With My Own Eyes

            What a gorgeous few weeks we have enjoyed!  That wet, heavy snow has clung to the trees making Cadillac a winter wonderland.  It has been the stuff of postcards and paintings by Currier and Ives.  The scenic landscape has been enough to almost make winter tolerable (emphasis on “almost”).  This I know: regardless of how irregular 2020 has been, it sure looks like a regular Northern Michigan Christmas out my window. 

            But that beauty from the wet, heavy snow has not come without consequence.  Numerous trees have experienced broken limbs or have fallen altogether.  In our own neighborhood (Shout out to Whitetail Drive!) the thinner and weaker trees have been bent low, even creating hazards on the road.  Soon after the snow fell, my wife Christy thought it her personal mission to shake the snow off these trees that were hindering our neighborhood travel and release them from their icy bondage.  (I stayed in the warm car and watched). 

            The image of those vulnerable trees bent over under the heavy load of snow reminded me of a line in the Christmas carol “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”  The lyric reads:  “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, Whose forms are bending low, Who toil along the climbing way, With painful steps and slow…”  Anybody relate?  It’s like that old psychological question:  “If you were a tree, what kind would you be?”  For many of us the answer is easy:  a bent one!  Especially in this past year, so many of us have felt life’s crushing load which has bent us low.  Our steps have indeed been painful and slow as we have toiled along the climbing way.  The sentiment of the carol has never seemed more true than today. 

            But fortunately, the carol doesn’t end with subjects hopeless under life’s heavy load.  The verse goes on to say: “Look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing.  O rest beside the weary road, And hear the angels sing!”  Much as my wife removed the heavy load of wet snow from those bent trees, allowing them to spring back to life, so Jesus came to earth to bear your heavy load—most notably your heavy load of guilt and sin.  And for those who put their trust in Him alone as Savior and Lord, He walks with them as a constant companion and load bearer. 

            As we bring conclusion to this Christmas season, the month of December, and the heavy year 2020, do you find yourself bending low beneath life’s crushing load?  The Good News of the season is that we have not been left alone.  Jesus came to earth in the flesh to set us free and to allow us to rest beside this weary road.  May you enter His peaceful rest and experience the blessing of the freedom that He alone can bring. 

            Charles Elwood “Chuck” Yeager passed away last week at 97 years of age.  He became one of my childhood heroes through his depiction in the 1983 movie “The Right Stuff.”  His list of accomplishments is legendary.  He flew the P-51 Mustang in WWII and became an ace in a single day.  After the war he became a test pilot and was the first human to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.  His active-duty flying career spanned more than 30 years and he flew more than 360 different types of aircraft.  He retired in 1975 with the rank of Brigadier General. 

            One of the memorable scenes from “The Right Stuff” is when Chuck was on the verge of breaking the sound barrier.  His Bell X-1 rocket-powered aircraft was experiencing so much turbulence that it seemed as if it would be ripped apart.  Those who were skeptical about the breaking of the sound barrier actually believed that it was like flying into a brick wall in the sky.  It was at that moment that Chuck had a decision to make.  He could either back off the throttle and return to base safely to fly another day.  Or, he could increase the throttle to press through the turbulence and see what was on the other side.  Yeager made the decision to “punch it,” and discovered that the feared brick wall did not exist.  Once supersonic, the plane experienced clean air and peaceful flight. 

            There was a time in the ministry of Jesus when He too faced great turbulence:  the Garden of Gethsemane.  His very life was being shaken to the point that He prayed, “Father, if there be some other way…”  He also had a decision to make:  turn away from the mission the Father had given Him, or obediently press through the turbulence.  Jesus “punched it,” and endured the agony of crucifixion.  As a result it appeared that His life ended tragically rather than heroically.  But on the other side of the turbulence of crucifixion, there was Resurrection.  And the fact of the matter is that there is no Resurrection without turbulence of crucifixion.  Jesus broke the sin barrier.  And on the other side there is peace for all who are in Him. 

