Stop Spinning Around and Around

   It is silly, but these are all the craze with children and kids in their early teens. They are called fidget spinners. I don't know where they originated, but I do know they are being made by the tens of thousands overseas and shipped to homes. They are even found on the counters of local convenience stores - I got this one just a mile from here on the corner of Moody and Hwy 96.
   Made out of plastic or metal, they feature a ball-bearing in the center that spins and spins after you've loaded it with energy with a good push. What little advertising is associated with them suggests they are good for keeping a person focused, or relieving stress. I doubt the FDA would support either claim. This one will spin for nearly two minutes before finally coming to a stop.
   How long can you go before finally running out of energy? The terrible truth is we regularly test our limits. We work too long, play too much, sleep too little, and wonder why we finally come to a complete (crashing) stop. The wisdom of the Bible makes this much clear: we are not made to work and go forever. We are made to rest in between. We are made to stop, from time to time, and reset. We are made to live in the rhythm of being on and off, of work and rest; it is the rhythm of Sabbath and the devotional life.
   It is hard, I know. Taking the time every morning (or evening) to sit in front of the word of God involves overcoming a wealth of obstacles, not to mention the force of inertia that tell us to keep going once we've started the day. But, we are not made like toys. We are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). We are made to work and rest, go and stop, spin and sit still. Grace and peace, Scott

The emptiness of Easter

   Thousands of eggs will be found on Sunday morning by little hands. They will fill up baskets and bags with eggs containing enough treats and candy to make any dentist weep. The eggs were filled by the generous efforts of dozens of volunteers who took the time to make sure that kids would have something to delight in - what a blessing it is to think about the people who make things happen in service to the love of God!
   I don't blame a child for wanting every egg to contain something special inside. But, Easter is more about emptiness than anything else. Frederick Buechner said this,

"The symbol of Easter is the empty tomb. You can't depict or domesticate emptiness. 

You can't make it into pageants and string it with lights."

Think about the abundance of Christmas images and items that point back to that first Nativity: a baby in swaddling clothes, a kneeling mother, mangers, stables, angelic choruses, admiring shepherds, and even adoring animals. Now, think about how most of the images of Easter are about things that have nothing to do with the actual first Easter morning: eggs, bunnies, chicks, etc. Isn't it because it is very hard to sell emptiness?
   Our story begins with the empty tomb. The best news the world has ever heard is not something that can be monetized. The hinge of history turns on something that wasn't there (a body). The foundation of our hope is emptiness! No wonder the first disciples stumbled out of the garden that morning. No wonder they ended up temporarily returning to their previous jobs before the week was out. We want every present to contain something we can cling to, something we can show others. Instead, the emptiness of Easter is too grand and magnificent to be kept inside an egg, a tomb, or even a painting over the mantle.
   God is inviting me - and you - to look into the empty tomb and find power over death, love that conquers fear, and something greater than anything we've put our hands on. Grace and peace, Scott