God's folks have never been city folks, at least not yet.

Country folks.  City folks.  In-between Suburban Folks.  You may celebrate the title of this blog, cast it away as baseless or look askance at it with squinted eyes.  Why would I make such a statement?  Genesis, the book of beginnings, holds the key to my thoughts in response.  But Hebrews and Revelation complete those thoughts.

Depending on which translation of the Bible you use, you find the word city between 700 and 860 times in Scripture, as early as Genesis 4.17 and as late as Revelation 22.19.  Throughout history until now, the hearts of younger generations becoming adults have tended toward moving to the city where more opportunity, more exposure, more entertainment, more…. Well… just more.

In Genesis 4.17, we read about the first city mentioned in Scripture, perhaps the first city of all.  God responded to Cain’s murderous sin against his brother, Abel.  In punishment, He declared that Cain would be a vagabond and wanderer all his life.  In grace, He promised the protection of Divine intervention to any who sought revenge upon Cain (4.12-15). In their conversation Cain acknowledged that he would be a wanderer all his life and that his curse of agricultural calamity would be too much to bear.  It wasn’t long until he got over the severity of his sin.  He would not be a wanderer, living out his life under God’s decree.  He would build a city, a city in which the inhabitants – largely his family at first – would be more kindly toward him than strangers.  He found his safety not in God’s promised protection but in the political affiliations which his new community allowed.  He and his kin were the first of whom we could say took up the philosophy you go along to get along.  From his loins came ranchers (4.20), musicians (4.21) and metalworkers (4.22).  Notably, also from his loins came the first polygamist who flaunted his own murderous sin in light of Cain spurning the grace God had given him (4.19, 23-24).

Two other notable cities emerge in Genesis.  Civilization had progressed to include brick-making.  What better thing to do than to congregate on the plains of Shinar and extend their city to the heavens with a tower?  This experiment didn’t last long.  Their going along in this magnanimous enterprise did not result in much getting along.  Soon Babel was in ruins (Gen 11.1-9).

But then in Genesis 13 Lot was mesmerized by another city, Sodom.  He left his wandering Uncle Abraham to dwell in tents and roam with flocks.  Lot found a house in the city (19.1-3).  God told Abraham there was much sin in the city (18.20).  From the immoral reception given to God’s angels who visited there, we find there was much sex in the city.  In this instance it was the immoral, illicit and unnatural sin of homosexuality which reared its ugly head (19.5-11).  Lot had gone along to get along until he lost everything and became a drunken, incestuous old man (19.35-38).  Thus far, the cities of the Bible have earned a poor reputation.  Fast forward about a few millenia.

It’s at this point of that God, who in these last days has spoken to us by His Son (Heb 1.1), tells us the difference between Abraham and Lot.  It boils down to the matter of faith versus a city. 

“[Abraham wandered and dwelled] in tents…for he was looking for a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God.”  (Heb 11.9-10).  Later, the writer of Hebrews reminds all believers that in this world we are to be like Abraham: “There is no lasting city here below, we are seeking one to come” (Heb 13.14).  And if there is any doubt, that city is found in the book of Revelation:  “Blessed are those who keep His commandments – they have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates of the city.” (Rev 22.14).

It is easy in this life for eyes of faith to become clouded with cataracts of sin as did Lot’s eyes.  But by faith, we are to persevere knowing that our destination is not of this world.  Anything that pulls us off the journey becomes sin in that it is not of faith (Rom 14.23).  There is so much in the cities of our world that beckons the believer to turn aside. 

Do not be mistaken.  It is easy to live an ungodly life in the country.  It is possible to live a godly life in the city.  Neither determines the destination of the soul.  But God’s folks do not have a city here below.  It is the “not yet” for which we long, to which we look.  We're not city folks in the truest sense of the word today.

One day we will be.

GET OUT OF YOUR ARK.

Genesis 8.16 – “Go out of the ark…”

A quick comparison of Genesis 7.11 with 8.14-16 indicates Noah spent one year and ten days on the ark.  With the destruction of the wicked, God was now making all things new.  Noah was to take the animals from the ark so that they could be fruitful and multiply (v. 17).  The ark had been a place of refuge from the storm.  Now it was to be left behind to begin the work of populating the earth and rebuilding society.  Once the animals were disembarked,  Noah built an altar to make sacrifices to God.  God saw Noah’s worship and sacrifice and was pleased (v. 21). 

