Holes

I have been thinking a lot about holes lately.  No I am not thinking about donut holes, I am referring to the empty space that they left behind.   What gets bigger the more you remove?  The answer is a hole.  A hole does not have to be big in order to be significant.  The significance of the hole is found in what where it is found.  A large hole in a pair of jeans can make it fashionable; a small hole in a shirt can ruin it.

This week, I have been considering holes because there is a hole in the hearts and lives of our family.  Last year, my wife’s mother lost her short but valiant fight with cancer.  In March of 2012, she discovered that she had a brain tumor that had come from non-smokers lung cancer.  On May 02, she passed away.  Her passing has left a pretty large and significant hole in our family.

As you can imagine, this has been a pretty difficult year for our family.  That difficulty comes from learning to deal with the hole in our lives.  So you can understand why I have been thinking about holes.  The good news is that even though there is a big hole in our lives, we are not without hope.  Too often people live with holes in their lives and they don’t know what to do.  A loved one dies and the one left behind cannot keep going.  They live with the hole in their lives and they are so consumed by it that they just can’t seem to move beyond it.  Their lives become the hole.  So how do you learn to live with the hole?

If you have a hole in your jeans (and you don’t want to be fashionable), you patch them.  In order for the patch to be effective, it must be bigger than the hole.  When the patch is one, the hole is still there, but a repair has been made.  When a loved one dies and a hole is created, memories and even other people are not bigger than the hole.  They can fill but they cannot repair.  The only thing that is bigger is Jesus.  When Jesus covers the hole, you still miss the person, but your heart is repaired.  When Jesus is in your life, you not only find strength for today, but you have hope for tomorrow. 

If you have a hole in your life, Jesus can not only fill it, he can repair it.  Trust him today.

Terror in Boston: A Christian Response

I know its going to happen.  Some well intentioned but misguided person is going to put their foot in their mouth and proclaim that what happened in Boston today is God's judgment on America for ___________ (you fill in the blank).  I want to go ahead and apologize on behalf of all Christendom to you in advance.  When you hear someone say this, recognize they are not speaking on behalf of all Christians and I believe they are not speaking on behalf of Christ.  I know this because we read in Scripture Jesus' response to tragedy.

 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”  (Luke 13:1-5 NLT)

A tragedy occurred, Pilate had murdered some people as they were worshiping in the temple.  A tower had fallen in Siloam killing 18 people, another tragedy.  Did Jesus say that these events happened because of the sins of the people killed  Did he say that that these people were killed because God was judging their sin.  No, he did not.  In fact he said that was not the reason they suffered.  People in Jesus' day thought, as long as I go through life without anything really bad happening to me, I must be a really good person to be so blessed.  Jesus reminded them that we are all sinners in need of repentance. (even those people who proclaim that this is a judgment of God are sinners in need of repentance).  The rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Good things happen to all of us, and bad things can happen to all of us as well.  When good things happen to us it is not a sign that we are good, and when bad things happen to us it is not a sign that we are bad.  

The other reason I know that Jesus would not say that this is a judgment from God is because He said as he was heading to the cross, "The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this to indicate how he was going to die."  John 12:31-33  Jesus said God judgment on the world happened at the cross.  Jesus bore the wrath of God for sin. If we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior, our sin has been judged at the cross and we can be forgiven.  If we do not trust Christ, our sin will be judged on the day of His return and we will not find forgiveness. 

A Christian response to this tragedy is to weep with those who are weeping. It is to console and comfort and provide for those who are hurting.  A Christian response is to pray for those who are hurting.  A Christian response is to praise and pray for those who rushed in to alleviate the hurt.   A Christian response is to say this tragedy happened because sin is in the world.  A sinful person chose to do an evil thing.  But God loves this world even though it is sinful.  For He sent his only begotten son into the world that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.  For Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but through him the world might be saved.  (John 3:16-17)

Let us as believers respond to this tragedy like Jesus would.  Let us respond with a message of grace rather than a message of Judgment.  Yes, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.  Think about it.