Drive

My finger taps on the steering wheel as I cruise down the street listening to some Eric Clapton on the radio. My mind begins wandering as I think about the weather and I fail to see the car ahead of me and in the lane next to me slow. A moment later the car shoots out in front of me, within inches of colliding. Adrenaline kicks in and I slam on the brakes and veer into the oncoming lane. I slam on the horn and the other driver pulls away leaving me angry and in the wrong lane. I get back onto my side of the road and fume angrily at the obviously incompetent other driver.
  I was pretty mad. I almost got in a serious collision because of them. It was almost all their fault... Now that I think about it I wonder why I felt so mad. They didn't hit me. They didn't yell at me. I may have been in their blind spot. It could have been my fault. What made me so angry? I think I know. I felt like I was disrespected. I didn't deserve that did I? What a stupid thing to get mad over. What do I deserve? I deserve what Christ endured for me on the cross. I deserve death; the wages of my sins. So what if that person hit me? Who cares? Well I would care and they might but really, how insignificant is that in the grand scheme of things? I feel like I have some kind of entitlement to being treated good when I honestly don't even deserve to live. I deserve death. Not only death, I deserve Hell. Hot, fiery, torturous Hell. I deserve all this yet I have life. Not a finite life; I have an everlasting life bought and paid for by my kindsman redeemer.
  I deserved to crash. I deserved to crash and die and go to Hell for my sins. I didn't crash. I was put off the path of my sins and set on a different course away from destruction. How did I respond? How do I respond? I responded not by thanking God for protecting me or wondering about the other driver. Is it a he or she? Are they saved? Are they struggling in their life? I assumed it was all about me and how i was wronged and how they need to pay for their sin against me.
  Wow.
  That's scary.
  Thank God Jesus came and saved from that behavior. As can be seen from today, that behavior manifests itself every now and then in me. I'm a sinner. That's what I do; sin. But thank God I don't need to be under the curse any more. My life is changed because he didn't give me what I deserve. He took what I deserved (death) and gave me that which I didn't deserve (life). Our God truly is awe-inspiring.
  I've heard the saying, "Drive defensively!" Bull... Drive offensively. I'm not talking about cars, I'm talking about your life. Drive through life looking for Christ in every situation. Take the offense and seek Him out. You'll be surprised how He shows Himself to you.

After Darkness; Light

I read a book recently about John Calvin. Wow... what an amazing guy. When I say amazing I mean flat out, full throttle, Gospel preaching amazing. He was basically the superman of all preachers. There's a story where John Calvin was being hunted in Paris as a heretic by King Francis' men. The story goes that the men tracked down Calvin and were in hot pursuit when Calvin dodged them with some of his James Bond-ish moves. He changed out of his scholar's robes, threw on some ragged farming clothes, threw a hoe over his shoulder and walked straight past his pursuers. They didn''t recognize him and he escaped with ease.
    Not only was he a savvy traveler, he was also a fearless preacher. On several occasions he had to be guarded by friends and rushed out of town for his own protection. During one of his sermons in Geneva a group of men armed to the teeth with swords and daggers rushed the pulpit in an attempt to kill him. Some of Calvin's quick thinking friends circled him and made a human barrier to protect their minister. He didn't care about his own safety or health, he was going to preach. Calvin suffered from illnesses his entire life and even on his deathbed refused to stop blessing God and praying for his congregation. I mean, here was a man who knew pain and suffering. His friends were burned at the stake and he was hunted almost his entire life. He watched as his children fell ill and died, shortly followed by his wife and he still praised God. Does anyone else think this sounds a little like Job's trials?
   Geneva's city motto is, 'After Darkness; Light'. This phrase not only summarizes Geneva's history, it describes the entire Protestant Reformation. The darkness of the Roman Catholic church's heresy was sick and blasphemous, but as we've seen throughout history, God uses imperfect men to carry out His perfect plan. How much greater was the Reformation because of this sin? How much lighter is a candle when it sits in a dark room? Christ charges us to be the light of the world. What are we waiting for?