Unlived Life

I have to prepare a message for next week’s elementary chapel about the Easter story.  I’m not quite sure why, but speaking at chapel always seems to make me a little nervous.  I want to share something that will make a difference in the students’ lives, and that is a lot of pressure!  I have much admiration and respect for pastors, youth, and children’s ministers that do this on a weekly basis.

I feel as if the Easter story is the most important story anyone could ever tell.  It has the ability to be life changing for those who hear the message.  I’m overwhelmed because I don’t really know where to start, or how to tell this story.  So many of our students have heard this story many times, and I am not sure how to tell it in a new way.

As I pray, and think about what to say, and how to say it, one theme keeps coming to my heart and mind.  This theme is from a scene in a movie Tuck Everlasting; the movie is about a family who has discovered a spring of water that has the ability to give a person everlasting life.  The Tuck family drank from the spring without knowing its capability, and now they can never die.  A young girl meets the Tuck family and finds out about their secret.  She has to make a choice and decide if she would rather drink from the spring so she could live forever, or go on and live a normal human life and eventually die.  The father of the Tuck family in the movie takes the girl aside and explains to her that what the Tucks have, you can’t really call it living; they just are.  He goes on to tell her not to be afraid of dying, be afraid of the unlived life.

How many of us are afraid of death?  If we were honest, I think we could admit that it is a legitimate fear of everyone.  Christians have less to fear than others because of our heavenly eternity, but we still do not like to think of the finality of death.  Maybe we have made peace with the real possibility of our own deaths, but what about the possibility of the people we love most dying?

There are several valuable insights we can take from the movie Tuck Everlasting.  First of all, there is a spring of everlasting life available to all of us.  That spring is found in Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind.  John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”  When God sent His Son into the world, He provided a way to save us from death and give us eternal life.

Another valuable insight is the idea of not being afraid of dying, but of the unlived life.  What does it mean to live an unlived life?  I think living an unlived life means, living a life that is outside of your destined purpose.  I’m not quite sure why this next particular image keeps coming to mind, but I have to share this somewhat humorous and disturbing parallel.

One of my grandfathers was a taxidermist, on the side of his other profession, when I was growing up.  For those of you who do not know what a taxidermist is, it is a person who prepares and preserves the skins of animals and stuffs them into a lifelike form (Dictionary definition).  When we would go to visit my grandfather, we would often go to his shop to see his newest projects.  That shop had to be one of the creepiest places for a little child to visit.  I was surrounded by numerous lifelike, dangerous animals.  There were bears, deer, wolves, etc. all standing in a lifelike pose looking at me.  Although these animals look like they are alive, they are certainly not, and they never will be again.  These animals once had a purpose much different than the one they have now.  They once used to wildly roam around this world; they all had their own part to play in the great “circle of life”.  However, now their purpose is much different, now are admired for their beauty and fierceness, but they are also very dead.

I believe that we all have a purpose in life, and our greatest purpose is to reflect the image of our Savior.  Jesus Christ conquered death so that we could have eternal life.  He took our blame so we could be made holy in the sight of God.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.” Romans 3:24-25

This is the reason that we as Christians celebrate Easter.  Jesus died to save us.  As I reflect on this truth, and think about the sacrifice Jesus made, I feel a burden to continue to seek out God’s purpose for my life; seek out how I can most reflect the image of Christ.  I don’t want to live a life admiration for my accomplishments like the stuffed animals, which is something I am often tempted of doing.  Why live a life of being admired by others for a few moments while they are in the room with your mounted figure, when instead you can live an adventurously wild life with Jesus Christ.  The former may satisfy your desire for admiration, but the latter will satisfy your soul!

To end my thoughts, I would like to encourage everyone to take a drink from Jesus’ spring of everlasting life.  Acknowledge His sacrifice and believe in His love.  Ask for His forgiveness, and live your life.  Don’t be afraid of dying, be afraid of living the unlived life!

When the Shocking Becomes Familiar

It’s funny how the things that were once shocking and unsettling can easily become familiar.  It’s kind of like when you walk into an area that has a strong smell that eventually becomes undetectable, or an idea that you once detested that one day becomes a welcoming thought.

 I’ve been here in Addis Ababa for six months now, and some of the things that were once the source of my culture shock, have become familiar and in some cases esteemed. 

