I was thinking about God and Facebook.  Imagine that God was on Facebook for real.  You might have two different ways of dealing with Him.  I think this reflects the two ways a good many people relate to God in real life.

1) God sends a friend request.  You don't "friend" God.  He has already sent you a friend request.  God is an initiator, He seeks relationship.  Now you have a choice.  Do you accept His invitation.  He will not hack your profile to force you to be His friend.  Of course, if you hit that little accept button, He's going to see your wall.  He's going to see all those pictures you posted plus the ones you were tagged in.  He's going to read your likes and sayings and various other things on your profile.  Hmm, do you really want Him seeing all of that stuff?  Some of it is kind of embarrassing.   Not sure He would be impressed with what you posted last weekend.  Well, there's always plan B.

2)  Become a Fan.  You go to His Fan page and hit the old "Become a Fan" button.  Now anyone who checks out your page will see that you are a fan of God.  Now that makes things look good.  You also appear on His fan page.  Another plus.  He can see that you are a supporter and you can even write nice things on his fan page.  Now we're talking.   He's there when you want to connect but you don't have to worry about Him getting all up in your business.  Much better.

I think a lot of people try to take that second approach to God in their life.  They want to be a fan, but they are looking to keep a comfortable distance.  God convenient and handy but out of the way on the "fun" stuff.  Problem is, when it comes time for heaven, God will be opening the doors to His friends, not His fans.   God's not looking for supporters or backers.  He sends out friend requests to connect, and that connection is the first stage of heaven.  After all, heaven is just the ultimate relationship of being with God.  So instead of the old "friend or foe?" how about "friend or fan?"

The link above concerns the recent news story of the family whose home burned to the ground after firefighters would not help because the family had not paid the fire protection fee.  This occurrence has caused plenty of controversy and argument with some claiming that this is the beginning of a collapse of society that the tea party will bring about and others claiming this is a symptom of people wanting something for nothing.   Personally, I am not going to wade into the political ramifications of the whole thing.  This event, along with some other things, got me thinking about something bigger.

Recently there have been several deaths in Maine as the result of motor vehicle accidents.  Watching the response people have to the sudden passing of others reminded me of the above story, but with a spiritual twist.

The family in the article had neglected to pay the fire protection fee.  Perhaps they forgot.  Perhaps they just didn't really think about it.  Maybe they figured they wouldn't need it and wanted to save the money.  For whatever reason, the fee wasn't paid, but that didn't stop them from calling the fire department once they did have the urgent need.  Unfortunately, they were unprepared and didn't have the protection they thought they had.

That is true of a lot of people spiritually.  They really don't think too much about a relationship with God and spiritual things.  Maybe they forget, maybe they just don't think about it, or maybe they don't feel they need it.  That is until tragedy strikes.  Suddenly all the talk is about the afterlife.  Everyone talks about how the person is "in a better place" or "looking down on us" or engaging in whatever their favorite activity is, except now in heaven.  This despite the fact that the deceased may have never really paid any attention to the things of God while on earth, living their life as if God was not a major factor.

I don't want to be unfeeling, but this seems even more unwise than not making sure you have proper fire protection, insurance protection, etc.  Why do we as humans so often ignore God and what He says in His Word about how to know you will be with Him forever.  God is ignored and no preparation is given, yet it is assumed that when the need arises, it will just be there.   I fear deeply that many will end up watching life burn.

The extra tragedy in all this is that the fee has been paid.  We do not have to pay the fee, Jesus did on the cross.  All we have to do is call in and claim the payment on our account.  Too often, people assume that just by living and being a mostly good person, that they have paid the fee themselves and they are covered.  If only that were true, but that is not what the Bible says.  Everyone quotes John 3:16, but the whole passage is important.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (John 3:16-18 MSG)

I too wish that coverage was automatic, it was in the Garden of Eden. But our father, Adam, cancelled his automatic coverage, and since that time, man has needed to return to God and, based on God's payment of the price, reclaim the coverage. Praise God that Jesus paid. Now let us each make sure we have asked for his payment to be applied to us.

