More Unintended Consequences

Clearly the consequences of our actions is not always foreseeable:
– Sometimes harmless pranks go horribly wrong
– Oversights have lead to industrial accidents
– Forgotten oil plugs destroy car engines

On a more personal level, sometimes…
– Friendly banter is misunderstood as flirting
– Couples breakup when they want nothing but
– Partyers having fun get alcohol poisoning
– People try meth and become addicts
– Teens have sex and become unintended parents
– Parents try to build a relationship with their kids and it seems to backfire

Even More Unintended Consequences

Unintended Consequences

The German weekly Der Spiegel has a report about the unintended consequences of child labor laws in one Pakistani city known for producing soccer balls.

Apparently children were frequently employed in the factories, until child labor “advocates” in the West forced companies like Nike and Adidas to ensure that their suppliers weren’t employing children. But what happened to the kids? Surely after they were freed from their toiling in the factories they went to school and now have well-paying office jobs, right?

People do what they do because somehow, some way, their hopelessness craves for hope.

Someone bombed the Boston Marathon Monday. Someone, somehow found some level of hope in creating horror for someone else.

That grain of truth is what they grasp onto and that allows them to justify their choices.

“None of us,” wrote Christopher Wright, ” needs to be scratched very deep to uncover the darker depths of our worst desires and the evil action any of us is capable of, if pushed.” Moreover, while we are not the overt cause of others’ suffering we cannot escape it’s consequences. 1

As he hung on the cross Jesus Christ quoted Psalm 22: Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

God asked God, “Where are you God?”

As we watch the news, view the video footage, listen to the radio hosts rant, discuss the events with others and ask our questions of God, it’s important to remember we are NOT alone. Pain and painful events make us ask the hard questions when life goes very, very wrong.

Jesus Christ’s journey meant that he spent time at parties, dinners, friends’ houses, and enemies’ houses. 

He learned.
He listened.
He told jokes.
He gave hugs.
He laughed.

Jesus explained to the the people, “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.“

“The Pharisees objected, ‘All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.‘” 1

I couldn’t agree more.
Not with Jesus.
With the Pharisees.

The Journey Is As Important As the Destination

Traveling through the Twin Cities today has been anything but easy.
– Lengthy delays
– Slippery streets
– Stressed drivers
– Exhausted snowplow drivers
– Anxious bus drivers
– Fed up commuters
– Snow-day praying students who got a “no” answer

Our Destination

Our destination is just a tiny slice of our journey.
– We worry about approval
– We strain toward goals
– We stretch for benchmarks
– We dream about the future
– And too often we miss the present

When we’re fixated on the next, we miss the now.

If you feel like a mess today.
If you know someone who feels like a mess today. 
It’s not the end of the world.

She’s not alone.
He’s not alone.
You’re not alone.

We ask questions about life, death, and the meaning and purpose of life. Together we ask, “What’s going on?“

“We all have a hunger for certitude, and the problem is that the Gospel is not about certitude, it’s about fidelity.”

Our struggle with faith is somewhat universal.  God doesn’t make it super-easy to believe, but believe is what God wants.  True belief, not based on guarantees that are indisputable, but belief based on a relationship.

It’s been a busier than normal week.  As I’ve waged war with my schedule I have thought quite a bit about this insightful quote by John Powell.

“All of us are willing to admit pangs of hunger and feelings of emptiness inside us.  We experience half-formed dreams and vague drives for something more than human resources can promise or produce.  There is in each of us a dynamic, a mystique or drive that, unless detoured by humans selfishness, leads to search for God, whether we know it or not.“

I am searching for God.  Today and every day I’m praying, “Please God help me…”

“Hands down, Jesus has drawn more attention and interest than anyone who has ever breathed the air of this planet.”

The author invites us into a deeper examination of what “Simply Jesus And You” might mean, “what does it really mean to enter into a relationship with God’s Son? What does it mean to invite Him into our lives?”

Answering his own question he expands, “A relationship with Jesus is not about us. It’s about Him. He didn’t die for us to advance His cause or hawk His wares. He died for you because He loves you, and seeks to welcome us into a growing and satisfying fellowship with Him. And it is in the confines of that fellowship that He graciously and generously bestows the blessings and benefits that only He can provide.”

As the NCAA Basketball Tournament continues I think back to the only basketball tournament I even played in.  For some reason the adult league in which I played allowed most if not all teams to play in the end of the year tournament.  Injuries, absences and poor play contributed to our team’s terrible record, but during the tournament all the pieces came together and we nearly won.

I love playing defense, and then, and now, I played with determination and success.
On the other hand, I dreaded every time I had an open shot.