As many of you know, I am the father of three young children – Ryan (5), Will (3), and Nate (1).  When each of them was a baby, I used to put them down for bed at night by standing near the crib, holding them in my arms, and singing quietly to them before laying them down.  If you have children of your own, you know that it can be a challenge getting little ones to go to bed without crying for a parent to come and pick them up again.  One question that often went through my head during the nighttime routine was which approach would help them go to sleep more peacefully:  keeping my eyes closed while I sang to them, or keeping my eyes open.  For a time, I went with the eyes closed approach.  By closing my eyes, I reasoned that I was showing them by example that it was time for sleep. 

Ultimately, however, I settled on the latter approach – putting them down with my eyes open, looking them in the eyes as I sang to them.  And every time I did that, I was reminded of Psalm 121, especially verses 3-4:  “He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”  I see Psalm 121 as a reminder that our God never sleeps, that He is always watching over us, and it is for that reason that we can sleep, even when we are faced with the most anxious and fearful trials, for our security is ultimately in His good hands.  We can sleep and cease our working and planning every night, knowing that He never sleeps and never stops working and planning on our behalf.  And we have His promise in v. 7-8 that He will keep us from all harm, watching over our every step.  Not that we won’t have troubles, of course, and painful situations in life, but that ultimately God our Father can protect our soul from the only thing that can truly harm us, the loss of His love and protection.

When I keep my eyes open as I sing my child to sleep, I try to communicate to him that he can sleep peacefully because his father is keeping his eyes open, protecting him, and that ultimately His Heavenly Father continues to protect him, even when his earthly father goes to sleep. 

It is 5:30 in the morning as I am writing this.  God brought Psalm 121 to my mind again this morning, convicting me that this quality of God is meant to be one of the characteristics of my life as a husband and father.  Because He does not sleep, the family of God can rest secure, knowing that He never stops working and planning on their behalf.  On a smaller scale, this is the call on my life as a husband and father – to emulate my Father by giving up sleep or anything else that is necessary in order to allow my family to rest secure.  To work and plan so that they can sleep in peace, knowing that their father cares for them and will not let harm befall them, and ultimately knowing that this is even more true of their Father in heaven.  Thank you, Lord, for your tireless work and care for your family; Lord, please help me to be a father like you are.

SAN ANTONIO — A man said he had a heart-to-heart conversation with an armed burglar over a cup of coffee after he found him stealing his belongings from his home on Sept. 11, KSAT-TV in San Antonio reported.
Steve Swanson said he found a man, whom police suspect is Armando Hernandez, stealing items from his home.
“I said, ‘What are you doing here?’” Swanson said. “He said, ‘I’m taking your stuff, and it’s too bad you showed up.’”
Swanson said the man was carrying a knife in one hand and a gun in the other, but he didn’t panic.

“I said, ‘You don’t want to do this. First of all, if you harm me or kill me, I’m just going to go to heaven. You’re going to go to prison forever,’” Swanson said.
Swanson said he gave the burglar all the money in his wallet and offered to listen to his problems over breakfast.
He said the man told him he couldn’t pay his bills or afford to buy food for himself.
Swanson said he ended their conversation with a prayer and a hug.
He said he convinced the man to give him back two pillowcases full of stolen items.
However, Swanson said, the burglar still got away with some of his wife’s expensive jewelry.
Swanson said he notified police only for insurance purposes.
Swanson said he would have upheld his promise to let the thief go had he not taken the items.
Swanson said he believes the men crossed paths for a reason.
“I do believe God put us together and protected me,” he said.

Followers of Jesus, those who get the gospel, are marked by a fearlessness and conviction that causes them to live life boldly and without fear.  May you take a moment to meditate on the truths of the gospel today, that you are secure in the hands of your Father, that neither death nor life nor anything else can ever separate you from that love.

Why do I feel like I shrunk back in cowardice every time a pack of teens slouched by our AppleFest booth this past Saturday??? Was it their unkempt hair? Their “cooler-than-thou” attitudes? Their complete lack of interest in stopping by a church’s booth (or was it slight interest completely annihilated by the crushing peer pressure not to be seen stopping by a church booth?)?

