On Taking out the Trash

Let me begin by stating that my household chores do not usually include taking out the trash (I do more of the dishwasher/give-moral-support-to-the-cat type of chores). I have taken out many a trash can in my life, though. I specifically remember rolling our trash can out to the street as a child. It was always the last thing I did before bedtime that night, so it would always be dark. Without fail, I would run the trash can out to the street and high-tail it back inside the house as quick as I could—because it would always be cold, not because I was afraid of the dark……….

While my days of rolling the trash can out to the street and avoiding the nighttime baddies are over, I’m reminded of our city’s sanitation department every week when they come bang around the trash cans outside my bedroom window at the crack of dawn on Thursday morning. This morning (I think they must have done it to get a laugh), they put our trash can and the neighbors trash can in the middle of our driveway so that I had to move them before I could back out of the driveway. Good one, trash man.

As I moved the trash cans so I could get to work, I began to think about this whole trash process. We create all kinds of nasty waste, throw it in a plastic bag of some sorts, and place it in some type of trash receptacle. Then, some very kind people (who would never block you in your driveway) come by, pick up your junk, throw it in this giant trash compacter truck, squish it up (because that’s really efficient), and then go dump it somewhere so we can forget about it (until it piles up and pollutes our water system and we get diseases---but we’ll discuss “On the Environment” at another time). Then, the next week, the cycle continues. Make waste, give it to the trash people, take it away, etc. It’s quite convenient.

God does much of the same thing for us, I think. Throughout our lives we create all kinds of spiritual junk by our sinful habits and worldly lifestyles. Because of God’s grace, he removes our “waste” from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). God’s Word tells us that he will trample our sins and then throw them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). We no longer have to worry about sin or its consequences if we have a relationship with him. We don’t have to worry concerning an eternity in hell, guilt over past transgressions, or if we’re going to be “good enough” to get into heaven. It’s all taken care of because of what Christ did for us.

Sin stinks. God removes it from our hearts. We sin again. God takes it away again. Sin is gross, but forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

So thanks be to God for keeping us from living in a pile of spiritual trash, and thanks be to the people who pick up our trash cans every week (even if they leave them in the driveway).

Another Take on Crisp, Cold Nights

A couple of days ago, I posted on how I love crisp, cold nights. We’ve experienced a few of those here in Georgia the past few days (again, please refer to disclaimer #1 in my 10/27/08 post). In the first post, I described how I enjoyed the cold nights and what they offer, particularly the opportunity to enjoy coming back inside and warming up again by means of a hot drink or a warm fire. It’s a very nostalgic thought—if you have a home.

Not ten minutes after I posted that blog on Monday night, I got a phone call from a friend of mine, who went on to tell me that he had been in contact with a homeless man that day who was in need of a place to stay. He had a wife, a daughter, no job, no home, and no money, and the temperature was supposed to be in the low 30’s that night. My friend called to see if I might be able to offer him a place of refuge for the cold night. Unfortunately I was not able to, due to the fact that I merely rent a bedroom from someone in their home. Had I been somewhere by myself, the situation might have been different, but that is not what I wish to discuss.

After I hung up the phone, my heart was extremely heavy. Here I was reveling in the utopian thought of crackling fires, friends and family, hot chocolate (heck, I might as well have been describing a Christmas card), while someone on the other side of town was about to freeze for the night.

How short-sighted we can be! How selfish in our thoughts and attitudes! God’s Word describes pure religion as taking care of widows, orphans, and those in need (James 1:27). Jesus himself said that whatever we do to the least of people, we do it for him (Matthew 25:40). More specifically, James warns us to beware of wishing well to our brothers and sisters in need while denying them assistance: “If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2: 15-17). That’s exactly what I did yesterday. I curled up under a blanket and wished the world a warm, happy night while thousands of people across our country, and even more around the world, struggled to keep warm on that frigid night.

No, I can’t help them all, but I can help those around me. No, I wasn’t able to provide a place to stay for a man the other night, but I can be more proactive in my efforts of helping those in need. No, there is nothing wrong with appreciating warmth, friends, and the other things we enjoy during the colder months, but there is something wrong when that clouds our concern for those who don’t have those things.

The man ended up finding a place to stay, and my friend was able to give him a little money, hook him up with a small job, and get him connected with a local church to provide further support and assistance. I was very thankful of that.

I made an important realization the other day: Jesus didn’t blog about keeping warm. He didn’t write about “chestnuts roasting over an open fire.” He was out there with those in need, helping them.

