I guess “to be like Jesus” is a common goal of the Christian, but how does it happen? Goal setting and human effort do not bring what is needed in God’s eyes. But He will work in those who are willing to trust Him. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” God knows our prideful nature so well. He lets His perfect law show us we can never be righteous in His eyes by following rules. A new and clean heart is what we need… and that’s why we need a Savior.
But if we put our faith fully in Jesus and receive this gift of righteousness that Paul writes about, we are still challenged to live like Him. Becoming like Jesus is more God’s idea than our own and if we have this deep desire, we can know His Spirit is at work in our hearts. “When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, what a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.” Giving up self, listening to our King, and trusting Him fully are the ways we progress on this journey. We obey the Lord because we love Him, and when we fail to obey we are sad because we know that His obedience saved us. How we need His grace.
So here’s a rather lengthy Hawaiian story that reminds me of my desperate need, God’s constant love, and Jesus’ radical instructions on how to live.
The Wednesday before Christmas, Taylor wanted to show us a beautiful place he found on the island, so our whole family hopped in the car Susan rented and drove toward the ocean. Taylor said we would need to walk a while, so we parked next to a wooden section of a stone wall by the road. The location was very beautiful and we spent about thirty minutes taking pictures, gazing at the Pacific, and smelling flowers. As the five of us walked back to where we parked, I noticed, to my dismay, that the wooden part of the wall had moved and a man was standing next to our car talking on a cell phone. “Never mind! Here they are!” he shouted, shoving his phone into his pocket. I said, “Uh oh.” “You can’t imagine how you have messed me up!” the man screamed. The wooden part of the wall was an entrance to his property on the ocean. A brown truck was parked in front of our car, unable to get to the road. It was evident we had picked a bad parking place and this man was letting us have it. “I’ve had this appointment for weeks and you made me miss it!” We all said we were sorry as we slid into the car, but our humble apologies would not appease. I didn’t have an idea what to do until I heard him shout, “You’re going to have to give me at least $100 for this!!!” I looked at Susan in the driver’s seat and said, “I don’t have $100, let’s just leave.” One of our children heartily agreed from the back seat, but Susan said, “I have $100 in my purse in the trunk.” I didn’t argue with her as she got out of the car. As the man continued to yell, using bad language and threatening lawsuits, Susan reached out her hand with five twenty dollar bills. The closing remarks of this nightmare were a little humorous. As the man snatched the money, he shouted, “I’ve had walking pneumonia for two weeks!” Susan, with a slightly raised voice, replied, “Well, my husband has terminal cancer.” He looked down at me in the car and all I could think to say was, “Merry Christmas.”
As we drove off, a heated discussion broke out in our family. One said we just wasted $100. Another said we should have driven away like I had originally suggested. Another said we should have run over the guy’s foot. I was still trying to figure out what we should have done. “I think Mom did the right thing. That guy really must have missed something important. Just think if we had an important place to go and when we raised our garage door someone had parked in our driveway blocking us. We’d be upset too!” My logic didn’t go too far with my children.
That evening, our friend, Anna, and her niece, Ranata, prepared a delicious Brazilian meal. Still baffled by our encounter, I told them the story and asked the question I should have considered much earlier. “What do you think Jesus would have done?” “He wouldn’t have given him $100!” someone interjected. But as we considered our dilemma, we all realized that Jesus tells us exactly how to react in such uncomfortable situations. “Love your enemy. Pray for those that mistreat you. Bless those who curse you. If someone steals from you, give him a little more. If someone sues you, give him more than he asks.” How opposite Jesus lived! If we are going to follow Him we must be intentionally detached from our money, our possessions, and our egos! His heart became so apparent to me that I knew exactly what Jesus would have done. “I think Jesus would have healed that man.”
There is a godly sorrow that comes when you realize you didn’t use an opportunity to say “yes” to the Lord. And who can redeem lost opportunities? Friday, we saw Taylor and his team off to the airport where they were to leave on their Cambodian outreach. Saturday, Christmas Eve, we had arranged for Susan and the girls to go on a snorkeling expedition. As we followed the directions to get to the place the boat docked, we discovered it was just a couple of blocks away from our disastrous parking place. As the girls prepared to get on the boat, I shared, “Since I’m not going with you guys, I think I’ll go find our friend.” Our youngest cried, “Dad, don’t you dare!” But I had already decided that our location was no coincidence. After waving bon voyage, I walked down the road and came to the wooden gate. No one seemed to be home as I walked along the wall. The several “Keep Out” and “No Trespassing” signs made me think I would probably not be welcome if anyone were home, but I decided to continue walking and praying. When I came to a spot near the ocean, at the rear of the wall, I could see three or four small houses on the property. Since there was still no sign of life, I decided it was time to leave. As I approached the gate, a brown truck drove up. My palms were sweaty as the familiar man jumped out to open the wooden gate. My heart started racing when I saw a giant black dog in the back of his truck. “Well, Lord, I guess this is an answer to prayer.” As the man turned around, we stood face to face. “Hello, friend”, I said. I tell you, he looked like he had seen a ghost. He started stammering and explaining how he really had missed an important doctor’s appointment that day and how angry he had been. “I know”, I said. “We felt terrible about it and I just wanted to tell you we were sorry.” In an ensuing, awkward moment of silence, I remembered I had a little souvenir in my pocket that I had bought at an outdoor market. It was a painted wooden gecko. I pulled it out and said, “Here’s a Christmas present.” Both hands shot up and he said, “No. I’m not going to take anything from you.” But I insisted and he meekly took the simple gift. “What are you doing now?” he asked. “Why don’t you come in for a while. My name is Peter and that’s my dog, Moose.”
We visited on his porch for a half an hour, I guess. His great, great, great grandfather had moved to the big island from Italy in the 1860’s and the coast property had been in his family ever since. Peter was a fisherman and the pneumonia had kept him from work. I told him how much our son, Taylor, loved to fish and he offered to take him out. “But I always fish at night and it takes about two hours to get to the good spots.” I told him I was sorry he had been sick and he told me he was sorry I had cancer. He went into his house and came back with some blueprints showing future plans for his property. He hopes to fix up the four little houses and rent them to vacationers. I told him it sure was a beautiful spot on the ocean. “Leave me your address and I’ll send you a week’s free vacation when I get everything built.” I wrote down our address on the piece of paper he gave me. As I got ready to leave, I said, “You know my family follows Jesus and we really felt bad about the other day. I think Jesus would have healed you if He had been here. Do you mind if I pray for you before I go?” “I guess so”, he answered. As I prayed, I opened my eyes and noticed that Peter probably was not used to being in prayer settings. He was just walking around listening to me pray. When I came to the part where I prayed that God would heal him of his pneumonia, Peter looked up at the sky and shouted, “Yes, God, and heal my friend, Dana, too!”
As I walked down the road to meet the girls, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and praise our God in Heaven. Only He can bring about such changes. Animosity turned to peace; anger turned to laughter; hatred turned to friendship… and the man who cussed us out three days earlier was now praying for my health.
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35-36
