WHAT A MESS!

Six-year-old Brandon decided one Mother’s Day morning to fix his mother pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked! Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.

Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky. And just then he saw Mom standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his mother just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, she picked up her crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting her own pajamas white and sticky in the process.

That's how God in Christ comes to us and deals with our messes.  We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can’t stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can’t think of anything else to do. That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. 

-- Adapted from an unknown source, submitted by a SOUND BITES subscriber in Wisconsin

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PETER WENT FISHING

When I talk to people about serving God, one of the saddest responses I hear is, “God doesn’t want me. Not after what I’ve done.” They assume God is just like a lot of people they know. He writes us off. He holds grudges. We’ll never meet His standards. Our mistakes are many, our failures are well known, and our reputation is shot.

Don’t you think Peter must have felt this way? Here’s a guy Jesus personally chose and spent a lot of time with. It had to mean something when Jesus called him the Rock -- what guy wouldn’t like being given that name?

But after he did exactly what Jesus told him he would do -- denying Him at the moment of crisis -- Peter retreated to his old life and figured he was off the list. Jesus had made it a point to tell him he’d fail. Why would He do that? Peter probably thought Jesus was saying, “You’re not going to make it after all. Watch how you screw up in a few hours.”

Peter went fishing, the only other life he knew. That’s it for me. My time came, and I struck out. Out there on the boat that early morning, he reflected on the shipwreck of all his dreams. Jesus had qualified him, and that was a miracle. Peter had disqualified himself, and that was a tragedy.

Then he looked up to see a figure on the shore. Against all odds, it was Jesus, waving at him, telling him there was still work to do, and what was he doing out on that boat? I still choose you. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins” 

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