jesus affirms those who serve him by serving one another.  Jesus tells us, that it is this kind of service that is as if people are serving him directly.

May we come to have the same heart of Jesus…a heart that loves him and loves others well.

 Investments

I have never been known to be a great investor.  In middle school, I attempted to gather my first “complete set” of baseball cards by purchasing the cards one package at a time.  After statistically purchasing more than 350 packages of cards and consuming 350 sticks of the most disgusting bubble gum known to mankind, I found myself a mere 20 or so cards short of a complete set.  I biked over to the local Card Shop to see what I could do to bring my ultimate card collecting goal to a conclusion.  After spending around $15 on the final 20 cards, I could proudly say that my investment was complete.  All in all, I spent an estimated $200 and collected the entire 716 card set of 1990 Donruss baseball cards  Today, that set could sell for $10-$15. I still own that set…maybe when the market peaks I will sell them.

When I graduated from high school, I decided to invest in a classic car.  I purchased a 1973 Camaro Z28, with the original small block Chevy 350, for a mere $1,200.  The beauty of these cars is that they can’t help but go up in value.  I’ll bet I could have sold that investment today for somewhere between $25,000-$35,000…if…I hadn’t let it sit and rust for 30 years.  Perhaps investments need to be cared for.

A number of years ago, my wife and I began to invest in some retirement accounts.  For a number of years, we tried to set money aside and pay into our IRA as we could. Then…things happen…you have more children, your financial advisor gets replaced with someone you don’t know, the world runs out of toilet paper and the next thing you know you haven’t made investing a priority over the last few years.

This last week, Sarah and I finally decided to kick start our investments again.  I brought our paper work to a new financial advisor…a friend of mine…and showed him what we have and asked for his opinions as to how to move forward. 

The first thing he told us is…“Well…It would appear that your last financial advisor, took your money but didn’t invest your money. “

“I’m sorry…what is that?”

“It looks like whoever did your investing…didn’t actually “DO” any investing. He put it into your account but it has just been sitting there doing nothing.”

It was at this point that we felt affirmed to officially fire our previous investing company and hire the new one.

Jesus speaks of something similar in Matthew 25:14-30. Here he lays out a parable of three servants who have been given resources to invest.  Two of the three servants invest well…and earn returns on their investments.  The third however, does nothing. He buries his money and does nothing with what the Master has given him.

May we come to see, all that God has given to us…and then invest into the lives of others because of the great generosity of our Almighty God.

 Spelunking

I have gone spelunking exactly once in my life, though I have tried my hand at spelling, lurking and catching an occasional lunker, none compare to the act of spelunking.  Spelunking is in no way a combination of, nor has any association with, any of the aforementioned.

Spelunking is the act of crawling around in dark muddy caves.  It received its name from the Latin word “spelunca” which when translated to English means…cave. Very creative.

My one day adventure in the realm of “caving/spelunking” occurred in 1998 when I took a group of High School Students from the Chicago area across the state of Illinois, into the corn and swine infested state of Iowa where we entered into Maquoketa State Park. 

In the midst of the Iowa farmland, there exists an adventurer’s haven, where 13 caves lay waiting to be explored by 15 middle schoolers.  Despite being only 23 years old myself, I knew enough of the dangers of unsupervised middles schoolers, that I laid down some clear ground rules.

Rules:

1.       No one explores a cave alone

2.       No one explores a cave without a flashlight

3.       No one explores a cave without extra batteries

4.       No one let’s Jimmy out of their sight.

Every group has a Jimmy…no further explanation is necessary.

Because we had a Jimmy in our group…we stayed together the entire time.  We entered several caves together, exploring the rock formations and nooks and crannies.  I remember one cave in particular.  The cave orifice-d about four and a half feet off the ground and was only about two and a half feet in diameter.  To enter the cave you had to get a boost from someone below or a pull from someone above.  Once our entire team had made it into the entrance we began to crawl, as there was no space to stand.  After crawling approximately 30-50 ft, the cave opened up into a great expanse where the entire team could stand and wander and explore. It was really quite astounding.

After a few minutes, Jimmy said, “We should all turn out our lights at the same time.”

It seemed a safe enough task, so I agreed. Once all of the lights had been extinguished, the blackness consumed us.  Never had I experienced such an overwhelming and complete darkness in my life.  It was incredible.  Then Jimmy said, “Man! Could you imagine if we were like stuck in here…and we didn’t have any lights at all…and we didn’t have any extra batteries…and we couldn’t find the entrance or find our way out?”

That was a heavy and sobering thought.  We would be stuck.  The idea struck me as an incredibly hopeless situation.

In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus speaks to the disciples about being ready for his return.  He uses a parable that speaks to the dire nature of what it would be like to find oneself un-prepared for his return.  The imagery of being stuck and unprepared reminds me of how it felt in that cave with no sense of hope.

