Saturday Mornings

I love Saturday mornings. I usually wake up hours before the rest of the family, and I make a (small) pot of coffee and sit at the computer and catch up on my 'reading' for the week. It's a time to reflect, pray for my friends and family, get 'enlightened', and often, get caught up on bills and pressing activities. Throughout the week, I get up before everyone and have a 'hang time' with God, but often my schedule limits the time and the thoughts of the coming day crowd out the true reflections.
This morning I was reading in a book called Blue Like Jazz, and the author is talking about his journey into Christianity. He was having trouble "buying into" the concept until he took a Literature course. Through the course he realized that the same elements that hook us into a good book (ie, setting, conflict/resolution, and climax) are the very things that draw us into Christianity. Setting...here and now. We're a part of it. I'm always trying to get my 3rd graders to make a "personal connection" to their readings/writings. We understand setting because we are in the setting. Conflict...the rebellion against God resulting in sin sets the stage for all conflict. Climax...where the point of decision determines the end of the story. Resolution...We have a choice to have a good or bad resolution.
The author also parallels our decision with a really cool story. It is of a Navy SEAL that went on a covert mission to resue some hostages. They had been held captive for months, and when the SEALS penetrated the room and told the hostages to follow them, they sat huddled in a corner, hiding in fear, afraid to follow their 'saviors'. Finally, in desperation, one SEAL took off his helmet and sat down in the huddle, body to body, with the hostages. He stayed there until some of the people began to make eye contact with him, and realize his presence. He then began whispering, "We're American's, and we're here to rescue you. Won't you please follow us?" One by one the hostages stood to their feet with the SEAL until all of them were willing to follow. Had the soldier not "entered their world" and become one of them, even for an instant, the hostages would never have even acknoweldge their presence, much less followed them. Jesus did the same for us. We wouldn't/couldn't follow him, in large part because we were blinded by our fear. Until Christ became a part of the huddle, became one of us, we had trouble connecting with him. The SEAL left a part of his identity behind when he took off his helmet. Jesus left a huge part of his identity when he gave up his position at the right hand of the Father. Wow! Big thoughts for a Saturday morning.