the writing in the sky

to the pastor or church responsible for the sky writing plane over disney:  while visiting the magic kingdom, my wife and i, along with my two sons, noticed the writing.  at first, we thought it was part of the "disney experience", but as the writing spelled out "g..o..t..o.." we figured it to be some sort of advertisement.  then the "j..e..s..u..s.." appeared.  aside from it not really making that much sense, we also noticed the reactions of many of the people around us.  they ranged everywhere from rolling eyes to indifference.  the following messages of "u..+..God..=..:)" and "t..r..u..s..t..j..e..s..u..s.." went largely unnoticed.  while your intentions may have been good, your methodology was significantly flawed.  i can imagine God saying to you when you get to heaven, "i give you an 'a' for effort, but next time, use that thing i put between your ears and be a wiser steward of the money that i have given you."  i think about the hundreds or even more that you spent on that plane and pilot to write ignored messages to uninterested patrons, and ways of how that money could have been better spent.  for all practical purposes, you would have done better to stand in the bell tower of your church and ring the bell for everyone to come, and you would have gotten the same effect, at a much cheaper price.  instead, you could have used that money to feed the hungry in your town (there are plenty), to buy bibles to give to those without, to fund a missionary to go on a mission trip, etc.  the point is, Jesus said that whatever we do to the most lowly of people, we do to Him. 

if you could have seen the looks of the people that were turned off by your message, you would have deeply regretted your attempt.  you essentially became one of the priests that ignored the man beaten and bleeding in the street that the good samaritan stopped and helped.  you took the easy way out, as so many churches do today, and avoided getting your hands dirty, and tried to proselytize from afar.  have you not heard the adage, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care"? 

next time, think about your investments.  choose to love people in person rather than saying "we love you, but not enough to actually do something that would benefit you."  follow the example set by our Saviour, who chose to come to us, suffer alongside us, and die for us, rather than writing "God loves you" in the sky with the endless natural resources at His disposal. 

look! it's . . .

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it." Mark 10:15

like a little child. such a foreign concept to most people. and rightfully so. we are told from the time we are old enough to understand, that we are to strive for adulthood. we tell our kids to be "big boys and girls". teachers tell elementary students to think about what they want to be when they "grow up". we tell teenagers that they are to act like "young adults". and then when we finally make it to adulthood, we are constantly bombarded with phrases such as "immature", "childish", and "act your age". being child-like is a taboo. so for us to become like a little child is hard, and often times impossible. if we do venture into the realm of immaturity, it usually either takes the form of pettiness or silliness, and definitely a far cry from what Jesus was trying to communicate to His disciples. one of the best ways to understand the point Jesus was trying to make is to actually observe little children.

on a recent trip to the magical kingdom of walt disney world, i was given a lesson in becoming like a little child. aside from my own trip back down memory lane, the most memorable part of the trip was watching my two boys, ages 6 and 3, as they were completely overwhelmed by the characters, buildings, rides, and music. everywhere we went, the amazement at witnessing the world that they had only encountered through books, movies, and television, was evident on their glowing faces, fixed into a smile that i began to think would have to be removed with plastic surgery. enthusiastic waves to characters on floats at the parades, entranced smiles while watching the shows, and looks of awe at the fireworks display over cinderella's castle will be captured forever in the hundreds of pictures that we took. every day brought a new surprise. the culmination of the trip was on the last day, when the boys finally got to meet their hero: buzz lightyear! this was the moment they had been waiting for, and one that they will never forget! the other characters were exciting, but none held the esteem that buzz carried. it was a moment that none of us will forget any time soon.

on the last night, while watching "fantasmic", the water, laser, and fireworks show at hollywood studios, it occurred to me what Jesus meant by entering the kingdom like a little child. as the boats came by carrying all of the major disney characters, i looked over at my two boys, who were waving enthusiastically at the characters that were waving "back at them", and it clicked.  to them, the characters were no longer just images on a screen or in a book.  they were now living, breathing personalities that "knew" my sons (at least to them) and were waving to them.  we are to have that same sense of excitement when it comes to the things of God. while disney was something that was tangible to my kids, the kingdom of heaven is a little harder for us. my sons knew that disney existed. they had seen cinderella's castle at the beginning of every disney movie that they watched, but they had never been to disney. in the same way, they know that heaven exists. why? because they trust that if God says it's real, then it must be. but not for us. we need something tangible. our logical and scientific minds have rationalized away the concept of an unseen world somewhere. most of us believe in heaven to some extent, but if we are truly honest with ourselves, then we must admit that it's a little hard to grasp. but we must become like little children, and again somehow recapture that amazement at the things around us. when we look at creation, or when we think about grace and mercy, our faces should light up. when we think about the opportunity we have every day to not only talk to the creator of the universe, but to actually have a relationship with Him, our eyes should fill with joy, and smiles should cross our faces. one day, heaven will be tangible. and we will be like my two sons at disney. close your eyes and picture it. forget who's watching you. let go, and be a kid again. can you hear the exclamations of sheer excitement at the characters? "look! there's adam! and there's peter! king solomon!" what about the amazement in the voices of those around you as they walk the streets of heaven? "wow! the streets sparkle! feel of this! it's real gold! look at the mansions! did you see how big the gates were? and they were really made of pearl! can you imagine the size of the oyster that it took to make that?" and the speechlessness of the crowds as they witness the angelic choirs and orchestras playing the music that is the foundation for all music ever played. "how beautiful! i just got goosebumps hearing them sing! have you ever heard such perfect harmony?" but the culmination of heaven, will be that moment, the moment that will pass all others. listen. you can hear the excited whispers and see the people pointing. "it's Him! it's really Him! it's JESUS! wait! He sees me! He is motioning for me to come over to Him! what to i do? what do i say? i just have to go!" followed by a running sprint, like a child running to his dad when he comes home from work, as one by one, Jesus welcomes all of us into His arms!

on the last night, as we waited on the bus to take us back to the resort, my oldest started crying. not a fit throwing cry, or a tired cry, but a genuine, sad, cry. i asked him what was wrong, and he responded, "i don't want to go! i want to come back tomorrow!" when i informed him that our tickets ended that day, he cried that much more. for him, it was a world of happiness, of magic. one that he never wanted to leave. the beauty of heaven, is that we will never have to experience that sadness of having to leave! we will have every day to discover new things, to meet new people, and to live in child-like wonder at the new world around us. and who knows, you may even overhear someone saying as they point at you, "it's him/her! i heard about them! they are the one that told my great-grandfather about Jesus! they are the one that . . ."

forget finding your inner child. let go, and be a child!