Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Bad things...

I have been asked this question for some time now and I feel it is time to address it.
What do bad things happen to good people?
I know we ask that of ourselves so many times. We are doing our best to live good lives and out of nowhere something bad happens.
I have been swamped with these situations this past week. Let me give you a couple of example.
One of my coworkers has been diagnosed with cancer and given a year to live, he is three years older than I am. Has a wife and a young son, mid forties is way to young to be evaluating the end of your life. We have a mother with a new born son who is in the hospital battling pneumonia. They are running test after test and everyone is scared to death of what they will find. We have another family that is going through a bad situation that just recently came to light. We have another couple who are expecting their first child in a few months who just had to come up with a significant amount of money to cover some dentist bills and a hot water tank that just died.
I won't even get into natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti, or the mudslides, flooding and other disasters that have ravaged the earth.
So the question is why? Why would GOD allow such things to happen to good people.
I can only say this, I can't see what the future holds, but GOD can. He does not exist in a single space of time but he exist in all times, past, present and future. And the situations that happen in our small point of time affect the situations that happen in the future.
I had a man tell me once of being in Dallas on the outer loop traveling along and finding himself in an exit only lane and unable to get out of it. So you guessed it, he got off on that exit, had to backtrack to get back on the outer loop and added about five minutes to his trip. As he finally got back on the outer loop, a couple of minutes later the traffic came to a standstill and he was caught in a traffic jam. When he finally got to the problem he found out that a plane had crashed on the road trying to land. When he read the reports later he realized that he would have been right in that area of the crash had he not taken the exit by accident.
I know you are thinking that no one lost their life. No child was left fatherless or motherless. No husband lost his wife or vice versa. That seems to be the most tragic thing that can possibly happen. Whether it be from sickness, accident, disaster, the death of a loved one is hard to explain.
So I pondered this and thought, what did GOD feel when his son was dying on the cross? He could have stopped it with a spoken word. He could have changed the scenes that would be played out when JESUS prayed in the garden, "take this bitter cup from me..." So if GOD had changed what would the consequences have been. First we would not have the sacrifice of the perfect lamb to wash away our sin. Secondly, there would be no bruises and stripes to pay for our healing. And thirdly JESUS would not have died and therefore would not have rose from the dead on the third day giving us the hope of a resurrection as well. If JESUS had not have died, he would have continued his earthly ministry and the gospel would have never gone beyond the area of Judea and Jerusalem. JESUS would have lived to a ripe old age I am sure but the promise of healing, resurrection and the sacrifice for sin would have been compromised. Did JESUS suffer while in the hands of the Romans and the Pharisees? You bet he did, and he did not deserve any of it. It is the classic case of bad things happening to good people. But GOD sees ahead of time, and as soon as Christ ascended he was made aware of what his sacrifice meant in the span of time. And because of his sacrifice we who surrender our lives to him are promised of an eternity in his presence, never to face sickness, disaster or death ever again. So yes, bad things do happen to good people, and in many cases even better things happen farther ahead in time because of our trials today. Just remember it is all in GOD'S hands, and he works for the good of those that love him.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Weird...

I am writing this blog report from my wife's old computer which has one of those angled keyboards. Needless to say my fingers are wondering what we are doing on this funny layed out thing. It is amazing how comfortable we get with the norm.
Normal is like plain old tap water, pretty good but add a little tea bag, some sugar and it gets a whole lot better. The only problem is that many of us never get out of the norm to experience anything different.
I remember the old TV show, Cheers. In that Sam Malone (why I remember this stuff and can't remember what my passwords are, where my car keys are or what my travel plans are for next week is beyond me) anyway, Sam has this bar where "everyone knows your name" and there are some regulars like Cliff, the know it all. Dr. Crane the guy who doesn't belong. Woody the bartender and this guy named Norm. Now Norm had his own special place, it was where he normally sat. When Norm came in it was normal for everyone to call out Norm! I remember one episode or maybe I dreamed of one episode where Norm came in and no one called his name and there was someone sitting in his stool. So Norm sat as close to normal as he could, right next to his old barstool like he was waiting for the guy to leave. But the man didn't leave. Norm sat there for like three minutes and finally got up and said, "this is not normal" and headed for the door. Everything was out of sorts for him. He came back later and his stool was open and they all cried "Norm!" and everything was back to normal.
So why did I type all of that? Well normal sometimes can become a prison that keeps us from enjoying things in life outside of our "normal". So try doing something different, you just might like it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Is it just me?

Or was the Pro Bowl last night uninspired? I used to love to watch the Pro Bowl, there were so many tangibles you could grab onto. First there was the coaches, those guys usually decked out with team paraphernalia sans sleeves or not, with scowls on their faces during the regular season always seemed like real people during the Pro Bowl when it was in Hawaii. First they were all sporting a tan, these guys who are used to 14 hour days under the fluorescents or in the darkened film room actually seemed to glow at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii. And those Hawaiian shirts, didn't you just love that look? And add a lei to it and you have Ground and Pound turned into Surf and Turf. You have Cover Two turn into Hang Ten. You have these guys strung tighter than a banjo string, all of the sudden flashing a "hang loose brah" sign from the sidelines.
And the players, they actually seemed to enjoy themselves. I know no one is going to light someone up on a screen pass, that receivers actually feel safe going across the middle, unless Ray Lewis is in the game and then you kind of worry if he might think it would be funny to blow you up when you least expect it. But the players seemed to relax, to chill, to just soak it all in, to enjoy it.
Last night's game although in Miami had all the glitz and glamor of a Pro Bowl but it was lacking those intangibles that made it must see TV. It rained, for the entire game. It never rains in Hawaii, not at game time. It was cold, well by Miami standards it was cold, lower 60's which I am sure the players enjoyed but this game is for the fans right? Who wants to sit through a rainy cold game when their is nothing on the line? In Hawaii it was 80 and sunny! Where else do you want to be if you are a Minnesota Viking, or a New York Giant or Jet when it is close to ZERO degrees at home? You betcha, Hawaii and its 80 degrees. You could almost see it on the players faces last night, there was no waving at the kids in the stands, there was no looking up the wife to make sure she has the car ready to head to the beach after the game, there was no offensive lineman sitting on the bench with his neck stretched out to the breaking point trying to grab a little sun last night.
And not to mention scheduling to play the game before the Super Bowl therefore robbing the fans of seeing Drew "Cool" Breeze chanting up the guys before the game. Or seeing Payton "RoboQB" Manning call somewhere in the neighborhood of five audibles before he hits the line of scrimmage and has the defense looking at each other like he is speaking a foreign language. It robs the fans of seeing Dwight Freeney fly around the edge. Of Reggie Wayne racing under one of those Payton bombs, or of Darren Sharper tracking that ball down to return the interception for a TD. Not to mention the numerous players who were picked for this game and ended up declining an invitation. Come on, no one declines a trip to Hawaii, are you kidding me? Who goes home to his wife and kids and says, "honey, I made the pro bowl, but I am thinking of not going." You would be hit faster than a New York Jet's blitz by your wife and kids telling you that not only are you going, but they are going with you. Skipping out on Miami? Well that is really possible and apparently a lot of players and families decided to do it.
Yes, I do believe the Pro Bowl has lost something. It has lost the purpose it was created for. To be an entertainment extravaganza for the fans and a treat for the players.
So NFL, hang ten, hang loose and get the game back where it needs to be, for all our sakes.