Repent ... then Relent

I caught the interview with Tiger Woods on ESPN's Sports Center while at the gym. I saw the stoic expression and listened to the guarded words. ESPN informed us repeatedly that the interview was going to last only five minutes. It timed out at 5:18 and the studio hosts were quick to pounce on the questions they felt had to be answered. Yet, with Tiger being careful with his words, they were left to flail around with guesses.

I caught myself saying "Enough!" As I looked at that flat affect, it was the look of a man engaged in battle. He was - as the old saying goes - "shell shocked." In the immortal words of the cartoon, Pogo, "He has met the enemy and he is us!" It's tough to look in the mirror and see with new eyes that the cause of all the problems and heartache is staring right back at you. There comes an unreal quality to life where one just hopes that this is a bad dream. But, when you do finally wake up ... you're neck deep in the mess.

Let the man get on with his rehabilitation. He has apologized to those who had the greatest stake in his transgressions. He has admitted responsibility, so back off.

I'm amazed (although not really) at those who either want the proverbial pound of flesh or the salacious details. The public - through some of the media - proclaims its hurt because they "believed" in Tiger as an icon of what was good and noble in life. So, when he turns out to be human, when he shows himself to have feet of clay, the worshipers turn and savage him. who knows why. Perhaps it's because their shortcomings are magnified in him. Perhaps, their misplaced worship is now tarnished. That is "their" problem, not Tiger's.

It's time to relent. In repentance, God never lets us off easy. The tale that comes to mind is that of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus ran off her accusers - not because she was innocent - but because they merely confused the issue. When this woman is face-to-face with the Son of God - the one who would pay the penalty for her sins - His words were both gracious and firm.

"Go your way." Get on with your life. Your accusers have been dealt with and your own guilt has been forgiven. But, it's the second part that brings the cure - "... and sin no longer." This is the spiritual developmental task that will take the rest of her life. She will spend the rest of her days living out the repentance she has asked for and the forgiveness that is freely given.

I have no idea what Tiger Woods will do from this point on. He says that he lost his bearings from the teachings of Buddha that his mother had imprinted on him. I hope that he would discover one who would not just ease the guilt ... but One who would take it away ... forever.

2 Kings 3-4

Life Interrupted

This evening I will be heading over to the home of one of the participants from our church. She is about my age and is scheduled for a mastectomy on Wednesday morning. She's struggling with the interruption of her life. And, I can't say that I blame here. It's one thing to see something coming years off; it's another to just have your life turned around in one day. This was not what she was expecting for this year. She was expecting her practice to expand and a wedding to be planned. Instead, it's weeks filled with apprehension and doubt.

I will be going over to pray for her based on James 5:13-15 (NIV) "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven."

I can exegete this passage along with the best of them ... but it is still a mystery to me. I'm going in obedience to God's Word ... not because I completely understand what James is saying. I realize that there is nothing "magical" in laying my hands on another. I am well aware of my impotence. I have to conclude that this is what God wants. The realization that man - by the shear dint of his or her will - cannot effect a change. It has to be something that God does.

I still rest my hope on Jesus words in John 9:3 (NIV) "... but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." I'm praying that into the life of this woman.

2 Kings 1-2

When Giants Win

This last month I was given a copy of the movie "Facing the Giants" to watch. It was an entertaining movie with a wonderful message. It's the story of a beleaguered football coach at a small Christian high school. After a number of losing seasons and with a disgruntled fan base, he makes the decision that winning is not the highest aim. The goal has to be God's glory. He makes a private commitment and then sells the concept to his team. The somewhat predictable story line has this team make a complete turnaround. At the climax of the story, the team wins the championship game because they wanted God to get the glory.

I found myself tearing up at times, especially when the coach drew a line in the sand for himself in regard to his commitment to God. But, in light of everything that I face as a Christian and as a pastor, I had to ask, "Don't the giants win more times than not?"

For every last-second touchdown and miraculous cure, there is the cancer that doesn't get healed, the home that still faces foreclosure, the depression that never lifts. What do you do when the giants beat back your best effort?
A friend - traumatized by a cancer diagnosis - called and said, "I don't know where my faith went. I had scores of people praying for the biopsy. I was sure that it would come back benign. Now, I don't know if I have enough faith to continue."

There are a number of fine Christian aphorisms that can be shared at this point, but since my friend is a pretty astute believer, I just kept my mouth closed. The only thing I could offer was Jesus' words "My Father is working even until now, and I am working, too."

What we may see as a fatal diagnosis, a no-win scenario is still open-ended in God's perspective. The difficulty is that we want the win now! God says that we've already won, but the victory parade comes later.

Jesus told Mary and Martha at the death of their brother and his friend Lazarus, "I am the resurrection and the life." Although the resurrection is an event in space and time, it is mainly a person! Just like with the issue of salvation, God didn't send a system of belief to deal with our issues; He sent His Son!

1 Kings 21-22

Indolence

I had a physical this morning. New doctor ... new location and the same old anxiety. "I really should exercise more." "I wonder where my blood pressure is going to be." "Am I going to get back any flexibility in that right hip?" Questions that I had put off for months were now circling like vultures over road kill.

During the day before, I made all the right resolutions. Plans for working out, eating better and taking care of myself rolled across my mind like a well-ordered army. Then one more word scrolled across the screen of my mind. Indolence.

The dictionary defines indolence as "the tendency to be lazy." It's not laziness personified; it's just leaning in that direction. It's staying in bed when life urges you up. It's staying in bed because you haven't thought about the big picture of your life; just the fact that you don't want to face the day.

Well ... the day is going to come whether you want to face it or not. It's just a matter of whether you want to move about the day, the week, the month in an orderly manner or one would rather have things pile up so that you have to cram it through at the end. I hated this when I was a student (didn't keep me from doing it); and I detest it as an adult.

Why? It's because it robs my leisure and recreation time of joy. I take a break because I am sick or worn out, not because it's part of the natural rhythm of life. I don't end a time of leisure with a smile, but rather with a groan because I haven't fully rested.

1 Kings 19:11 (NIV) "The LORD said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.'" This is what I want to do this morning "stand in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."

1 Kings 19-20