"Townspeople" (Part 2 of 6)

"Townspeople"
by Jason Hart

Part 2 of 6

-Present Day-

Lara leaned over and pecked her son on the forehead, "I love you, Trey." she whispered.

"I love you too, mommy." Trey replied, his eyes struggling to stay open.

"Did you like the story?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"What was your favorite part?"

"The part where Jesus told them to throw their fishing net on the other side of the boat and they caught all those fish!" Trey giggled.

Trey's mother smiled, "I liked that part too. Sweet dreams." She reached up to turn off the lamp beside Trey's bed, but was interrupted.

"Mommy," Trey asked curiously, "When is Daddy coming home?"

She forced a smile, "Oh sweetie, we talked about that, don't you remember? Daddy's not coming home."

"Why not?" Trey asked, genuinely confused.

"Daddy..." Her voice faltered. She thought of everything she wanted to say. She thought of how much he had hurt her - how much he had hurt them. She wanted to scream, to tell Trey the truth, tell him that Daddy was a bad, bad man and that Trey wouldn't want anything to do with him. Lara gathered herself and continued, "Daddy, doesn't want to be here anymore. Daddy doesn't love us like he used to...but you know what?"

"What?"

"We can still love Daddy. We can still pray for Daddy - do you want to pray for him right now?"

"Sure..." Trey said softly.

Lara closed her eyes and waited to hear what this innocent little boy would say about her husband, his father. After a few seconds, Lara glanced down to see why Trey hadn't started praying. He had fallen asleep. Despite the somberness of the moment, she couldn't help but smile just a little bit. Just as well, she thought to herself, I didn't want to pray for him anyway. Lara reached up and finished what she had started to do a minute ago, and switched off the lamp next to Trey's bed.

****

-Sometime in the Past-

Paul's relationship with currency, not to mention Abby, was worsening. Since, he didn't have the time or money to learn a new trade, he was forced to do the only thing he knew how to do - fish. About the time Paul began wondering if their marital vows would be made into a mockery by their next anniversary, as if on cue, the fish starting biting. They started biting, and they wouldn't stop. It was as if the fish knew how badly Paul needed to catch them, and they just obliged. That year he brought in more income than the previous 3 years combined. The year after that, he tripled what he had made the previous year. Paul paid off his debts, bought a bigger boat, and even purchased a round-trip train ticket so he and Abby could take a much needed vacation.

As the money rolled in, happiness seemed to come along for the ride. No longer shackled by financial restraints, Paul and Abby connected in a whole new way. They were like newlyweds again. One night, after a romantic evening together, Paul got down on one knee and produced a small velvet box from his pocket. It had taken nearly 5 years, but Paul had finally delivered on that promise to get Abby her wedding ring.

"It's so gorgeous!" Abby gushed, "I've just got one question for you.", she teased.

Paul played along, "Oh, really? What's your question?"

Abby leaned in close and interlocked her fingers with his, "When do you want to start a family?" she whispered.

And all the townspeople declared, "Paul, this is good."

****

...to be continued.

"Townspeople" (Part 1 of 6)

"Townspeople"
by Jason Hart

Part 1 of 6

-Present Day-

Nate pulled a half used pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes from the pocket of his button-down shirt with his right hand, and smacked the pack rapidly several times against the palm of his left hand. He loved smacking that pack of cigarettes. On a practical level, it packed the tobacco tighter so the cigarette would burn slower, but on an emotional level, it was his way of being defiant. He slipped a cigarette out of the pack, set the pack back into his shirt pocket, and lit the cigarette. He placed the cigarette between his lips, sucked just the right amount of smoke into his mouth, paused for a second to allow the smoke to cool, and then, finally, inhaled the smoke into his lungs.

Nate shifted positions restlessly. He laboriously stretched out his legs, massaging his thighs in a vain attempt to speed up his circulation. A full hour had almost expired, and Nate was still waiting for her to go to bed. Anyone who might have had the unfortunate pleasure of spotting his dark crouching figure would have have immediately suspected his sinister intentions. But he wasn't going to be noticed, and he knew it. He sat outside the house with his back pinned up against the east wall, virtually invisible to any cars that might have passed by, or the casual scan of a nearby neighbor. The sound of laughter drifted through an open window of the house. Nate scowled and exhaled slowly. It was going to be a long night.

****

-Sometime in the Past-

Paul's fishing business was in decline. This statement may actually prove to be somewhat deceptive, because it implies that there was a point in history in which Paul's business was actually thriving (which would be the deceptive part). Paul began fishing with his father when he was 14, and when he was 20, Paul bought his own fishing boat, named it "Lucky", and sailed out to see if he could make it on his own. Paul ate, drank, and breathed fishing - and fishing allowed him to eat, drink, and breath. Despite his utter lack of budgetable income, Paul chose to marry the love of his life, Abby. So poor were the two of them that they couldn't even afford to buy each other a wedding ring. "One day," Paul promised, "I'll buy you a diamond ring, and your finger will never be naked again."

