God's Mess

Day 83- SHAZAM! Let no one look down on you because of your youth, but set the example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 NIV I saw SHAZAM this week! It was a great movie. A teenager received superpowers but did not know how to use them. An older woman approached me afterward. Her mom was in the hospital and in her eighties. She said people see an older woman. Deep inside, she is a fun nine-year-old girl. People can lose the kid inside or get criticized for tapping into them. That was healing. This was someone who understood that we need childlike fun. I experienced criticism in the past for it. We need balance. An inner nine-year-old can't always come out because of our responsibilities. We can let them appear when I do a character for VBS. I sing in front of a live audience or in my fun convertible. Dress up to make people laugh. Then SHAZAM, he is there! There are the naysayers. They can get critical of the leader who dressed up like a tree elf. Spaghetti and maple syrup poured all over him- all for the cause of raising money for local police. Then spent a week dressed as a spy to make children laugh and teach them about Jesus. The inner child that sang in the middle of a store. The sales associate selling cable believes he is an Australian. Whatever it is, I encourage us. Jeffrey the Giraffe said, I don’t want to grow up. I’m a Toys R Us kid. Keep your youth. Stay young and have fun. Help us never to forget our inner child. Even in our faith, Lord. Then help us remember we need to let loose and enjoy life sometimes. In Jesus’ name, amen. Day 56- Throwing Stones When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 NIV The account of a woman being labeled an adulteress is one of my favorites. Here was the first issue. Leviticus 20:10 says they stoned the man and woman caught to death. Where was the man? The teachers of the law set it up. Then threw her before Jesus as He wrote in the sand twice. He wrote because He is God. He made the law they condemned her with. God penned it with His finger twice and gave it to Moses. They wanted to trap Him. If He told them to do it, He went against Roman Law. He went against Hebrew law if he said no. He said the perfect answer in verse seven. He forgave her for her sins. Why? Because He can. The issue is that I get excited when I read it—cheering at how Jesus managed everything. They got disappointed because they were going to stone her. Then He reminds me. Sometimes I am the one throwing stones. Someone caught in the act of sin gets judged by me. I condemn someone who’s a mess. I don’t allow them to make mistakes but criticize what they did. Jesus told me to cast the first stone. I always see myself as the one Jesus saved. Then I pick up that legalistic or religious rock and hurl insults. We could have the stone. I pray we are more like Jesus, forgiving the person than throwing our religion at them. Help us not to hurl insults at people, Lord. We all make mistakes, so remind us of that. Then help us show towards others. In Jesus’ name, amen.