May I never again be so naïve.

On Crisp, Cold Nights

It is very cold here tonight (disclaimer #1: I live in Georgia. "Very cold" here is anything below 42 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not as hardcore as anyone who might be reading this blog in Canada, because I'm sure I have lots of Canucks reading my blog). Call me crazy, but I really like it when it gets cold! I like having to put on an extra coat. I like having to blow in my hands to keep them warm. I like drinking hot chocolate as it burns my mouth. I know--I'm weird.

There is, however, a method to the madness. I don't merely like the cold for the sake of it being cold. If I did, I wouldn't live in Georgia. I'd move to Antarctica and hang out with the penguins (who are, in fact, my favorite creatures on planet earth). I like it when it's cold because it reminds me of how good it feels to get warm. You know what I mean? For example, one of the greatest feelings in the world is coming inside on a cold night, shivering when you walk in the door, curling up in a blanket next to someone you care about (disclaimer #2: I am currently single in my relationship status. So, I sit next to my cat right now. Our relationship is rather one-sided at the moment), drinking some fresh hot chocolate, apple cider, or a cup of hot soup, and sitting there for a second while your body dethaws. It's a nice feeling.

It reminds me of the feeling I get when I come back to God. Sometimes, I find myself wandering around in this world, and I end up freezing spiritually. There is no joy in these spiritual "nights," such as there is in the evenings of late autumn. I get numb to the Holy Spirit, and I'm desensitized to the Word of God. I begin to feel the icy chill that only sinful habits and separation from our God can bring. And then, I come back home. I step inside God's abode of grace, love, and forgiveness. I shiver at what I've done and at how good God's presence makes me feel. I sit next to the one I love, dwelling in the beauty and majesty of the Lord. I drink in deep from his Word, and it refreshes me like only living water can do. Then, I just sit there. I sit, I wait, and my spirit is renewed as I abide with the Lord, and in my heart a steady fire begins to burn again.

So bring on the cold weather. Don't fear autumn's chill and winter's frost. Put on another pot of hot water. Light the fire in the fireplace. Bring out the thick coats and fleece blankets.

But keep me in the presence of the Lord.

On Church Auctions and Cheap Guitars

Tonight at my church we had our annual Birthday Bash, which, in brief summary, is a covered-dish dinner and a night of fellowship to celebrate everyone’s birthday at the same time (just so no one gets left out). Whether this is truly effective is not the point of this post. Instead, I wish to analyze a certain aspect of tonight’s festivities: the auction.

Yes, we had an auction at our birthday celebration. Several items were collected from donors within the church and from local businesses to be sold to the highest bidder in order to raise money to renovate our fellowship hall. It was kind of neat. I made the lady who was leading it use a podium and a hammer (since no gavels were to be found in the area) to officially end each item up for bids. I even grabbed a ping pong paddle to use as my signal for bidding. All in all, the auction was pretty fun. I bid on a few things, such as a wind chime (for my mom, of course - $5), a wooden fish-shaped wall hanger with hooks on it (not exactly sure what I’ll use it for, but it looked cool - $10), a homemade pound cake (just what I need when we still have half of my birthday cake left - $5), and the coup de grace, a Johnson guitar (because the deal was too good to pass up - $40).

It is true, I already own a guitar, and a fairly good one at that – a custom Takamine G-series guitar that I’ve had since high school. Plus, the Johnson guitar is not what you would really consider to be a top-of-the-line instrument. It’s really only worth about $100. Consequently, all things considered, I really did not need the Johnson that I bought, and yes, I could have held on to that $40. However, the guitar is worth twice that, and it came with a free gig bag, so I feel like I got a pretty good deal. Not to mention the fact that no one else was even remotely interested in it in the first place.

Now before you start thinking that I’m going to go hawk it on eBay, give me a minute to explain myself. No, I didn’t need the guitar, but I saw something that had good value on the verge of going to waste, and I felt that the cost was justifiable (not to mention the fact that I wanted to support our church fundraiser). After all, I can always use a spare to teach someone else how to play, to use as a camping/travel guitar so that I don’t ruin my other one, or to be able to keep one at the church so that I don’t have to lug my other one around all the time. Who knows, I might even end up giving it away to someone who would like a guitar but can’t afford one. The possibilities are endless.

