Why?

Please, tell me...

Why is the express line, not very "express?"  Why is over-night delivery always 2nd day?  Why do yellow lights make people see red?  Why is urgent rarely important?

Why do we expect politicians to lie to us, and then get upset when they do?  Why do we complain about the quality and direction of government, then refuse to vote?  Why do we ask government to lower our taxes then complain when they reduce our services?   Why is "public-service" so oppressive?

Why do we make vows we don't really intend to honor?  Why do we "honor" people we often don't respect?  Why are love and heartbreak two sides of the same coin?  Why do we swear on a book we don't revere?

Why are teachers accountable, but parents aren't?  Why do we need a license to marry, but not to parent? Why can a 15 year old get an abortion, but not a divers license?  Why do we mandate an education for "students" who won't try, don't care and refuse to cooperate?  Why do so many parents think they can do a better job teaching, than our teachers, but make so little effort at educating their children?

Why do we feel sympathy for those with great need and outrage for those with great privilege?  Why is the Humane Society only about animals?  Why do we pretend everyone should be treated the same way, when we know that's not the way life really works?  Why do we act like everyone is born with the same set of genes, when we know that's just not true?  Why are criminals victims and victims criminalized?  Why is "Affordable Health Care" so unaffordable?

Why does the right to privacy trump the right to life?  Why is "profile" a dirty concept when, if applied appropriately, it can save innocent life?  Why does our Constitution work harder for criminals than for good citizens?  Why are some lives more valuable that others?  Why is justice such a fleeting virtue?  Why is it that the smarter we are, the dumber we get?  Why has the information highway produced so much uncertainty?

"35...Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9.35,36

"28 ...Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.'”  Matthew 11.28-30

Confused, helpless; lacking direction, weary, burdened; find rest.

bN tGit

Life is hard, then...

Life is hard.  Age diminishes us.  Disease ravages us.  Then, we die.
       Or...
Life is hard and softens our hearts.  Age diminishes us and equips us with wisdom. Disease ravages us and empowers us to embrace hope.  Then we die and pass into eternity.

What happens to us, all of us, in the course of a lifetime is simply a variation on the same theme.  What sets apart those not beaten from those that are?  It is what that "lifetime process" produces in us. 

I've been reminded recently, we are fragile and our bodies will eventually fail--some sooner than others, but for all of us life ends in one final breath.  The ability to see our sojourn as a prelude to "something more" is the key to empowering us to embrace all we experience in "time" with wonder; while anticipating what we glimpse of eternity with hope.  

Yes, I'm talking about faith.  A specific faith we are given instruction about in the Scriptures; the Second letter to the church in Corinth, written by the Apostle Paul (5.1-5):

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.  2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.  4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.  5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit."

Over the past year I've invested time in some weary people...all filled with hope.  They are fragile over-comers.  Their lives are a tapestry illustrating God's grace, love, presence and power.  Paul acknowleges this too (5.17-19, 21)...

"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them...21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

I'm ready.  Are you?  

Maranatha.



bN tGit