April 11, 2008

Acts 2:14a, 36-41 / 1 Pt 2:20b-25 / Jn 10:1-10

A hunter sneaked up on a duck and was about to fire when the duck  yelled, "Stop.  If you don't shoot, I'll give you a hot stock tip!"

The hunter lowered his rifle: "Okay, what's the stock?"

"A company on the NASDAQ called Sounds Like A Duck. It makes duck calls, and it went up ten points last week alone."

The hunter went straight home and bought 1000 shares. After all, he reasoned, who'd know a good duck call better than a duck? Unfortunately, the company went broke the very next week, and a very unhappy hunter went back to the pond to find that duck. "I lost $20,000 because of your lousy tip!" he snarled.

"Big deal," replied the duck. "You lost a few thousand. We lost our early warning system!"

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Too often, we lose ours too. The Lord talks to us constantly, but most of the time all we hear are bits and pieces: The reception is really poor inside our heads! For example, take Sunday's scripture. Jesus is saying to us, "I am your very own, personal shepherd. I know everything there is to know about you, the good and the bad. And I still love you — even more than you love yourself. You've got your share of troubles and hurts, and they can seem mighty overwhelming at times. But I promise you, if you keep your eyes on me and trust me, I can bring you through anything. I can even turn bad into good, if you trust me, and work with me, and give me some time."

That's what the Lord is saying to each one of us over and over. But how much of it are we actually hearing? Judging from the lack of peace in our hearts and the extent of our discontents, not much. 

We can change that. The remedy is elegantly simple: Fix your eyes on the Lord and don't ever look away. Look into his heart and see what he's really about. See the happy life he wants for us. Trust that; it's true. Then, look at the world through his eyes. It looks very different, a lot better than we thought.

The folks around us look better too. How did they change so fast? Well, they didn't. We're just seeing them better — the way the Lord sees us. They're worth helping, so why not help? Why not try to be for them, what the Lord is for us — good shepherds, whose fondest desire and greatest pleasure is to walk with people and help them grow strong and health and happy? Why not?

It's the ultimate formula for peace and happiness: Fix your gaze on the Lord, and rest your heart in him. Let him show you the world as he sees it: You'll know what you need to do. Day by day, you'll know. And, as you act on what he helps you see, you'll be happy as you've never been happy before. That's what God really wants for us: Happiness, deep down inside. Happiness that goes on and on forever! That's what God wants, and it's ours for the taking!