But What if God Doesn't Have any Fun Toys?

Last night as I was putting my youngest son, Brett, to bed we sang "Take me out to the ballgame" (one of his favorites) and then I sang to him "Jesus Loves Me".  After finishing, I looked in his eyes and said, "Brett, you know that Jesus died on the cross for your sin so that you can live with Him forever in Heaven."  His eyes were glued to mine, which is unusual, because he never looks anyone in the eye.  In that moment I thought he completely misunderstood what I was saying, but then IT happened!  He burst out crying uncontrollably and said, "But what if God doesn't have any fun toys??"  After several minutes of talking to him about how good God is and loving he is he finally calmed down, but not before naming things he would miss like his tractor and bike.

As we were talking I was thinking, my three year old doesn't want God or Heaven for the very same reasons most people don't want Him.  That is, they believe that if they have God they can't have all the other "fun" stuff in their life, and if they don't have the other stuff that they will be miserable and they will miss out on life.  Actually the very opposite is true.  If we have all the other stuff, but don't have God, we are  miserable and we miss out on life.


John 10:10  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Mark 8:35-36  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.  36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?

Ruth: A Faithful Woman Before a Faithful wife

The story of Ruth has truly captured my heart.
One pleasure I have as a pastor is to officiate weddings.  This week we will have one at Oak Forest.  Weddings are special for many reasons, but one is that they are designed by God to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and his Church.  Weddings bring me so much pleasure because they remind me when I got married for the first time... well only time!  It is now 2:00 April 13th...it has been 7years 11 months and 1 day exactly since I was married to my enamoring wife Jaime.  Seeing two people young and in love tends to stir our hearts with emotion I know it does mine.  I think back to all of the feelings that were caught up in such an exceptional day.  At times those feeling seem so distant, but quickly I remind myself of all the time, effort, energy, and resources, I put in that caused those feelings to flourish.

The story of Ruth is wonderful to consider at this point because it is an enamoring reminder that a faithful woman comes before a faithful wife.  Verses 16 and 17 of chapter one seem to come straight out of a wedding ceremony.  
"For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die"
As I read these verses last week I thought of a wedding, however a wedding is not the context of these verses.  These words were spoken by Ruth before her marriage to Boaz.  Furthermore, they were not said about marriage.  The words were a simple expression of one woman's commitment... not to a husband, but to God.
At this point you might be thinking, "Hold on, those words were not spoken to God but to Naomi her mother-in-law", and you would be right.  But her faithfulness did not end with Naomi, her faithfulness was ultimately to God.  Notice that Ruth said, "where you die I will die."  Even after the death of Naomi, Ruth was going to be faithful.  "To who", you might ask.  Ruth's faithfulness was to God.  In chapter 2 we see that Ruth asks Boaz why he is being so kind to her a foreigner.  His response is wonderful.  he says in verse 11 and 12 that the kindness is actually from the Lord because she has taken shelter under His wing.


The love story of Ruth and Boaz is captivating.  Ruth seems the living example of the Proverbs 31 woman.  My hear is not captivated by Ruth, however, simply by her faithful devotion to her God and her husband.   The more I read the book of Ruth the more my heart is captivated by my wife.  How is it that she remains so submissive and respectful to such an unloving man at times I will never know.  But apart from the redeeming work of Jesus Christ there would be no parable to tell with our lives in marriage.


I read a book this week by a pastor I shall leave unnamed.  In it he said one of the most important things to look for in a wife is her physical beauty (beauty was not the most important, but among them).  I was shocked.  In our day and culture far more emphasis is put on physical beauty then it's worth.  For the one who is looking for a worthy woman to marry, find a faithful woman...she'll be a faithful wife


Proverbs 31:30
"Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."


My praises go out now to a woman who, although flawed, fears the Lord.  She has captivated my heart!  Charm, yes... beauty, yes, but more than that she is committed to raising two godly men who fear the Lord and love his glory more than their own.  Jaime no books may ever be written of you, but the value of your work is known the Father and he promises to reward all of our faithful work.  Stay faithful to Him, and thank you for being faithful to me.