PDave @ Vox

Stare at the four black dots in the center of the image for 30 - 60 seconds.
Then quickly close your eyes and look at something bright
(like a lamp or a window with sunlight coming through it).
You should see a white circle with an image inside it.

This is an optical illusion easily found on the Internet. My immediate reaction- I do not want to stare at this disgusting picture. "Jesus", at least this particular artistic rendering, appears to have ingested some substance one too many times, and I am not referring to manna from Heaven. There are piercings in his chin. Obviously he has a severely deviated septum. And, is he staring at a cobra? That is not a good thing to do.

(Now I blink my eyes, and find myself greeted by the negative of this image imposed upon the back of my eyelids.  It still appears stoned, and scary.  There will be nightmares tonight.)

I've never seen Jesus.  I know Christians are good at spiritualizing the issue, smugly responding with something like, "I see Jesus every time I look at one of His children.".  Yes.  But, I have never gazed upon His actual, physical presence.  Not in the same manner claimed by John on the Isle of Patmos, or Paul along the Damascus Road.  And I know persons who, with all sincerity, claim to have been privy to a vision of Christ.  A little boy told me he once saw Jesus while praying in the closet.  Not me.

Yet I believe with the deepest part of my being that Jesus is real.  I've staked life and eternity upon this fact, and live accordingly.

Would I want to see a vision of Jesus?  On this side of the grave, the answer is no.  It would be profoundly confusing.  How would I know if what would appear before me would be legitimate?  It could be the manufacture of factors other than God:  substance abuse, psychological suggestion, even Satan.  I think I prefer the Invisible God.  "We walk by faith, not by sight", the Bible tells us in a couple of places.  God in my heart is much more real than an apparition.

At this point I would bow my head to pray.  But, upon closing my eyes, the silly apparition of a stoned Jesus flashed before me.  I think I will now search the Internet for an optical illusion of an ice cream cone, or a beautiful woman.

I have been getting to know a man who is struggling with an addiction.  In the course of our interaction and friendship, I've come to recognize and respect a stubborn integrity inherent in his fight for life and meaning.  He's not a superman.  He's filled with flaws.  And, he knows this may be his last chance to find a way out.  I'm there to help.  We will try to make the journey together.

Isolation is an ongoing battle.
When alone, when not connected with those who care, it is a lot easier to do drugs. And when you are under the influence, then the loneliness does not seem so bad. To me, the answer is to connect with others who will build you up. This is where the church can wrap arms around such a person and truly love him into a better way of life.

Those who shine the most are people who never give up on you.
This young man has battled with his family for many years. He has done some things probably worthy of abandonment. And, on the surface, his parents seem to be rather simple people. But they have stayed with this guy. They've managed to show him respect. After twelve long years of rebellion, he is coming around. He is quite grateful, even amazed, at their love.

You never know when God is connecting you with someone of need.
His parents started attending my church about a month ago. I dropped by to see his dad, and casually met this young man out in the yard. We conversed superficially for a few minutes, and I invited him to church. He attended a worship service, we talked some more, and now I'm privileged to be connected with his quest for a change of life. The lesson: stay faithful with loving others and making yourself available, and those who need what you have to offer will come your way.

We talked about what it is like to be "high".
He said it feels good, which I already surmised. But he said it is not good enough, nor long enough, and it sure leaves you empty when you come down. And then he said something real interesting. Initially, he was looking for his involvement in church to enable him to "get high on Jesus". I thought about the phrase. I've heard it used by Christian speakers, to encourage an alternative to drugs. Then the young man made a point that I found to be encouraging. It showed some maturity on his part. He has realized that following Christ is a matter of ongoing relationship and commitment, and not an emotional high. I smiled. He is so right!

Think about this new friend as he begins his journey of faith. With God's help, he will make it.

I was in line at Burger King on Saturday morning, a bit grumpy myself and just wanting a Whopper.  The guy in front of me was verbally abusing the lady who was taking his order.  She appeared to be maybe 19 or 20 years old, a trainee still struggling with the intricacies of a cash register and the English language.  As I remember the conversation went something like this:

BIG HAIRY MAN:  I want two whoppers with cheese and no mayo.  And nothing else.

LITTLE MEEK WAITRESS:  Would you like to make that a meal?  It will only cost you a dollar more?  (This is what she is trained to suggest.  An expected part of her job.  More correctly, she said with a heavy accent, “Wuldcha luyk da whuppa meel?  Eyts only wun dullah muh!”

BIG HAIRY POMPOUS MAN:   (Pointedly, loudly, eyes riveted, pausing between words for emphasis) “I.....Want....Two...Whoppers.....Nothing.....More....”

LITTLE MEEK NERVOUS WAITRESS:  (Her face is flushed) “I was only trying to....”  (Big mistake.  She tried to converse with this man as an “equal”)

BIG HAIRY POMPOUS JERK MAN:  “What are you, deaf or something?  I'll tell you one more time what I want...”  (By now, everyone in the place has stopped to observe, including cooks and those of us standing in line.  The man is hovering in the face of the girl)

LITTLE MEEK NERVOUS SCARED WAITRESS: “Yes sir.”  She takes his money and rings up the order.  Her hands tremble.  She drops some change.  All the time, BIG MAN stares icily and unblinking.

About this time, the manager of the restaurant walks in.  BHPJM seems to know her!  He speaks a bit of friendly banter, displaying to all of us his connection to high society.  Then he points to the waitress and demands, “She was very rude and unprofessional to me.”  The waitress was now graven in color, and tightlipped.  The manager looked her way disaproovingly, and told BHPJM, “Don't worry.  I'll take care of it.”  He approved with a smug smile, then went off to consume his burgers, probably in about two bites.  Then the manager went behind the counter to help take care of the now-long-line of customers.

I was standing aside, thinking.  First I was hoping that, maybe, one of the cooks was able to insert something gross into his sandwich.  When I got up to the girl at the counter, I smiled my biggest and said to her, “Don't worry.  That guy was an A___hole.”  I said it so everybody around could hear, and I want to tell you I got more “amens” than I get for a Sunday morning sermon.  And that is a term I never use, but it just seemed most appropriate for the moment.

All during my meal I was thinking about what happened.  I looked back and wondered why he would want to treat someone so unkindly.  I went back to the counter and asked to speak to the manager. She was busy but finally worked her way over to me.  I said, “Mam.  I witnessed the entire encounter between those two.  I want you to know this young lady did nothing wrong.  That man was rude to her.  And he intimidated the little girl.  I think she is to be commended for handling it as well as she did.”  She looked at me, sighed, and said, quite knowingly, “Thank you.  I know what happened.”  Obviously, this guy may have been her acquaintance, but she also knew he was a BHPJM.  And I will add AH to the initials.

“A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter or to others, is not a nice person.” - Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson