I’m glad we did it, but boy do we have a problem. He’s become a convert. At least once a week, he asks. When are we going again? I get
it. I got converted too. And I thought that could never happen.
But they got me.
They got me quick, the first night.
It happened at dinner. I was struggling
to choose between two entrées that looked
equally delicious. I asked the waiter what
he thought. And he said stunning words I
will never forget. He said. “Why don’t you just order both?” My next words just stumbled out. “You can do that?” Yes, I learned. You can.
That’s how almost everyone gains at least five pounds on a cruise ship.
And now my son, Patrick has converted too. He has fallen in love with those massive
ships. If you’ve ever been on one, can you
blame him? They are amazing. They set up
those small cabins to fit everything.
And on board they have everything, restaurants, clubs,
water-slides. It’s ridiculous. But
what amazes me about those ships is something Patrick didn’t even notice. But I’ve been on a good many boats and this
amazes me every time. Those cruise ships
don’t rock. They seem to hardly move at
all.
Our last night on board, I went down to read in the
ship’s library. The wind had picked
up. The waves had risen high. But our ship only swayed in the slightest. Only
if you concentrated could you even notice it.
That doesn’t just happen. Those
ships have massive fins called stabilizers.
When sensors detect any change in conditions, those stabilizers move
immediately to keep that ship moving smoothly, even placidly through the
waters.
Wouldn’t it be great if life had something like
that? When your life got rough, when things got rocky,
stabilizers would deploy and keep everything smooth. Now, they couldn’t change the conditions. The storm stayed there, slamming against your
life. But in the storm, something would
be working, to help you stand and not fall; to keep your feet on the ground; to
enable you to find joy on the stormiest of days. Wouldn’t it great if you had something like
that? You do. And in these words of Paul, God shows you that
way. Let’s listen and hear what God has
to say.
Life sends some serious storms your way. In South Florida, you have to take that
literally. But forget hurricanes. Life has more storms than that, deep losses,
health crises, painful conflicts. The list goes on. Heck,
just navigating life today feels choppy.
So much feels unstable. But in Paul’s
words, God gives you the key to stability in unstable times. God gives
you perspective on what will never change, no matter how much your life rocks
around you.
Every week, when I post my sermon on this blog and on Facebook, I almost
always change the title. I’ll call it
three keys to a fulfilled life or one truth you need to navigate tough times. In other words, I put out some click
bait. That’s what the internet gurus
call it. And it works. That’s why when you go on line, you have so
many articles with titles like that. I know
it works, because it works on me. If I
see one of those articles, giving me five keys to this or eight tips for that,
I’ll want to click every time. Usually,
if I do click, the articles disappoint.
They never really deliver what they promise. Still, I click. And millions more join with me.
Why do you want to click on something like that? It’s because human beings love a technique,
something you can do to get what you need or want.
Yet God works differently. God
doesn’t give you techniques as much as God gives you perspective. And that perspective has more power than any
technique could. What do I mean?
Many years ago, I heard a preacher talk about taking his
daughter on her first plane ride. As the
plane rose up, she looked out the window.
And her eyes grew big. Excitedly,
she pointed down and said. “Daddy, look,
little people, little cars, little houses!”
She thought she had discovered some amazing miniature world that had
existed all along. And her daddy explained
the power of perspective. The higher you
go, the smaller things get. So big
people become little people. Big cars
become little cars. Big houses become
little houses.
And that’s exactly what God does here, God gives the
power of perspective. Paul writes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, stand
firm in the Lord in this way. Well, what
is that way? How does Paul want them to
stand firm? He wants them to stand firm
by remembering the words he just said, things like, our citizenship is in
heaven. Or we are expecting a savior. He will transform us to the body of his glory. He will set all things right.
Paul is saying.
Don’t you get it? This is how
you stand firm. You get perspective, God’s
perspective. And when you do that, do
you know what happens? Big problems
become smaller problems. Hopelessness
become hopefulness. Anxiety turns into
peace. Death turns into
resurrection. You get perspective, God’s perspective.
Do you see how he does that with Euodia and Syntche,
who are fighting each other? He doesn’t
weigh in with his opinion. He doesn’t
even tell them to agree on the issue, whatever it is. Rather, he says agree on this. You are both citizens of heaven. Paul knows.
If they get that perspective, whatever the issue, it will work out.
In everything that follows, Paul is simply giving more
ways to gain that perspective. Pray yes,
but first thank God for all that God has given. Why? It gives you perspective. Think
on whatever is true, honorable. Why? It
gives you perspective. You don’t get
caught up in fears or resentments. You don’t
get obsessed by your problems or losses.
You get beyond that. You focus on
what God has given you. You focus on
what you can never lose.
And, God isn’t giving
you a technique here. God is giving you
the truth. Whatever you face, God’s love
for you always has the last word. The
storms of your life don’t. No loss or
setback you face does. Even death doesn’t
have the last word. God’s love has that. And this table proclaims that very truth.
On the day, Jesus died,
his disciples lost that perspective.
They fled in fear. They cried in
despair. In that cross, they saw defeat. But in the agony and awfulness of that day,
death wasn’t defeating God’s love. God’s
love was destroying death. And once
those disciples got that perspective.
Nothing could stop them. And in
the power of that perspective, of that love they transformed the world. Let this table do the same for you. Let it give you perspective, no matter what you
face. Let it remind you that God’s love will do
more in you and through you, even in your greatest losses than anything you
could imagine or dream.
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