parasitic water and toothless smiles

Last night I got back from Mexico.

I went with a bud of mine named Josh. Josh is on staff at the same church I work at and oversees the middle school ministry. Josh will be bringing a group of soon-to-be-ninth-graders there this summer. Yikes. Please pray for him.

We went there and scoped things out. Since I have spent some time in Latin America, I also went with to make sure Josh was not left to be feasted on by the Chupacabra. I also had the opportunity to visit some missionaries that our church supports and to see the ministry they are a part of. It is called Esperanza Viva, it is located in Puebla, Mexico and it is quite amazing.

Puebla is about a two hour bus ride away from Mexico City and is surrounded by mountains, there is even an active volcano right close by... the journey there is amazing as long as you can avoid whatever movie is contaminating the environment. We were treated to "peaceful warrior" ... Kind of like the karate kid meets gymnastics.. which starred Nick Nolte as Mr. Miagi.

While Puebla is very beautiful... there is one underlying piece of it that complicates things... nobody drinks the water in Puebla. Not even the Chupacabra. Seriously... nobody can drink the water in Puebla. It is far too contaminated. It is not a matter of adjusting to be able to drink the water... Nobody drinks the water in Puebla.

In Puebla, bottled water is more expensive than Coca cola. When this is the case you can start to see how people are changed because of their surroundings. Given enough Coke and enough time your teeth will rot out of your mouth.

Did you know that you can use a Coke soaked cloth in order to loosen a rusty bolt?

It's also good for cleaning toilets.

So.. we've got a bunch of people pouring a tasty and wretched concoction into their mouths instead of something pure, clean, and rejuvenating. This troubles me.

I know I don't drink enough water. I have access to it, and maybe after writing this, I'll start drinking it more often.. but I am free to partake in something that is a basic human need, and although I have access to it, I don't really care about it, or think about it often, or drink it with the thanks that I should. I can get it for free and it is all around me, so why should I care?

When we remember what it is like to be without water... we begin to appreciate it.

After we have been out in the sun and our mouths are dried out... we care.

When we visit a mission and are allotted our 5 gallons to bathe with for the day... we care

when we are dehydrated from vomiting all day and slowly going insane in our concrete prison of a hostel, as we desperately search for just one little drop of water from the bone dry bottles on the floor... we care.. and we are willing to do nearly anything to get the water we need. We flip into survival mode... and we run out into the night looking for water. (some of you know it as the "both ends" story)

Most people reading this are in the same situation that I am right now. We have water and we often take it for granted. I am actually getting thirsty as I write this, so i am going to get some water right now.

refreshing.

I see some serious crossover with this concept though. I think we can take many things fro granted if we forget what it is like to be without them. This has spiritual implications as well. Maybe this is part of why it is so important for us to share our faith with others and invite them into the salvation that Christ offers. Not only is that something that is life giving for others, but it can remind us of what it is like to be "thirsty".

Now, I am not talking about "making christians" I am talking about living out what we believe. When we operate in the identity of Sons and Daughters of God we drink deep from the salvation that has been given to us. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control... these things are life giving and when we live these out we are sharing our faith.

We are given a choice in all of this. We can drink deep from the life giving water and share this with others.. or we can allow the acidic sweetness to stain our teeth and destroy our bodies.

We need to be intentional.

We need to remember what it means to be "thirsty", to be separated from God... and we need to live out our salvation by bringing water to those who thirst. In doing this we are reminded of what it means to thirst and we will desire to drink deep.

Mr. Reuss talks to children...

In two and a half hours a co-worker and I will be talking to a group of 1st graders about what we do for work and how it helps the community. This has forced me to ask myself a good question.

How does my job help the community?

I feel like I could have easily answered that question in the last season of life I was in. When I was traveling around, getting my hands dirty for Jesus, building relationships with the marginalized and lost, spreading the hope and love of Jesus in very real ways. I now am part of a large church as the Outreach Ministry Coordinator for the Emerging Generation. I work with staff and volunteers in the Emerging Generation and encourage an outreach focus within the different specific areas of ministry: Children, Students, Young Adults. My job is to empower the staff and volunteers into having a healthy balance of loving God and loving others in their ministry. If I do my job well, I no longer have a job.