I was initially overwhelmed with the amount of people that live in Addis, and the sights that I daily saw.  It was a city that was built for 400,000 and now 8 million people inhabit it.  When you drive along the streets of Addis, your sights are drawn to the many people who are walking about.  Not only are your eyes drawn to the multitudes of people, but you also see livestock everywhere.  There are often donkeys carrying heavy loads on their backs or a herd of goats or sheep being herded by their owners.  There are people carrying heavy loads, women with babies on their backs, and friends walking alongside one another holding hands.  You observe the sights and you realize that these people experience a life much different from the one you have come to know.  I now know that I have never known true hard work or labor.  However, they do not seem to be embittered by the reality of their lives.  In many cases they seem to be some of the most joyful and warmhearted people I know.

The Ethiopian people and their culture are unique and beautiful.   Many of their faces are filled with smiles, and they get so much pleasure from a welcomed smile or acknowledgement.  As a foreigner, you get many looks of curiosity.  People will often shout “foreinge” or “you, you, you” when they see us, but out of fascination not disdain.  If you speak back to them, their faces light up with smiles all the way up to their eyes.  When you respond in the same way by saying the equivalent “habisha” or “antes, antes, antes” they laugh in amusement!

Greetings are so important, and often very affectionate.  The people have a way of making you feel loved from the moment they see you and greet you.  Initially, I was uncomfortable with the greetings because I was never quite sure what to do.  Whenever I meet a woman in whom I am acquainted, I am greeted with usually 3 cheek to cheek embraces, sometimes more or less.  Whenever I meet a man I am acquainted with, I shake his hand and we touch shoulder to shoulder and embrace in a slight hug.  When meeting someone for the first time, usually you shake their hands, although sometimes if they are a close friend to your friend you might have a similar greeting as you would with an acquaintance.  When meeting someone, a person will often show you respect by extending their right hand, while placing their left hand in the crease of their elbow.  It seems that every gesture or greeting is important to the person and always warm.  I love the tenderness shown to one another, and my heart is still touched when a stranger shows their respect towards me.

At first glance, traditional habisha food did not look appetizing to my American eyes or palate.  I can remember my first experience with Ethiopian food.  There were these rolls of injera stacked up on a plate, with spoonful’s of lentils or colorful meat filled (what looked like) porridge splattered on an unrolled piece of injera.  I had made a silent request to God before ripping a piece of injera and pinching, with my fingers, a very small portion of food and putting it in my mouth.  I was immediately surprised by the taste of the food; it wasn’t as bad as I had imagined, but I couldn’t imagine ever choosing to eat it.  However, now I eat it about once a week, and I’ve come to enjoy it!

I have made reference to the driving in Addis before, and it was once very unsettling for me.  However, now as long as I know where I am going, I enjoy driving here.  People do things here that you only wish you could do in America.  For example, when there is a traffic jam on the interstate, the thought goes through your mind I’m sure, about getting over on the shoulder and passing up the traffic.  No one in their right mind would attempt that unless maybe for an emergency, but here it would not be out of the ordinary for someone to try it!  I laugh to myself when I see these things happen.  You will also be glad to know that I am learning to use my horn more frequently.  I’m still not using it like a local would, but I’m getting there. 

In America, I have become accustomed to many luxuries that aren’t a given in other countries.  For example, high speed internet, constant power, or running water.  Because there are so many people living in the city, some of these amenities have to be rationed.  I have resolved some of my frustration with the internet usage by buying a high speed mobile internet stick, but it is still not always consistent.  There are some days when I go to turn my light on to find that it won’t come on.  This has become so familiar that it doesn’t even faze me.  No running water is still hard to swallow, but not the end of the world.  Luckily, since I have been here, we have not gone more than a day or two without running water.  We have water set aside for these times, and you come to truly find out what you are made of.  I don’t find myself regretting my decision to move to a third world country during these times; if anything, it’s a blessing because I am reminded of what really does matter in life.  Sometimes there is no greater blessing than being humbled and reminded that God is all you need, and He will provide the rest!

I could go on about the realities of living in Ethiopia.  It’s a country that I have come to cherish, and it will always be dear to my heart.  I’ve learned so much about life, love, and the meaning of true joy.  I only hope everyone gets a chance to find their own Ethiopia: a place that touches your heart and causes you to never be the same!