Wichita Fire Department Puts Out Burning Bush.........REALLY???

On Tuesday afternoon at work the radio was on but I wasn't really listening to it.  I was sitting in the little closet that we generously call my office when my coworker, Monique, spins around and exclaims "the Wichita fire department put out a burning bush!!!" her eyes filled with amusement and surprise.  I tuned in immediately to where she was going with "uh..aren't ya supposed to take your shoes off and listen??"  We had a good laugh as I continued with "I've been looking for one of those things for years and they go and break out the water hose....are you kidding me??"  VERY funny stuff!  We have continued to laugh and joke about it, but I have to admit.........it made me think. 

For years I have said to God "Can I PLEEAASSEE just have a burning bush???  Moses got one, and he was no more perfect than I am.....PLEEEEAAASSEE????"  Every time I have been faced with a tough situation and seeking answers...not necessarily as to why, but simply as to what action to take next, this has been my plea with God.  My friend Debby has told me many times that I've been given "burning bushes" I just don't always see them as such.  My argument to that has and will probably always be that I don't want a figurative version, I want the real deal.....ya know, the kind with flames and God's audible voice telling me exactly what He wants.  I get tired of waiting patiently (okay, let's be real I know I don't wait patiently) for signs that I have to figure out or that still small voice that I'm often too busy talking to hear.  So, seriously, can I just have a talking, burning bush???  Moses got one, why can't I??  Sounds like a bratty child doesn't it?  Like when Kelly got a bunny but I couldn't get a puppy, or like when Lizzi gets to stay out later than Abi.....

Truth be told, Moses argued with God.  Seriously!  Burning bush and all.....he argued.  He felt inadequate to do what God was asking him to do and he gave God every reason he could think of to get out of it.  Moses-"I stutter" God-"I'll send Aaron to do the talking"  Moses-"no one will believe me"  God-"I will perform signs and miracles so they will believe"  Moses-"Please send someone else"  In fact, he argued with God to the point that God was flat ticked off and ready to kill him (literally).  By the time he finally accepted that arguing with God was futile, he was in his eighties when he went to Egypt and confronted Pharaoh.  The journey that followed was a rugged and amazing forty year hike through the wilderness, where God provided for all of the needs of His people and yes, continued to reveal Himself in miraculous ways.

So, I have to wonder......what would happen if God really appeared in a burning bush today?  I'm gonna guess that I would probably argue just like Moses did.  I argue with the figurative burning bushes in my life and I argue with the still small voice too.  It seems like God is forever trying to drag me out of my comfort zone.  He's always challenging me to think outside of the box and allow Him to reveal Himself in ways we might not expect.  When I shut up and quit  arguing I am continually amazed and I wonder why I ever hesitate........but I do, until I stop and think about the fact that I don't want to wait until I'm eighty to get started on what God has planned for me.  Quite frankly, by the time I'm eighty I would like to be relaxing some place warm and sunny, or better yet, in heaven.  And honestly....in this day and age.....I have to admit that if He appeared in a burning bush.......odds are the fire department would put a quick end to it.  Sounds crazy, but think about it for a moment.  Would you stop to listen if you saw a burning bush?  Or would you grab the water hose without giving it a second thought?

I will confess that I am learning to appreciate the figurative burning bushes in my life, and I'm getting better at recognizing them.  I can't say I don't argue....I shouldn't, but I still do sometimes.  What I CAN say, though, is that I've learned that tremendous peace comes from obedience.  I'm learning how limited I really am by myself, but (as Pastor Rick put it this morning) when I am "connected to the power source" and allow the Holy Spirit to take over amazing things happen.  I worry less, celebrate more, and the next right step is always figured out for me all I have to do is obey.  (Preferably before I'm EIGHTY!)

It Makes Me Think.........

Like many others, I greeted the pending rapture on May 21st with sarcasm and a certain amount of righteous indignation (or I would like to call it that, anyway).  Who the heck does this Harold Camping guy think he is??  The night before, Kurt was watching the news and I was half heartedly listening as he was interviewed regarding the expected event.  He one moment compared himself to Noah, and then, when asked about his failed prediction in 1994, compared himself to Benjamin Franklin?  Something along the lines of the idea that Ben Franklin didn't get the light bulb right the first time either.......um, excuse me sir, but Ben Franklin was INVENTING electricity, are you now INVENTING the rapture??  We laughed almost to tears!

I will, however, say that the whole thing had me thinking.  Jesus stated plainly in Matthew 24:36-39:    ³⁶ "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^[a] but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."  So, there it is.  That man is one of the nutty people that make it so very difficult for many to trust Christians.  Even Mahatma Gandhi says "I like your Christ, but I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."  Sad that Camping isn't the first and won't be the last of his kind.  Tragic that so many are misled.

So, on the morning of the anticipated rapture as I drove to work I was thinking and praying about all of this.  As I pulled up to the toll booth to exit the turnpike I was greeted (as always) with a smiling face who happily took my fifty cents as she wished me a good day.  (I take the turnpike every day.  Yes, I know it saves me a little change to get a K-tag, but honestly, I really enjoy seeing the people who work there.  They smile, say good morning, never mention laundry, homework, or a lack of milk in the fridge.  They wish me a good day and I wish them the same, then off to work I go.  It's a glorious start to my day.  I only wish they served Starbucks, it would save me a stop.)  On this particular day, though, I found myself wondering if she knew Jesus.........AND, if there really was a rapture would I see her there?  AND, would she be surprised to see me?  OR, would she think "of course she's here!  I recognized Jesus in her all along!"  What about others?  What does my life say to them?  Am I a Christian that validates Mahatma Gandhi's statement or am I a Christian who might make him think twice? 

Furthermore, what exactly does a Christian look like that might make Mahatma Gandhi rethink his words?  Well, the answer to that was, of course, given to us by Jesus in John 13:34-35: ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  Paul reminds us again and again of how we should treat one another.  One of my favorites being Ephesians 4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

It's true that some days are harder than others.  Humans are messy.  We step on each other's toes, hurt each other's feelings, and even break each other's hearts sometimes.  It's easy to get caught up in our emotions, good or bad.  It's easy to forget that love is a verb.  And, it's easy to forget who is really in charge.  Sometimes we get in the way and struggle to let God be God in every situation.  For this, there is the grace of a loving heavenly Father.  And for this we can offer each other grace.  For this, I am grateful every single day.

The real deal is this:  Guys like Mahatma Gandhi and others who "like Christ" but not necessarily Christians don't realize that they "like" Him because He was God in flesh..........think about that for a moment.......OF COURSE PEOPLE "LIKE" HIM!  He's the creator of the universe, who wouldn't look back on His life and teaching and at the very least "like" Him???  He loved completely and unconditionally.  He instructed us to live better, but showed love in spite of sin.  He lived what He taught to the point of death.  When he rose and returned to heaven to be with the Father, He sent His spirit in His place.   SO, if we have committed to follow Him......if we allow His Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and live in us........if we are truly following His commandment and instruction in how we live our daily lives......then we will be the kind of Christians that make Mahatma Gandhi eat his words.  AND, we will be the kind of Christians that cause others to want to know Jesus well enough to fall in love with Him as we have, not merely "like" the man that He was, but LOVE and KNOW the God that He IS still to this day.

So, it's food for thought.  Clearly, God is in charge and I'm so glad that He is.  Because if my life had gone according to my own agenda I would have missed out on so very much.  And because of all that He's given me, I want to live in a way that lets others see that He is bigger and mightier than the chaos of humans, in spite of the Harold Campings of the world.