Reaching out

The kitten darted back into the protection of an empty can of ranch beans. She was as orange as a carrot and as quick as a gazelle. Nobody knew where the little one belonged but all agreed that she couldn’t be much older than five weeks. How she had survived the many hazards of Pine Springs RV Park was beyond comprehension. From the security of her new armored cave the tiny kitten hissed and swatted at anyone who tried to come close. She had already bitten a very nice lady who discovered her hiding beside her trailer partially hidden under a mountain lilac.

 

Before long a plan was conceived and put into action to capture the kitten and get it out of danger and into the security of someone’s home. A simple cage with food was set out to lure the animal in. After several minutes, with everyone hiding just out of sight, the hungry, little  orange tabby creped cautiously into the cage as the park ranger let go of the string that held up the door. The little kitten, which could have easily fit into the palm of your hand, threw back her ears, bared her sharply pointed teeth and scratched several times at the air.

A phone call was made to a local pastor’s wife and within minutes she was on her way to claim the frightened animal.  Jane was excited to finally have another addition to their family as they had recently lost another cat to old age.

Once arriving at their house Jane prepared the bathroom placing the kitten and  cage on the floor and opened the door. The kitten quickly ran out taking up a strategic position behind the toilet where she felt safer to fend off predators. 

She was wild at heart and determined to stay that way. Many attempts were made to coax her out from behind her porcelain protection using a variety of foods, kitten treats and soft singing but the little tiger would not budge and hissed threatening to bite at every attempt that was made.

Jane imagined how the little kitten must have felt being born into a crazy, dangerous world filled with a variety of metal machine monsters. These steel giants not only towered over her but made loud terrifying grinding; clicking noises that sent her scurrying back to the protection of the can. The park was located at the edge of a wild forest area where many predators like raccoons, skunks, weasels, possums, bob cats, mountain lions and coyotes randomly wandered through Pine Springs in search of unsuspecting prey.  The little newborn kitten was an easy target.

Once Jane returned home she was eager to reach out to hold her new prize. She had a soft spot in her heart for small animals and without thinking quickly reached behind the toilet gently picking up the kitten. Immediately the cute little kitten transformed into a whirling dervish of fur, sharp claws and needle like teeth that pierced her flesh as she squirmed and churned in Jane’s hands. When the dust finally had settled there was not one finger without a wound. 

Bound and determined to pet the kitten, one of Jane’s children rolled up a soft, fluffy scarf and put it on the end of a long stick. Slowly reaching back towards the kitten the friendly soft balled up scarf began gently rubbing the top of the kitten’s head. At first she instinctively began to hiss and then as if a switch was turned on began to purr very loudly. 

The next day a stuffed animal was introduced instead of the fluffy scarf and it wasn’t long until the stick was replaced by the son’s warm hand. It was amazing to see how quickly the kitten responded to the family’s care, love and kindness.

Watching this entire story unfold caused me to pause and think about many people we meet in our lives as we work and wander through this world.  Just like the kitten many people have grown up or are living in situations where they are not receiving enough love, kindness or encouragement to mature into healthy, well adjusted people. Children especially need to feel secure and the ones who grow up without the love of a parent often develop defensive postures for life just was the case of the little kitten that was hiding behind the toilet.

 Reaching

When our Lord , Jesus of Nazareth, walked the earth he poured out His entire life to love, nurture and encourage people to thrive. He reassured people that their Heavenly Father really loved them. He never missed an opportunity to reach out to anyone who needed hope. People will eventually respond to us if we will do our part to reach out to them where they are with love.

The race

 The gears crashed as a loud grinding sound thundered from under the driver’s seat. The lead car had faded slightly going into turn seven and slammed into the railing sending the number two car spinning into the infield. As the number three car desperately tried to avoid the debris the side wall of a it’s rear tire overheated and exploded into shredded steel and rubber.  The car rolled several times before it went end over end finally coming to rest against the concrete T-rail barrier.

As the gun sounded several thousand contestants started out down Main Street. There was barely enough room for all running in the field as several runner’s tripped on the person directly ahead of them causing many athletes to fall to the ground. 

Everyone knew that the first mile was not supposed to be an all out sprint but several hundred people wanting to take the lead pushed each other to treat the first mile as if it was the last mile of the race. This caused several runners to fall out of the competition with severe side aches while the remainder slowed to a crawl allowing the larger pack to pass them.

Some of the runners, drenched with perspiration passed a beautiful shady park where the sprinklers were busy watering the rich green grass. Overcome with heat and exhaustion they left the race and cooled themselves under the protection of a grove of large maple trees.

 Nearing the halfway marker the race route passed several open air restaurants that were busy serving their customers lunch. The aromas of pasta sauce, peppered steak and roasted lamb poured out of the kitchen luring many of the contestants to drop out of the race for a place at one of the outside tables. 

