Oh, what a mess it was! “Bullets” flying everywhere. Three whizzed by Johnny’s head. The kitchen floor was dripping in ‘’blood” as the ketchup bottle tipped staining the recently-mopped surface. As he shot back, Nellie ducked narrowly escaping a sure-shot to her head. Pedro rolled on the hardwood floors into the living room and fired at Johnny from behind the couch hitting him in the chest. Johnny wiped the spitball off his shirt.
“This is serious!” he said, then decided that was the last straw! He threw away his straw and replaced it with the most powerful one in his possession: A large-diameter Red Straw! He reached into his pouch and checked his supply of ammunition. When Nellie and Pedro saw “Big Red” poking out from behind the side chair, they knew they were in danger of annihilation.
YIKES!! After 15 minutes of an all-out war, it was time to surrender. Nellie popped up with 3 spitballs on her forehead, several in her hair, and Pedro’s chest was riddled with twice as many. Johnny was the undisputed spitball slinger! He raised “Big Red” and blew a fake puff of smoke into its “barrel,” spun it around a few times and placed it in his holster (pants pocket) just as he had seen it done in a tv classic western movie.
In that movie, bullets were flying everywhere too. Five shooters, all bank robbers were firing away at Paco and his buddy Black Tooth (known for having one black tooth among several yellow/greenish teeth). In a last-minute double-cross, the pair decided to keep the loot for themselves. Now scrambling with their hides for a clean getaway, Paco was nearly hit, surviving when Black Tooth jumped in front of him taking a bullet to his chest. Both men miraculously survived and escaped under the shadows of darkness. With loot in hand, they sought to live a “New Life” in another town with new identities.
Oftentimes seen on the screen, someone’s life is spared by another man’s selfless heroics.
Multiple centuries ago, humanity was in an all-encompassing shoot-out. Men and women sought cover behind trees (Genesis 3:8), rocks, structures, etc. hiding from the presence of God as well as from their pasts. They erected temples and formed religions to try to appease Him through their ways, to no avail. In the midst of their “shoot-out,” as the enemy annihilated millions and billions of people, God stepped in. Satan has fired his fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16) into the hearts of men deceiving many. His goal is to kill, to steal, and to destroy all of mankind (John 10:10a). As the Deceiver, he has tricked many followers into believing that they can serve him and that he’s on their side. They falsely believe he’s their leader. But he’s a liar, and the father of lies (John 8:44).
Jesus dove right in front of those “bullets” known as sin, and took them for us. No, He didn’t die from a gunshot wound, but went to the cross instead. He shed His blood, unmarked by sin because he was born from above (the virgin birth was needed to keep sin out of the lineage). That’s why He was 100% man and 100% God. Jesus stepped right in front of sin’s power and destroyed its effect upon humanity to return us to that rightful relationship we once shared with God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8).
But like those western flicks, If the saved man doesn’t acknowledge who saved his life and doesn’t change his ways, he’ll continue dodging bullets until the day he dies. Are your days of sowing wild oats over? Are you through dodging bullets? Tired of carrying your loot of sin and escaping through the veils of darkness? Are you ready to look into the eyes of the Man who saved you? Are you ready to start living the new life? God can change your identity. You’ll be unidentifiable by others. Can God relate to your lifestyle? Yes, He can. He will tend your wounds, heal your heart, and make you a new person (Luke 10:25-37).
Were Jesus in one of those Westerns, His tombstone would read: “Greater love has no man than this, that someone would lay his life for his friend” (John 15:13). “No one takes it from me, I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:18).
God Bless,
Sam
Finding Laughter In Difficult Times
My life experiences in the good times and in very difficult times will hopefully inspire, encourage, and motivate others to take time to laugh, reflect, and seek God when difficulties in life arise.