Several months passed, and the promised ring never materialized. They tried to convince themselves that they were happy with a modest living, but things took a turn for the worse after their one year anniversary. That first year, they struggled to break even, and after another year, they began losing money. Then, what they thought only happened to other couples began happening to them - they drifted apart. After months of bickering about things large, small, and in between, they made the unspoken agreement to co-exist under the same roof. Their plan of starting a family, once hindered due to financial reasons, was now hindered by a much more pragmatic reason, they despised one another.

And all the townspeople declared, "Paul, this is bad."

****

...to be continued.

Count Your Blessings

Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians:

Passage:
Ephesians 1:3-14

Thoughts:

Paul starts off this section praising God, "Blessed be...God..who has blessed us...with every spiritual blessing." (notice, he didn't say "earthly" blessing).

Notice that most of these blessings have something to do with our salvation.

1. He chose us to be holy and blameless. v. 4
2. He predestined us for adoption as sons. v. 5
3. He redeemed us through Christ's blood. v. 7
4. He forgave us of our sins. v. 7
5. He lavished us with his grace. v. 8
6. He made known to us the mystery of His will. v. 9
7. He gave us an inheritance. v. 10
8. He sealed us with the Holy Spirit. v. 11

Application:

It is so natural to get caught up in earthly blessings (cars, homes, computers, clothes, etc.). These things can, and probably should, be enjoyed. But that enjoyment must be placed in the broader context of our enjoyment of spiritual blessings (e.g. our salvation).

To come at it from a different angle, I usually thank God everyday for food (at mealtime) - but do I thank God everyday for my salvation? I encourage you (and me) to make thanking God for the blessing of salvation a regular habit.

~Jason

With Him

Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians:

Passage:

Ephesians 1:20 "that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,"

Ephesians 2:6 "and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,"

Thoughts:

Please note: two incredible things happen to Christ in 1:20:

1) He was raised from the dead.
Imagine the look on Satan's face when death's grip couldn't hang on to Christ! Christ came to the earth, gained some followers, gained some haters, and died. Case closed? Not on your life.

2) He was seated at God's right hand in heaven.
I don't think we have to be an expert in Biblical imagery to know that being at God's right hand is a GOOD thing. God stamps his approval on this slain lamb and says, "He's with Me."

What's even more incredible, is that the same two things happen to us in 2:6:

1) We are raised from the dead with Him.
Don't let earthly distractions (Economy, Health, Power) deceive you - our greatest enemy is death. We live our life, we gain some followers, we gain some haters, and then we die.

2) We are seated with Him in heaven.
If God is for us, who can be against us? Again, it's not hard to see the significance of being seated with Christ in heavenly places. Undoubtedly a good place to be considering eternity is a long time.

So the first is a conquering of earthly death, and the second is the sealing of our eternal destiny.

Application:

Oh, please don't miss that ever important prepositional phrase - "with Him". Or that other one at the end of 2:6 - "in Christ Jesus".

These two facts that bring an everlasting peace (power over death, and eternity on God's side), can only be fully realized though the person and work of Jesus Christ. Fortunately, Paul doesn't leave us to guess about how to know that we are saved -
"For by grace you have been saved through faith." (Ephesians 2:8a)

If you want to know more about how to be saved, check out this video.

If you are already saved, let these two truths bounce around in your mind as you go about your day.

-Jason

Music for Thought: Part 3 of 4

Our reflective journey via musical case studies continues with a Johnny Cash classic.

Johnny Cash performs "Hurt" a cover of the song by Nine Inch Nails.



I'm afraid that the more I say about this song, the less meaningful my comments will become. Let me just point out the two most powerful moments in the music video.

I will Make you Hurt (2:35-2:40)

When June (Cash's wife) looks down at him from the stairs, it's a look that says a thousand words. When I see that expression on her face, it's like I can feel it too. It's like she lets out a big sigh that says, "It pains me so much to hear you say all this - but I love you. I love you too much to reach out and make you stop. I'm going to let you journey down this path of healing and redemption. And as you do, I'll be here for you. Waiting. Ready to love you, no matter what."

My Empire of Dirt (2:53-3:09)

If you didn't react in some way physically (sit up in your chair, grunt in surprise, raise your eyebrows, put your hand over your mouth, ANYTHING) when Cash started pouring out that wine - you better call an ambulance because you're a dead man walking. Notice the priceless stare down from Cash as his shaky hand pours out the contents of his glass. That wine spills all over the place and we can see the utter disgust of a man determined to abandon everything he once held as valuable.

What Have I Become?

That question, "What have I become?" is the most applicable. To me, performing an internal inventory can be purging and damning at the same time. As we look back at where we've gone wrong, we can confess it before God, and ask for forgiveness - and this purges us of our sins. However, when we take an honest look, not at our gross sins, but at our subtle ones; not at our actions, but at our motives - it is damning.

But God's grace is greater than all our sin. When we approach Him through Jesus Christ, we unlock the floodgates of God's infinite mercy with the key of faith.