When’s the best time to learn how to swim? When you’re young. When’s the best time in life to learn a foreign language? When you’re young. When’s the best time to learn how to skateboard? When you’re young. Have you ever been to a skate park and watched skateboarders? I have watched little skaters performing amazing tricks with such ease and agility. There was no stiffness and they seemed very comfortable with their board. It almost seemed like a part of them. At the same time, I’ve watched daring university students who were trying to get started – late skaters. They were tense, cautious, awkward and a bit clumsy. I suspect it’s harder to learn kickflips, nose manuals and frontside lipslides when you are older.

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Perhaps you’re not into ornithology – the study of birds. Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to be a bird-watcher to appreciate lessons from the eagle. The very mention of an eagle conjures up images of size, strength, and swiftness. A hummingbird probably thinks an eagle is a giant. When God wanted to convey a vivid image of His care and support for the children of Israel He told Moses to use the metaphor of a mighty eagle. They would get the picture quickly.

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Distraught, two sisters send an urgent message to let Jesus know their brother was deathly ill. Jesus explains that this sickness would ultimately glorify the Son of God. You can’t help but wonder: what next? Will Jesus leave everything and run immediately to the scene? Will He intervene from a distance? But before you read the rest of the story there is something important you need to know. Right in the middle of an action packed, emotionally charged story, the writer suspends the plot temporarily to make something clear to the reader: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” John 11:5

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Marybeth is excited. “That will be cool, Mom. Thanks for the big surprise,” she says. “We can stay at a hotel Friday night; shop till we drop and then come home Saturday night.” They’re both excited. The phone rings. Mom answers it but she is saying very little. Her smile is gone. She looks shocked, disappointed and hurt. Mom hangs up, brushes away a tear and the room goes deathly quiet. Something’s wrong. Marybeth was being expelled from school after her 4th offense of skipping classes. The excited feelings about the shopping trip have vanished. Something has come between them.

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Have you ever been at an intersection when the traffic lights were messed up? Red for a few seconds then amber, back to red, then green sporadically – then nothing….only to be followed by both the green and red lights blinking simultaneously? One thing is certain – something is definitely wrong. Have you ever wondered about the conflicting messages younger folks receive? The biggest surprise should not be that some are failing to pursue spiritual things with intensity. The bigger surprise is that some are.

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Some flip burgers every day. Others drive huge earth-moving machines. Then there are: automotive technicians; hair stylists; programmers; consultants; accountants; teachers; clerks and chefs; chemists and geologists; sales representatives and carpenters. The list is endless. Wherever you work, there’s an organizational structure. In larger operations, it will be found inside a manual or online. All the layers from top to bottom, from the boss to the frontline workers are mapped out. They look like pyramids. In smaller businesses it may not be in writing but all the workers know where they fit and who their boss is and who has the final say. One of the most complex organizational structures in the world is the US Military which extends from the soldiers on the front lines all the way up to the Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States. Massive and complex!

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"C'mon, get with it. Break out of your cocoon. I can't believe there are still people who think having an innocent little drink is wrong! You're living in a Christian straight-jacket. I don't see anything wrong with having a glass of alcohol or a beer at a work function or going with my friends to a Friday afternoon ‘happy hour'. And when I come home in the evening, I kick off my shoes, go to the cabinet, pour myself a drink, put my feet up and watch the news. It's a healthy way to unwind. I guess you might call me a ‘liberated’ Christian.”

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