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Defying Logic
Joe Killian • May 27, 2016
I love the looks I get when people find out I've jumped out of an airplane! Some people say I'd love to do that while others start slowly shaking their heads in... disbelief, fear, or are they thinking what a few have actually verbalized? "Why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" "Are you crazy?" Maybe, but I had to trust that the pilot and my tandem jump instructor knew what they were doing. The result of that trust was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life!
The story in this week's Gospel defies logic and it requires a leap of faith by all of us:
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. Luke 9:11-17
Imagine the looks the disciples must have given Jesus at His command to feed the multitudes. Or maybe they just thought, "Has He gone crazy?" Having been with Jesus for a time they knew better than to argue. They placed their trust in Jesus and obediently brought Him the paltry offering of five loaves and two fish. Their trust is rewarded with the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Imagine the expressions on their faces as thousands are fed by that one offering!
Our trust in Jesus' command to offer bread and wine is rewarded with the miracle of the Body and Blood of Christ. Our paltry offering miraculously becomes the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Savior of the world and the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Yes, this defies logic!
Believing it is HIM is as exhilarating as anything we can do for our soul! Do you trust Him? Will you offer yourself to Jesus and see His Kingdom come as you allow Him to perform miracles through you as you faithfully receive His Body and Blood!?! Take the leap!
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
