The Very First Responder

There are two types of people in this world - those who see a need and do nothing, and those who actually make an effort and do something about it. Why the difference? What makes one person keep walking while the other one stops?

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

³⁶“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” - Luke 10:30-36

That, of course, was Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan. But why didn't the other two men stop? They were both "religious." Shouldn't THEY have shown mercy? And that was exactly Jesus' point.

Let's fast forward to a present day hypothetical scenario. There is a shooting, or gang members are beating up a cop. Where are the good samaritans now? Everyone is videoing the event, but no one is DOING anything.

The term "first responder" is kind of a misnomer. We give the term to our police, firefighters, and paramedics. But really, the very FIRST responder is the one who called 9-1-1. Right?

"For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." - James 2:26

In the parable, Jesus was showing the  differences in their hearts, not their social or religious position in life. Basically, the condition of the heart is more important than any social or religious standing.

I am a Christian, but if I do nothing with my faith, I myself am nothing. Dead. Just another bad example in this parable we call life.

This past Saturday, my wife noticed a neighbor's "tree branch" had fallen onto the road. When we ventured outside to move it we discovered it was more like half of the tree. I scurried back to the house and got my chainsaw. Soon it was all cut up and moved out of the way, the roadway cleared. Although cars went by as we were working, no one stopped to help the two old folks clearing their roadway for them.

My wife and I didn't really think anything about it. Neither of us filmed ourselves or took selfies together with the fallen tree. We saw a need, we took care of it, and returned to our home.

It's pretty simple, this Christian life we live. It's "Golden Rule" simple. The question is, how will WE respond?

A Memorial

Memorial Day is all about remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country. We can't thank our service men and women enough for all that they have done, and continue to do, to keep us safe. There are other battles that have been waged in our lives though, whose heroes also need to be remembered.

Today we remember Green Bay Packer quarterback Bart Starr who died on Sunday. He was truly a hero worthy of remembrance. I remember meeting Bart when I was in high school. Truly a highlight in my life. When Bart won the Super Bowl I MVP award, a Corvette, he donated the car the Rawhide Boys Ranch - a recovery center for wayward boy in New London, WI.

I get to remember my father and grandfather who served in the military. They didn't die while serving but their lives were worthy of remembrance - living them with honor, dignity and service.

Today I also get to remember the life of my brother-in-law Pat, a cancer battle veteran and casualty who fought and died this past Saturday. A professor at Carthage College, a husband to wife Kathy and father of two amazing girls - Oksana and Nadya.

Pat was a flying enthusiast. Years ago, he and I both flew our R/C planes together. Often crashing them, then laughing. Pat and some others began a program in Nicaragua. Kind of a doctor's without borders thing. Their efforts improved the quality of life for many of the local people. Pat is another hero worthy of remembrance.

You know, each of us has this one life to live here on earth. How will we choose to live it? Will our lives be worthy of remembrance by those we leave behind?

Pilots have a saying called CAVU. It stands for Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. CAVU my brother. I hope your flight was a good one.

"live a life worthy of the LORD and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." - Colossians 1:10-12

Missing Man Flyover

Doing What Is Right

People can do the stupidest things. Yet, we can also do the most amazing things. We're weird that way. We do stupid stuff one day and really neat stuff the next. Why is that?

I think we humans should come with an alarm system that will go off whenever we're about to something exceptionally stupid.

WARNING!! WARNING!! Do not put your finger in that fan!! Do not stick your tongue on that frozen flag pole! Do not check to see how much gas there is in the lawn mower by using a lit match to help you see! And my personal favorite, do not drive off without locking the trailer onto the trailer hitch!!

Today I'm going to tell you two short stories to illustrate both extremes of this point about us humans. My first story is really short. It's about Colin Kaepernick. Are you ready? Here it comes.

What were you thinking?!? End of story.

My next story is about a young man named Travis Rudolph. Most people will not recognize that name, but he made a big impression on me this week simply by eating pizza. Oh, and by the way, he is a wide receiver for the Florida State Seminoles. That's him pictured above.

Here's another picture of Mr. Rudolph. He's eating lunch with Bo Paske, an autistic middle school student. Rudolph was visiting the school when he noticed the red-haired boy sitting all by himself at lunch. So Rudolph asked the boy if he could join him and the rest is history. Young Bo is now the most popular kid in school!

We can easily form opinions about each of these football players. I don't know Mr. Rudolph's taste in music, who he's going to vote for in the upcoming election or what size shoes he wears. None of that matters compared to doing what is right in this life and in my opinion, Mr. Travis Rudolph did amazingly well that day. What he did was almost . . . biblical!

^"8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." - Philippians 4:8-9

One of these two football players has done what was right in the eyes of The Lord. The other, well, we must pray for him. And although there may be problems in this world, we must each chose how to address them without alienating millions. Each of these men acted. One acted righteously.

As you and I walk through this world I pray we would be more like Travis Rudolph. This world needs more people like him. Our actions tell others a lot about who we really are. Are we sending a message to others through our actions that tell them, "Hmm, they must be Christians." Or do we look just like "the world?"Let there be NO doubt who we are and WHOSE we are. May we live OUR lives

 "3To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."- Proverbs 21:3

"8He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8

Courageous - Casting Crowns

FSU Football Player Eats Lunch With Kid Who Has Autism