The Not So Triumphal Entry

               Aside from inspiring me to stuff my face with marshmallow chickens, eggs filled with peanut butter, and chocolate in the shape of bird eggs- this season always compels me, as well as most of the world to read over the accounts of the Passion Week in the Gospels.

                I was reading in Mathew 21 when Jesus rides into town on a donkey when something new caught my attention. Jesus basically tells His disciples to go to some random guy’s house and take his donkey. I knew that part, but Jesus also includes a colt in the request. So now they have two animals.

            Now I have never lived on a farm, or even near a farm. I don’t know much about livestock. Actually I know almost nothing about livestock. I was in Arizona a couple weeks ago and there were horses everywhere. Horses walking on the side of the highway, horses walking through parking lots and horses hanging out it people’s front yard- it kind of freaked me out. So needless to say I had to consult some outside experts on anything horse/donkey related.

            Thanks to that ever-flowing fountain of ultra reliable knowledge known as Wikipedia (I know it isn’t really but I’m addicted), I found out that the “colt” the passage is referring to is a male offspring of a donkey that is less than a year old. At first I didn’t get why Jesus would get a donkey as well as its baby to ride into Jerusalem. It seems like a young, untrained donkey would get in the way of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. I figured Palm Sunday must have been “Bring-Your-Kid-to-Work Day.”

            Then verse 5 messed me up when the writer quotes Zechariah and says “See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

            Wait, Jesus is riding the colt? He must not have known that this colt was less than a year old, probably very small, has never carried anything before, and is likely to just go crazy and run over a crowd of people. He must not have known that this animal might not be strong enough to hold His weight all the way into Jerusalem and might collapse at any moment with its rider with it.

            Jesus knew. He always does.

            In fact, He specifically asked for the donkey that hadn’t been ridden yet.

            Sometimes I feel like that donkey.

            Sometimes I feel too young, too inexperienced, too weak and too attached to my home stable to carry my Savior. I don’t feel qualified to be all that he needs me to be. The bottom line is that I’m not. I am not a valiant steed or even a full grown donkey. I am just a colt. He chose me anyway, just like He is choosing you.

            Can you imagine how ridiculous Jesus would have looked riding that little donkey into town as a multitude of people shouted His name and praised Him like a king? I’m sure the colt wandered off the path a couple times, probably stepped on a few toes, and more than likely almost threw Jesus into the crowd on more than one occasion. Jesus chose to have that thing carry Him into His fulfillment.

            The cool thing is that Jesus not only requested the colt, but also the donkey. The donkey was there the whole time so that baby colt never felt alone. Somebody tried to tell me that Jesus rode both of them at the same time which I cannot possibly picture in my head and really doubt actually happened but I do know that Jesus requested two beasts of burden and at least rode the colt. I imagine that maybe He switched off between the two of them. When the colt couldn’t take it, Jesus gave it a break. He knows what we can take, He knows how far we can go and He knows how to give us rest. He also knows that sometimes we just need someone there with us who is older and wiser to just help us out and keep nudging us forward, ever ready to share the load when we need it.

            So when you don’t feel prepared, smart enough, or strong enough just remember that you were chosen to carry your Savior into the world. He is a heavy load, and carrying Him where you’re going without getting distracted by the people around you is a daunting task, but it is a possible task. When you have a heavy burden on your shoulders it is only because you just have that much more to bring to the world.

            Imagine how confident that colt would have been after accomplishing that task. He could carry anything anywhere now.

Awkward

                This post has the potential of offending approximately 11% of everyone who may read it. The great fountain of reliable knowledge known as Wikipedia informed me of this possibility when it said that roughly 11% of all people are left-handed.

            I have a confession to make and I apologize in advance. I don’t like watching left handed people write, play guitar, throw a baseball or do anything with their left hand. It just makes me feel awkward. Whew, there, I said it.

            Now don’t get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against left-handed people nor do I think that they are wrong for not being “right.” They just make me feel awkward and if there is one thing I know a lot about, it is being awkward. I am 6’3, weigh 150 pounds and trip over my own feet almost daily- I know awkward. Even the word "awkward" is awkward- I mean what other word has a K sandwiched between two double Us? 