May we find ourselves to be prepared and ready for the return of Christ and not stuck outside of the closed gate with unprepared lights.

 

Graduate

Today spent the day celebrating our daughter’s graduation, by hosting a grad party in the form of an open house.  We enjoyed a wonderful time with many family members and dear friends.

It was far more than a one day excursion however. Leading up to the party we spent hours upon hours working on every aspect of the house.  We cleaned the interior and sharpened the exterior, including…as you may know…the washing of siding and the trimming of the lawn and reworking the landscaping.  We cleaned spaces in the house that no one would likely see...unless the occurance of an unlikely tornado forces us to find shelter for 100 people.  Additionally, when you add in the hours of decorating, planning and selecting photos, to total sum is somewhere between 2 and 1 million hours of invested work.

At one point in our preparations Sarah and I scheduled a “date” time, by eating donuts at the bakery while planning the food menu and making the shopping list. 

Today as I was carrying the crock pots to the serving tables I couldn’t help but consider, I wonder what we would do if we were not ready.  What if we simply chose to not cook the food, or chose to not put it out on the table?  What if, we didn’t chill the drinks…or even buy the drinks?  What if we neglected to order the cakes?

I don’t really have the answer…except, that to consider "not being ready" for the party would have been absurd!  It wouldn’t make sense.  We knew that guests were coming and so to not be found ready would have been nonsensical.

Yet, I wonder, if I feel as ready for the arrival of Jesus? Certainly being ready for the return of Jesus has nothing to do with having my house ready or food prepared and desserts ordered. Being ready for Jesus is all about putting our faith in him and being found faithful.

Jesus speaks extensively about being ready for his return in Matthew 24:32-51. 

May we be found ready and faithful as we await the return of our King!

 A Lemon

When I was a young child, I remember my grandfather always trying his hand at new things. Not necessarily learning new skills, but rather, finding new ways to, “make a buck.”

“Ken! Why is there a big yellow van in the drive way?!,” my grandmother questioned.

“JUST TRYING TO MAKE A BUCK!,” he bellowed back…he always bellowed.

“How much did this ‘buck’ cost us?”

“IT WILL PAY FOR ITSELF!”

He was frequently purchasing items at auctions and garage sales and turning around to sell them for a prophet…sometimes.  If he had lived in the Social Media era, think of what he could have done with a Facebook account…probably nothing good…

At one point he invested in a vacant building on the East side of Wadena, Minnesota and opened up his own antique shop.  I am not sure if this broadened his ability to “make a buck,” or simply sent him in a great need to make some bucks as he continued to buy antiques and knickknacks to place in his shop.   He purchased a wide variety of items including old phonographs, baker’s cabinets, antique desks and decorative vases.  I remember one of the more unique “vases” he brought home from an auction.

“Oh what a unique vase!,” my grandmother cooed.

“YEP, JUST NEEDS A LITTLE CLEAN UP, TO GET THE BLACK BURNED CHAR MARKS OFF OF IT!”

“Mom, that’s not a vase,” stated my visiting uncle while holding back a half smirk…”It’s a bong!”

Since cannabis was not yet legal in Minnesota in the late 80’s and early 90’s that little treasure never made it into his Why Not Stop In Antiques shop.  Yes…he named it himself.

To haul all of these wonderful treasures he invested in the previously mentioned large yellow cargo van.  The van gave him nothing but trouble from day one.

I still remember him bellowing through the blue tobacco smoked air of the dining room, “ROSE! IT LOOKS LIKE I BOUGHT A LEMON!!”

My grandmother had a way of just ignoring him and continued to provide us fresh baked cookies in the kitchen while he ate his own smoke flavored marshmallow crèmes while chain smoking his marlboro’s

“I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN WHEN THE SOLD IT TO ME!” he continued when my grandmother didn’t acknowledge him, “THE DASH LOOKS LIKE THE LAS VEGAS STRIP! EVERY LIGHT IS ON IMAGINABLE!!”

We all have times of regret.  Sometimes we call it buyer’s remorse, like when we buy a “lemon” or a bong that we can’t sell and will only lose money on.  Other times we experience it when we don’t execute a task like we knew we could have or should have. Still other times, like yesterday, when you put off replacing the brakes, only to find that before you get to the State Track and Field Meet, they are grinding like a locomotive stopping for a cow stuck on the tracks.

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus continues to provide signs of his coming.  He also begins to reveal the regret and mourning that will be experienced from those who do not put their faith in Him.

May we come to find ourselves NOT regretting.  Rather, let us put our faith in Jesus today.

 Packing

It has been just over a year since our daughter moved 1,200 miles south to Georgia.  I still remember the preparations for that day.  I spent weeks getting myself ready for the move and I wasn’t even going to be one of the travelers.   Each day I would wake early and immediately begin my packing training.  I would open up my old laptop and launch the vintage Tetris app and begin stacking blocks, section by section, faster and faster.  After these weeks of grueling workouts the day before her departure arrived. I took my position before the 2008 Ford Fusion, I cracked my neck and commanded, “Bring me the luggage!”

