Hope for Life Blog

How many people actually listen to the safety demonstration on an airplane? Nobody thinks that their plane is actually going to be involved in a crash. Besides, if you fly very often, you’ve heard the same spiel dozens of times. It almost seems like a waste of time.

Everybody knows how to fasten and unfasten their seatbelt, right? That seems like a pointless part of the demonstration. Maybe not; a study by the British Civil Aviation Authority revealed that an average of 6% of passengers get delayed by seatbelt problems during an evacuation.

Every safety demonstration discusses what to do if the plane has to make a water landing, but in the 2009 U.S. Airways landing on the Hudson River, only about half took a seat cushion for floatation and only 10 of 150 passengers thought to grab a life jacket. They’d heard the briefing, but hadn’t really listened.

Experts say that even a half-second delay in an emergency can mean the difference between life and death, yet few of us pay attention to the very information that can save our lives. We don’t value the information until we really need it.

I can’t help but feel that we treat God the same way. We’re vaguely aware that He’s there, we know that we really ought to learn more about Him, but we don’t take the trouble to do so.

Until we find ourselves in an emergency.

Then we wish we knew Him better. We wish we knew more about how to pray. We wish we were more confident about knowing what He expects of us and how we should behave towards Him.

My suggestion is not to wait until that crisis hits. Take the time to learn about God. Connect with people who know Him and can guide you. Learn the basics about Bible study, then make reading the Bible a part of your daily routine. Start talking to God on a regular basis… there’s no better way to learn about prayer than by doing it.

Connecting with God is easier than inflating a life vest or opening an emergency exit on a plane. And the rescue He offers lasts forever.

We had been talking about Jesus when he asked me this question.  At first, I thought he wanted to know what to do to become a Jesus follower.  But that was not what he meant.  He was concerned to know what following Jesus meant in terms of his daily lifestyle.  He was convinced that Christians spent most of their time consulting a massive list of do’s and don’ts.  That was his experience and he was wondering if that was how he would have to live.

I explained that being a Christian was not about following a long list of right and wrong actions.  Instead, living a Christian life is about being in a relationship.  The relationship with Jesus is what determines how you live your life.  Christians act and think in certain ways because of our connection with a real and personal Savior.  But he insisted I tell him what it meant in terms of life choices he would have to make every day.  So here is what I told him.  Three things.

1.  Do what Jesus did.  Treat people the way Jesus treated them.  Connect to God like Jesus did.  Live like Jesus lived.  Walk in his steps. 
2. Don’t do what Jesus did not do.  Get the things out of your life that are not like Jesus.  Wrong relationships, damaging attitudes, and hurtful actions.  If Jesus would not be that way, don’t do it.
3. Tell everyone about Jesus.  Share the story of what God has done thru Jesus.  Tell how he has changed your life.  Invite them into a relationship with him.

That’s it.  That was my list.  I told him that was exactly how I thought Christians decided how to live their lives.  We make a series of choices every day based on the relationship we have with Jesus.    

I assured him that he would get lots of help in figuring all this out.  God left a book that has lots of examples about how to do this.  Christians live in community as family to help each other live this way.  And God gives His people His Holy Spirit to help them live these things out.

It is really not that complicated.

Blessings,

steve

I remember watching Monday Night Football on December 8, 1980. It was a relatively exciting game. The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots in overtime. The games in those days were still being announced by the classic team of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Don Meredith.

I don’t remember that game because of the action on the field nor because of the announcers. I remember it for another reason.

I remember that game because of what Howard Cosell announced during the game:

“An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous, perhaps, of all of The Beatles, shot twice in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival.”

Those were the words that shocked millions across the country. One of the most famous men in the world had been shot and killed. That’s the announcement that stands out in my mind.

Yet as we mark the 30th anniversary of that tragedy, I think something else Cosell said that night should be what we remember: “Remember this is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses.”

There are so many things in life that need those words attached to them. Remember this is just ____. So many things which seem important to us in the moment lose their importance when we confront issues of life and death.

Football games will be won and lost. Politicians will be elected, wars will be fought, businesses will rise and fall. Many things that will be the concern of the moment will be distant memories within a short amount of time.

What will really matter in the long run? What will be of lasting importance? Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) What will matter throughout eternity is whether or not we know Jesus Christ and know the only true God.

There will be tragedies in this world. Unspeakable tragedies, as Cosell said. But there will be no greater tragedy than failing to establish a relationship with Jesus.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Behold I stand at the door and knock …

It’s a process, you know. Rarely does a person move away from God all at once. Like an ember dying slowly in a fireplace, faith slowly disappears and is replaced by cynicism or, even worse, apathy. Instead of deciding to stop believing in God, most people just give up caring.

I stand at the door and knock …

Sin is often a gradual process as well. It starts with a temptation, like money left out at the store or an attractive co-worker who shows too much attention. Our thoughts focus on that temptation until desire takes over. A small sin leads to a bigger sin which eventually leads to a lifestyle. We look up one day and don’t recognize the person we’ve become.

If anyone hears my voice …

Even as we begin to give up on ourselves, God never does. He knocks. He calls. He seeks us out. Remember, this passage in Revelation was written to Christians. People who knew God, but had wandered away from Him. Like the shepherd looking for the lost lamb, God goes looking for His people.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door …

God wants to get back into our lives, but He won’t force His way in. We have to open the door. We have to respond to His call. We have to say, “Yes, I want you back in my life.” God is the Almighty Creator, yet He cares enough about His children to go looking for them. He also cares enough for them to allow them the right to choose. He knocks. He calls. We have to open the door.

I will come in to him …

It’s what God wants. He wants to be in relationship with us, even when we’ve wandered away, even when we’ve done things that we’re ashamed to remember. No sin is too great. No distance is too far. There is no door that cannot be opened. All we have to do is turn back to Him and open the door.

I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

There is something deeply personal about sharing a meal together. The Lord of the Universe wants to come to us, sit down and eat with us. He wants a loving relationship with us. So He knocks. And calls. And waits for us to open the door.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)

Open the door. Let Him come to you. Let Him wipe away your past and give you a fresh start with Him.