Fishing, friends and refreshing

I just returned from a great week with my friend in Missouri. We grew up fishing farm ponds in SE Kansas, painting houses, golfing and learning how to follow Jesus (not necessarily in that order).

When we moved to Colorado in 1983, he and his wife bought a little fishing resort in Branson.

Here are a few things I was hit with in hanging out with him:

• he loves to fish
• he's the kind of friend who would do anything for you
• he enjoys helping others - taking young people in to their home, guiding on the lake, caring for his family, serving at church, championing the less fortunate
• his family is one of the kindest and closest knit I know
• he's a great cook who always has the latest techniques for making fish and wild game taste amazing
• and he loves to fish

When we were in high school he wanted to buy this lake property (great fishing lake) so he could build some places for people to stay and get refreshed. That didn't work out, but the dream came true shortly thereafter. He loves to build "places" for people to enjoy.

The other interesting thing about my friend is that he is an off the charts introvert. He doesn't like big parties. He would just as soon take one person out on the lake versus sit around in a group and talk.

Just imagine what it is like when we're in a boat together. Long and extended periods of silence :) We eventually get around to talking about what is going on, and we rarely leave any topic untouched.

It seems like that is true of every great relationship when you're comfortable with someone. Like music, sometimes it is the notes you don't play that make the music awesome.

We caught lots of fish, over 100 in about 15 hours of fishing (it helps when your friend becomes a fishing guide).

And just like old times, one of us was typically exclaiming "oh man, I can't believe I missed that bite. I think he was huge..."

Here is to friends who follow God's dreams -- serving others by using their gifts and making a place for them.

Imperfect people

After our first week in the Book of Esther, a friend asked me “So what’s up with Esther having 75k people killed at the end of the story?” He had read ahead, specifically referring to chapter 9 in which it states, “They gained relief from their enemies by killing 75,000 of them.”

What a great question, and it begs for more than I can respond to in this blog. But here is a short reply.

One of the things we have to realize when reading the Bible is that human weakness is portrayed throughout. Even the heroes of the Bible (like Esther) were imperfect. They do great things for God, then, they do something off the wall.

Many times the Bible is silent in terms of commentary. In other words, the author of Esther does not say her actions were over the top, that power got to her head and she should not have pushed for an extra day of killing her enemies. We’re left to wonder about her motivation, and what God thought about it.

Esther was an imperfect Jewish girl, elevated to the position of Queen of Persia. Against Jewish laws she had sex with a pagan king, married him, did not practice many ritual laws, and kept her faith private. I’m guessing she wrestled with all of this but I’m not sure how much.

However, God used her in a mighty way to spare the Hebrews from annihilation.

The Bible is still a story of redemption history, how God was and is intervening in this imperfect world and ultimately will set everything right.

When reading the Bible, we have to be careful to avoid interpreting silence on a matter as validation. We have to guard against putting people on pedestals as though God were endorsing their every action. Only when it clearly states they were doing what God asked and it is consistent with the overall teaching of the Bible do we embrace it as an example to follow.

We look to Jesus, who was in himself the exact representation of the Father. He fulfilled the law of God perfectly. He also reinterpreted much of the law, revealing the intentions of God (“you have heard it said…, but I say unto you…”).

So in the Esther story, we read through the lenses of “loving your enemies” and “praying for those who persecute you” and “entrusting yourself to God.” We rejoice in God’s deliverance and we leave judgment in His hands.

We can learn from Esther’s courage, from Mordecai’s character, and from God’s sovereign hand in working everything together for good. And with God’s help, the whole counsel of Scripture, and being in loving community, we can sort through understanding what applies to us.

And we can avoid putting people on pedestals by realizing gifting does not validate behavior. What a hard lesson to learn...