With the ear-worming Tetris theme music rolling between my ears, I twisted and shifted the boxes, suitcases and hair dryers to fill all possible spaces. Once finished, I sat down with my wife to begin stage two of the preparations.

Sarah and I laid out the maps of each state that would be traversed before us.  With highlighter in hand, we plotted and traced every road which would be taken. I quizzed her on the route, including where she and our daughter would be spending their night in Louisville, KY. 

Once all of the prep work was completed, I loaded to two most precious packages into the ruby red sedan, my wife and our first born child. 

At this point these two women pulled out of the drive way to endeavor the 21 plus hour journey across the country.

I am reminded of their journey as I read Matthew 24:15-29.  Here Jesus delivers a number of clues that he wants us to be made aware of on our life journeys.  He does not give us every detail.  Even as my wife and daughter knew the clear route that they were to take, they were not aware of the obstacles that they would face in the form of torrential rains, road construction and unexpected detours.  Yet, they knew what they needed to know. 

Jesus does not give us all of the details, but he does reveal clearly of what we are to expect.  We are to expect challenges and an eternal hope for those who trust him in this journey.

May we come to find comfort in the journey that lay ahead, keeping our eye on the eternal hope and not on the unknown details.

 Motivation

 

There are some moments where I struggle to find motivation…and there are other moments where motivation seems to run in my veins.  In fact, even within the span of a few hours the dynamics of motivation can change.  This is not a new phenomenon.  Even as a child the degrees of my motivation would ebb and flow like the tides.

“Ryan! Clean up your toys in the living room!” My mother snipped.

“But I’m still going to play with them!” I retorted. 

“They have been laying there for three days!”

“That’s ‘cuz GI Joe is currently a prisoner of war in Siberia and he hasn’t found a way to escape yet!”

“I am pretty sure if he doesn’t find a way out of his cell now, he is going to find himself drawn upward into the nether regions of Hoover’s Wind Tunnel!”

“I’ll do it in a little bit, I’m picking up the chocolate chips I spilled all over the kitchen floor.”

WWWHHHIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRR!!!!

“No! Mom wait! I’ll pick it up!”

Fear is certainly a powerful motivator.  We are motivated out of fear of discipline, fear of loss of acceptance, fear of retaliation, fear of letting others down, fear of getting fired, fear of failure and many other facets.  As strongly as fear can motivate us, I have become convinced that love is an even more powerful motivator.  

Now when my mom calls me up to come over and lift something heavy or shingle a roof, I don’t say “yes” out of fear of her vacuuming up GI Joe, I say “sure…I’ll send your grandson Isaac right over.”

I was struck this week when I was reading Matthew 24:14, and Matthew 28:18-20. Here we find what is known as the “Great Commission.”  It is the moment that Jesus gives the instructions to the church as to what our overriding role is to be.  We can certainly receive this as a command, since Jesus himself is laying the burden to believers to fulfill this obligation. 

As I contemplate, I consider the question, “what makes me choose to obey this instruction”?  Is it solely that I am looking for Jesus’ approval? Certainly, I want Jesus’ approval, but honestly, that is not what connects with the deepest part of my soul.  Is it fear of consequences from God? If I am honest, there is part of me that wrestles with that.  My conclusion is that the great compelling for the commission comes from the deep love that God has for us and effectively our love for Him as found in 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” When I begin to see all that Jesus has done for me, I want to do all that he asks me to do for Him.

May we come to be compelled to share the abundant love of God to others because of his abundant love for us!

 Birth Pains

I am the father of four wonderful children; therefore I know firsthand what kind of pain is entailed with labor.  Despite what you are thinking in relation to my gender, I can assure you that labor pains feel exactly like someone is ripping the flesh of your arms off with long pointy fingernails while screaming violently into your ear.   Sounds awful, am I right?  I can assure you…it is!

My poor wife has had the paradoxical blessing of long labors, some lasting as long as 31 hours.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep when your wife is in pain with contractions? Just when you start to nod off, a contraction would hit and either the verbal agonizing of my wife or her claws into my arm would wake me right up. 

I remember when we went into the hospital to birth our first child.  We arrived at 11:00 a.m. for the scheduled induction.  My wife was harnessed onto the gurney and given an IV for the Pitocin to begin to force the labor.  Our birthing classes demonstrated how surreal of an experience childbirth can be.  We expected to be able to go for calming walks, sit in rocking chairs or bounce on an exercise ball.  None of this was an option as my wife had an IV tower strapped to her arm and an armed nurse standing guard with a clipboard and a sedative. 

