Category Archives: Perspective

The Greatest Christian Myth Ever Told

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

mythbusters“God will never give you more than you can carry.”

I’m not sure how this phrase became so widely popularized because it’s not even remotely true. God often gives us more than we can carry, and the weight of our daily burdens routinely threatens to crush us.

  • Moses said, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Numbers 11:14)
  • Solomon said, “I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.” (1 Kings 3:7)
  • Even Jesus famously said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me…” (Luke 22:41)

You and I will most definitely receive burdens beyond our ability to bear, and we will need help. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We need burden-bearing friends, and we need a God who stoops to lift us up. However, it is crucial to realize that sometimes we won’t recognize God’s sustaining power in our life until after the burden has been successfully borne.

The popular poem “Footprints” has long contributed to the idea of God carrying us through our tough times, but it’s worth noting that the author of the poem didn’t realize she was being carried at the time. As she reviewed her seasons of seeming abandonment from God, she declared, “This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints…why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “It was then that I carried you.”

I wonder if today you’re being carried without even realizing it.

Unimpressive miracles

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Bee Happy

My body took a minor beating this weekend. I was stung by a bee, developed a fierce ingrown nose hair, and tweaked my shoulder while weightlifting. Strangely, I didn’t react to the bee sting until two days later when I woke up with swelling, redness, and a noticeable heat emanating from the sting site. On the same day, my nose hair became more painful than the bee sting, and I almost dropped a cup of scalding coffee when I extended my shoulder at the wrong angle.

The combination of these mild maladies was enough for me to remember that I’m no longer eighteen, and to attempt leveraging some sympathy out of Jessica. However, the craziest thing happened last night when I was sleeping.

I started to heal.

This morning the swelling was down on my arm, I could touch my nose without crying, and my shoulder is well on its way to recovery. Granted, it’s not the most impressive miracle in the world but it’s still a testimony to the amazing, God-given power resident in the human body. Even as we age and move closer to our final days, our bodies continue to work miracles of physical healing, reminding us that life is still at work in the midst of death.

The Apostle Paul said it this way: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

The Starfish Story

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

English: Starfish at a Sand Island (Great Barr...

In my weekend services this Sunday I intend to reference the familiar “starfish story” along with the question, “Where is God calling you to make a difference?” You’ve probably read this story or heard it paraphrased in sermons or motivational speeches, but I thought you might enjoy reading it again and being reminded that even our feeblest of efforts can contribute toward a positive change in the world. Here is an adaptation of Loren Eiseley’s “the Star Thrower.”

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a little boy, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The little boy was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The little boy paused, looked up, and replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the little boy replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

Discouraged he began to walk away. Suddenly the little boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “I made a difference for that one.”

The man looked at the little boy inquisitively and thought about what he had said and had done. Inspired, he joined the little boy in throwing the starfish back into the ocean.

Where was God at the Boston Marathon?

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Participants in the 2010 Boston Marathon in We...

Where was Jesus when multiple bombs exploded along this year’s Boston Marathon route, shattering loved ones’ hearts and instilling fear into an already anxious culture?

Where was He ten days earlier when Pastor Rick Warren’s son took his life into his own hands?

Where was He during recent tsunamis, natural disasters, and cruel expressions of man’s inhumanity to man?

Where was He during your darkest hours?

Fortunately, the Bible is not silent on this desperate, all-important question. Two thousand years ago one of Jesus’ closest friends, Lazarus, died of an illness, and when Jesus arrived at the grave site Lazarus’ sister, Martha, greeted Him with the indictment: “If you had been here my brother would not have died.”

Martha’s bitter words were an ancient re-phrasing of our modern question: “where was God.” When Jesus responded to Martha He revealed how He might respond to us. When confronted with the question “where were you when we needed you most” Jesus responded in three ways.

First, He assured Martha that natural death and tragedy are not the ultimate trump cards. In John 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Second, He wept. He entered Martha’s pain and cried beside her at her brother’s tomb.

Third, He released God’s life-giving power, raising Lazarus from the dead and calling him out of the grave as a timeless picture of God’s final victory over death.

It’s impossible to adequately explain why God would allow so many senseless tragedies. However, through Jesus we know that God is neither indifferent nor inactive to our plight. He sees, He cares, and He offers an eternal life that is able to heal even the greatest of our earthly traumas. So while we ache, weep, question, and serve we also hold out hope for Jesus’ promised life.

Bursting bubbles

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Grace Church Summer Reading Program: The Hole in our Gospel—week 2 

Thoughts from the PrologueThe_Hole_In_Our_Gospel

I tried to get out of the Prologue and in to the 1st chapter of The Hole in our Gospel this week but I couldn’t do it. I was too gripped by Richard Stearns’ metaphor of bursting bubbles. He described his bubble as one that “safely contained my life, family, and career…insulating me from anything too raw or upsetting.”[1]

Certainly you and I are not totally insulated from the pain in our world. We see and grieve over tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombings, and we ache over the personal pain that we experience inside our bubbles, and yet if we’re really honest we can probably relate with Stearns. Our American lifestyle is largely insulated from the daily horrors of major portions of our world.

To counter this unhealthy insulation, Stearns suggests asking the Lord to, “break our hearts for what breaks yours.”[2] It’s quite a risky prayer because if God answers it affirmatively we might not stay content within the current confines of our bubble.

I say we leap without looking and pray the prayer anyway.

As Pastor Bill Hybels said, “God is looking for some strong-shouldered leaders who say, ‘If there’s a tough assignment anywhere in the world, I’m available.’”[3] Let’s volunteer for broken hearts, strong shoulders, and a passion to serve our world.

[1] Richard Stearns, The Hole in our Gospel (Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN: 2009): 8.

[2] Ibid., 9.