Surrounded

I went on a safari in the Masai Mara a couple years back.

It was incredible. We saw a pride of lions, a herd of wildebeests, the most graceful giraffes and, honestly, the ugliest warthogs (Disney really misled me with Pumbaa – warthogs are not even a little bit cute).

But I was most captivated by the elephants.

We came across a herd and could see a baby elephant as we drew near. She was sleeping.

As we go closer, seven or eight adult elephants took their place around her and glared at us until we’d moved on.

Our guide explained that elephants are a protective species. They care for the most vulnerable among their herd. They surround the youngest so that if a predator attacks, the strongest of the herd can defend the weakest.

Jesus did the same. He cared for the most vulnerable. He defended the weak.

Actually, if you pay attention to the whole story of the Bible, you’ll notice that God cares deeply for the poor, widows, orphans, and outcasts.

He has called us to surround the weak and the vulnerable. He has called us to love and protect the weakest among us.

That includes, of course, the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the outcasts.

It also includes our friends and family members struggling in their marriage or with an addiction or through a devastating diagnosis or dealing with doubts and questions.

We’re called to surround one another. To protect one another. To defend one another.

If you’ve ever been surrounded, protected, defended by those that love you, you know how it matters.

So, do that – be that – for others.

The Illusion of Independence

I spent a lot of time in Chicago growing up. It was just a four-hour drive from our suburban home in St. Louis, so it made for an easy weekend getaway.

By the time I was about ten years old I knew the streets of Chicago better than any other city – including the city in which I grew up.

My two younger brothers and I started asking our parents to let us venture out on our own. I’m not sure where we planned to go but I’m guessing we wanted to get Garrett’s Popcorn or hang out at the Oak Street beach.

To our shock and delight, they let us go.

We felt so old, so mature, to be walking the streets of Chicago without adult supervision.

I didn’t find out until years later that we were absolutely under adult supervision.

My dad wanted us to learn to navigate the world. But we were ten, eight, and five. We weren’t exactly ready to fend for ourselves.

So, he followed us around the city. We were never out of his sight. We spent an entire afternoon believing ourselves to be independent.

But we were never more than about twenty feet from a loving father who was ready to protect and provide for us at a moment’s notice.

That was twenty-five years ago. I’ve walked a lot of city streets alone since then – without adult supervision.

But I’ve never once been independent.

Independence is an illusion.

We are never out of God’s sight. We are always entirely dependent upon Him. We have a loving Father that is there - ready to protect and provide for us. We may not always be aware of His presence in our lives, but He is always present.

I don’t know who you are or where you are. I do know that you’re not alone.

You never have been and you never will be.

Muscles

A friend of mine has a three-year-old son named Nate.

He’s adorable and sweet and funny. He’s also busy and mischievous and, well, a three-year-old boy.

So, my friend has been teaching him about how to use his muscles.

Muscles, she tells him, aren’t meant for hurting and breaking. They’re meant for serving and protecting.

I love that.

I also can’t stop thinking about how often her guidance applies in other ways.

Words, for example, aren’t meant for hurting and breaking. They’re meant for serving and protecting.

Power and influence aren’t meant for hurting and breaking. They’re meant for serving and protecting.

Knowledge, even, isn’t meant for hurting and breaking. It’s meant for serving and protecting.

I don’t know what “muscles” you have.

I do know that you can flex those muscles towards one end or another.

Either to hurt and break.

Or to serve and protect.

How are you using your muscles?

Monsters

There was a monster under my bed.

At least, that’s what I believed as a child.

When I turned out the lights, I would quickly scramble to the center of the mattress, trying to outrun whatever was sure to emerge from the darkness. Any stray limb dangling off the side of the bed put me at risk of being nabbed. So, each night, I would wrap myself in the blankets.

After all, everybody knows a monster can’t get to you if you’re under the covers.

As I grew up, I left behind my imaginary monsters, but found that there is, in fact, a monster at large – a very real and very powerful enemy.

He lures me with temptations. He entices me with his lies. He wants to steal, kill, and destroy all that is good and all that is right.

Yet, for those that belong to Jesus, for those that have received His victory, there is nothing to fear. Ours is a strong but defeated enemy.

Jesus invites us to take cover in Him, to wrap ourselves up in His strength, in His power.

After all, the monster – the enemy – can’t get to you if you’re under the cover of Christ.