Do The Right Thing?

I attended a funeral this week for the sister of one of my homeless guys.

I'd met her a couple of years ago and we had talked occasionally on the phone so when she ended up in ICU a few weeks ago, I went to visit.

It was touch and go for awhile. with her moving to a regular room for 16 hours before landing back in ICU in an even more critical condition.

But before that happened, I had the salvation conversation with her.

Early in the ministry, I'd decided to hold off on that conversation because the guy seemed to be getting better. The next day he took a turn for the worse and never regained consciousness. I vowed never to make that mistake again.

So the first day that Ms. Becky was alert enough to talk, we talked about her relationship with the Lord. She knew where she was going. She wanted to go to a regular room, but she knew if that didn't happen and she didn't make it, that she would be with the Lord.

I shared that during the open comments portion of the funeral.

I hadn't planned on it, but I felt a strong urging to do so.

If there was ever a time to not heed that call, this service was the one. I was definitely out of my element, and was clearly viewed as an outsider.

But I knew that every time I ignore those urgings, I regret it later.

And it needed to be said.

The family drew comfort in my words, I could tell, and it helped celebrate her life.

Her children had arranged this service in a Catholic church about an hour from her hometown so the priests didn't know Ms. Becky and only read the obituary.

It happens.

You always want a minister who knows the deceased, but that isn't always possible.

So I wanted in some way for her loved ones to take comfort in godly words from someone who knew her.

The service itself was a little puzzling, almost paradoxical.

The lady leading music was a friend of the family's. She could've led worship for T.D. Jakes.

I felt a freedom in worshipping that I rarely have. The spirit was moving and if it hadn't been a funeral, I think I'd have been hopping over pews. (For clarity, I'm normally not very comfortable even lifting my hands in worship.)

But the mass itself was traditional, with the usual rituals of Catholicism.

I wasn't completely out of place in a Catholic church, having gone to elementary school in a Catholic school and later teaching in one.

But some of the responses have changed!

I'm answering "and also with you" while they said something about the spirit.

When did that happen?

But the part that bothered me the most was not about the music, or the communion, or the responsive readings.

It was the message given by the priest about how we know Ms. Becky is in heaven.

"We know she is in Heaven because she was a good person...."

My ears perked up. Surely he's going to clarify that...

"This is how you know you are saved...

...do the right thing. Do the right thing. Do the right thing."

While I didn't directly address his words, I did let the congregation know when I spoke that Ms. Becky knew she was going to Heaven because she had accepted Jesus as her Savior.

It was my attempt to salvage a lost opportunity for many of the family members, one who'd even arrived in hand and ankle chains, to hear the message of salvation.

That evening we preached at a men's transitional home and I shared the experience.

"Most of you wouldn't be here if you'd been doing the right thing to begin with, but let me tell you...you can do the right thing from here on out, but if you don't accept Jesus, if you don't KNOW Him, you WILL NOT get into Heaven."

To quote a dear friend, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THAT KNOW-SO SALVATION AND NOT THE HOPE-SO ONE.

Do you KNOW? Or do you just HOPE you are saved?

There's a big difference.

And all the RIGHT in the world is not enough to enter the kingdom of God.

Blinded by the Light

The other day I heard the song "Blinded By the Light" by Bruce Springsteen.

Though the Manfred Mann's Earth Band version is the one we heard in the 80's, it was originally penned by The Boss.

None of this really matters, mind you, but before writing this post I had to do a little research. 

Like, what in the world are they actually saying?

My research led me to the lyrics and further reading explained that the line "revved up like a deuce" referred to a 1932 hot rod.

Furthermore, the entire song was never intended to make much sense, with Springsteen saying he wrote the tune using a rhyming dictionary.

One of the rhyming, nonsensical  verses:

No deep meaning, just words.

I really didn't have an issue with the song. Except...

...for the title lyric.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

Cause it isn't the light that blinds.

It's the darkness.

Sometimes it is hard to apply physical concepts to spiritual matters.

For example, I'd never get upset at a blind person for not being able to see.

They're blind. It isn't their fault they can't see.

Yet there are so many walking around in spiritual darkness, blind as a bat, and we get upset with them.

Even the disciples were chastised by Jesus at one point for not knowing what manner of spirit they were operating in. (Luke 9:55)

There are people who are constantly trying to manipulate me. They've learned the buzz words: homeless, stable housing, hungry. Lately many conversations have started with "I heard you were a woman of God..." setting up the premise that if I do not provide the assistance requested, I must not truly be a Christian.

I actually was accused of just that the other day. "Aren't you supposed to be a Christian?" Followed by "I called you for a ride to the store and you said you couldn't take me."

I guess Christian and Cab are supposed to be synonymous. Alliterative, yes. Synonyms, no.

But that doesn't bother me.

This in itself is HUGE. I used to care so much what other people thought of me that comments like that would've thrown me into a tailspin for days.

But it's just manipulation and I lettered in that in high school.

So I just move right along.

I do what I can but I'm starting to guard my time a little more fiercely.

I told someone just last night that I was finally learning to run my own schedule instead of letting my schedule run me.

There's still not a lot of downtime. Just this week were three hospital visits, one wedding, one funeral, and one baptism. Plus we are building a new parsonage with no contractor and no crew so that has kept me a little closer to home.

That, in turn, has cut down considerably on my time on the streets.

Which has upset a few people.

Because it is often like having a houseful of kids again.

If I take one to lunch, the others want to know why they couldn't go.

If I buy one pair of shoes, I have to listen to how twenty other pairs were worse than the ones I replaced.

And to drive their point home (the point being that they are the only one truly deserving of being ministered to) they tell me how fake the others are. How they lie, how they speak "God" around me but live like the devil when I'm not around, how they are using me.

I usually don't respond. At best, I'll just nod.

But the other day I'd had enough.

"I know a whole lot more than you think I do and I don't do anything I don't want to."

That was all it took and nothing else was said.

I could've elaborated.

"You know that Megan Trainor song? The one I hear in my head every time any of y'all speak? I know you're lyin'...cause your lips are movin'..."

Or worse, I could've told them that the "God" speak hurts my heart even more than the lies and I'd rather him them curse than pepper their conversations with phrases like "Blessed by the Best" and "Blessed and Highly Favored."

Just because they don't know what manner of spirit they are speaking, I certainly do.   

But I can't get mad at them for not being able to see.

They're spiritually blind.

And they haven't been blinded by the Light.

They're blinded by the darkness they live in and cannot see the light at all.

What they think is the light is the fake glow Satan has set in front of them.

Can you tell a knockoff Birkin bag from the real one? Are all red-soled shoes Louboutins?

While a designer can easily spot the fake, most people can not. I certainly couldn't.

The things of God are no different.

Well, actually they are VASTLY different. But the concept is the same.

We cannot expect a lost person to know, obey, or even discern spiritual matters. 

We can only guide them, such as we'd assist a physically blind person.

We can pray for their eyes to be opened.

And we must always remember the attack is not on us personally. It is a war that started long before we were even conceived and will continue on long after we are gone, should the Lord tarry.

Blinded by the light?

Never.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5