Like all the kids, he did a fine job—but then again, I don’t have a theatrical pedigree to be any kind of judge. My one and only acting gig was playing Charlie Brown in a 5th grade rendition of ‘You’re a Good Man.’ At the time, I thought I was pretty hot stuff, the marquis actor and all—until I realized the real crowd-pleaser was my best friend Dale, who snagged the Snoopy part! Apparently a dour, Dutch-boy haircut boy was no match for an athletic & charming dancing dog. Ah, live and learn! But back to Jeremy: My favorite part wasn’t what he said, which he did well, but how his face lit up with delight when the crowd laughed at his first spaced-out-sounding line.
I’m sure the same feeling has happened to you: you see your child doing well in a new environment you hadn’t seen her or him before, and you say a prayer of thanksgiving to God. I sometimes think that God must have fun watching us, His children, trying new things, gaining confidence, making new friends, marking up learnings in our search for meaning.
As Christ-followers, if we’re not constantly putting ourselves ‘out there’ on one of life’s stages, imagine how much delight we’re depriving our heavenly Father of! No loving worry before we try, no heart-patter of relief if we succeed, no parental love-pat if we need encouragment. If we say no to new challenges in our life and in our faithwalk, we steal from God some of the life-worship we profess to want to give Him.
But what if I fail, you ask? Well, what if your kids ask you the same thing? For healthy parents, of course, it’s not whether our kids win or lose, but how they play the game. Winning is just icing on the cake. Failing with class is even more gratifying. It’s refusing to play that’s the most painful, worrisome, and sad to the ones who love them the most.
A teenager in the Bible was confronted with the potentially fatal need to walk in on the King’s throneroom uninvited, in order to save her people from extermination. Being his young wife, she knew she had some possibility of avoiding his anger, but only just that – a possibility. Though she wavered at first, her uncle challenged her to see the big picture—both for the Jewish people, and for her life—and she did the impermissible but necessary thing. And both she and her people came out of the terrible ordeal victorious!
“Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.”Esther 4:16
Which of life’s stages are you stepping out on—for God’s sake and for yours? Have you tried a new challenge at work or church? Have you joined a small group to deepen your walk with Jesus? Have you volunteered to serve in a ministry outside your comfort zone?
If nothing come to mind, just imagine God’s heartache as He sees all the fun and challenges you’re missing. Just imagine your own regrets as He gets to show you, Heaven-side, the videotape of what could have been! --Pastor Dan
0 comments:
Post a Comment