Whenever the phone rings at 2 o’clock in the morning, you hope that it’s a wrong number, that nothing’s really wrong, and that you can go back to sleep. Middle-of-the-night phone calls are rarely good, as the caller must think it’s pretty important in order to wake you from your sleep.
Melody’s a lighter sleeper than I am, and so she heard the phone before I did, shook me a little and then went to answer the phone (I’m sure that she hoped I would answer the phone, but realized that I hadn’t yet achieved the necessary level of consciousness to carry on any conversation). As I lay in bed, it quickly became apparent that it was not a wrong number, but that something was terribly wrong. Strangely enough, I didn’t immediately start thinking about family members, but expected that it was an emergency in the church family and began thinking about names and faces in our church, trying to imagine what might have happened. I think it really took a while for me to adjust to the fact that it was family member on the phone, and that it was a devastating loss.
In case you don’t know, Melody’s parents had a barn fire very early Thursday morning. Melody’s mother awoke around 1:30 to what sounded like heavy rain or even hail. She looked out the window and saw light—at first thinking it was a car coming down the road, and later realizing that their attached barn was on fire. After calling 911, Melody’s father used a garden hose to try to soak down as much of the connecting shed as possible before the fire departments arrived. Ten different fire companies were called to help fight the fire, which was mostly contained to the barn and connecting shed.
We sat up until about four o’clock, when they called again to let us know that the house had not burned, but that the barn would be completely lost. We went back to bed for a few hours, and then went up to Albion to help them move some things out of the house and spend the day with them. It was a pretty devastating scene, the barn had completely collapsed, and you could see the burnt and twisted pieces of the cars that they stored in the barn. Even though the house didn’t completely burn, much of it was damaged through water, smoke, and the firefighters as they cut holes in the walls, roof, and ceilings to try to stop the fire. While it will be some time before the insurance adjusters and contractors come up with a some plans, I would guess that between 30-50% of the house will need to be rebuilt or completely renovated. Any contents in the house that were not completely destroyed will need to be cleaned by a salvage company before they can be used. I imagine that they will be without a home for at least three-to-four months, and will be without most of their belongings for several weeks.
If you happened to see Melody’s father on the news Thursday night, you would have heard him describe how they feel—in a single word, “blessed.” As I stood and watched him offer a few sentences to the news reporters, I was very proud of my father-in-law…for not only was he a wonderful testimony for Christ, but he demonstrated that he truly lives his life with an eternal perspective. Melody’s parents, while shaken by this tragedy, will survive—precisely because they know what’s truly important in life.
More than once, I heard Melody’s father look at the rubble, shake his head, and remind himself that “it’s all just stuff.” But you know, he didn’t adopt that attitude because he survived the loss of the “stuff.” Rather, I’d suggest that he will survive the loss of the “stuff” because he’s always had this attitude. They know that God is important, and that family is important. With those two relationships in their proper place, their perspective on life is strong enough that we all might be inspired when we see him stand in front of a ruined barn and say that he is “blessed.”
Your perspective on life shifts dramatically when confronted with a tragedy like this—the little things that you once thought were important no longer are. The material possessions that you invested time and money in simply don’t seem as precious. It turns out that at points throughout the night, both of Melody’s parents thought that they had lost the other—while Paul was soaking the shed with the garden hose, the firemen couldn’t find him, but were making Joann leave the house—even though she didn’t know where he was. And later, Paul went back in the house to look for shoes, and couldn’t find her because she had already left. When confronted with the possibility of losing those you love the most, everything else simply fades in importance.
In light of the events of this past week, our scheduled scripture lessons for this week have taken special meaning. For the second week in a row, we have heard an Old Testament lesson from the book of Job—a man who truly did lose everything—everything except his faith. Perhaps you remember Job and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. One messenger came to tell him that enemies came and took all of the oxen and killed all the servants. While he was still speaking, another servant came, interrupted the first, to tell him that fire from heaven had consumed all of the sheep and shepherds. Before he could finish bringing that bad news, he was interrupted by a third messenger who told him that his camels had all been kidnapped by desert pirates. Before this news could be completed, Job was interrupted by messenger number four who told him that a great wind had blown down his house—and all of his children had died in the collapse.