For Noah there was both work and worship.  1 Peter 3.20-21 tells us,

“In the days when God waited patiently while Noah built the ark, eight

people were saved from the destruction of the flood.  And that water is a

picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your

body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience.”

In other words, Peter tells us that the ark was a “type” of baptism through which eight souls were saved.  He makes it clear, however, that salvation does not come from the water but that the waters of believer’s baptism are entered to signify a clean conscience before God.  Thus, after Noah’s “baptism” there was work to do for God and worship to render to God. Romans 6.4 says,

“We were buried with Christ by baptism into death, so that as Christ was

raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Ephesians 2.8 and 10 adds,

For by grace you are saved through faith, not of yourselves; it is

the gift of God ... We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus

for good works, which God prepared beforehand for us to do.

Like Noah, once we are saved, we are commissioned to “go” out into a life of work and worship – work which God has already prepared for us to do and worship which keeps our hearts connected to the heart of God.  Noah would have forsaken God’s plan for his life had he clung to the safety of the ark.  Jesus prayed that God would not take the disciples out of the world in which they were to work but that he would protect them from the evil one (John 17.15).

From the waters of baptism, God intends for the salvation of His people to result in work and worship.  Like Noah, they must go out from their places of safety and comfort in order to be salt and light to a dying world (Matthew 5.13-16).  Get out of your ark!

MERCY OF JUDGMENT...MERCY IN JUDGMENT

“…and the Lord shut him in…Only Noah and those who 

were with him in the ark remained alive.”  (Genesis 7.16, 23)

According to the genealogy of Chapter 5, Methuselah lived 969 years, 369 of those before Noah was born.   Then God’s judgment fell on mankind in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, the same year that Methuselah died.  People in Methuselah’s day watched as he surpassed 800 years, then 850, then 900, then 950.  Perhaps they thought he would never die.  Perhaps they thought they would never die.  But the day came when God’s judgment fell and the entire world perished except Noah and the seven family members he carried into the ark.  The flood of Noah’s day raises a crucial question: 

Who will survive God’s judgement?

When God’s judgement falls, it is too late to make decisions – too late for those who would perish and too late for Noah and his family to help.  Noah was helpless to help any of his family and friends because God shut him in the ark.  In Revelation 3.7, Jesus says that He alone is able to open so that no man can shut and shut so that no man can open. 

“It is appointed unto man once to die; after that, the judgment.”  (Hebrews 9.27)

But just as certain as impending doom for the ungodly, God’s protection of His own will not falter or fail.  Not only were they saved, they were safe – safe from the torrential and all-encompassing judgment on every side outside the ark.

Jesus referred to the flood of Noah’s day as a reminder that when God’s timeline for grace and mercy expires, judgment will come without warning:

"But as the days of Noah, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For in the days before the flood, they were eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark. They [had no warning] until the flood came and took them all away, so it will also be with the coming of the Son of Man.”   (Matthew 24.37-39)

God’s love and future plan for the world would not have come to pass with the wickedness of mankind in Noah’s day, a day when those who were known by name to be godly intermarried with those who were known to be ungodly.  Sad is the fact today that – today – as in Methuselah's day, many feel their time will never come to an end.  Yet God’s love and mercy requires Him to deal with the sinfulness of mankind through judgment.  That same love and mercy compels Him to guide His children safely through the time of worldwide judgment.  

The blessed comfort – blessed hope – of God’s people is this:  When Jesus returns, God’s love for those who will inhabit His eternal kingdom will again bring a worldwide judgment that will destroy the wicked.  Yet, His people will be saved and safe from the worldwide storm that rages.  (1 Thessalonians 4.13-18)

Intermarriage versus Godly Homes

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Genesis 6.8

In Genesis 6.7, God says that He was “sorry that He had made man”.  What a dreadful change since 1.31:

“Then God saw everything that He had made and it was very good.”

Chapter 6 portrays widespread sin, defying of God and serving self.  But one bright spot appears:  Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord.  What went so wrong?  In a word, “intermarriage”.  How did it become right again?  Grace.

Chapter 4 details the genealogy of the murderer, Cain, and a corresponding expansion and development of culture and commerce – a city (4.17), tending livestock (4.20), music (4.21) and metalworking (4.22).   Chapter 5 gives us the godly chronology of Adam and Eve’s third son, Seth, whose story reaches a zenith when Enoch is taken from earth without dying on account of his close and continual walk with God (5.24). 

