I recently relived my youth pastor years, thinking about all the students over 20 years with whom I’ve interacted. So many youth camps, retreats and special events have called for a bonfire. In the dark, we all sat around the fire, mesmerized by it’s glow. It was so dark all around us in the woods, at the edge of the river or the lake. Strange noises coming out of the darkness. Even so, we focused on the fire and sang with each other and told stories.
That’s what the Hebrew writer tells us in Hebrews 12, “Fix your eyes on Jesus”. You see Jesus is that glow in a world of darkness. He’s the one who offers hope to the hopeless, life where there seems no life, air when there seems none to breath. He promised us life and life in the abundant. He called us to say when we are weary, he will carry the weight…the burden in Matthew 11.
You see, life is not a sitcom. Some of my favorite sitcoms are Happy Days, Andy Griffith Show, The Office, Parks and Rec. A sitcom is a 30-minute comedy TV show. In the show, it begins with things going well but right away there is tension to be resolved. By the end of the 30 minute show, the tension is resolved and everyone is happy again.
Life is not a sitcom. Rarely does life get resolved in 30 minutes. Sometimes not for 30 weeks or even 30 years. You loose your job. You send out resumes. You get nothing back and the response you do get back places you financially far behind where you were.
Your significant other steps out on you. You thought you were doing well. When confronted, that person explains why it’s your fault the event happened anyway, deflecting the responsibility away from them.
You get sick. Upon the visit to the doctor, you are told you have cancer. You go to war against cancer. You eat better, your friend group is praying for you everyday, you take chemo and radiation. But it’s all in vain. Cancer wins the day.
Life is not a sitcom.
COVID-19 has wrecked the healthy economy America had built. Many have lost their jobs and careers. Many have lost relationships. The death toll is more than 100K. We’ve been locked down and shut out. We have lost community.
The recent event in Minneapolis has created a chain reaction across our great land. An unjust and inhumane act by someone in an authority position has rocked our communities. Civil unrest, hostility, & anger have fueled an unhealthy glow in our cities at night with the burning of police vehicles, police stations, and businesses.
Right now, you might be asking, “Where are you, God?” just like Habakkuk did in the Old Testament. But we as people who believe in a living God must choose to embrace and wrestle just like the Old Testament prophet. We embrace God knowing he is the giver of life and story. We wrestle with God because we don’t understand what’s going on and want to understand.
Make no mistake. Jesus Christ is the glow, the fire, the illumination we all must choose to fix our eyes on and imitate if we are going to have peace and civility in our land. Jesus, despite being oppressed, dehumanized, segregated, falsely accused, beaten, and killed, led a life of non-violence and peace. Even with his dying breath, he called for forgiveness for those who had wronged him. He calls his followers to “turn the other cheek” when wronged…to “bless those who curse you”.
It is not an easy thing to follow the risen Savior. He asks us to live out life toward others just like he did. May you, in the darkness, in the chaos, in the noise, in the protest fix your eyes on the one who is the author of life and the perfecter of our faith. May you find peace in the Prince of Peace. May we all make a decision to live into a call that will require supernatural strength. May your heart melt with love and compassion for those around you who have a different skin color, nation of origin, different language, different bank account, & different culture. May your journey be one that will be a light for those groping in the darkness. Blessings on that journey.