Apathy towards the Divine...

Personal News
As I knew it would be, October has been a BUSY month. Here's a quick run down (if you care... if not, skip to the "Personal Thoughts" section)

I got the honor of leading a child dedication (which is really a parent dedication if you think about it...) at the wedding ceremony of friends Stephen and Tiffanie the first weekend of October.

Then the 2nd weekend of October I officiated the wedding of Austin and Sara (Austin's sister, Courtney, goes to John Brown University, my alma mater, so immediately you know she is cool - as is her family and new sis-in-law). I also helped with a funeral for a wonderful lady who never had her own children, but raised 6 orphans and 1 other child in her native country of Chad.

The third weekend was this past one, and I spent it at the Main Event collegiate conference (it was great - as usual!).

And this coming weekend I officiate another wedding for Ryan and Nicole (which will be a ton of fun!). Still trying to decide if I should squeeze in Saturday morning at our Pastor/Deacon/Elder retreat.

Whew! Just having the Thanksgiving holiday in November makes for an easier month. :o) Already looking forward to it!

Personal Thoughts

Sticks and stones
May break my bones,
But words will never hurt me.

At the moment those words are untrue. I've had this sinking feeling in my stomach all afternoon after hearing the words of a friend. No, he didn't insult me. But he did insult my God. Basically he doesn't care if he goes to heaven or hell. He tried the "God-thing" and didn't get the results he hoped for, and so God went from top of his priority list to absolute bottom.

It saddened me for him. But it dawned on me why he was so unhappy in life (well, he would say he is "desensitized" to life right now). I told him that he had tried to make God one of the chess pieces in the game of life. And when the piece didn't get him the results or the advantage he wanted, he chose to ignore the piece. It didn't give him good results.

But then I told him the problem with that is that God is not a piece in the game, he is the maker of the game and overseer of it. To know how to play the game, we have to submit to the rulemaker - how did he design the game to be played?

As I read the "rulebook" (the Bible - and yes, this analogy is starting to get cheesy and break down so I will abandon it shortly), God wants us to play with a submissive heart to him. He is not some pawn to be moved in a formulaic way to get the results we desire. He is a holy living God who knows we deserve death, but has paid the penalty through the cross because he loves us and wants a relationship with us (see Romans 6:23).

What makes my stomach sick right now, though, is that my friend knows this, and is still choosing to thumb his nose at God and live life "his" way. And to hear those words hurt deep. Not because they hurt me directly. But because those words are actually revealing the hurt he is feeling, and he has chosen to be calloused so as to not feel the pain.

And if my friend reads this, whether you want me to or not, I'll be praying for you...