So, I guess you could say that my job is to help people help people?

later that same day

They called me Mr. Reuss (pronounced "royce" - it's German), that was kinda cute, but made me feel old.

we help people help people

In about twenty minutes... that's what we ended up explaining to them, although the topic of conversation also deviated to snowpants, siblings, and airplane-dogs in short but very necessary little outbursts. 1st graders crack me up. They are passionate. They also ask some amazing questions and have absolutely adorable comments that even my abstract mind stretched to connect to what had just been said.

We have a trip to India scheduled at the end of this year, so i showed the kids on a globe how far away India is from the United States. The amazement that audibly filled the colorful walls of their classroom was contagious. Even more precious was the chorus of bright eyed "ooohs" and "aaahs" that came after I said that someday they might even be able to go there and share about how much Jesus loves them. It was as though I just pulled a cuddly rabbit out of a top hat, and could honestly promise them one of their very own someday. Their own rabbit... not their own top hat.

As I am writing this I am starting to realize how important that experience was for me today. Twenty minutes with a 1st grade classroom of little ones who love Jesus. They see things the way I should. When I asked them for ways they can help others out, all their hands pointed up to the sky without hesitation.

without hesitation.

They didn't even consider whether they knew what to say or not... they cared even more than that. They just knew they wanted to help and figured they'd come up with something to say.

Their willingness to act went beyond their ability to articulate the appropriate response.

This is the opposite of what I am used to dealing with.

When it comes to outreach, I can hear the "appropriate response" from people but there is, more often than not, a lack of "willingness to act".

When did we learn to switch that around? Apparently sometime after 1st grade.

"I can share my toys with someone who doesn't have any"

"you can tell a joke to cheer someone up"

"I can bring a friend to church"

"I can walk over to my neighbors house and tell them Jesus loves them"

These were among the many answers represented by those enthusiastic hands in the air. The kids were squirming, just trying to be patient before we allowed them to share an answer. You know that If I would have given the kid an opportunity to actually do what they said, they would have done it in a heartbeat, without a question.

Toys would be shared.

Laughter would begin destroying the grumpies.

A little kid would go to church with his friend for the very first time.

A neighbor would have their heart completely melted away as a little girl in a pink dress and a bright smile said "Jesus loves you" .

I feel like I should make some valiant attempt at encouraging us to all act more like children in our approach to loving others. Honestly, I am not sure what good that would do. I have heard it said and urged hundreds of times before, by dozens of people. I don't think it is about convincing. The children seem to get it, and sadly enough.. the children will probably eventually join the ranks of their complacent role models in the mosaic generation. Maybe in 18 years they will be reminded of how loving and faithful young children are, and how it is a shame that they are not like that.

or...

We might be inspired by the raw and sincere hearts that these children display so freely. Their desire to share kindness and possessions in the name of Christ might actually spark something deep inside of us that resonates.. because it is right. Maybe their reminder to us will be a call to action that paves the way for their future and ours. The way we live our lives now is an example for those little children, and....

Our toys are bigger and we have more of them.

The "grumpies" we can destroy with our love are much more severe and widespread.

We have way more friends, and opportunities to bring them into healthy communities.

We aren't limited to just our next door neighbors, and it might take more than a pink dress and a smile to get the point across.

... but if we approach these things in faith and love and with the willingness of a child, I can't even begin to imagine the impact it could have and what a strong testimony of God's love that would be. God blessed me with that 20 minute glimpse into His kingdom and I am left thirsting for more. So, let's break these cycles and get our hands dirty for the sake of Christ.... if your still not convinced, go talk to a 1st grader and they'll put you in your place.

pain and a rainbow

There it was...

I must have been in the perfect place at the perfect time... or maybe it was just a typical place at a regular time, with little perfection to be claimed... either way I saw one of the most beautiful acts of nature I have ever seen.

Have you ever had an experience you wished you could bottle up and carry with you... something so beautifully impacting that you wanted to remain in the midst of it... this was one of them for me.

...and, if you could remain in it, do you think it would retain it's beauty? Or is its rarity a critical part of what makes it so beautiful? Is the uniqueness of it what makes it stand out? Without the backdrop of familiarity would we really be able to appreciate these beautiful moments? Without some contrast we could not fully appreciate these experiences.

a rainbow.

The thing was so close that I felt like I could throw a stone and knock out the ornery gold hoarding leprechaun at the end of it. Vibrant colors filled the otherwise dim and unimpressive sky. I went to my car, preparing to grab my camera and take a picture of it... and then I made a wonderful decision.