Runner number 1047 had stayed in the middle of the group at a medium jog and had felt better and better as each mile marker began to fly by. She had prepared for the race, even running this same route just last week where she finished the entire twenty-six miles in record time. As several hours passed the lead group crossed the halfway point with a total of 500 runners remaining in the race. They were spread out over seven miles with only seventy-five runners in a position and competing for first, second or third place.

Robert was watching the clock as his work day neared the end. It had been a tough day at the Prairie Homes where Robert worked as a customer service representative. Robert was a young talented college graduate who had many new ideas that would have changed the way money was being squandered. If only the construction side had listened to his advice to have taken a little more time and built their homes right the first time they could have saved Prairie Homes millions of dollars in wasteful repairs.

After many months of being ignored at his job, Robert had lost his drive to persevere as he was given many impossible tasks as part of an ever growing work load. He left the compound that day overcome with anger and had not kept his eyes on the road ahead of him. He hadn’t seen the traffic come to a complete stop and plowed full speed into the back of a fully loaded tractor trailer. Robert died instantly at the scene as his smart car went completely under the rear end of a fully loaded tractor-trailer.

How important it is for all of us to keep our eyes on the finish line and not let up. We face so many trials and distractions that often times we get sidelined and are no longer of any use to God. Even daily distractions can take us out of the race where we are too busy with jobs, projects or stress to focus on things that are eternal. 

If you agree that we are in a spiritual battle then it is so important to know what our enemy’s strategy is as we battle his legions through our daily routines. His strategy, since he can’t capture your soul, is to “bench” you by taking you out of the game, battle or the race that we are running.

When we live a life characterized by sin it ultimately leads to death. Sin begins as a thought in our minds and if allowed to grow will mature into an action that will take us out or disqualify us from the race.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”

Tent maker

Paul was a tent maker. That was his trade through which he supported himself while visiting distant churches as he traveled the world. He did not want his work for God to be a burden on the local church so he very graciously took up the needle, canvas and thread. He met others while traveling who were also in the trade of sewing tents. 

Paul was a minister of God. He loved God and was helping to propel the church towards its final destination. Many would come along for the ride which would eventually end for Paul in the metropolis of Rome. He likened the Christian life to a Grecian Olympic race where only the ones who crossed the finished line were counted. 

He also likened our physical bodies to mere vapors which were here one moment and gone the next. Our bodies he allegorized as tents that only temporarily housed our spirits while we waited to be clothed with our eternal attire. He was so sure of this eternal destiny that he even asked the sailors, on an ill wrought ocean voyage, to throw him overboard in order to save every man on the ship. 

   

Paul planted many seeds in good soil that eventually sprang up into mature fruit bearing Christians all around the Mediterranean basin. He lived each day to the fullest and never missed an opportunity to lay a firm foundation in someone’s life. He didn’t let his physical weakness keep him from speaking the truth. 

Paul saw lives changed even in some of the roughest port cities of the known world. He never backed down when it came to the name and person of the Lord Jesus Christ. God was preeminent in his life and he suffered many stripes, beatings and prison for the sake of the gospel.

Paul had an eternal perspective. He knew where he was headed and he knew the way to get there. Personal gain was never a part of the equation as he selflessly worked to guide sinners to the truth. He continued to keep the law not because he had to but rather because of his love for God. 

Even as his own authority was questioned, Paul only pointed out how he and others were merely fellow farmers who were jointly planting seed, watering seed and reaping the harvest but that it was always God who had caused the growth. Never did he feel the need for personal acknowledgement as he endured the marathon to its final conclusion.

He showed us how to stand and fight against the powers of darkness and that the battle is and always will be the Lord’s. He showed us each piece of our armor, how to guard our vulnerable parts and keep our guard up to ward off the fiery darts of our enemy. He taught us to use our swords to slay the giants in our lives.

Paul showed us a great mystery of the church being the bride of Christ. He encouraged us to remember the covenant that Jesus made with His bride; to drink the cup and break the bread of remembrance as we allow the Holy Spirit to renew and cleanse us for our marriage to the Lamb.

 He reminded men that they should lay down their lives for their wives while gracefully encouraging wives to submit to their husbands. He reminded us not to be too hard on our children and to never miss a teaching moment with them. Although possessing superior knowledge of the scriptures, Paul never forced it on anyone but gently allowed the Spirit to draw all men to Himself.

He encouraged and led, held up a mirror for us to examine ourselves while reminding us that he  hated it when he missed God’s higher calling. He taught that the gifts were a promise to all believers and instructed us on the correct way we should use them. He even showed us the greatest gift of love which can only be received from God. 

This man was once a Hebrew of Hebrews but as God blinded him physically He opened his spiritual eyes forever. Paul lived and walked where ever he could to find the lost and gave everything he had to point them to Jesus. Seeing a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus changed him forever. 

Paul would eat meat offered to idols, worship on Saturday or Sunday and once told Timothy to take a little wine for his stomach. He counted it all joy to suffer for the gospel and is rejoicing in heaven with the Lord at this very moment. For salvation is a gift from God and not of works because we would and still do boast about our accomplishments. It’s all about what Jesus, our eternal tent maker, accomplished.