Touching The Sky

The little boy lay on his back on the grassy hill, looking up at the blue sky. “I want to touch the sky”, he told himself. “One day, I’m going to build a tower that reaches right up to the sky so that I can touch it. Whenever he could he would play with his building blocks, practising his tower, and whenever he could he would lie on his back on the grassy hill and look up at the sky. “One day I’ll touch the sky,” he told himself.

Even as the boy grew older, the dream remained alive. And although he never told anyone his dream specifically, he got plenty of encouragement. ‘Set goals, reach high, keep your dream alive, never give up, you can do anything you put your mind to, persist.’

One morning he woke up, and he knew the time was right. He began building. He’d thought of building his tower, practised building his tower, studied about building his tower, designed his tower, saved up money to build his tower; now he began.

“I want to touch the sky”, he said. “One day I’ll touch the sky.”

At the end of each day’s work, he’d climb to the top of his tower. He’d look up, to see how close he was to touching the sky, and although disappointed that it still seemed so far away, he’d determine to wake the next day and keep building, which he did.

A month passed, a year. Each night he’d stand atop the tower, only to discover there was still a way to go. But he wasn’t going to give up. So he kept building. A year became 2, 5, 10 – he kept on building. Architects would come by to marvel at the design, engineers would come by to marvel at the structure, sightseers were a daily feature, all admiring the tower that kept getting taller and taller and taller.

One night, many years after beginning to build his tower, that little boy who had dreamed of touching the sky, and who had put his whole life into trying to achieve his dream, as he made his nightly ritual of standing atop the tower to gaze at the sunset filled sky and check his progress, that boy, now an old man, slipped, and fell to his death.

As funeral arrangements were being made, the minister asked the family why he had put so much into building his tower. What was the purpose of the tower?

“He wanted to touch the sky”, they replied.

The wise minister mused, “But he touched the sky the moment he began!”

As a little boy, I picked up the concept that God lived in the sky. He was ‘up there’, he was ‘looking down’, I was going to, if I was good, go ‘up to heaven. I heard the song “Spirit in the Sky”– ‘goin’ on up to the spirit in the sky, that’s where I’m gonna go when I die’

God lived in the sky – way up there.

But what is the sky? How can God live somewhere, be somewhere that actually doesn’t exist, that can’t be touched, that can’t be reached, that isn’t a place?

When Jesus was on Earth, He said a lot of things about himself, a lot of things about God, who He called his father, and he spoke about a Holy Spirit.

But most importantly, what he left us with was the firm notion that God wasn’t distant, and in fact God could actually live within people. The Spirit of God could be in us. We could be a part of the Kingdom of God right here, right now. How?

Both by living a life pleasing to God and by confessing that at times we’ve done things that God wouldn’t be happy with, and asking that he forgive us, and asking Him to give us this spirit. And somehow it works. It doesn’t magically turn you into a perfect person, but things start happening to you on the inside that I describe as transforming.

If you’ve been searching for a God ‘out there’ somewhere, can I suggest that maybe you’re as unlikely to find God as the boy in our story was of touching the sky. God’s not in the sky. He is what’s known as omnipresent – that is present everywhere, all around. So in the very act of reaching for God, you’ll find yourself in contact with God the moment you begin.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Dominoes

Dominoes.

It began as a simple game of matching numbers printed on oblong pieces of ivory, perhaps as early as the 1200s. Until one day someone put the dominoes next to each other on their ends, tipped one over, and watched the chain reaction as each of the dominoes was knocked on to the next until they all lay flat. The challenge then became to do this successfully with ever-increasing numbers of dominoes, then in various patterns and including obstacles and other bits and pieces that could be incorporated into the process.

And so came the now common term ‘The domino effect’, used literally or figuratively, where a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then causes another similar change, and so on in linear sequence.

We can all sometimes feel in life that we are in the midst of a domino effect.  A trial that seems to trigger a string of other trials. Perhaps it is the loss of job that starts the spiral or the death of loved one, maybe an unwanted divorce, or an accident that can trigger an endless decline in health. Something happens to us, and because of that event it seems to trigger off other events that create chaos, or hurt, or despair; sickness or financial difficulties or trouble with the law. We can make one small mistake or tell one small lie, and the domino effect begins and a mountain is created from what began as a mole-hill.

And as the troubles and trials mount, we find it hard to believe that there is a God who has everything under control.

One of the Bible writers, James, had this perspective: ‘Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.’

It’s never nice enduring the harsher, difficult times in our lives, but we can usually look back and see how enduring that trial has made us stronger or better people, more faith-filled, tougher.

I read recently of a church who have a policy not to hire staff who haven’t had a personal crisis or endured a significant trial. Knowing the demands of church work and ministry, they feel that if people haven’t undergone some major difficulties in life, they’ll be less-equipped – not strong enough, not able to show empathy.

