The Gift of Presence

The below entry was written by Ben Grice, Admissions Manager, Grand Canyon University


‘It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ –Luke 15:32

I can’t stop thinking about the parable, about the prodigal, the father, even about the ‘other,’ obedient son. The scripture above quotes the father, basically defending or justifying the party he was throwing his resuscitated son to his obedient one. This ‘other’ son, the one who had faithfully fulfilled the obligations/duties of a ‘good’ son, couldn’t wrap his mind around the nonsensicalness of the evening. Why would his father put out the snack mix, let alone kill and serve the fattened calf (the best they had) to celebrate the return of this foolish boy (after all, could he even be considered a man?), especially when even a lowly goat wasn’t offered to celebrate the stay-at-home son and his friends?
This son makes a strong argument—at least one you and I would be or have been tempted to make. As I read and reread the story, something became ever clearer: the obedient son WASN’T getting the short-end of the deal, not in the least. You see, he had the distinct advantage of being with the father the entire time his brother was away and alone. The father, he himself, was the gift, the reward. Not his mansion, not its amenities, nor the selection of meat on the dinner menu. The obedient son got to be in his father’s presence, if only he could have realized the treasure that was. And let me also guarantee you that the sounds of the celebration, when compared to being back in his daddy’s arms, largely rang hollow to the prodigal. No doubt his tear-filled eyes rarely left his father’s loving gaze that night, even despite the distractions of music, dancing and laughter. The prodigal realized, likely for the first time in his life, that his father was to be cherished, way over and above the false pleasures he pursued in his waywardness, or even the generous blessings bestowed upon his return.

And so it should be with us. While the insufficiency of pursued pleasures is apparent to many of us, the blessings of God, the things He graciously gives, can often cloud our view of what matters most—Him. He is the reward. He is why heaven is ‘heavenly.’ John Piper says it like this: ‘God is the gospel.’ Again, He is the good news, not just grace, or forgiveness, or peace, or reconciliation, or even love. He is the end—everything else, all these things that are good, is merely a means to get us to Him. And so how many of us limit ourselves and our opportunity for true delight by seeking and settling our satisfaction on the things of God, rather than on God Himself? I know I have and often do.

Ask yourself then, those of you who have remained with Him for the most part, do you find yourself taking life with the Father for granted? And for those who, like me, have made a habit of chasing after false fulfillments, do you, upon your return, relish most in His offered robe and fancy feast (as gracious and good as they are)? Or do you clearly recognize, as I believe the prodigal did, that the worst part of ‘being away’ is being away from the Father and the best part of ‘coming home’ is coming home to Him?

It’s a good, albeit tough, question to ask.

CHANGE

“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21 {NLT}

This morning as I made my way from the highway off ramp and came to rest at an intersection; I caught a glimpse of him. His eyes were puffy and red probably from a lack of sleep; his clothes were wrinkled, dirty, and stained with sweat. His boot laces were trailing behind him as he walked in between the cars rubbing his stomach and cupping his hand as to gesture he was hungry and needed money. For the most part his gestures went unnoticed from the small audience of drivers that have all seemed to have found their favorite song on the radio, dropped a very important item on their floor board, or become enamored by the passing cars.

I knew making eye contact with him would be detrimental to my pocket book but, “oh shoot, I looked at him!” Through my tightly sealed car window I shook my head at him to let him know that I didn’t have any money but it was too late I looked at him. I remembered I still had $2 left in my wallet from lunch yesterday but I was planning on using that for coffee when got into the office. But, it was too late for coffee now, I knew I had no choice, I looked at him, why did I look at him! I yanked my bag open, shoved my hand down deep and pulled my wallet out as if I was playing tug of war (in case you were wondering, yes I have a man bag and yes you can call it a purse if it makes you feel better.) I dropped my window slightly and gave him my money as if I had been robbed at guilt point.

When the light turned green and I drove away I began to feel horrible with my attitude towards him and God used the next few moments of my drive into the office to let me know he agreed.