And yet, before the day was over, Job would make this long-remembered quote: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21). While Job was able to honestly express his questions, doubts, and frustrations to God, like he did in this morning’s lesson from chapter 23, he continued to affirm his faith, saying—“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)
Job had an eternal perspective—he knew that his relationship with God was far more important than any thing else this world had to offer. He cast himself upon God’s grace, trusting that God would provide for his needs, and that whatever God chose to do would be right and just.
In direct opposition to the story of Job, we heard the story of the rich young ruler in Mark chapter 10. Willing to keep all of the commandments and be seen as a pious religious man, he wanted to follow Jesus—he wanted to be a disciple. Except for one thing—he loved his wealth more than he loved Jesus. He loved the things of this world more than the things of God.
We sing “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today,” without stopping to consider what that really means. Rarely do we believe that we would actually be forced to make such a choice—we don’t really think that God would want us to give up our comfortable home with our warm bed and nice things—and so we think we are safe to make that claim. While increasingly secular, our culture still remains nominally Christian—to the point that we rarely experience the sort of persecution that would cause us to reconsider our faith. We are happy to be Christians as long as it doesn’t really disrupt the rest of our lives—as long as it’s not really inconvenient.
And yet, the sort of allegiance that Christ calls us to is the sort of commitment that places Him first above everything else. Our perspective on life must be one in which we place higher value on the spiritual realities than on the physical ones. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Whether you have already faced a devastating loss in your life, or have yet to experience grief of this magnitude—rest assured that every one of us will someday be confronted with grief and loss that causes us to re-evaluate every aspect of our lives and consider the foundation upon which you base your life…your perspective will be tested.
Our call to worship today came from Psalm 90…words which are appropriate to our discussion of perspective. “Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations,” the Psalmist writes. As we adjust our perspective on life to that of a heavenly perspective, we realize that this world is not our home—but that we are just travelers passing through. Melody’s parents can survive the loss of their home because they live out the truths of this verse—they have made their dwelling place with God Almighty.
If you continue to read through the rest of the Psalm, you will find these words in verse 12: Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. When we are already properly counting the days properly, our faith will stand strong in the face of tragedy—for we have already adjusted our perspective to focus on eternity. Singer Chris Rice wrote a song based upon that verse in which he sings, “Teach us to count the days, teach us to make the days count…life means so much. Life means so much.” Indeed, when God adjusts our perspective, he helps us to make every day count for the Kingdom of God—those things that are truly important in this world.
Today, you are confronted with an option—knowing that the difficult times will come, you must decide how you will live your life. Will you be like Job, who looked upon this life with a heavenly perspective and knew what was truly important—and so he weathered the storm? Or, will you be like the rich young ruler who found the cost of following Jesus too difficult, because he was too focused on earthly things? While we don’t know what became of that rich young ruler, we can be confident that his great riches didn’t buy him happiness, nor did it resolve his problems for him. At the end of the day, he was left with earthly wealth that wouldn’t last.
I think that the lesson here is that you don’t wait until the storm hits before you adjust your perspective. In the midst of the storm, all reference points seem to disappear, the wind and waves are tossing the ship in all directions, and it’s nearly impossible to change your perspective. I think that we must practice living with a heavenly perspective even when life seems easy. I think that we must ask God to help us to count the days and to give us that heart of wisdom before the going gets tough.
Oh, I’m sure that we can learn something as we go through the storm. And, I’m confident that the storm will change us. But I think that the storm has as much power to reveal our character as it does to shape our character—and we would weather the storm better if we have already adjusted our perspective on life.
Perhaps, however, you are not on the other side of a storm—neither are you preparing to go through a storm. Perhaps, you are in the midst of a storm of some sort in your own life. Oh, you may not have lost your house and cars. You may not have lost a loved one. But perhaps you are presented with major life-changing decisions and you aren’t sure what to do. Perhaps you are being tempted and tested by a particular sin that always seems to drag you down. Perhaps you are faced with the same sorts of doubts and frustrations that Job shares while going through his trials.
