Josiah Road

The Loss of a Great Idea

posted by Andrew Hebert 31Mar

Do you remember the first time you went on a rope swing over a river or a lake? I remember the first time I ever used one. All of my friends were egging me on, daring me to swing out over the water and let go of the rope. All of the older kids had already done it, and it looked easy enough until…I actually had to do it. I remember holding the rope, swinging back and going all the way to the edge, and then just as I was about to let go, fear got a hold of me, and I stayed on the shore. It looked scary out there over the water! But I remember the first time that I was willing to risk my life out there over the water, because death by rope swing was definitely better than living and enduring all of the jokes and scorn of my older friends for the rest of my life. I pulled all the way back and then swung out over the water, and even though it was scary, I let go of the rope. Then there was a moment of intense midair flailing and flying, followed by being swallowed up in the water where I was sure I was going to drown. But then I finally came up out of the water, and I realized it was the most awesome thing I’d ever done, and I couldn’t wait to do it again!

The Christian life is kind of like that rope swing. A lot of times, life is scary out over the water, and we are afraid to let go of our lives - the rope - and so we hold on. But as soon as we realize that we can no longer hang onto the rope and we let go and give our lives to God, even though it might be scary out there, we realize that we’ve found life like we never knew was out there. And we find that life was nothing before we gave it to God.

This week was Great Commission week at my college. We had a speaker who spoke on the importance of following Jesus’ command to share our faith everywhere we go. He brought up a very interesting point that I’ve never thought about before. He said the problem with churches and Christians today is that we’ve lost the concept of a great idea.

Have you ever thought about what motivated the terrorists on September 11, 2001, to hijack several planes and fly them into buildings in suicide missions? They had what was for them a great idea. Now I am in no way endorsing what they did, but it is interesting to note that they so believed in their cause, their “great idea,” that they were willing to give their very lives for it. How many Christians today would be willing to give their lives for our cause, our great idea – the command to go and make disciples of all nations? I think we aren’t willing to give our lives is because we value our lives more than we do the Gospel. We are afraid of losing our lives because we think that we are the most important part of our existence. We’ve lost sight of a great idea that supersedes the importance of individual lives. Instead of telling God that we will go and spread the Gospel wherever He sends us, even if it means that we may lose our lives in the process, we have gotten to the point where we won’t even share our faith with a neighbor because we value our reputation more than we do their eternal destiny.

Jesus said that in order to find our lives, we must first lose them (Luke 9:23-24). He says that we must take up our cross and follow Him. The Apostle Paul says that he dies daily and that he is crucified with Christ. That means simply that in order to follow Jesus, I must value Him more than I do myself. I die to myself so Christ can live through me (Galatians 2:20). Will I lose my life? Yes. Will I find my life? Yes!

Let go of the rope and live your life for God. Grasp the great idea of the Gospel and give yourself to it!

My NOT So Wonderful Day

posted by Daniel Blackaby 28Mar

The day started like no other. The sound of bluebirds softly humming the hallelujah chorus lifted me out of a deep slumber. The warmth of the morning sun’s rays burst into my room. I’d lived overseas three months, and never had the Norwegian sunrise been so beautiful. Surely today was a blessed day!

Stepping out of a warm shower, I reached for a comb. But no need—my hair had magically fallen into place! I flashed a grin towards the mirror; my teeth sparkled. What a day indeed!

Then it dawned on me, as if destiny itself was guiding my thoughts…today was the day to talk to HER! Long blond hair, nicely complimenting her sky-blue eyes. She was everything I ever wanted in a woman…she was my mail lady.

I witnessed her drive up in front of my condo every morning at approximately 8 a.m. Love at first sight! And on this wonderful day, I formulated the ultimate scheme to win this lovely maiden’s heart. Hearing the sound of approaching tires, I glanced at my watch: 7:55 a.m.—what a day this would be!

Gathering all the poor, neglected garbage in my condo, three large bags full, I decided it was time to take them out to the bin…that just happened to be right beside the mailboxes.

I stepped outside into the pure Norwegian air…She was getting closer. With all three bags in my right hand, I nonchalantly started flexing some morning curls with them, giving a lazy yawn into my left hand. She came closer. I strutted into the middle of the street. She was mere feet from me now; the moment of truth had arrived. How could anything go wrong on a day like this? Looking up, our eyes momentarily connected. In that moment, my world was turned upside down—literally.

To the soundtrack of screeching tires, I realized that I was two feet in the air, with my toes pointing skywards. The new vertically inverted position I found myself in provided clear view of the patch of ice onto which I had stepped. BAM! My face smashed into the hood of her van while my garbage bags burst open, littering the streets. Scurrying away on all fours, beet-red faced, I muttered, “What a horrible morning!”

Even as a Christian, I sometimes fall into this trap of being prideful when life is going well. I can begin to misinterpret God’s blessings as my own successes. Proverbs 16:18 warns: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When I experience blessings, I often become prideful, and start relying on my own plans and wisdom, rather than seeking God’s guidance. It often takes a failure or disappointment for God to bring me back down to reality. If I won’t humble myself—God sometimes does it for me.

I find myself thinking about the times God has blessed my education, my career, and my relationships. I want to be careful not to take credit for the work of God. I no longer want to make my own plans and expect God to automatically bless them. I want to keep a humble heart and never forget the One who wants to guide my steps. My encouragement to you my friends is, “Don’t wait for the fall.” I can tell you from experience—it isn’t fun!