It is very noticeable in the Star Wars saga. Darth Vader's presence could be sensed long before he ever arrived on the scene, simply by listening for his dirge-like theme music. We began to notice it even more in old movies; from the outset the bad guy would be pegged by a change in the tone of the background music.
In real life I think we sometimes size people up almost as quickly. Some people walk around seemingly accompanied by an ever-present bad guy theme. Perhaps we cannot literally hear the music but we sense it - sense it by the attitude of their posture, the tone of their voice, the way they accessorize or the way they smell. In our head, flags go up and red lights flash:
Warning! Warning!
This morning, my wife and I had police duty during the Children's Bible Time at our church. Our job was to help the capable teacher maintain peace among these children ranging from the ages of about 4 to 10 years old. As she taught the story of Jacob, I thought about bad guys. Even some of those innocent children seemed to carry around those foreboding tones. Some were more difficult to like, despite their innocence, some may have seemed bent on making things difficult.
I listened as the teacher enumerated the major events in Jacob's early life:
- He tricked his twin brother out of his birthright (a right of the firstborn son that afforded him some awesome privileges).
- He tricked his father into passing the Blessing on to him rather than his twin, the rightful recipient (the Blessing was a legacy-building proclamation essential to the Hebrew culture).
- He was ousted by his family and hunted by his brother - and rightfully so.
Then it happened. I thought about God and how He haunted Jacob's every step; constantly pursuing him - as unlikeable as he was.
God loves bad guys.
He pursues them - stays with them - waiting; orchestrating opportunities to step in and save the day and bring the bad guys into the full potential that God planned for them.
That realization changed my view of some of those "troublemakers". Jesus loves the unlikeable, even the troublemakers. He pursues them in a determined fashion until, like Jacob, He can bring them to their Bethel; or like the apostle Paul, to their Damascus Road. That's where He changes their tune; trading their apparent destiny for the one He has chosen for them.
If I live with that realization in my heart every day, I will not be able to look at people the same way. I will not hear the dissonant strains in the background; instead I will see someone God is pursuing. I will see someone that was worth His time and trouble . . .
even someone that was worth the life of His only Son, Jesus.
1 comment:
Thanks so much Dathan for your words. This is definitely something I need to work on in my life. Thanks again!
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