The godly and ungodly coexisted in the fallen world until their intermarriage begins in 6.2 – a sin which was forbidden by God for his people in the Old Testament (Exodus 34.15-16) as well as for the Church in the New Testament (2 Cor 6.14).   And what were the tragic results of this widespread intermarriage of the godly and ungodly?  Wickedness was great, every thought of the heart was evil continually and God was sorry in His heart and grieved that He had made man (vv.5-6). 

In contrast, what a heritage it was for Enoch’s son, Methuselah, to share his father’s story with his family.   Methuselah lived until the year of the flood, possibly dying on the very day the flood began.  It was under this godly grandfather’s influence that Noah became God's man.

The solution for this world’s problems is not for God’s people to join the world but to stand apart from the world so that – as God’s people – they can make their mark on the world.  

Noah was a righteous man, blameless before his world (v. 9) and did all God command him to do (v. 22).  We who are saved by grace are saved for the purpose of living rightly before God and man, fulfilling God’s call on our lives.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  And we are His workmanship who have been created for good works, which God foreordained that we should do.  (Ephesians 2.8-10)

The intermarriage that concerns God has not to do with the color of one's skin but the condition of one's soul before God in Christ (Ephesians 2.14-19).  Sin multiplies in the world when those who follow Christ marry those who don’t – alliances overshadow faithful living.  The world’s hope does not come from a broader, more open mind that meets God's judgment but from those who have found grace in the sight of the Lord.  The world needs godly homes like the one in which Noah and Timothy were raised:

"..from a child you have known the holy scriptures through which you may be saved."  

2 Timothy 3.15

Can a Christian Lose Salvation?

The vital importance of this question is only second to one other:  "What must I do to be saved?"  But having experienced salvation, the importance of the question of one’s eternal destiny cannot be overstated.  The position held by some that says one cannot lose his or her salvation is said by others to promote a license or excuse to sin.  In a similar manner, the position which some hold that says one can lose his or her salvation leads to uncertainty in the spiritual life.  It focuses on the necessity of human efforts to prevent its loss.  What does the Bible have to say about this important question?

Near the end of his first epistle, the Apostle John states:

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the 

Son of God,  that you may know that you have eternal life…  (1 John 5.13)¹

It was clear in the Apostle’s mind that one can know he or she is saved.  Perhaps John had the words of Jesus in mind which he (John) recorded in his gospel account.  In John 10, Jesus makes a detailed and definitive statement about his sheep, those who belong to Him through faith.  Speaking to religious Jews of His day who did not possess life-giving faith, Jesus said:

 "…you do not believe because you are not of My sheep…”  (John 10.26)

While these religious leaders were members of the family of God in name, they did not truly belong to God.  Their faith was a faith of words rather than reality.  Jesus then addresses those who possess the reality of saving faith: 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I

 give  them eternal life, and they shall never perish...”   (John 10.27-28a) 

Those who are saved have been given eternal life.  Jesus uses a very emphatic double negative in the Greek language which can literally be translated, “They shall not, repeat, shall not ever perish in the slightest.”² Jesus states this same truth emphatically in a number of ways as opposed to a conditional promise of salvation.  In John 8.51-52 Jesus says the same thing from a negative perspective – “…shall never see death…shall never taste death…”  And it John 11.27, “…shall never die.”  Jesus’ own strong words preclude any conditions upon salvation.

Back again in John 10, Jesus says, "No one can...

...snatch them out of My hand.   My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater 

than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.”  (John 10.28-29)

The picture Jesus gives us of the person who is saved is one in which the saved person is safely held in the hands of Jesus with no one able to take them out.  Further, the hands of Jesus are surrounded by the hands of God the Father with no one able to take them out of the Father’s hands either.  Concerning these verses, Dr. Vance Havner, the famed country preacher said, “That’s what’s called having the situation well in hand.”

The Apostle Paul’s teaching clearly emphasized this “eternally safe” description of the future for Christians:

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our

 life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”  (Colossians 3.3-4).

To the power of Jesus Christ and God the Father, Paul also adds the power of the Holy Spirit:

“…you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  (Ephesians 1.13)

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you

 were sealed for the day of redemption.”  (Ephesians 4.30)

The eternal security of the believer is kept intact by the power of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

One key point to remember is summoned by the question, “How does a person get salvation in the first place?  Where is its source?”

