The Back Porch

Cheryl Watson speaking on how her hike will benefit the community of Winona, MN.

www.hikergirlpct.com

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http://www.sermonplayer.com/c/thebackporch/audio/11396_2552.mp3

Here it is!  Enjoy!

There are people from all walks of life that have deep needs, need help, need a friend, etc.   The point about the Good Samaritan wasn’t the religious leaders that passed him by, but rather the guy in the gutter who was beat up, left for dead.  It is the guy in ditch dying.   Often I get caught up asking, “Which of those religious leaders are me?”   While this is important we should be asking this question, “Do I take on issues, debate things that hinder me from seeing the guy in the gutter?”   This is what happened to the leaders, their debate, interpretations of the law caused them to miss the point; their hearts became hard.  Am I really that different from them?  I miss the point too. 

  
Recently I had a powerful experience in San Diego.  Jenah and I were walking the streets completely lost and came upon a man sleeping on the sidewalk.  There was urine flowing from underneath him.  We just kept walking.  I was focused on staying safe rather then helping.  We should have helped, should have served him instead we watched the firemen kick him awake later.  Perhaps the question we need to ask is not what is our motivation, but maybe why don’t we don’t we respond when the need is in our face.  Our experience in San Diego affected me profoundly.  

    
The life of Christ reminds me and gives me purpose for serving.  His work on the cross is profound, a mystery and simply amazing.  This alone should be cause for us to serve shouldn’t it?  Do we realize what exactly God did for us on the cross through Jesus?  This defining act of service, love and humility all laid out for the world?  We have been studying this in Corinthians over the past several months, the message of the cross is the power of God for those who believe (1Cor 1:18.)  But it’s not, well at least in the way we live our lives.  We have added elements to the cross that just aren’t there.  As Christians we tend to debate, rally for causes, support rather than serve.

 
Generally I feel like most people want to help; this isn’t limited to just believers.  People are motivated differently and will respond based on those motivations.  Service is ingrained.  Some will do it well and some won’t.  The Good Samaritan wasn’t part of the rabbinical system, yet he did it, all we get is that he is some Joe that walks by and helps.  This parable relates very well to the church right now.   The church could be the priests walking by.  The church (generalizing here but I think you agree with me) just doesn’t rise up to help those in need.  For our purposes, we see this happening daily, there are organizations that help with the needy, and there are Good Samaritans all over the place picking up the slack where the church across the street isn’t doing much.   I believe our motivations are out of line.  I heard an illustration recently; there was a church with Hooters moving in across the street.  The pastor was pretty livid, and the congregation soon followed.  They were protesting, signing petitions, etc.  They even went as far as making a website of people walking into Hooters.   There was much hatred going on.  The pastor asked a friend what they should do about this.  He rented a billboard.  The friend approached Hooters and said, “I am putting up a billboard and we are going to see who can raise more money to build a well in Africa, Hooters or 1st Baptist.”  Then he went to the church and said this to them, “I challenged Hooters to build wells in Africa, it’s going to be you vs. Hooters.”  He put up the score daily.  Guess who won. Hooters.  The church was quiet after that.  They saw people that went to Hooters in a different light.   It’s easy to get caught in spewing venom, ranting on issues that rob us of love for others.  We fall on the hate train often.  This type of thinking takes us away from people in the gutter. If we aren’t careful, we could be shutting door on people without ever serving them.  I have to ask the question daily, “Who am I about to walk over?”

Peace

So I’m sitting here in a café in Seattle (to keep this cliché from going any further, no, it isn’t raining), and I’m thinking to myself that I haven’t written much for the Back Porch lately.

So I find myself thinking back through the past few months to figure out what has changed or developed or become interesting. And the unfortunate conclusion that I’ve drawn is that my life has essentially reverted to where I was 3 years ago.

I’m hopelessly confused. I don’t really know where my life is going, or for that matter, where I’ve come from. There were a lot of issues, like my long-term memory lasting no more than 2 years, that I thought would be worked out by settling down, as it were. I thought dating, and then after that, being engaged would change that. It didn’t. I still forget, and even now I’m forgetting the beginnings of the relationship that I thought would fix it.

So I don’t know where I’m going either. Honestly, I’m sitting in a café in Seattle, listening to Brand New on some classic headphones on my mac, hanging with two friends, and this seems pretty nice to me. There’s a job market out here. There’s an art scene. There is the cultural context that a city can provide that Winona cannot.

I still struggle with the concept of home. What is it, and how do I find it? How do I make it? Can either of those be done electively? I’m not really sure on the answer, but I can comfortably say that it’s easier to make a home in some places than others.

I still struggle wtih Faith, too. There’s a delicate balance between stepping out in faith and hearing to see what God says first. There’s no formula for it. There’s no list of steps you can take to guarantee that you never stray from God’s will. I earnestly believe that you can pray for months, think you figured out where God wants you, and with the best intentions seek it out, only to find that you were wrong all along.

I feel comfortable saying that because that has been my experience.

Job had everything taken from him for, from a wordly perspective, no reason. He lost his family, his health, his livlihood, and his wealth. All of it.

Job continued to praise God, but wasn’t without his share of questions. He cried out to God, asking what ill he had done to bring this punishment upon himself and his family. He received no answers. His friends then met him and tried to convince him to do something differently or better. Primarily they argued that he must have sinned in some way to bring this torment.

But Job hadn’t, and told them so. But still asked God why this was all happening.

Ultimately what it came down to was that God was involved in a duel, of sorts, with Satan. It effected Job, but didn’t show him how. He continued to seek God in spite of being given no direction or reassurance. He simply kept on truckin’.

And in that he glorified God. Without even knowing it.

I sometimes feel like I’m in an equivalent situation. I keep trying and trying and trying, and it still seems like God isn’t with me. People say, “You should pray more to hear God.” So I do it, and I feel like I come to this radical new realization (or not), and then step out in faith on it, and fall on my face.

So right now I’m stumbling through life without really knowing where to go, if I ought to go anywhere. But I stand assured that so long as I try to follow God, even if my efforts fail, he is glorified.

I, Peter Boysen, am also an active photographer, and have recently created my own blog to display that work. It can be found at http://www.peterboysen.com, and is also listed under the links section of this page.

Shameless self-promotion aside, for those of you reading this today, Saturday, Feb. 17th, you should be reminded that the Back Porch is tonight! Don’t forget to show up.

Keep it real, folks.