Almost A Year Older June 20, 2006
I will be 35 on Saturday…THIRTY FIVE!!! How in the world did this happen? It seems like just yesterday I was 10 years old and taking my star wars action figures outside and shooting them with my pellet gun. (EVERY Southern boy did this–if not–then your redneck degree will be revoked!)
For some reason this birthday is a lot different for me. It’s not like the year I had a birthday party at McDonalds. (Come on–raise your hand if you partied with Ronald!!!) I remember it well–cheeseburgers and ice cream for everyone…we played on the playground forever…and the young lady who was the “party host” was the hottest girl I had ever seen. (I had no idea ‘Cretia was even on the planet!) My only concern that year was, “How many presents did I get?”
The next year it was a birthday party at the skating rink…going around and around and listening to the Bee Gees! YEAH! I am still a little bitter about that birthday because it was a co-birthday party with my cousin. His mother said she would invite the family and we didn’t need to worry about it…but she neglected to tell them it was my birthday party as well & so they brought him presents and didn’t bring me JACK! (I am not bitter–really…)
And then there was the first year I was married to ‘Cretia and she threw me a surprise party. I was so depressed that year because no one had called me and said happy birthday or anything…I kept telling her, “Do we have any friends.” She was trying her best not to tell me…and she did a good job. She kept saying, “I love you,” and she told me, “Let’s go to Greenville to City Range Grill.” I LOVE THEIR BREAD!
So we took off–she had worked so hard–there were about 12 people over there in a back room and I had NO IDEA. She had pulled off the perfect surprise…that is until we got to the hostess stand and she said, “I have called ahead–the name is Noble.” The completely clueless hostess said, “Oh yeah–you are the big party in the back, right?”
Keep in mind that Lucretia is a calm, quiet person. It takes a LOT to get her angry. However, I thought I saw fire in her eyes…she had worked hard and this girl had ruined it…I feared for that young ladies life…and so I did what any husband would have done in that situation–I went to the bathroom!
We all have birthday memories…presents we either received or didn’t receive. People that showed up, surprises….all that jazz. AND…I have really been into all of that…
UNTIL THIS YEAR!
Thirty five…that seems old to some, young to others…but it has caused me to begin thinking NOT about how much time I have been on this planet–but how much time I have left here. Scripture says that our life is like a mist–we are here and then we are gone. And I know the reality is that MAYBE I have 35 more years left…that MAYBE half of my life is over…and that both excites me and challenges me at the same time!
I am excited because when I die I get to see Jesus. I found out last July that there is no reason to fear death–at all…IF you know Christ.
And I am challenged because more and more over the past several months I am continually discovering that it is my job on this planet to lift up the name of Jesus Christ and make Him famous.
Now before you fire off an e-mail because you don’t like the wording of the previous paragraph–let me explain. Take a look around the world–Jesus is not famous! He is not known in our culture. He is not worshipped at Lord and God. He is not viewed as the ONLY way to reconcile people to God…and it is my job (and yours) to make sure that He is lifted up over and over again…and that those in our direct circles of influence know that we are Jesus lovers AND that they need a relationship with Him.
A servant works hard so his Master can look good–and we are all called to be servants–to make the name of Jesus famous. By the way–how can people claim that Jesus is famous if people are NEVER talking about Him…except when they cuss!!!?
So I have made the following commitments…
I will live for an audience of ONE–Jesus! And He will govern my steps and my actions!
I will preach and teach the truth…and work hard to offend the religious! Jesus did…seriously, WHY did He keep healing on the Sabbath? He could have healed on a Thursday if He had wanted–but He kept breaking the religious traditions to show people it’s not about RULES…it’s about a relationship.
I will MAJOR on the MAJORS and not shed a paper cut over the minors. For example–I will always defend the facts that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven, the Bible is COMPLETELY reliable and marriage was designed to be between one MAN and one WOMAN…I will not debate listening to rock music or a person having a glass of wine with their meal. (No–I do not drink…and yes, getting drunk IS A SIN…but I am not going to fight about it either, Jesus didn’t fight about it–why should we–e-mails on this will be ignored!!!) :-)
I will say one more thing about the paragraph above–it has always bothered me that pastors will take a hard stand against alcohol…but that same pastor doesn’t seem to have a problem with abusing food!!! Personally–I believe that is hypocritical!
I will continue to lead NewSpring to have a love for our community–and to do all that we can to reach them!!! We will consistently change…and if you love NewSpring “just the way it is” right now then you are going to HATE it in six months! We will not become what we detest–people who are so steeped in tradition that they have forgotten that people are dying and going to hell around them!!!
I will continue to take risks…and so will our church. We can’t EVER afford to “play it safe” and guard the status quo. Jesus has called us to be “fishers of men” and not “keepers of the aquarium.” We will continue to reach out and make sure that lost people have a place where they can hear about Jesus in a way that they can understand!!!
I don’t have a ton of time left on this planet when you consider the grand scheme of eternity…and so I will not waste any more time. As I said earlier–I will not fight over issues that do not matter. I will love Jesus–love my wife–love His church–and do all I can to make HIS name known…that is my job–that is my calling in life…and I LOVE IT!