Huffing and puffing, tired and exhausted, he slumps on to a bench. He almost lost it. The thing was running like crazy and he was chasing after it, terrified it would run right out on to the street and become history with one belated screech of the brakes. But thankfully his pursuit was not in vain. The tragedy of a lost pet was averted. Have you ever been on such a pursuit when you put everything on the line except your own morals and integrity to save or salvage something that is in jeopardy of being lost?

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“I’d love to give that Levi fellow a piece of my mind but he’s cozy with the powerful Roman Government. I’ll have to keep my mouth shut. He’s got his little tax booth there with his big money chest and all his ledgers. He collects taxes on everything. Road tolls, town dues, imports and exports, taxes on axles and wheels, admission to markets, pack animals, licenses for just about everything. I’m sure he invents taxes and penalties to charge us – just like all the other Mokhes! It’s not just the money that he pockets himself but it drives me bonkers that every time we pass by his booth, we have to unload and unpack everything. Every bale and every package …. Well, he noses his way through everything, even our private letters.”

But recently in Capernaum there had been quite a stir. ....

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Human nature only likes boundaries when they are convenient. So often we want to push the boundaries out of our way, jump over them or ignore them. Did you know that as a Christian you are expected to behave within certain boundaries? So much for laissez-faire, fluid and free-style Christian living! There ARE sides to the box and the Lord expects us to live within those sides. There ARE lines on the page and He expects us to write our lives between the lines. Christ left us a pattern for living and He doesn’t expect us to be creative and come up with a ‘style’ of our own choosing, based on our likes and dislikes and our idiosyncrasies.

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You’re driving by and you spot some of your school friends coming out of a club clasping in one hand their beer and hanging on to their friend with the other. They are laughing their heads off, waving at cars as they pass by, and shouting a few obscenities as they walk down the street. You’re a Christian – but for a few seconds you wonder what it would be like to be having such a good time – letting loose and for once to be totally accepted by school or college friends.

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We can be entertained by a good debate - sharp and crisp exchanges as one tries to get the advantage over the other. Who can stump the other fellow? Who’s the first to get backed into the corner and to look ridiculous? Who can deliver the lethal words that will shut the other up? Who is best equipped to unleash rapid fire, sarcastic put-downs to belittle their opponent? Who has the upper hand in poking pejorative jabs at the other person? Unfortunately we sometimes admire these traits. We listen to people who boast of the way they man-handled a conversation with abruptness, put-downs and smart-alek responses and we chuckle or smile. We almost feel like saying: “Yes! Good job. You’ll make them think after that. You really shut them up. They needed that.”

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You may never be the Commander-in-Chief of the military or the Chief Executive Officer of a corporation. You may never be left in charge of your employer's passwords or the safety deposit box keys. The secret recipe that makes the restaurant where you work so famous may never be shared with you.

But get this: you have a responsibility that far outweighs any of the above!

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“I don’t understand how he could do it. I trusted him. I considered him my friend. I don’t know how many times I confided in him and looked to him for advice. He was my close associate and now he’s stabbing me in the back. He’s become my enemy. He’s taken sides against me and has joined the other camp. I can’t believe the things he’s saying and doing. Is he even the same guy? What’s got into him? He’s completely betrayed me and worse still, he’s actively working and plotting against me.”

King David was hurting badly......

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“It’s so comfortable here. It’s familiar territory. I wake up in the morning and I pretty well know how my day will unfold. Sure, there are always a few little snags and hiccups along the way, but basically my life is predictable and comfortable.”  Maybe that’s how the middle-aged man in Ur of the Chaldees thought too. We like our little boxes. We look to our right and the wall stands tall. On our left the wall is securely standing. In front of us and behind there is a nice square erect wall. We look up and the lid is closed and below is a seeable bottom. Someone peers through the crack in the lid and says: “But you’re confined in there.” “Oh no”, you say – “I’m secure and safe.”

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“You’re always wondering why this happened or why that happened. Can’t you give it up and understand that things ‘just’ happen. You’re taking life far too seriously, man. Lighten up! Haven’t you heard of a ‘coincidence’?”

Should a Christian ignore what happens to them? Should I just write off the experience as one of those things that happens to everyone sooner or later? Should you just shrug your shoulders and say: “Whoops! I guess it wasn’t my lucky day!” Or should we be looking at the episodes, events and happenings in our lives from a different perspective?

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“I don’t care. It’s too late to change. I’ve got the plans made and I’m going through with it.” And sometimes we forge ahead with our inflexible plans that are closed to outside interceptions and influences. We elbow our way through the hurdles and challenges; we ignore the yield signs, the amber signals as well as the stop lights. We forge ahead with our plans.

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