The link above is a rather grim story about a woman who drove around for months with a dead body in the passenger seat of her car.  It was a homeless friend of hers who had died in the seat and she just put a box of baking soda with her and covered her up with clothes to hide her.  She was afraid to tell authorities.  The police say she got used to the smell.

Wow, that is rough.  And that is quite a smell to get used to.  But then I got thinking, I think that is true of a lot of us.  There are areas of spiritual death in our lives.  Some people live lives of serious spiritual death.  Perhaps there is an issue with lying, perhaps with gossip.  Maybe you look back and see a line of "enemies" over the years, people whom you have never tried or even desired to find reconcilliation with (it was all their fault anyway.)  Perhaps it is sexual sin, an affair, pornography, sex outside of marriage.  Perhaps it is financial dishonesty.   How about just plain unkind behavior, an unchecked temper, a poor attitude with family and/or friends.   Whatever the issue, there are sometimes areas of spiritual death that we allow to sit in our lives.  It stinks, but you know, you get used to it.

We need to not allow ourselves to grow accustomed to spiritual death.  God reminds us in the Bible that we are to leave spiritual death behind and pass into life.  Too often we are too afraid of what people will say or think if we admit there is a dead body in our spiritual lives.  We've driven around with it for so long, what will people say when I finally admit to it?   Well, we need to realize that most of us have, at one time or another, tried to cover up and mask the smell of spiritual death in our lives.  We need to come clean.  The drive will be so much better when we allow God to truly set us free from the death that we carry around in us.

I constantly see people who have gotten used to quite a lot of "spiritual smell" and it should remind me to look inward and see what needs to be cleaned in me.

This link is a great editorial by the president of Focus on the Family.   It sets forth the truth of the Gospel well and repeatedly and reacts to the issue without defensiveness or accusation.  Overall I thought he did a great job displaying the love and truth of the gospel both in his words and in his approach.

I have got to do some major work on our fish tank. Ever since summer it has struggled with water clarity. I tried several different small things to improve it, but I need to take some radical steps to try to clear it up. It doesn't look that attractive, It is hard to see the fish, and I'm not sure that it is that good for them.

This made me think about the phrase often used for being a pastor (or politician for that matter) that you live in a fishbowl.  I have heard pastors use that phrase many a time over the years and it is almost always used as a negative statement.  They bemoan the scrutiny, the exposure that public attention can bring.  I understand the sentiment, but I am not sure that I agree with it.  It is true that you can end up under greater scrutiny when you occupy a position of leadership, especially leadership of a group like a pastor or politician.  I just don't think that has to be a bad thing.  The Bible teaches that were much is given, much is required (Lk 12:48) and attention and leadership is something that is given.  I stand in front of a congregation every week and teach them and seek each week to shepherd them.  Is it then fair of me to demand that they, at times, turn their head and ignore what I am doing and where I am going?  Some would argue "yes, they don't need to know some stuff." but I think they do.  Not that every private intimate detail of our lives needs to be public, but the broader settings and themes of my life have got to be fair game.  The status and health of Sarah's and my marriage, the conduct and parenting of our children, our family dynamics, habits, etc.  All these are part of living before a people and teaching by example.

Now is this a demand for perfection?  NO!!!  I think the problem that many have with openness is that they feel like they are supposed to be perfect or are embarrassed that they are not.  They fear the people that love to nitpick over your failures.  Paul said that he would glory in his weaknesses, for when he was weak, then Christ was strong.   Sarah and I are far from perfect.  We have had to  (and continue to) work through weak points of our marriage.  We are still learning to parent and make mistakes which then we must address and struggle through.  In all this, we present a clear picture of not the "perfect Christian life," but rather "a real Christian life."

Its like my fishbowl.  When things are clouded and obscured, it is not as nice to look at, it is hard to see what is going on inside, and it is not that great for the fish.  In my life, if I teach my children to hide the things that are wrong, to put on the "nice Christian front" instead of being honest and weak in front of people, it will not be good for them.   Yes, it means that all our weaknesses and failings will be out there to see, but, that can be such a blessing as it keeps us humble, keeps us real, and makes us more available as examples of what God's grace can do when we stop worrying so much about what people think.