            We have a saying on the team that something is only awkward if you make it awkward. This doesn’t usually work for me because I seem to, by my very nature, make most things awkward. I would hate to see what it would look like if I was left-handed.

                I got to thinking how rough it is for left-handed people in a right-handed world. Every time they turn a door knob, use a spiral notebook, or change gears while driving they are reminded of the fact that everyone else in the world thinks differently than they do.

            Somewhere down the line, left-handers got a bad reputation. The English word “sinister” comes from the Latin word “sinistra” which could be translated “evil, broken, or left side.” That is kind of harsh when you think about it. Most cultures of the world have seen this 11% minority as something either to be feared or fixed. The bottom line is that right- handed people have no comprehension of left-handed people.

            We as Christians are left-handed people in a right-handed world. We see things from a completely different side of the brain than the rest of the world is seeing through and we wonder why they are always disagreeing with us. We get accused of so much because they don’t understand why we do the things we do when it all makes perfect sense to us.  

            Ever look at a politician and be completely confused as to what they are thinking? Ever try and share your faith with a family member and get so frustrated that they can’t see what is so obviously right in front of them? Ever try to explain to someone why you don’t want to watch a certain movie or listen to a certain song that love and find nothing wrong with?

            It is because you have the “mind of Christ,”₁ and they don’t. When Paul said that we have the mind of Christ, he was explaining why nobody understands us and thinks we are weird. It is why the world thinks we are awkward.

            It is why it can be so hard living in this world with instincts so contrary to what everyone else is doing. This world is not our home and I think sometimes we forget that. We aren’t supposed to be comfortable here because we have our eyes set on a “city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”₂ This world is not our home.

            If the world understands everything we do, we probably aren’t doing everything right. How could they understand why you would choose to forgive and love your abusive parent or the co-worker who spread false rumors about you? How could they understand why you would help a stranger out when you can’t afford to pay your own rent? Why would you skip lunch to read your Bible? Why would you get on your face and pray for your president instead of just complaining about him like everyone else?

            I think it is about time we as Christians embrace our awkwardness. We need to look different than everybody else. When something awkward happens, nobody knows what to do. All defenses are gone and everyone is looking for an explanation. We can never explain the hope that we have to someone who has never seen it in us and thinks that we are exactly the same as them.

            Let everything about your daily life remind you that you do not belong to the rest of the world. You don’t think like everybody else. You don’t do the things everybody else does. You are unashamed to be considered awkward because you are a follower of Jesus Christ. Don’t make yourself a righty just to fit in.

            What are some things you personally can do to remind the world (and yourself) that you are different? Let me know what you come up with.

_{1-1 Cor. 2:16 NIV, 2- Heb. 11:10 NIV}

What I Learned From My Little Brother

Sometimes God teaches me stuff through movies. Sometimes He uses food. Oftentimes He uses my everyday life.

            One place I never expected to learn about God and the life He created was from a little boy named Caleb. Here are just some of the things this incredible kid taught me simply by being who he was.

·         Life is a gift that is undeserved. Every moment of every day is something that has been given to us and should be appreciated. Life isn’t long enough to complain about it.

·         Smiles conquer more than powerful words of wisdom. It is possible with a few flexes of cheek muscles to bring new life to someone who needs it.

·         Schedule regular time to just sit and talk with people. Have no agenda, have nothing you want to get out of them- just enjoy the company and let them enjoy yours, regardless of how old they are.

·         Sometimes the smallest one in a group has the most fun.

·         Sometimes life happens in ways you don’t want it to, just keep smiling and make more than the best of it.

·         Sometimes butter tastes good just by itself.

·         When you find something you like to eat, who cares if you eat it every day?

·         Make the joke anyway even if you know you are the only one who will think it’s funny.

·         Have no shame for what you have gone through.

·         Never act your age if you are having more fun being yourself.

·         When you find a good friend -whether stuffed or real- never, ever, let him go.

·         No matter how small you are, there is always somebody smaller for you to take care of.