The initial excitement felt at 11:00 a.m., began to wane after about the 6^th hour, and more so, after the 7^th…the 8^th…the 9^th…the 10^th…the 22^nd…and the 28^th.  The laboring and contractions just kept coming with seemingly no effect.  Finally after well more than 24 hours of contractions, back massages and vending machine hamburgers, the doctor finally told us that she thought it was time to start pushing that baby out.  Sarah pushed for an hour and then finally…nothing.  She pushed for two hours…nothing.  After Sarah had pushed for 3 yours, the culmination of hope arrived.  Our daughter Hannah was born and all of my pain was worth it…the wounds on my arms eventually healed but my hearing has never been the same since.

We would go on to deliver 3 more children.  Since that first experience we learned what to expect thereafter, and each time we were not disappointed.  Long painful deliveries followed by the culmination of hope resting in our arms. 

Jesus speaks of birth pains in Matthew 24:1-14.  In this context however, he is not referring to the arrival of a new baby, but rather the arrival of the end of the age and the coming of the King.  Here Jesus reveals a challenging list of hardships, but encourages his followers to understand and remember that these are just the beginning.  A baby cannot arrive without the painful contractions that precede it. Likewise, many things must precede the second coming of Jesus and the return of the King.

May we come to understand that the sufferings we see today are just the birth pains that precede the great reward of the return of our King!

 Hens

Mothers are really quite extraordinary. Most mothers seem to have a combination of super powers akin to those evidenced by members of both, the Justice League and the Marvel Universe.  For example, my own mother seemed to have the incredible ability to draw the truth out of her children much like the works of Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth.

“Ryan! Did you eat all of your supper?”

“I sure did! Why would you ask that? Those potatoes hidden under my plate must have just fallen there by themselves.  I didn’t put them there…OK! You got me! I did put them there! I pushed them off my plate and then mashed my plate on top to hide them, so that you would think that I ate all of my supper!...Can I still have a cookie?”

“No.”

The difference was that my mother’s Lasso of Truth was also invisible.

Additionally, my mother also seemed to have the powers of super speed, super strength, super flexibility, super reflexes and super hearing.

“Hmm. What do you suppose Ryan is doing?”

“I don’t know, why do you ask?” Dad responds.

“I think I hear something.”

“What do you hear? I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly! Ryan! Get down from that stool in the kitchen and don’t steel any cookies! I put the cookie jar on the refrigerator for a reason!”

“How did you know that I was trying to sneak a cookie?”

“I could hear you thinking!”

Mothers have exceptional hearts, which seem to feel and love and empathize on a deeper level than most.  When a child is hurt, that child longs to be comforted in the arms of the only ones who can seemingly make the hurt go away with a word or a kiss…a mother.  Mothers care and they protect and they sooth the souls of the ones whose paths they cross. 

There is an incredible contrast found in Matthew 23:13-39.  Here Jesus refutes the actions of the religious leaders.  Seven times he offers up woes to their behaviors and actions and attitudes.  Jesus points to them as examples that should NOT be followed.  After these seven accusations, Jesus turns the table and reveals his own deep, loving and even motherly care for people.  He speaks of his longing to gather the people as a hen would gather her chicks.

May we come to care and to love and to lead as Jesus does…and perhaps as our mothers have as well.

 Impressed

The truth of life is that there is always going to be someone better than you.  Earlier this week I watched the 149lb NCAA wrestling champion from Stanford, Aden Valencia, lose to a 19 year who has not yet graduated from high school.  I am impressed.

Additionally, I recently watched Gout Gout, (that is not a typo) an 18 year old Australian sprinter beat Usian Bolt’s U18 record time in the 100m dash. Just when you think there could never be anyone faster…maybe there is! I am impressed.

When I was in elementary school, I too would show off my incredible talents and abilities.  I would race other kids at recess.  Though I would win many of the races, I would often find myself losing to a kid named Kris.  The kid was fast…in fact, “she” was faster than most of the 3^rd grade.  I was impressed…perhaps more with her cute nose than her penultimate speed.

I flexed my value in other ways as well, in attempt to impress the 3^rd grade girls.  I would use my excessive flexibility to wrap my arms around my head so that the entireties of my arms were behind my back and not at all visible from the front.  I would then run around the playground crying out like an armless fool until my “unfriend” Mike would stick out his foot and trip me.  This proved particularly detrimental as I, having no hands in front of me to catch my decent, would smack down face first into the pea gravel.  Strangely, my goal of making the girls laugh was accomplished...sadly for the wrong reason.  I do not think that they were impressed.

I remember my young children crying out for my attention. “Dad look!” cried my 6 year old daughter who had just colored a beautiful picture of Cinderella. I was impressed. “Dad look at mine too!,” squealed my 3 year old daughter who displayed a nearly as lovely interpretation of Sleeping Beauty. I was impressed. “Dabba dook,” my 1 and a half year old daughter warbled as she showed me her accomplished massacre of streaking color across the face of a not so charming looking prince. I was impressed that she could make Prince Charming look so undesirable. “Dad look at me!” said my gleeful 4 and a half year old son as he sent sharp fishing hooks, flying from his superman rod, (inside the house), right into the soft new comforter in his bed where the hooks bit deeply into the fabric.  I was not impressed.  I realized that the kids certainly had a way of grabbing my attention as I was cutting the treble hook from my son’s bedding.

