I saw a meme the other day that took me back to the days of my childhood and playground equipment that was long ago declared too dangerous for children to play on. The picture (see below) was of a jungle gym made from steel bars that went up maybe 10 feet. I thought the caption was clever and very funny and it made me laugh loud and long.
In truth there was danger involved in old playground equipment. There were metal slides that you could fall off of, or in the summer burn the hide off your legs if you were foolish enough to wear shorts on them. There were steel merry go rounds that would crack your shins or throw you off if you got going too fast and didn’t hang on tight enough. All in all, it was kid heaven! Sure, kids got broken arms and stitches in their chins. They got the wind knocked out of them and shed rivers of tears. There was probably even a concussion or two, but I never heard of anyone dying on them, and as soon as the casts came off, the kids were right back on the things like nothing had ever happened. The scars became stories, badges of honor, part of the story of growing up and becoming the people we are today.
I shared the meme to a humor group on Facebook, and while the response was overwhelmingly positive, there were a couple of folks who had near meltdowns.
Their opinion was that it was ignorant and irresponsible, actually abusive for parents to allow their children to even go near such dangerous equipment. It made me wonder if their children ever had the thrill of climbing a tree, or going down an ice packed hill on an inner tube. I was wonderstruck at how flat and featureless their safe childhood landscape must have been, and it made me sort of sad.
It was no use trying to convince those people of all the things we learned playing on those bars. We learned what made us afraid, what our limitations were, but also that we could stretch our boundaries and overcome our fears. And we learned whether or not pain was the worst thing or if it was just another thing. All were important lessons.
As for me, I brought those lessons with me when I entered onto the Path with Jesus. Many people want to follow Jesus because they think Christianity is user friendly with soft edges and no bumps, but Jesus himself taught a very different message. In what have become known as the beatitudes, Jesus said this:
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”
Matthew 5:3-12
What Jesus describes here is not all bad by any means, but it is daunting. Poor? Mourning? Persecuted? Mocked? Slandered? Is that what we are signing on for? Well, yes, it is! But there are so many good things that come with the not so good. Blessings. Comfort. Satisfaction. Happiness. Rewards. And the best job ever!
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of
the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:13-16
It’s a tough job, but we’ve been given an opportunity by our king to be salt and light in a dark and dangerous place. I can’t tell you what your portion will be. As you look at the “playground” you’ll see a lot of potential danger, and truthfully you may experience some breaks and bruises, but I can say with all confidence that in the end it will be worth it all, especially finding that you
“…can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.”
Philippians 4:13
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