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; 

it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”   (Ephesians 2.8-9)

The Bible makes it clear that salvation is a gift of God; further we could not save ourselves if we wanted to do so:

“You were dead in your trespasses and sins … but have 

been made alive together with Christ.”  (Ephesians 2.1, 5)

As in the physical life, so in the spiritual life:  those who are dead are not capable of doing any thing.  And finally, Paul says that he is confident that,

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete 

it until the day of Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 1.6)

Salvation is a gift initiated by God.  It is a position kept safe by the Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit.  And it shall be carried to completion all the way until the day when Christ shall consummate the end of the age.

Notes:

1.   Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.   Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN.  1999.

2.  Erickson, Millard J.  Christian Theology.  Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI.  1985.

Martin Luther King Day, Warrenville Elementary School and 3 black men (no, four)

"You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command."

(Genesis 41.40, ESV)

Today is a day here in the States to celebrate the life of a man who had a dream -- a dream that all people would be treated with dignity and respect and afforded equal opportunities for learning, life and liberty which had largely been restricted to those in the majority.

In 1963,  the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King told us that he had a dream.  We all knew it had been burning in his heart for a long time.  But he found the opportunity that particular day to make it vocal...and memorable... and catalyzing for the face of a nation made ugly by the pock marks of societal acne and by the underlying diseases of hatred, abuse and misunderstanding.  It would be 13 more months before I entered the 1st grade and longer still before I knew his name or heard about his dream.

You see, to many on our side of the tracks we may have been the enemy.  My grandmother who raised me was an LPN at Aiken County Hospital.  Every day for years when she went to work, she first went across Hwy 1 to an area that was profanely in that time called "Boogger  Boo".  It was where they lived, the people who had inspired Mr. King's dream.  She picked up three black ladies each day and gave them a ride to work and brought them back home at the end of her shift.  I wish to this day I knew who those families were.  I wish we had had a better name for that community she visited every day on the way to work.

The "Preacher" painted our house when it needed painting.  He was black, too.  Well, he wasn't black back then... he was colored.  And William wrapped our pipes anew every few years to keep them from freezing, a combination of torn up newspapers held tight and insulated further by strippings of inner tubes from worn out automobile tires.  I liked William.  I liked the Preacher, too (and I wish I new their names and families).  They laughed with me, treated me like a young man and kept me in line if I got out.  At lunch time, Mama would always say to either of them, "Now, I've fixed you a plate.  Come in and sit down and have some lunch."

Their answer was always the same, "No ma'am. I'll just sit here on the steps and have mine.  Thank you."

So I must admit it was odd to this white boy when all this hoopla was generated because they were going to come to Warrenville Elementary School.  To the best of my recollection we got a black teacher, Mrs. Lewis, and I remember Amos Adams was one of those first students.  Sadly, Amos left this world at an early age, about 26, I believe -- a tremendous athlete and likable guy whose heart exploded one night playing ball at the Civic Center.  Mary Brown reminded me that Valerie Simkins was the girl who came also.  And Connie Wise also chipped in Carl Adam's name.  That was probably it.  Carl, Amos and Valerie -- and Mrs. Lewis.

I wasn't the president of the 5th Grade, nor did folks generally come to me to tell me what they thought.  All I know is that I didn't know anyone in my school who had a problem with it. Perhaps they did and didn't say so. Perhaps they had a problem with it at home to keep their parents happy. I'm glad I didn't have to keep mine happy.

My vote did not go for Barack Obama in 2008, not because of the color of his skin but because of the planks in his platform.  I actually had a warm feeling in my heart that we had come so far as a nation toward realizing the dream Dr. King annunciated so clearly.  If a black man could become President of the United States, then those three L's were well on their journey - learning, life and liberty.

By the inauguration, I wondered if the dream might turn into a nightmare.  Today, I have no doubt.

A country which made it possible to undo so many wrongs and start over is being torn apart by our President.  It is often said that he is the first black man to be at the head of the greatest super power of the world.  What a thought!  But, not true.

Pharoah, Ruler of  Egypt, ruled over the greatest power in the world of his day.  A black man. An african man.  So Mr. Obama is at least number 2.

You see, before the inauguration, he had begun distancing himself from Christians and Christian values. He had recruited Muslims to the most influential group -- his cabinet and closest advisors. But if he only would have taken a few minute to open the Bible he took to church before the election and check out Genesis 41.40, he could have been guided to do differently.