In that case, I want to offer you hope from our New Testament lesson today, found in Hebrews chapter 4, verses 12-16:
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
May God add His blessing to the reading of His word.
The Good News of the Gospel today is that you have a great high priest who has walked the road you are on, and is willing to walk it with you again. He will walk with you even to death—for He’s already walked that road to. I’m glad that this Great High Priest, who’s also a “friend that sticks closer than a brother” has experienced the highs and lows of the human experience.
So often we run into people who feel the need to offer advice and pithy sayings to comfort us in our time of need. On the flip side, we often struggle with what to say to a friend who has experienced a great loss. We hope to offer help and comfort, but are constantly reminded that we can’t possibly know what they are going through, or how they are feeling. When spending time with someone in a tragedy, we find ourselves trying to never say, “I know just how you feel,” and starting every sentence with, “I couldn’t possibly know what you’re going through, but…”
And so, perhaps we have yet another lesson from the book of Job this morning—this one from Job’s friends. If you’ve spent any time reading Job, you know that Job’s friends were generally full of pretty bad advice for Job—with friends like his, nobody needs enemies. And yet, in a very brief verse near the beginning of the book of Job, we find that Job’s friends get it right, at least once—Job chapter 2, verse 13 says: “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven night. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.”
Sometimes, the best thing we can do for someone who is in the midst of great grief is to simply sit with them and be silent. We don’t have to have all of the answers to their questions…but need to be a physical presence in their lives. In so doing, we become a means of God’s grace to them. In general, if we’ve never been through what they’re going through, we should avoid offering a whole lot of advice or speculations—but simply be a safe haven for them.
Back to the Good News this morning—you have a high priest who’s walked the road you’ve walked, been tempted as you have tempted, and been through both the highs and the lows of the human experience. He can be trusted, He does provide wisdom, and great comfort. He is a Great High Priest—because he experienced the worst of human existence, and still ascended to heaven. He truly is the mediator between God and man—and it is because of Him that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence…and it is because of Him that God’s grace is given to us…so that we might survive the storms that come our way.
It is that sort of confidence that Melody’s parents exhibited at two o’clock Thursday morning—for after they called 911, they called the prayer warriors that they knew and simply asked them to pray that the house would be spared. And I fully believe that God is not only in the business of answering prayers, but he’s also in the business of fighting fires. As I walked around the house on Thursday, the ground was littered with chunks of ash about 2 inches in diameter…the leaves on the trees around the house were scorched. Upon talking to the firefighters, I learned that the wind was basically blowing toward the house. And yet, the fire was mostly contained, the house is still standing, and most of the damage in the house is either smoke and water damage, or incidental damage caused from the firefighters as they kept it out of the walls and ceilings.
And so, while they look at months of a life that’s completely upside-down, a house that will need to have significant construction in order to be habitable, and complete loss of their vehicles and other items stored in the barn, they are able to affirm that they are blessed. Why? Because they have a heavenly perspective and they know what’s truly important.
What’s important to you? What would you live and die for? What would you fight for? What would you hold onto without compromise? Are you like Job? Or are you like the rich young ruler? Are you willing to give it all up in order to follow Christ? Or do you find the things of this world so attractive that you walk away from Christ with sadness because you love the things of this world more than the things of his world?
I want to conclude our service today by inviting Melody, and our friends Jeff & Dorothy Turner to join me on the platform to share a special song with you. As we consider those things in life that are important to us, let us allow those priorities to influence the way in which we live. Indeed, may our perspective on this life reflect the very hope of eternity to which we are called.
Benediction: Jude 1:24-25To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
(Listen to this sermon online @ http://www.capenazarene.org/ftp/sermonaudio/cecn_100806_perspective.mp3 Or, you can subscribe to the weekly podcast at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=129585252)