I think it’s safe to say that we have all experienced this same inner struggle at one point in time. I began dealing with some questions this morning like, why was it so hard for me to give to him? Is this how Jesus treated people that presented their need to Him? Was there any limit to Jesus’ desire to meet the needs of others? Then I began thinking about the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10.

This young man, who basically was raised to be good a little Christian, asked Jesus how he could receive eternal life. Jesus responded to this young man just as I believe he responded to me this morning and ultimately wants to respond to all who call on His name. “Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him. “Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Place this request in today’s culture and how could we ever live up to God’s standard? Well, it’s easier said than done but we can live like everything we possess is not our own but God’s. Remember all that we have is because God chooses to bless us. We should look for opportunities to give our possessions away on a regular basis because that is the lifestyle that Christ calls us to live and as we give we draw closer to our Savior.

Now, look at what Jesus said in the last part of verse 21 “and you will have treasure in heaven.” Where is your treasure? This morning my actions showed that my treasure isn’t in heaven but in my man purse. However, that isn’t where I want my treasure and that definitely isn’t where God wants our treasure. Why? Because he said in Matthew 6:21 “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I don’t want my heart stuck here on earth but I want to push my heart into heaven where it belongs. With Jesus!

As we give of our possessions there is so much more going on! That act of giving is allowing us to draw closer to Jesus and give Him more room within our hearts. That act of giving is building for us treasures in heaven and making us more like Christ. So as you give your coins and dollar bills away to others remember you are ultimately allowing God to change your heart!

Consume Me

“Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted. Take delight in each light-filled hour, remembering that there will also be many dark days and that most of what comes your way is smoke.” Ecclesiastes 11:8 {MSG}

When I was younger my mom, with her motherly prophetic wisdom, told me that I would become a poor, fat, well dressed, Latino when I grew older. I knew that my mom wasn’t saying that I needed to go on a diet or that she enjoyed my excellent fashion sense; although I’m like the Picasso of fashion if I don’t say so myself. My mom recognized that I seemed to spend the majority of the money I earned on clothes and/or eating out. I recognized that I needed to have a new outfit every few weeks and that left-overs, frozen dinners, or cold-cut sandwiches were not as good as Garcia’s, McDonald’s, or a large pepperoni pizza from Pallano’s.

In approximately 72 days, 14 hours, and 22 seconds and in a not so awesome fashion I will celebrate my 30th birthday. Accomplishing all that my mom said and more and in only 12 years. Don’t get it twisted this is not a call for pity but for an awakening.

This week I’ve felt overwhelmingly convicted by the way I’ve consumed life and taken so much for granted. And it all started last Sunday night when my family and I visited my home church for an evening of worship and fellowship with some of the best buddies a guy could have (really these guys are my heroes). One of my buddies had the opportunity to preach that evening and as he spoke God began working on my heart. My buddy began calling our attention to the national pastors in China that rip pages out Bibles only to later lock themselves in a room so they can memorize every word on the front and back of that page. These pastors in turn teach their underground churches from what they memorized. It’s illegal to own a Bible in their country and in our country many Christians own multiple Bibles and neglect to read one of them.

On Sunday night I began to realize I’ve taken God for granted and as the week has progressed God has shown me the other areas of my life that have received the same mistreatment.

In the above verse Solomon addresses a younger generation that consumes life failing to see the beauty of today. We, as a nation, desire the opportunity to pursue every pleasure life has to offer. However, there is a warning, if we follow our desires, we must be assured that God will call us into judgment. On this topic Matthew Henry exclaims, “How many give loose to every appetite, and rush into every vicious pleasure!” If we want to avoid regret, if we would rather have hope and comfort, if we rather escape misery now and later, we must remember the vanity of our pleasures.

Solomon would condemn my pattern for consuming life and failing to cherish the beauty of the day as sinful. He realized that God’s object is to draw us to purer and more lasting pleasure. I can honestly tell you that this is not what I have been pursuing the last decade of my life but it will be the pursuit of all my future days. Will you join me?

“If the young would live a life of true happiness, if they would secure happiness hereafter, let them remember their Creator in the days of their youth.” – Matthew Henry