It is the pattern of life.  In some ways we are all seeking to grab the attention of others, attempting to impress those around us.  I know it is normal …but I think that there is also something that is better. What would it look like to be able to grab people’s attention and direct it toward God…that they would be impressed with God?

I think that is the message of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 23:1-12.  Here we find both cautionary and encouraging words as to how we ought to live for Christ. 

May the world be impressed with Jesus through our transformed lives.

Put Some Pants On!

Life is complicated; the endless array of choices and opportunities for decisions is relentless.  Why just the other day I had to decide whether to eat a ham or tuna sandwich for lunch, oatmeal or eggs for breakfast and ice cream or a cookie for supper.  In my earlier years of life I would have said yes to all of it, but now after more than half a century of life, my metabolism as well as my gastric system are not what they used to be. 

It is not just about food; the complications in life carry over into all aspects of living.  For example, getting dressed is also complicated.  Not only must I choose whether to sit down to put on my socks or take the risk of standing and hopping on one foot hoping that today is not my last day of living should I fall and hit my head on the coffee table, but I must also choose what clothes to wear. 

This may not seem like such a big deal, but it is when your wife is demanding that your young children wear pants, boots, coats, hats and mittens to go out into the frozen tundra of a Minnesota winter and you walk out wearing shorts and a long sleeve t shirt. 

“How can I ask the kids to wear warm clothes outside when you don’t?”

“I will tell them.”

“What are you going to say?”

“Simple…two things. One, Listen to your mother! And two, do as I say don’t do as I do!”

Sadly, this hasn’t been the only time when my words and actions haven’t lined up.  In fact, my complicated life has revealed over and over again my areas of shortcomings. 

I have come to believe that my children and people broadly, learn more from observation than instruction.  In other words, when my children see what I do, they are much more likely to do likewise, rather than if I just instruct them to do so. 

If I had valued wearing pants in the winter…who knows…perhaps my children would have valued it as well. When I come to them and admit of my shortcomings and ask for their forgiveness, I hope that they too will value truth and authenticity. 

Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 23:1-12.  Here, Jesus reveals how the religious leaders spoke many good and true things to the people, yet they did not practice what they preached. 

May we come to hear what Jesus says…and put it into practice, so that people will be drawn to Him and His truth.

 A Parable of Sorts

There once was a bride who, along with her dear mother, spent 11 months planning her wedding.  There were countless details to work through and decisions to make. The two of them would often argue over a number of the particulars. 

“Mom, I really think that we should use 1 Corinthians 13 for the scripture reading.”

“Oh, but honey, that passage is so over used…let’s find something more obscure”

Or

“Honey, I think that you should wear your veil down as you walk down the aisle.”

“Mom, I don’t want the veil down…no one does that any more. In fact, I am thinking of a blue dress instead of white!”

“Have you lost your mind!? You have to have a white dress! There is no other option!”

Or

“Mom, I think we need to have a vegan offering for the reception and a gluten free cake option.”

“People can just choose to eat the cake or not eat the cake.  The same goes for the meat. Let them eat the potatoes and carrots and skip the chicken if they don’t want it.”

Finally, after many months of planning, and ALL of the details set, the day for the ceremony arrived.  Everyone looked stunning, from the bride and her bridesmaids to the groomsmen, parents and even the officiant. The Church was decorated perfectly and the photographer was capturing it all!

The awkward moment in the ceremony came when the officiant asked the bride… “Where is your groom?”

To which the bride replied… “Groom? I don’t have a groom! I have all of the other details set, isn’t that good enough?”

This story is absurd, yet it somewhat fits within our context of spirituality when we place things in our lives, church or traditions in a place that is over the most important thing…Jesus. In fact, this serves as a parable of sorts of a moment that is found in Matthew 22:34-46.  Here we find the religious leaders approaching Jesus with a question of detail, “Which is the greatest/most important commandment?” Jesus’ reply not only answers their question, but it also places within it a greater context.  In Jesus’ answer the emphasis becomes on “who” is most important as opposed to “what” command is most important. 

May we come to see who the Christ is…and recognize Him and His love as the greatest…and follow Him!

Hidden

Most all of us have grown up with some childhood traditions that have carried into our adult lives.  These traditions could include; family dinners, baking Christmas cookies, breakfast in bed for birthdays or hiding Easter baskets from your children so hard that they have to search between 1-24 hours to find their candy.  The afore mentioned tradition was of paramount importance to my father.  Each year, he would sadistically hide 4 Easter baskets as hard as humanly possible only to watch his frustrated children grow in their aggravation in the absence of their candy.  My older brother was often found to be the most irritated with the tradition as he was the penultimate final searcher, failing to find his candy before anyone else.  His exasperation would only compound as each of his siblings, myself included, would find our baskets first and begin stuffing our faces with candy while he would slump at the table and pout for not having found his.