God was about to send a famine, the likes of which Egypt had never seen.  The country would be obliterated by blight, drought and starvation.  If it, the greatest country in the world would be destroyed, what about the weaker nations around who looked to it for guidance and help.  But Genesis 41.40-41 says that after Joseph had interpreted God's dream for Pharaoh, Pharaoh understood that the God of Israel had a supreme place in the government of society, in the hope of a nation.  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 

"You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.  Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.' And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'See,I have set you over all the land of Egypt.'" (ESV)

God used Joseph, his wisdom and influence over Egypt and Pharaoh to save that nation and ultimately to save his people who resided in that nation.

Mr. President, do you not see that there is a famine in our land.  Oh, yes, it is a famine of bread and water for far too many. But more than that, it is a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Mr. King, would you approve of homosexual marriage?  Would you approve of killing unborn babies, the great disproportionate number of which are black Americans?  Would you approve of people being favored because of the color of their skin?  Who you approve of kicking God out of our military to the point that Christian chaplains must carry about their duties like undercover missionaries in an Islamist state?  Mr. King, what do you think about your dream today in America -- January 20th, 2014?

Mr. President, where is Joseph?  Do you even know that there are many Joseph's out there of whom you could say the same things as Pharaoh did about Joseph (Gen 41.38):

"Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?"

By and large, the boys and girls who attended Warrenville Elementary and Graniteville High (Leavelle McCampbell) didn't have any axe to grind with their darker skinned fellow students.  There are always trouble-makers.  Trouble-makers with white skin.  Trouble-makers with black skin.  Trouble-makers with brown skin.

Three black men and Warrenville Elementary School tell me a few things:

• Black and white people don't have to strive against one another; they can work, live and learn together.
• Even if our parents had hang-ups or hatred, we don't have to have them.
• Two out of three ain't bad.  Pharaoh had the good sense to listen to God and his people.  Dr. King had the boldness and vision to call us back to "neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female".  
• Unfortunately, by process of elimination I must say that 1 out of 3 is bad.  Really bad for our country.  Really bad for our world.  Really bad for the continued progress of what Dr. King set out to do.  Really bad for God's people who are looking to experience the fullness of His blessing and promise.

It's sadly true, I'm afraid, that there is still some hatred out there for the black man.  Many of the haters will blame Mr. Obama when in fact the hatred is growing like mushrooms in a cave of their hearts, fertilized by the dung of ignorance and resentment.  But while that is true, that is not the general demeanor of the good people of our country.  Mr. Obama, you're not helping.

Mr. Obama, where is Joseph?

Did you not notice there is a famine in our land?

Happy Anniversary, Dr. King.  I wish we'd had a better year to celebrate.

Oh, I forgot the fourth black man.  It was Willie, the janitor at Warrenville Elementary.  I wish he was still around.  He believed in God.  He loved black children and white children.  He knew what it meant to work hard.  Somebody like that would make a good Joseph, Mr. Obama.

Football & Cities: SEC, ACC, Sodom & Heaven

"And Lot lifted his eyes ... and chose for himself all the plain of Jordan and ... dwelt in 

the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom."  (Gen 13.10-12, NKJV)

After seven years of being on top of NCAA Football as national champions, it happened.  The top was toppled.  At least for now, the ACC is on top.  And where I live, this is all a very big deal.  As a fan of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks our Southeastern Conference (SEC) has been a source of real pride in college football.  Of course, South Carolina has never won a national championship.  We boast of five wins in a row over our arch rival, Clemson (a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference) and about three consecutive 11 win seasons.  And when put in a corner we always seem to mention that we're a member of the toughest conference in college football. For their part, Clemson, who has won a national championship, grew weary of our SEC pride.  They always pointed out that it wasn't about a conference, it was about a team.  If 6,000 years of human nature is any indication of future trends, I suppose all of a sudden it will be about a conference. 

For some.  

Let me explain and share a spiritual lesson we all need to consider, myself foremost.

In Tallahassee where the Florida State Seminoles live, they aren't talking about the ACC this morning.  They are about Florida State and Jameis Winston, Heisman Trophy Quarterback.  For the past two years, national champion University of Alabama wasn't talking about the SEC; they were talking about Alabama.  But we Gamecock fans were talking about the SEC.  Why:

 We weren't the focus of attention but we certainly wanted to do some name-dropping.