The picture I intended on taking was never taken.

Instead of capturing an unsuitable glimpse of this experience, I decided to soak in the moment and remember it as it was... cherishing its beauty and creating a visual picture that would only improve with age, and knowing that part of what made it so special is it's uncontainable uniqueness. I realized that it was beautiful for a couple reasons... the bright spectrum of colors did stand out in the dim sky, which increased its beauty, and also I don't always have the opportunity to see a rainbow but when I do, it is special.

All this to say, beauty is emphasized and more deeply appreciated when there is contrast...

Rainbows stand out because the sky is normally void of them and we are aware of that.

Jumping into a pool of crisp refreshing water is amazing on a hot and humid Minnesota day because we have been sweating through our clothes and chewing on the thick air.

A little bit of salt makes sweet things taste even better because of the flavor contrast.

Fireworks suck in the daylight because there is no contrast.

Salvation is more beautiful if we understand there something to be saved from.

There it is.. you probably expected something like that to be said sooner than later.. we've got some spiritual implications with all this jazz. More on this later.

pain

Sunday was the close of the United Services at the church where I work. I don't want to comment on that overall experience in this entry, but I do want to point out something that took many of the young adults and I am sure several others in the congregation by surprise.

Jabez showed up.

The whole Jabez thing has been a running joke for at least a couple years in the young adult ministry at church. The word/name "Jabez" has become synonymous with "prosperity gospel" which many Christ followers, especially of the mosaic generation (those born between 1984 and 2002), are not very keen to.

This is the cheat sheet on what the "Prayer of Jabez" is...

It is used once in 1 Chronicles 4:10 and is a good example of an Old Testament blessing.

It is a prayer in four parts...

First, Jabez asks God to bless him.

Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory.

Third, he prays that God will be with him and stay close.

Fourth, he asks God to keep him from harm so he will be free from pain.


So... that is the "Prayer of Jabez" - If you hopped in a DeLorean, you could travel back to the distant year 2000 and find it at the local supermarket "impulse buy" section, near the register and next to the candy.

Great Scott!

So, this past Sunday... we had Jabez prayed over us to close the service and, in effect, our time of United Services. I know it was done out of good intentions, but there was one phrase I have heard brought up several times in conversation since then that has seemed to leave a sour residue behind.... the bit about pain.

While in the 1 Chronicles prayer there is a balance of cause and effect... being near to God and kept out of harm so that Jabez would not feel pain, the emphasis of the "blessing" on Sunday made it sound like the point was for God to give us grace so that we would not experience pain, almost for the sake of not experiencing pain.

The questions I have been hearing about this could be summarized with this...

Is feeling pain really a bad thing?

I once heard a story of a young girl with a medical condition that made her immune to pain.

Pain tells you that something is wrong. Pain is not in and of itself a bad thing... it is what notifies you that a bad thing is happening or just happened. Pain is a good thing.

Because this girl could not feel pain, there was nothing to stop her from allowing and in some cases causing her body to be destroyed. Her body would be damaged terribly, but was unable to tell her something was wrong or needed to stop. Apparently her baby teeth caused big issues... she would chew her lips bloody in her sleep, bite through her tongue while eating, and at one point put her finger in her mouth and stripped the tender flesh from it. It still damaged her, she was just unable to sense it. We should consider ourselves blessed that we do feel pain.. for feeling a little pain in order to prevent more serious injury is an example of grace.

So.. how is this stuff tied to salvation and rainbows?

One reason rainbows are so beautiful is because of their contrast with the rest of the sky... and pain is kind of like our annoying friend reminding us that there is something other than a rainbow up there.

In order for us to understand the significance of salvation it is important for us to recognize a need for it, but many times we rush our focus straight into the pretty colors of the christian rainbow without acknowledging the dark skies contrasting it.

When we experience the byproduct of sin in various forms... pain being one of them, we are exposed to these dark skies, and of our need for a Savior. Pain can be a reminder that something is wrong. Pain can be a warning that the decisions we are making are causing destruction. Pain is just one small reminder of our need for a Savior. When we look at the complete picture we are able to more fully appreciate the beauty in the midst of its surroundings.

rainbows and dim skies.... salvation and sin...

The bigger picture makes a lot more sense.

Let's take a good look at it.