I remember one year, when both my brother and I had come home from college only to find that Dad has once again hidden our Easter baskets.  Low and behold, my older brother found himself left as the only candy-less victim sitting at the table harrumphing.  I kind of figured he should have grown out of this behavior by now…I may or may not be referring to my father…or brother…or both!

 I must humbly admit that I never knew the joy of hiding things from my children until I had children of my own!  Over the past 22 years I too have carried the torch of bringing suffering to my own candy-less children.  However, after years of hiding baskets in the fish house, the shed, suspended beneath the dining room table, frozen solid in the deep freezer and any other creative place I could find, there came a day when I ran out of places to hide the baskets.  Therefore, one Easter morning a couple of years ago my children woke to find their Easter baskets displayed in plain sight.

“Whooah! Dad’s getting lazy!” My son arrogantly proclaimed.

“What gives Dad?” asked my youngest.

“Good! I hate looking for the baskets,” insisted my oldest.

“Why are the baskets empty?” asked my 3^rd born.

“Oh! Well, I ran out of places to hide your baskets,” I confessed, “So I hid the contents. Have fun!”

My children DID NOT have fun…but I sure did!  That may have been my favorite Easter egg hunt of my nearly 50 year old life, as i watched them dig in the coffee grounds, sugar, flour, cornstarch and many other semi-concealed containers.  You would think I would have grown out of it by now.

Isn’t it nice to know that God is not like that? God is not hiding the truth in the weeds or in the fish house or in the dishwasher trying to keep us from finding the way to salvation.  He lays it clearly in front of us in the person of Jesus…His Son!  He reveals it to us in the Gospels.  Jesus is the Way! He is the ONLY Way! Jesus conquered sin and death and has made a way! We know this is true because the tomb is empty! We know this to be true because Jesus is not dead…He is ALIVE! Thank God that he is not hiding…he wants to be found…by us!

May we seek and find the risen Savior today!

 Peach Pies

I remember when I was in high school…yep…more than 30 years ago now…our youth group was raising money for the 1992 LIFE conference to be held in Colorado.  There are always some “go to” fundraisers…you know what I mean…the car washes, the silent auction and of course…the bake sale.  This was a pivotal moment in my life as this was my first exposure to a bake sale.  It is a fascinating concept.  People bake all kinds of wonderful things like muffins, pies, breads, brownies and cookies, and then sell them at prices that are 3 times or more the cost that you could buy the same item at the local bakery.

I remember sitting the table filled with confections when Mr. Hinkle, a church member, walked in carrying three peach pies.  “Here are some peach pies for the sale!” He stated gleefully.

“Thank you Mr. Hinkle!”  I said appreciatively.

“You are most welcome…now…how much for the peach pies?”

“Which peach pies?”

“These right here.”

“These are the ones that you just brought in Mr. Hinkle…what do you mean how much?”

“I want to buy these peach pies.

“The ones that you just brought in?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you bring them in?”

“I told you…it was a donation.”

“Then why are you buying them?”

“Because I love peach pie…and even more so, I love Mrs. Hinkle’s peach pies.”

“Then why didn’t you just keep them?

“Because they are worth buying.”

I ended up selling Mr. Hinkle his own peach pies.  Years later I look back and see the redeeming work of Jesus in that imagery.  Jesus, who created us, gave himself up for us…he purchased us back to him.  He is alive and he makes us alive in him and he will resurrect us to be with Him forever…because He loves us more than Mr. Hinkle loves peach pie!

Jesus speaks of this resurrection in Matthew 22:23-33.  May we come to see the life that can be found in Jesus…a life that is both abundant and eternal!

 Render

 

Once upon a time…I was in my forties.  My life seems a little like a fairytale, not necessarily in the way where Prince Charming gets to kiss Sleeping Beauty…but more like how Princess Tiana kisses a frog…only to find out that instead of turning into a Prince…I turned into a 50 year old toad. 

One of the main constants in life is that there is no going back, it only goes forward.  As I celebrated…no…grieved my fiftieth birthday this past week I couldn’t help but look back…how can you not really? I mean, when you live for a half of a century or more, the notable changes that occur in the world during your lifetime are quite significant. However, I was surprised that I am NOT older than computers, email, cell phones and digital cameras as they were all technically invented before 1976. 

There are so many things in my past 50 years that I wish I could go back like Marty McFly and change.  If I could go back I would hug my children more and be angry with them less often.  I would eat more bacon and slammed my head into solid inanimate objects less frequently. 

I find myself wishing that I could hold on to my 40’s or even better yet, my 30’s…since we are going that far…let’s just hold onto the 20’s.  I doubt that I am the only 50 year old who wakes up each morning with sore elbows…and knees…and hips…and neck…and back. This was not the case in my 20’s or 30’s…but maybe a bit in my 40’s. 