When I think of my guitar purchase, I wonder if God had some of the same thoughts before sending Christ to die for us. Perhaps he saw us standing there on the chopping block, so to speak, and thought, “You know, there is a redeemable quality in that person. They are too good to waste. They are worth paying a price that others might deem as foolish.” So he paid the price for us through Christ. He didn’t need us. In all practical purposes, we were not worth the cost. It was not a wise investment. After all, God had the angels and all of creation at his disposal, to do with as he pleased. But he wanted us. We had a purpose in his eyes, and God thought that made us worthwhile.

$A 40 price tag for a guitar? Totally worth it. Jesus’ death as the cost for sinful people? Going once….going twice….sold.

On the Making of Cake

Yesterday was my birthday – turning 23 on the 23rd. (I’d never heard of a golden birthday until two days ago. It makes me wonder when your silver and bronze birthdays are…).

My birthday was great. Nate and Katie even threw me a small party at the house, and a few of my really good friends came over. I received some neat gifts, including a tiny fan, a set of “The Ultimate Push Up” (you know, the little rotating grips that Chuck Norris endorses on the infomercials) complete with my face on the box, and a water balloon launcher. I must say I got some very practical gifts!

However, my birthday cake was definitely the piece de resistance (yes, I still remember some French from high school) of my birthday celebration. I had asked Katie a few weeks ago for a 5 foot tall cake which contained a beautiful young lady who would jump out during my party. You know—nothing out of the ordinary, just something simple. Katie did not disappoint, giving me an awesome cake complete with a Barbie doll inside—my own beautiful young lady. It was without a doubt the best cake ever.

In the midst of all the fun and celebration over my entrance into the world, I had some time to think last night before going to bed. I thought about friends, family, joy, and other such matters which come to mind during a birthday. I then thought about my cake. Katie put a lot of time and effort into that thing, all because she knew it would make me happy (well, to be honest I think she kind of enjoyed making it too…). She took a stupid idea of mine and gave me something even better—a cool cake and an awesome time with all my friends.

God does much of the same thing. We ask and beg for things which we don’t really need, all based on selfish whims. However, the Lord knows the thoughts and desires of our hearts, and time after time He delivers to us the things that make us truly joyful, the things that are of true importance. God’s Word tells us that He “is not slack concerning His promise.” Even though we may feel as though he has forgotten us and does not care about our needs and wants, God always comes through with everything we could really ask for. Sometimes it’s in the form of basic needs, such as daily food or a place to live. At other times our spirit is refreshed through an encouraging word or through the presence of the Holy Spirit. In the end, we are the beneficiaries of salvation and an eternal relationship with Him. And the thing that makes it even better is that God truly enjoys preparing and giving us these blessings.

Katie, thanks for the cake. To all my friends and family, thank you for a wonderful birthday. God, thank you for giving me what I need when I need it.

And thanks for throwing in a Barbie doll cake every once in awhile, too.

On the Drifting of Leaves Downstream

I just got back from a camping retreat near Clayton, Ga. with some youth from my church. The focus of the trip was “Man vs. Wild: the fight for sexual purity.” We had a great time, but alas, that is not the focus of this post. Instead, I want to share some of my musings from my time of solitude this morning at Earl’s Ford.

While sitting there watching and listening to the river flowing by, a couple of thoughts crossed my mind: 1. I’m terrible at fly fishing (although I did have my first successful catch by way of the fly rod yesterday – a real whopper coming in at a grand total of four inches – woohoo!) 2. I’m terrible at trusting God.

I had this epiphany while sitting on a rock watching some leaves float downstream. It was a simple, beautiful thing to watch. They would drop from the autumn-tinged trees, slowly spiraling downward until they landed gracefully on the water, where they would then proceed to float down the river with the current. As I marveled at this spectacle, it hit me: I am a lot like the leaves, and God is a lot like the river. Sometimes the water is cold and unpleasant to me, while at other times it’s cool and refreshing. At certain points, I crash into rocks and rapids which painfully toss me around, bruising and breaking me, yet at other times, I float gently among still pools of calm water. I get spun around in every direction unsure of where I’m going and how in the world this meandering river will get me where I need to go.

Questions fill my head. Will I reach my destination? Will I sink before I get there? Will I get lost and stranded on the side of the river, forgotten and forsaken by the driving current?

These things do not matter to the leaf, and they should not matter to me. They are insignificant. The leaf cannot force the river to do what it desires, nor can I force God to take me where I want to go. All that we can do is go wherever the river may take us.

And strangely enough, that is a very peaceful thought.