We were connected by our conference.  For the same reason, I suppose Clemson fans and Duke fans will be talking a lot more about being members of a premier conference now that the ACC is on top. Clemson will deflect talk about losing 5 straight to South Carolina, Duke will sidestep the discussion about not being able to hold on against Texas A&M but the ACC flag will be raised higher in both their camps even though just a few weeks ago it wasn't about a conference.

For Lot, Abraham's nephew, it wasn't about a metropolis. It was about separating himself from his Uncle Abraham and making a name for himself.  But in making a name for himself he fell victim to what we all fall victim to from time to time -- seeking our satisfaction and validation from being part of something bigger than ourselves.  This is why, in my opinion, televangelists with heretical theology draw in millions of dollars monthly from people on limited incomes: those in dire straits can send a donation to become a "faith partner" and be part of something big.  Lot wanted to be part of something big.  He pitched his tent in Sodom's suburbs.  After he had been taken captive in a war that raided the outskirts of Sodom and Uncle Abraham rescued him, Lot had a change of mind.  He didn't leave Sodom but he wasn't going to risk living in a tent any longer - he built a house inside the city (Gen 19.1-11).  There comes a time when being associated with something big -- pitching your tent near Sodom -- isn't big enough.  Those who pitch their tents close to sin are soon likely to take up permanent residence there.  Don't we see this human tendency to want to be part of something big, something new in our world every day?  For Sodom it was a tragic situation as God rained down fire and brimstone on his little house in Sodom and destroyed the city for it's debauched lifestyle of homosexuality.  Makes one wonder what's next for those who pitch their tents in Sodom's suburbs today.

I have a degree in Astronautical Engineering, with honors from the then #2 university in the world in my particular field, orbital mechanics. I worked from 1985 through 1992 as an engineer.  But to say I am an Astronautical Engineer would be a lie.  To say I am an engineer would be almost as big a lie.  Yet, the lady who came to my house in 1998 to install a new phone jack proudly announced to me that she was a systems engineer.  In fact, "engineer" was her official title, regardless of the fact that she'd never attended college.  But I knew, she knew and Southern Bell knew.. she wasn't an engineer.  

Go into any hospital in the country and you will find workers at all levels dressed like surgeons.  It started with nurses.  Then it migrated to lab technicians.  Why do so many in healthcare careers want to look like they just stepped out of an eleven hour heart transplant procedure?  I suspect that if surgeons started wearing bunny ears and it became standard practice for them to do so, nurses and lab techs wouldn't be far behind.  Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than their self.  It's human nature. 

Well, not everyone.

Not Abraham.  Abraham kept his tent in the countryside. In fact, though he was a very rich man -- much richer than Lot -- he never even built a house.  The scripture tells us that Abraham, too, was looking for a city but that the only city which could satisfy him was not of this world -- he was looking for a city with real foundations whose builder and maker is God. (Heb 11.10)  He was looking for a heavenly city.  Abraham's life is a testimony to what Jesus nailed down in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus confronted a world who thought success in God's eyes could be measured by what you did for God or what God had given you.  Abraham wasn't known for what he did in this world.  He wasn't known for what he had in this world.  Abraham was known for what he was in this world -- faithful.

It's okay to want to be part of something big.  Abraham wanted to be part of something big.  He just kept it in proper perspective.  He didn't let the "big" (with a small "b") of this world keep him from attaining the real "Big" which God had in store for him in the world to come.  Lot lost his home, his city, his wife and as a result of getting drunk, he ended up the incestuous father of children by his own daughters. There were times, I sure, when he wished he had never moved to the big city.  People in our own day are leaving town for the big city.  Leaving Aiken, SC for Denver where it is hip and legal to smoke marijuana; leaving Clarkesville, TN for San Franciso where they can live as openly as homosexuals and share in gay marriage as they could as a biblically-defined couple in marriage in Small Town Biblebelt, USA.  

Next time I see a custodial technician at the hospital who looks like a brain surgeon I'm going to try to ask myself this question: "What in this world am I clinging to for association in order to feel better about myself or my accomplishments?"  Next time I boast -- and I know I will -- about the overall strength of the SEC in college football, I'm going to try to remember that it's not about a conference.  Actually, it's not about a team.  It's not even about football. It's about a race. It's about laying aside the sin which so easily entangles me and perservering in the race which God has set before me with my eyes on the One who stands at the finish line in heaven - Jesus. (Hebrews 12.1-2).