By this time Israel is almost there. Almost to the promised land . A bountiful land. A fertile land. A
land that flows with milk and honey. A land that produces giant
bunches of grapes. A land that produces giant men to eat the giant
bunches of grapes.
Uh-oh.
“Uh... Hey God? I'm not sure if you
noticed, but, uh... there's giants
in there! Big ones!”
As much of a Christian
cliché as it is, I'm going to mention Joshua and Caleb here. Because
as a young boy growing up hearing these Bible stories, Joshua and
Caleb were top tier heroes for me. They were only surpassed by David;
and only because
that dude took out a
giant all by himself, which
to a 6 year old is a feat
that cannot be topped. But they were right up there with him. They
stood up and said “Lets go fight some giants!” when all their
buddies turning strange shades of yellow. They captured my imagination as a young child
and illustrated what it was to stand alone and be courageous against
the odds. To trust in
Something greater than yourself. To do the right thing even if it
might get you squashed into jelly by giants. These guys set the
heroic ideal for me. (Which
is one of the main the powers of stories, fiction or otherwise. They
can be used to shape our ideals, to create in us a visceral love for
what is good and noble.)
I find myself constantly needing to
look again to that heroic ideal. Because I can too easily fall in
step with the other spies when I look around at the world: “Uh...
Hey God? I'm not sure if you noticed, but, uh... there's giants!”
God, You want me to spend my
life bringing heaven to earth? Spread the kingdom of heaven on
this earth? Make disciples? Have you looked around?!? There's
just too much evil in the world! Sex trafficing. Abortion. Genocide.
Racism. Drug abuse. Gang violence. Ethnic cleansing. Starvation.
AIDS. Promiscuity. Domestic assault. Extreme poverty. That's
not even mentioning my own moral failings and lack of virtue.
It is all too much! Insurmountable! And every day
people are dying without hope! I could go on and on... I'm just a
grasshopper before all this! Wouldn't it be easier to just sit
this out? Can't fail if I don't try, right? Wouldn't that be the safe
route?
Then
through the ages I hear the cry of these childhood heroes: “Be
courageous! Trust God! What is this world that you should love it?
What is the obstacle in front of you compared to I AM? They are
nothing! There is no
pointless sacrifice, no Sisyphean task, because our God is in control!
Come!
Join us!
Come spend your life bringing
heaven to earth!"
.JPG)
That's a good word and application
ReplyDelete