God never intended for us to hold onto our 20’s.  I was struck with a realization this week, Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has promised us a hope and future…not a past.  Yet, I find myself holding onto my past and even my present for fear of being ready for the future. 

In loose connection I find what Jesus tells the religious leaders in Matthew 22:15-22, applicable.  In this passage we find some these people trying to catch Jesus in a paradoxical trap.  Jesus is challenged as to whether it is lawful to pay taxes to the Roman Government.  Jesus responds by saying, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Psalm 24, states that the “Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” My life is the Lord’s, whether I am in my 20’s, 30’s, 40’s or 50’s. I am His and he is mine.  Therefore I will render my life to him as best as I can…as the Spirit helps me to do. I will do my best to leave my 20 year old self in my past…but…still hoping that my resurrected body might be about 26…

My we come to see that all that we are and all that we have is the Lord’s.

 The Invitation

As a child, I remember having exactly 2 birthday parties.  My parents would probably try and argue that they provided more than 2 parties for me, but “parties” that only include siblings and cousins don’t count. In order for a party to be a party, at least one friend must be present.  Could there have been more than two? Possible, but I only remember two, both of which were shared with my older brother.  No, we are not twins, nor do we share the same birth date.  To be honest my older brother probably had it worse since his birthday was two days after Christmas and a party on a day so close to Christmas was never going to happen for us…or any of his friends.  Thus, a double party on two occasions was scheduled for early spring.  One of the occasions included a mass conversion at Wadena Lanes, the local smoke-filled bowling alley.  God bless my parents and anyone else who has the energy to manage 10+ children in a public establishment, while trying to keep kids from climbing on the chairs, playing with the public bowling balls and attempting to smoke Krazy Karl’s cigars when he wasn’t looking. 

The other party that I recall was a few years prior when all of my friends played outside with my brother and all of his friends, while I lay alone sick on the living room sofa. That was a sad day, especially when you consider that my kindergarten girlfriend had even shown up for the festivities.  She gave me a semi-truck and trailer.  I wish I still had it...then at least I would have something to bitterly remember that day better.

We have hosted several parties for our own children and now I know why my own parents avoided the birthday party scene.  Additionally, my children have gone to many birthday parties for their friends over the years. Party invitations were usually brought home with our children from school or in rare cases delivered through the U.S. Mail. One of the hidden blessings of these invitations, is that they helped build familiarity with Morrison County as I would find myself driving anywhere and everywhere trying to find the right house to drop the child off.  Usually by the time I found my way home, I would have to turn around and drive back to pick them up from the party.  It was a fair trade off really.  My wife would take them shopping for the birthday gift and I would drop them off and pick them up. 

I remember one beautiful spring Saturday afternoon when our youngest daughter had a birthday party to attend for one of her 2nd grade classmates.  One of the best factors was that this young girl only lived a couple of blocks away. 

“Sarah, What time does the party start today?”

“1:00”

“A.M. or P.M.?”

“…seriously????...”  Sarah’s eyes could audibly be heard rolling at this moment.

I waited until 12:58, figuring that it would take at most 5 minutes.  This would guarantee that we wouldn’t be early and would arrive at about the perfect timing.  We hopped in to the rusty pickup and we cruised the few blocks to her friend’s house.  Upon arriving, I made Erica carry the gift and we walked to the front door together.  I rang the doorbell and the girl’s father came to the door. 

“Is this the place for the party?” I asked.

“It sure is.” He said flatly…a little too flatly if you ask me.

He looked at me with a less than jovial face and said, “But the party is tomorrow…not today.”

That was awkward.

When we arrived home, my confused wife asked, “What’s the deal? Why is Erica here?”

“The party is tomorrow…not today,” I matter of factly replied, voice dripping with exasperation. 

This would have been an appropriate time for my wife to apologize for sending me to the right house but on the wrong day. But instead…she laughed.

I guess I should have taken better note of the invitation itself.

In Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus shares a parable about an invitation.  In this case, the King is having a great party for his son who is getting married. Yet, the people who received the invitation all reject it.  Not only do they not come, they scoff at it.  The cultural insult is astounding.  What we then find in this parable, is that Jesus opens this invitation to all, if we will just say yes to him.  Perhaps one of the best things about this invitation is that I can accept it today.  The day is today…I don’t need to come back tomorrow!

May we come to say yes to the invitation to put our trust in Jesus!

 OK Daddy

When my current 18 year old daughter was about 14 years younger we knew her as the “Politely Disobedient Child.”  She was known for her sweetness, infectious smile, contagious laughter, twin pigtails, two fingers always stuck in her mouth…and for her agreeable disobedient demeanor.