·         Return the favor. All Caleb wanted to do was be a doctor so that he could do what had been done to him- heal kids. Use the things that life has handed you to bring others through the things life is handing them.

·         Age and stature matters very little when it comes to changing the world around you.

My little brother changed the world in twelve short years. Someday I want to reach as many people as he did.

Happy Birthday Caleb Patrick Semple, you would have made an extraordinary thirteen year old. You are still teaching me things.

I Have a Reputation to Protect

                In one week I saw the whole spectrum.

                In one corner of the ring we have an earthquake in Japan where thousands of people are dying, lives are being upturned, and God is blamed for doing it all.

                In another corner we have Mardi Gras on the streets of New Orleans where sex and drunkenness run rampant while God is blamed for trying to take away everyone’s fun and freedom.

                Then there are the people with megaphones and picket signs who feel compelled to stand on said streets of New Orleans and scream to the people walking by that God hates them and can’t stand to look on their filth.

                I met a homosexual man who told me God made him that way and was now sending him to Hell for it.

                The consensus seems to be in; God must hate the people of earth.

                He topples innocent cities, robs people of any hint of pleasure they may have and then sends them all to eternal judgment.

                It seems safe to say that God has been terribly misrepresented. Who do we blame for that?

                

                Everybody and their momma has a Facebook page these days. These pages are supposed to represent who we are as people and for the most part, you could look at somebody’s profile and get a good grasp of who they really are. What if we are God’s Facebook page? What if God left it up to us to show the world who He really is, what He likes, and the kind of people He is friends with?

                It is a startling thought that the only image of God the world will ever see is the one painted by Christians. In this painting we have brush strokes from the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, blown up abortion clinics, ministerial scandals and everything else the Church is not proud of doing in our history. If the world has these bad ideas about the God we serve, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

                When a company wants to sell a product they need a face. They want to find someone whose very image embodies everything they want their consumer to want. They want the most attractive, most talented, most awe inspiring person they can find to appear on their commercial and tell everyone how great their product is.

                It is why NIKE wanted Michael Jordan to be their face because they wanted people to associate shoes with being an unstoppable legend. Ballpark Franks wanted him because they wanted people to eat their hot dogs and feel like they were a successful family man grilling like a champion. HANES boxers wanted Michael Jordan because… well, never mind.               

I think we as Christians forget that we were chosen by God to be on His commercials. We forget that we are, whether we like it or not, walking billboards despite how qualified or unqualified we are.

We are nobodies who were chosen from the crowd to embody all that the Creator of the universe is. God needed a face to reach His people and He chose you. How do we return the favor? We usually just put a plastic fish on the back of our car, vote republican and live quiet boring lives. I want more. I want to embody the Facebook page of the living God.

The God I serve loves beyond comprehension. He steps in when people need Him and isn’t anywhere near as concerned with temporary things as He is with the eternal. He easily sees past what people see and knows their hearts and the life they are capable of living. The God I know is dangerous.

It is about time I start painting a better picture of God to the world. What are people going to think of my God when I complain about everything or am cynical about everybody? What are they going to think when my life is predictable and safe? Wouldn’t that mean God wasn’t doing anything worth mentioning? What are people going to think about the love of God when I see thousands of people dying in Japan everyday and do absolutely nothing tangible to help?  What are people going to think about God when all I do is complain that helping Libya is costing us money when I should be on my face praying for the innocent citizens being massacred or better yet, for Muammar Qaddafi- a man whose quest for power is killing himself and his people? Didn’t Jesus die for him too?

I started writing this awhile ago and have had to stop several times. I couldn’t write something that I wasn’t living. I am caught in the chasm between good beliefs and good actions. This blog is my safe place, I can write anything and feel good about myself but it is in the real world where everything counts. Who cares if I can make people laugh or cry with the typing of my fingers if I let countless amounts of people go by me everyday who need to see a truer picture of the God who created them? I want to live my life with the full revelation that God loves the strangers I see at a gas station, tyrannical dictators, and homeless Japanese children. It has to be more than good intentions; the reputation of the King of Kings depends on it. I have to actually do something.

How well does your life represent God’s reputation?