The kids love to get stickers. Whenever we teach, the children appreciate it if they get a sticker on their paper afterwards.
A former co-worker of Ingrid’s, who knows about this, recently sent us a bunch of stickers of all different kinds.
Among the stickers, were two of Smoky the Bear.
 |
| My (former) hero |
It’s probably appropriate that this friend sent these stickers—her part of California has been besieged with some nasty wildfires this year, and this is a good reminder to pray for those affected by the fires.
Seeing this sticker brought back a lot of old memories for me. Smoky was one of my heroes as a child. At some point, I remember joining the Smoky Bear Fan Club and my Junior Forest Ranger badge was one of my prized possessions. I found out about the club from a cousin who lived down the street. His father was a Fire Warden for many years and his sons and my brothers and myself were part of putting out many a forest fire in our youth.
Smoky was a real bear. Rescued as a cub after a fire in New Mexico in 1950, he was treated and then kept at the Washington National Zoo, where I saw him just a couple of years before he died in 1976.
Probably the earliest calling I felt in life was to be a forest ranger. I even steered my life towards that direction, studying forestry at the University of New Hampshire. I loved being outside and enjoying the nature. It was definitely my preference to be among natural things than to be among other people. Back in my teen years, I probably pictured myself as an adult living off the land deep in the forest, far from my nearest neighbor.
But in all this, I was oblivious to other things going on around me. It’s as if the forest all around me was on fire and I could neither see the flames or smell the smoke.
But then I, like Smoky, was rescued.
Jesus rescued me from myself.
When I put my faith in Jesus, and He put His Spirit in me, my life changed in revolutionary ways. But the obvious changes were not the significant ones. Giving up cigarettes and a speaking vocabulary that consisted mostly of cuss-words was obvious. But the real change was much deeper. Instead of seeing humanity as an infringement upon nature, I began to see humanity as part of this whole created realm. And I realized that life wasn’t just about me. There were real people with real needs, spiritual and physical, all about me and that I was somehow supposed to be a part of meeting those needs.
And that changed the course of my life.
Instead of a career path that centered around nature, I found myself on one that centered on human needs or the interaction of humans and their environment.
Mind you, I still love plants and animals and all that. I somehow still often find it easier for me to build a relationship with a dog or cat than with a person. And I find being alone on top of a mountain much more refreshing than being in a mass of humanity. But now these things are just part of a bigger picture. A bigger picture that involves caring about the human suffering in this world and caring about those who have yet to find freedom and hope and true peace in Jesus.
I love the redemptive picture in Romans 8:18-25, where the fate of humanity and the rest of creation mix together:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Thank you, God, for rescuing me from me.
No comments:
Post a Comment