According to the Bible, God is at work, not to shelter us from every difficulty in life, because that would make us weak, but helping us through our trials to build our character.

An old hymn says it well:

He gives more grace when the burdens grow greater

He sends more strength when the labours increase

To added affliction he adds his mercy

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace

When the dominoes seem to be tumbling in your life, look to God for strength, believing that as God brings you through the other side, you’ll be a stronger person.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington

Struggling

The Hawaiian Ironman. The ultimate ironman test.

Swim - 4kms! Bike - 180kms! Run – 42kms! Just to be able to finish gives you bragging rights for the rest of your life!

It began in 1978 with just 15 competitors. Today over 10,000 compete every year.

In the 1982 race, a 24-year old college student called Julie Moss entered this endurance race as part of her research for her senior thesis on exercise physiology.

Julie had never attempted the race before, and to her amazement she was leading the women’s division out of the water, and was still the first woman off the bike, and feeling OK. As the run wore on, her fatigue increased. But she managed to still be in the lead with only a few hundred metres to run. But it was at that point that her body had had enough – there was nothing left in the tank.

 

She wobbled, her normally strong legs refusing to obey her mental commands. Hundreds of people lining the street on the final stretch cheered her on. But she was staggering all over the place. Down she went. She climbed back to her feet, stumbled a few yards, then down again. Unable to jog anymore, Julie Moss tried to walk, but after a few steps it looked like she was drunk – her body just couldn’t go on. Down she went again.

Race assistants lifted her to her feet. Back then, you could receive help to your feet, but not help to move forward. On her feet, she lurched forward, still leading, the finish line a mere 25 metres away. Down again. She was helped to her feet for just one more step, then down. The crowd noise was unbelievable, urging her on.

As she lay in the chute, her nearest competitor Kathleen McCartney ran past her, denying Julie victory. Everyone expected her to now give up. But there was an extraordinary determination inside, her undeterred spirit wouldn't give up and on her hands and knees, she crawled the last few metres, and collapsed on the line. She reached out her arm to cross the finish line – and then she was carried to the medical tent.

The crowd went wild. They’d just witnessed an extraordinary demonstration of determination.

It had been a struggle; her body had screamed at her to stop, it had virtually shut itself down, refused to move, but Julie’s brain over-rid it, propelling a body without any energy left, just enough to finish what she had begun.

It’s funny - when your struggle is physical, the brain can make you achieve extraordinary things. The body itself is an extremely resilient piece of machinery.

Yet when your struggle is emotional, it works the other way – the body goes out in sympathy.

What was it that got Julie Moss over the line? Firstly, she had a goal. She had a purpose. She had begun a race, and she was determined to finish it.

Secondly, she had courage and determination. As things began to get a bit hard, she didn’t give up. Despite the hurt, despite the pain, she didn’t give in. Courageous. Determined.

And thirdly, she had people there to pick her up. She had people encouraging her. She had people supporting her.

Life can be a struggle. I’m sure each of us has been in a situation where we think we can’t go on. We think we can’t go any further. We feel like giving up.

Perhaps you’re in the midst of a struggle right now. An emotional struggle. A financial struggle. A relationship struggle. A spiritual struggle. A struggle with guilt or shame or bitterness or sadness. Struggling.

I think we can learn something from Julie Moss, and we can learn something from the Bible. We each need a goal, a purpose, something that you can fix your eyes on. One of the writers in the Bible, Paul, wrote this:

I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Jesus Christ, is calling us up to heaven.

Christians believe that there is a prize at the end of our time on Earth, and though we don’t follow Jesus just to get the prize, it helps us set our focus. What happens to me today is not nearly as important as what will happen eternally. I just focus my energies on pleasing God by the way I live my life. That’s my goal. That’s my purpose. And it lifts me out of my struggles, all the time.

Back to Julie’s example. She displayed courage, determination. Again the Bible has something to say – It was Jesus who continually said to his disciples – don’t be afraid, have courage, I am with you.

I know in my life that believing that the power of Jesus is with me, I can be courageous.

And determination - Paul again gives a great illustration of determination, using another running analogy, in a different section of the Bible:

‘Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.’

The eternal prize helps us keep determined.

And like Julie did, having people alongside to support you, to lift you up, is so important. That’s what a church can be for. A group of people, who because they follow the example of Jesus, are there to lift you up, to support you, to encourage you in your struggles.

If you’re struggling, think about your life’s purpose. If you’re struggling, why not try some Divine help? If you’re struggling, do you have people beside you encouraging and supporting you? If you’re struggling, why not try Jesus? He made a promise, He said this – Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

He did, He does, and He will.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington