Saran Wrap River

When I was 6 I dug a little trench behind our garage and lined it with Saran Wrap in hopes of creating a girl-made river in our backyard. My plan was to create this river and then baptize the little girl next door in it. Now, the denomination in which I was raised didn’t encourage these kinds of things, exactly, but I knew that in the case of an emergency a layperson could administer this particular sacrament, and I was quite certain that God would feel that the baptism of my neighbor qualified as an emergency. The plan fell apart, though, because for some unknown reason lining the trench with Saran Wrap didn’t prove to be an effective means of retaining water. And, I am guessing that tricking my neighbor into getting baptized in my backyard would not have been an effective means of evangelism either.

And that right there, my friends, is the inspiration for what I’m about to write. Not the mechanics of building bodies of water behind our houses, but the beautiful possibility of moving from well-intentioned but totally misguided ways of living out our faith to radical, transformational, and totally realistic means of living like Jesus in this crazy world.

You see, my intentions in building a river were noble, but I was totally missing the mark. The more effective way of engaging my neighbor would have just been to love her, pray for her, and then tell her about this Jesus who saved my soul. To be honest, I don't remember much about life as a 6 year old (other than my Seran Wrap river and a few of the fantastic plays that I put on for my family), so I can't tell you if I ever managed to actually talk about Jesus. But that would have been a good start.

Its an important thing to think about, you know; how we can engage the people in our lives over the truth of the gospel. Its important because its the purpose Jesus gave us when He left this world to sit at the right hand of His Father. Matthew 28:19 says:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.

This reminds me of scenes in dramatic movies when one of the main characters is dying and raises his or her head one last time to whisper their final words. . . Not that Jesus was dying - far from it! - but that these final words should carry the same power and punch in our lives because He chose them for a reason! He could have said something like this:

Go therefore and have lots of quiet times and bible studies, for the most important thing is to have knowledge, and if you can acquire fame and money while on this earth that would be fun too, and lo, I will be watching from afar, slightly bored, until the end.

I'm sorry. That does seem so wrong. . . but it proves a point, yes? Where have we lost our way and when did we forget the very clear purpose that God gave us? (There is not time or room to dig deeper, but I have to say right here that the coolest thing is that when you look at the overarching story of the bible, redeeming people to Himself has been God's foremost purpose since the fall! The means have changed, but the purpose remains the same. . . so cool.)

So, it is important that we understand how to make disciples; how to share the joy and beauty of our faith with those in our lives. And then, its important that we actually do it. My phony version of Matthew 28:19 sounds ridiculous, but if we are honest with ourselves isn't that the way we often live our lives? We read our bibles (which is good), try to listen in Sunday School (which is also good), and then go home and live for the same purposes that everyone else is living for (oh, not good). We know that Jesus promised to be in us and with us wherever we go, but we talk and act like he's some distant being watching Lifetime while we waste away our days and our opportunities.

I would not recommend building a river and spontaneously dunking people, but how else can you take Jesus' passionate calling and begin to make it a reality in your lives? Maybe by reaching out to people outside of your circle of friends. Maybe by talking about your faith over lunch. . . and not just the easy stuff, like Christiany political views, but the difficult and potentially awkward stuff, like your love for Jesus and how He has changed your life.

I know, that sounds intimidating and totally unrealistic for some of you. But I can promise you that when you choose to actually live out the purpose that Christ has called every believer to live, you will never regret it. And remember - He has promised His very self to be near to us and help us! What else could you need?

It is an awesome thing to receive the grace of God and the gift of eternal life through Christ. And it is abundantly more awesome to be a part of God's plan to extend that grace and eternal life to others.