Category Archives: People

Who’s the Best?

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Those silly apostles. In Luke 22 we see Jesus about to be betrayed, arrested and crucified – approaching the climax of His mission and ministry here on earth. Sadly, His closest followers seem oblivious. They are so self-centered they get into something of a fight.

“I’m a better Christ-follower than you, Peter, ” says one.

“You are not,” the burly fisherman strikes back.

“Wait a minute! I’m the disciple Jesus really loves,” says John, the beloved disciple.

“He’s just trying to make you feel good because you’re such an idiot.”

And so Jesus, with endless patience, interrupts.  He takes a conversation about greatness and makes it a lesson about our willingness to serve others. It’s a lesson we need every bit as much as they did:

Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. – Luke 22:24-27 (NKJV)

Who Does God Use?

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The short answer, of course, is, “Anybody He wants.” But if we think the question through more thoroughly, what we’re probably looking for is some characteristic in or about the person God uses that makes him or her most useful.

Two areas we often look, which are no special indicator of usefulness, are qualifications and giftedness. Qualifications are often more about rights than responsibilities. “I’m qualified in this or that way; therefore, I should be allowed to do or not do _____ .” Giftedness, on the other hand is more about potential than reality. The pathways of life are littered with gifted failures.

The best general indicator of usefulness might just be obedience, and a good example of that is found in the prophet Amos. The Scriptures give us no indication that Amos was a gifted speaker. Nor did he come into his ministry with any special education or experience. Nonetheless, Amos was willing and would do what the Lord called him to do.

The Lord called Amos to preach to the people of Israel, including Jeroboam the king and Amaziah the priest of Bethel. So Amos spoke and Amaziah told him to be quiet. (In that setting Amaziah was the one “qualified” to speak.)

“Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: ‘I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.”’” – Amos 7:14-15 (NKJV)

So God spoke through Amos, the shepherd and fruit-picker-turned-prophet – not because he was a shepherd or a fruit picker, but because he was obedient.  Amos went and did what God wanted – and no doubt He wants us to go somewhere, do something or say something too.

Remaining Watchful

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Yesterday morning at 3:00 AM the church’s burglar alarm went off. The alarm company called me – and I missed the call. Alas, I had set my phone to “silent”. When I finally woke up at 4:30 (no I don’t always rise that early) I noticed it, so I called the alarm company back.

Sigh of relief. They had been able to contact Debbie, who told them not to call the police. Good thing she lives right around the corner. I decided to spare Debbie the grief of another call that early (on a day off, no less, with the preschool closed) so I waited until later to ask her about the incident. If she said the police were unnecessary, then everything must be OK.

When the alarm people called, Debbie took a look at the place from her privileged vantage point and everything seemed calm and in order. A key detail is that only one “alarm zone” went off – in an isolated stairway/entrance. If someone was in there with evil intentions, there would be more alarm activity: motion in an office, opening of a crucial door, an attempt to disarm or disable the alarm system. Perhaps it was an animal. We’ve had both birds and bats in times past.

When I got there later, I noticed no living creature, but another interesting fact. A window in one of the classrooms was open. Wide open. That particular window is among the most accessible from the outside and it was open wide enough for a person to climb in or out. Flying creatures have normally entered through open windows upstairs. Moreover, it’s hard to imagine it was left open by accident on Sunday. It’s late December and Jake and I checked all the thermostats, doors, etc., as usual. Not likely the gaping window would have escaped our notice, but it may not have been latched securely.

There is no apparent damage to the place and nothing seems to have been taken. Perhaps fear gripped the prowler after he made entry and he fled. Maybe the sound of the alarm scared the intruder away. There are some real lessons here, mostly regarding watchfulness:

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. – 2 Timothy 4:5 (NKJV)

  1. Be watchful all things.
  2. Always check all doors and windows to make sure they’re tightly closed.
  3. Keep the alarm set when no one is in the building.
  4. Thank Debbie for answering her phone at 3:00 AM.

Family Traditions

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I waver in the area of traditions, unsure whether I like them or not. My problem is that traditions and ruts are close relatives – the first being good, the second an evil twin – and I have trouble telling the difference. And once the purpose is lost the first can transmogrify into the other.

Our family has a very good Christmas Eve tradition. We spend Christmas Eve with the Barnabys – three generations of us and of them. We’ve done this now for several years and it’s a tradition we intend to continue. Family traditions are good when they bring families together.

What brought us together at first was the Polish emphasis on Christmas Eve and the Barnabys’ willingness to do something with us. Poland has serious traditions surrounding this particular evening. We’ve watered them down considerably, but enjoy what we do as we do it.

For example, an authentic Polish Christmas Eve meal must have twelve different items. We didn’t actually count and no doubt fell short, but since we were all ready to explode anyway, we didn’t care. My apologies to Polish purists, but we left out the carp completely, a Christmas Eve essential. No sense exploding over an overly bony fish that would be hard to find in Indianapolis anyway.

And we sang a few Christmas carols. And we enjoyed just being with the Barnabys. Family traditions are good when they bring families together.

Eliza i Kuba BarnabowieWigilia2007 Wigilia2007