Sometimes we refer to them as Monday morning quarterbacks, with the ability
of 20/20 hindsight to either indict them or release them from their decisions.
Sadly many have never played the game, but still feel free to offer the wrong
advice whether it is asked for or not. Opinions, are like Hondas once were,
when everyone had one, but like the popularity of Honda, things change with
time. We may not all have a crystal ball, or insight to the future, but 100% of
us have the ability to look back, run a post decision review, and see if what we
did was right or wrong. And then still go on making the wrong mistakes. Such
is the way of life for us, making the decision we would have made more important
than the situation the decision was made in. And in discussions, the question
comes up “what would you have done differently?” Sadly the answer soon becomes
all about us, just like 99% of our prayers, and only a merciful God gives us the
chance to be wrong again, or right. Maybe football plays and decisions that
fail may be a bad example, but what would you do if asked in a pressure
situation? Who calls the plays in your life, and then who takes the
responsibility for them?
Harry S. Truman once said “the buck stops here,” even put a sign on his
desk announcing it. You had a problem, Harry would solve it, whether you liked
it or not. But at least you knew where he was coming from. Listening to Mayor
Guiliani talking about 9/11, he made a comment that has stuck with me, and maybe
some insight into making better decisions. First things first. The medical
field calls it first aid, we dial 911. But his remarks about the 9/11 bombings
were different than what I had heard. We now have the ability to look back, and
see how things played out. Back then they didn’t know how long, how many, how
much, or when the attack would end. So they responded quickly, “do something!”
and deal with the problem at hand. Deal with what is immediately in front of
you. Just like we do in panic situations, right? Not panicking in a panic
situation? Or are you still taking a picture with your phone....is it set on
photo in case of an emergency? Do you know the number to 911?
But it affects our daily lives also in our prayers. We don’t know the
future, how long the situation will exist, or how it will end. A man and his
scripturally educated friends once told me I wasn’t nice, because I diffused a
situation harshly before it escalated. Rather than take their abuse too, I
confronted the man, using his son as an example. “If your son is playing by the
freeway, do you stop and tell him it is dangerous? Show him stats on kids hurt
while playing as such, equip him with a helmet and cell phone if an emergency
arises, or tell him “STOP, NOW” and get him away from the danger?” His answer
was I would get him away, he’s my son, no matter how rude it sounded...doing the
right thing isn’t always politically correct. The decisions we make today will
definitely affect tomorrow, now what have you learned from this? Bad decisions
may make better stories, but they are still bad decisions. And the only way to
get God’s mercy...yet some are still snatched from the fires of hell by their
collars...
Paul knew in his heart that he was to share the gospel in Rome. God just
never told him how he was to get there, or the events surrounding it. For like
us, we would take safest route, and miss out the road God had laid out for us.
It is in these tough times of indecision that God offers us his spirit to
comfort and assure us he is with us, and if he says it, it is truth. All the
men on the ship were in the same danger, only Paul heard from the spirit via an
angel, reassuring him that what God had said would come to pass. Through the
storm, not around it, not knowing when it would end, or how God was going to do
it. The pressure and danger was the same for all, but the comforting of the
spirit gave Paul a reassurance that he could share with the others. A testimony
of God’s faithfulness and love, that would later give his words strength and
authority, his testimony. Remember Peter’s walking on the water, but how many
times do you hear about how Jesus promised his men that he would meet them on
the other side? Where they ended up immediately when he was in the boat with
them, no matter how bad the storm, his word is true. So there is hope in any
situation you face today, and when inspired by the spirit, you see the words on
the pages of scripture come alive, give you a testimony, and your relationship
in Christ goes deeper. Not by what you read, but in the midst of the storm
seeing it all come alive!
The spirit reveals what Christian faith is all about, not the situations,
but the one who controls them. In the spirit we have secret hidden resources
that the world doesn’t, for it is the spirit that reveals the mysteries of
Christ, the things to come. Then we need to trust the Lord for his how. This
is one characteristic of Christianity that should happen all the time, if you
had a chance to see your life via instant replay, what would you change? My
answer is easy, “nothing,” for God has all things under his control, and in the
tough times when I was weak, he was stronger. When I doubted, he reassured me,
and when in the storm, he promised the other side. Which is where all believers
will be some day, crossing over to the other side, how many caught that meaning
when Jesus said he would see them on the other side? Another precursor to
resurrection, remember Peter yelled “Jesus, save me!” Both his life and his
soul. Hmmmm....
And so man plans and God laughs, just like Jesus wept over Lazarus, because
we don’t get it. The message is true, his son truth, yet we don’t believe. A
friendly, chuckle not at us, but one of “when are you going to get it?” And
since he knows, and has set the path for us, he smiles one of love, not of
emotion. In Jesus the buck stops here, and life displays that. His love. No
Easter without Good Friday, no resurrection without death, and no forgiveness
with no sin. And he knows how we will screw up again today, yet will get us to
the other side. The question is, whose side are you on? How good is your
vision, all hindsight or foresight? Why not trust the future to the one who
knows it, and trust him today. Today was once the future, as today was tomorrow
yesterday. Or is your life best described as sacrifice is better than
obedience? Obedience is better than sacrifice, all expressed in God’s answers
to our prayers. The most important part of prayer, listening....for Jesus
didn’t say he who has a mouth let him speak, but he who has an ear let him
hear.
Just for history’s sake, Honda never mentioned the word motorcycle in their
ads, the stigma of The Wild One still present. Does your life, your actions
mention Jesus, or are you still not over it?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com