Or maybe it was just me. Have I really not grown past that fear-of-fitting-in, just-want-to-look-cool anxiety I acquired when I hit puberty? And if that’s the case, when does one get over that? Is it when your kids finally convince you that you’re not cool anymore? When the hairline recedes and the waistline increases? When you realize that you no longer recognize any of the songs on Top 40 radio?

Whatever it is… teenagers are scary to me. Actually, come to think of it, so are most adults. I think it’s pretty much the under 12 and the over 65 crowd that I don’t find threatening. Fortunately for me, that’s who our booth seemed to attract the most when I was there on Saturday (mainly the 12 and under crowd, thanks to our bean bag toss and temporary tattoos). Thank God for Peter & Gloria Wu being there when I showed up and for staying long enough to show me the ropes, because it took me about 30 minutes to work up the courage to actually make eye contact with people. Maybe it’s a surprise to you, but being outgoing with strangers does not come easily for me.

But so many times during my time in the booth, as I surveyed the crowd, the following verse came to mind: When Jesus saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). I look at teenagers and see gangsters straight out of The Godfather (or The Departed, for those of you too young to have seen the Godfather…). Jesus saw wooly little quadrapeds, baa-ing away in their lostness, hoping for someone to bring them to fresh water and plentiful grass. Try it sometimes when you’re out in a crowd – look at a group of teens and imagine them with wool and fuzzy ears. Maybe that will take the fear out of it.

The verse from Mark about the crowd being like sheep reminds me of a scene from one of my all-time favorite movies, Swingers, a 90’s movie starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughan that became well-known for its “Vegas, baby” line. Jon Favreau’s character, Mikey, has all sorts of problems being smooth with the ladies, and in a classic scene, Vince Vaughan’s Trent and Patrick Van Horn’s Sue try to convince Mikey that he’s like a big bear, and the woman whose number he’s trying to score is like a little bunny, and if he’d just realize that he’s got claws and fangs and she’s just a little rabbit, he wouldn’t be so afraid (FYI, the movie is rated R for its language, before anyone runs out to rent it). And in the end (spoiler alert!), as he looks across the bar at an attractive woman (Heather Graham), he squints real hard and imagines her as a little bunny rabbit before going over and introducing himself (and succeeding in being semi-smooth).

And if both Jesus and Vince Vaughan agree on something, it must be true.

Sheep without a shepherd. Lost, defenseless people without a master. This is how Jesus was able to see people with compassion instead of judging them as I judge them, by their appearance, age, attractiveness, gender, piercings, or anything like that. Now that doesn’t mean that I should have left the booth and stopped a pack of teens and said (in my most compassionate voice), “Hey, boys and girls, I know you’re lost and feeling helpless – let me introduce you to Jesus. He’ll be the guide you’ve been looking for.” That probably would not have been effective, because ultimately most people who are “lost” don’t know they are, and most helpless sheep don’t know there is a shepherd who can guide them to peace and everything they’ve been looking for. And because teenagers are scary.

However, seeing people as Jesus sees them would do wonders for me, I believe, in helping me to overcome my fears and insecurities. It might even help convince my soul that I am not in junior high anymore, that there is no one looking to slam my locker or knock the books out of my hand if I say the wrong thing or don’t appear cool enough. I would realize that I am just a sheep who has been found by the shepherd, an often clueless, sometimes dirty, usually lost person who for some reason got scooped up by a loving shepherd and led to a place with everlasting water. I am loved, and I don’t need to be afraid of people’s opinions anymore, because I know I’m just a sheep anyways. My head knows that; someday my heart will know it as well.

And not only would realizing I’m just a sheep who’s been found humble me, it would help me see through the lack of interest in church and cooler-than-thou attitude and the unkempt hair (well, maybe not through the hair) and see that behind all the posturing is a need to be loved for who you are, to belong unconditionally, and for a sense that life matters. Essentially, a need for a shepherd, and for a church full of sheep who love other sheep for who they are (even if they are clueless and dirty), give them a place to belong unconditionally (piercings and all) and show them the path towards the full life (and neverending grassy fields). And maybe if people got the sense that the church loved them like that instead of judging them, they’d be more interesting in stopping by our booth, and more importantly in meeting the Shepherd. So, even if it means imagining wool and fuzzy ears, Lord, help us to see the crowd as you do.