            2020 has been a year of great turbulence.  It is a year that tempts us to pull back in fear and to seek safety.  But the reality is that true peace lies on the other side of the turbulence.  Freedom lies on the other side of our anxiety when we put our trust in the One who broke the sin barrier and when we allow Him to lead us into the unknown (which is not unknown to Him).   Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God’s throne (GNT).”  Whatever “barrier” you face today, let Jesus take you through to the other side. 

            EGR. “Extra. Grace. Required.”  It’s a term that I first encountered years ago in some training material for small group leaders.  An EGR is a person who has more than their share of needs and likely doesn’t understand healthy boundaries.  When such a person is part of a group, their needs can overwhelm and dominate, potentially sabotaging the effectiveness of the group as a whole.  It takes some special skill to lead such a group.  There is extra grace required.     

            Kim was an EGR.  I hope that doesn’t sound mean, because I say it with a great deal of love.  And honestly, if you ever encountered Kim (and you probably did), I am confident that you would agree with me.  Kim could be loud.  She had a distinctive voice which was stuck in outside mode (I really don’t think Kim was capable of whispering).  So, when she was seated on the front row of a worship service and had something to say to the person seated next to her, well, let’s just say she was speaking to all of us.  And then there were those cringe worthy moments in the middle of the sermon where she meant to speak to all of us.  Kim could also be needy, as she attempted to navigate life on her own with many, many health issues.  She often relied heavily on members of the church to meet her needs.   Kim was most definitely an EGR.     

But now it is for First Baptist Church that extra grace is required, because our beloved Kim went home to be with Jesus this past Sunday.  And in her absence we will more fully realize just how Kim was a wonderful gift from God to us.  You see, Kim taught us so much over the years.  She taught us how to be patient.  She taught us how to humbly serve.  She taught us how to love.  And oh how she taught us to laugh!  The history of First Baptist Church has many, many Kim moments.  Those stories will most certainly live on.     

            And perhaps more than anything, Kim taught us what church is really all about.  Church is not about a flawless religious show on Sunday or about a spiritual country club where only certain kinds of people who measure up are welcome.  Church is for EGRs like Kim—and like you and me. For at the end of the day, we all require extra grace.  We are all sinners, and we all are needy.  The ground is level at the foot of the cross, and the doors of the church are wide open for all. 

            Thank you dear Kim for the many ways you blessed us at FBC.  At the end of the day we received far more from you than you received from us.  We love you and can’t wait to see you again.   1 Corinthians 12:27: “For you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (NIV)

Today I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. Pastor Mike said something in yesterdays sermon (“Angels as Messengers”) that really stood out to me: We don’t ask angels about the interpretation of Scripture because the author lives inside of us. How remarkable to think that God Almighty indwells every Believer. What incredible potential we possess, not because we are great, but because God is great. There is so much power available to us if we would but come to the end of ourselves and rely on the Omnipotent One. This truth is also very freeing because it means that whatever lies ahead is not up to me to power through or to figure out. It is God’s job and He is more that capable. So, today I am thankful for the Holy Spirit. May He live powerfully and victoriously through us today.

“How will you live? In the years to come, our world will most likely go from fast to faster; more hurried, more soulless, more vapid; “deceiving and being deceived.” 14 Will you traverse that road? Will you follow the same old, tired, uncreative story of hurry and busyness and noisy, materialistic, propagandized living? Just try to add in a little Jesus as you careen through life? Make it to church when you can? Pray when you find the time? Mostly just stay ahead of the wolf pack?

Or… Will you remember there’s another road, another way? Will you off-ramp onto the narrow path? Will you radically alter the pace of your life to take up the easy yoke of Jesus? And when you fail, begin again. This time: slowly. This book is both a question and an answer. But mostly it’s an invitation, from one invitee to another. “Come to me…. Find rest for your souls.” I say yes. You? Here’s to the easy yoke.”

Comer, John Mark. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 256). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Possibly my favorite Christmas album.