Moose Sightings!

My Anchorage moose sightings are now up to 3! And 2 were yesterday! I saw a female that had just crossed the road last night on my way to church...again really close to my car! Then on the way home from Tim's house, a BULL moose was standing on the side of the road, my side again. Amazing!! I don't know if I'll get used to this. Seeing deer is one thing, but moose (meese? mooses?) are so much bigger and actually kind of scarier, but awesome at the same time!

On a serious note, I would like to ask for prayers for a man named Roy whose family used to go to church with my family. He is having a second bypass surgery this afternoon and is really sick. He has a family history of heart problems and has suffered many heart attacks, and now has pneumonia, congestive heart failure, liver and kidney problems, anemia and only 20% of his heart is working. This is a very sweet family who has been through A LOT over the years and they need prayers for strength and peace and please pray for God to heal Roy.

I mentioned last post about the book my home Bible study group is reading, called "The Prodigal God" by Timothy Keller. It is very good! It is about the parable of the prodigal son, but with a new perspective that I had never thought of before. We usually focus on the part of the story of the younger son who asks for his part of his father's inheritance, squanders it, lives foolishly, then comes to his senses and comes back home not believing he is worthy to be a son but just a servant, but the father gladly welcomes him back. The father gives him nice things and throws a feast for him. The story is usually used to show that God loves us and no matter how far we run away from Him, if we decide to come back, He will welcome us with open arms. That is very true and is one point to the story. However, the other part, "Act 2", as this author puts it, is about the older brother.
The older brother complains to the father that he has never disobeyed his father and yet his brother is getting this wonderful treatment, and taking from the older brother's inheritance. (The younger brother had already taken his part, so what was left was the older brother's, and now the father is taking from that and giving it to the younger brother). Remember that Jesus was telling this parable to pharisees. This author suggests that the point of the story was to focus on both brothers...both were lost...both were living to control the father and get what they wanted...one did it by being very, very bad and the other did it by being very, very good. But BOTH didn't love the father, but wanted His stuff. The "tax collectors and sinners" that Jesus was criticized for hanging out with were the "younger brothers" and the pharisees, who knew the law and tried to keep it perfectly, were the "older brothers". It's also interesting that Jesus leaves the story open ended. What happened to the older brother? What did he decide?
This is pretty scary stuff when you really think about it and think about your own life. (At least it is for me). "Younger brothers" are easy to spot: they go off on their own, live their own way, and do whatever they want and it's easy to see that they are lost. However, "older brothers" do everything right, they have very strong morals, and seem like they are doing ok, but they don't have that relationship, that love for God. They are good because they think that's how everyone should be and that is how you get heaven. We usually divide the world into these two categories, or at least into different levels of each extreme. Jesus, however, in this parable was saying he doesn't see us like that. He sees us as all lost, and he reaches out to everyone. Remember in the story, the father (who represents God) invited both brothers to the feast (heaven). When the younger brother came home, the father brought him in and when the older brother didn't want to go, the father went to him asked him to come. God wants all to be saved, and just because I am good, and go to church, am nice to people, and even do what God wants, doesn't mean I deserve good things from God, or even deserve heaven. I am lost unless I have a personal relationship with God (the agape and the phileo love Jesus talked about in John).
Until I started reading this book I didn't realize what I was doing. I had to take a hard look at why I live the way I do. Is it because I love God and realize without Him I would be nothing, or is it because I know that's what I'm supposed to do to get to heaven? It really makes you keep your motivation in check. It's easy for me to think about losing my dad, or not getting the answers to my prayers that I want, or going through hard times and wanting to say to God, "This isn't fair, I'm not a bad person, I do my best as a Christian, why can't something good happen??" That is trying to control God, something I didn't realize before. I may have never actually said those words to God, but I sometimes find myself feeling angry towards Him, wondering why He isn't being "fair" to me or my family.
I think it's all about maturing. As children, we were taught by our Christian parents and Bible class teachers the things we should do and how we should act as Christians, but as you get older, the relationship part needs to come, which no one can really teach you. It comes from reading God's word and praying to Him and keeping up the communication. That's how you build a relationship with anyone...spend time with them.
It's dangerous being the younger brother and believing you don't need God and you can just live however you want, but it's just as dangerous (if not more) being the older brother and thinking you can earn your way and that you deserve to be blessed because you are "good" and still not getting the "heart" part. My prayer for myself is that I will not just do things to check them off a list, but that I will realize that I am totally lost without God's grace, and there is nothing I can DO to earn that, and that God loves me whether I am a perfect Christian or not. I need to simply appreciate what God has done for me and in turn I will want to serve Him and do things for His glory and that is what He wants. He wants your heart!

Have a wonderful, blessed day!!