There was a day when this treasured 4 year old spent the day with her grandmother and grandfather. We strongly instilled in her the importance of listening and obeying her grandma and grandpa so that she would be able to enjoy another such trip sometime in the future. “Ok Daddy!” she pleasantly affirmed, “I will.” As with most mischievous children, you can’t help but have a special affection for the combined innocence and defiance.  Nearing the end of her special day with Grandma and Grandpa, she was sitting at the table when my dad walked in and asked her, “Were you good for Grandma today?”

“Yes Grandpa,” she replied.

“If I asked Grandma, would she say that you good for Grandma?”

After several seconds of pause she replied… “Well…maybe I was a little bad…”

This experience melded well with my own encounters with the delightful disobeyer.    

“Carissa, when you are done with your breakfast, you need to put your plate in the sink ok?”

“Ok Daddy.”

When I would see that her plate still sat at her spot and not in the sink an hour later, I was forced to ask, “Carissa…why didn’t you put your plate in the sink?”

“I forgot.”

This was expected pattern. 

“Carissa, get your coat on…pick up your toys…go find your shoes…come to the table…”

“Ok, Daddy, Ok, Daddy, Ok, Daddy, Ok Daddy.”

Each request ended WITHOUT the coat on, the toys picked up, the shoes found or Carissa being at the table.

“I forgot, I forgot, I forgot, I forgot.”

Honestly…I don’t think she forgot…I think she just chose not to do those things at the time that she said that she would do them.

Jesus shares a similar parable in Matthew 21:28-32, where a father asks his two sons to head into the vineyard to work.  The first son says “No,” but then changes his mind and goes and works, while the other says “Ok Daddy,” but then doesn’t go.

Only one of these two sons is actually doing what the father asked him to do, the other, is not.

May we learn to change our minds away from our ways and towards the ways of the father…and do what it is that he wants us to do.

 Never Again

I have a long history with Track and Field.  I have been involved in coaching the sport for 27 years.  Before that I earned 4 varsity letters with the Wadena Deer Creek Wolverines. Despite having more than 30 years of experience I must confess that as a coach…I am ok…but as an athlete…I was REALLY …mediocre…at best. 

As a high school track athlete I had flashes of what I am sure the coaches saw as great potential.  I was most competitive as a discus thrower but when it came time to execute in the clutch…I choked. 

Additionally, I remember Coach Rick attempting to establish and develop in me what he believed to be a great 400m runner.  He trained me hard through the workouts and challenged my goals and worked endlessly to brainwash me into attacking the one lap race. 

There were times when he would almost have me convinced that I could do it…”maybe…just maybe,” I began to wonder… “could I actually break the 50 second mark?” 

“You can do this!  Sprint hard out of the blocks! Get as fast as you can in the first 100m and then hold that speed through the back stretch.  When you hit the halfway point…you need to be under 25 second.  Then dig in again and build and then give it all you got for the final straight.”

“Ok Coach,” I said.

When it came time to execute my thought patterns usually followed something like… “Ugh, I don’t want to do this.”

When the gun fired, I would take off hard and after the first 25 meters I would think, “I feel tired already.”

People would press me on the back stretch and I would think, “This is stupid, I can’t run that fast”

When I hit the corner the Coach would yell, “You gotta go!”

Rather than believing him I would think, “I want to die! Why don’t you get out here and run this!”

Upon finishing the one minute of torture the coach would show me the stop watch and say, “Nice Job! 54.65 that’s your fastest yet!”

I would think, “Ugh…Never again!”

But each meet I would be entered into at least one 400m race.  

There came a meet when everything would change.  I was entered into the 4x400m relay…the final race of the meet.  The day was unseasonably cold even for an April evening in Minnesota.  The meet had gone late.  It was dark and the spotlights lit the field like a Friday night football game.  To make matters worse it began to rain.  I was running the 3^rd leg and by the time I received the baton, I was soaked, cold and our team was already in last place and my motivation was gone.  I was done.  I didn’t see the value. I didn’t like the event. I didn’t want to be there and this was the last thing that I wanted to do.

I received the stick and I ran…or more accurately…I kind of jogged.  I finished in 65 seconds. Perhaps my worst time in 3 years.  I cannot express to you how upset my coach was.  He never placed me in another 400m race ever again.

It made sense really.  If I wasn’t willing to produce the fruit of what was expected of a runner, why would he continue to invest in me in that way?

I didn’t mind at the time, but looking back, I wish that I had approached things differently.

Jesus does something similar in Matthew 21:18-27.  Jesus is walking with his disciples and he comes across a fig tree that is worthless because it is not producing the expected fruit of a fig tree.  Jesus curses the tree and says to the tree that it will never produce fruit again.  The contrast follows in the later verses where it is implied that the Jewish leaders are in the same way not producing fruit that is worth producing. 

May we come to see that Jesus passionately wants to produce good fruit in and through our lives.  May we submit to him and allow him to do the good work of producing fruit that lasts and impacts the world for His sake.