“Concerning brotherly love you
have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to
love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9)
One of the more interesting parts of our trip to the
Western Caribbean, earlier this month, was our ride in a kayak. We were
originally scheduled to sail on a ship directly from Galveston, Texas, to
Jamaica, but Hurricane Ernesto changed our plans, and we went to Progreso, in
Yucatan, Mexico, instead. And by the way – for all of you who prayed for our
safety – thank you! Ernesto suddenly lessened in intensity, and then the storm
went north, instead of toward us in the west. At Progreso, which turned out to
be our new first destination, we participated in kayaking, and it turned out to
be a very interesting time. We went for miles along watery tunnels under and
through the roots of the many Mango trees in that area. Ours was one of about a
dozen kayaks. Most of them were two-seaters, and others were for just one.
Kayaking was something we had never done before.
One of them contained two young brothers who didn’t seem
to get along very well. The brother in front made it abundantly clear that he
did not like to use the oar that had been issued to him, and the one in the back
was annoyed. There was a lot of yelling from the one in back, and about halfway
through the trek, the response from the one in front was to cross his arms and
look stonily ahead, pretending to not hear the yells of his older brother. About
a half mile from the start, before the younger one stopped trying to use his
oar, they were pulling in opposite directions, and managed to accidentally run
over their mother’s kayak, dumping her under the shallow water. She was helped
back into her kayak and was able to keep going, though both she and her digital
camera were soaked.
We had our own problems learning not only how to make
the kayak move, steer and stop, but also we were learning how to cooperate with
one another in a very different kind of environment. We quickly learned it
wasn’t enough to just paddle together - there were also strong currents, hidden
sandbars and strong winds which made this a complicated experience. We did
pretty well, though I could see why those boys were having trouble.
At some point we were leaving a larger and more open
area of water and were entering another of the tunnels, under and through the
mango roots. The tunnels were narrow and I was discovering how easy it was for
the paddles to get caught in the mango roots. When mine did get stuck about
three times, the kayak would keep moving forward, but the paddle tended to be
forced backward and would hit me in the neck. All in all, we really did enjoy
this experience, but it did have certain drawbacks.
It was about that time, when we were nearing the
entrance to another one of the lengthy mango-root tunnels, that the boys in the
other kayak suddenly became competitive, even to the point of working together,
as they raced to enter the tunnel ahead of us. It was impressive how they
managed to cooperate with one another during that brief time. They got to the
tunnel first – actually, we backed off to avoid an accident, and then we started
down that winding tunnel behind the boys. As soon as they got into the tunnel
ahead of us, they immediately began arguing again and once more refused to
cooperate with one another. The water under and next to the mango trees was very
shallow and our small boats got stuck on the bottom easily. Cooperation between
the kayak occupants in two-seaters was essential, and the two boys ahead of us
weren’t cooperating about anything. The boy in back was yelling again, and the
boy in front stuck out his chin, folded his arms and refused to respond. Their
kayak got stuck on a sand bar in the shallow water, and for a little while it
seemed like we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere. By now, they were both yelling.
We no longer attempted to catch sight of the pink flamingos our guide had told
us about, and we could no longer hear the wind in the mango trees. Their mother
called out from the kayak behind us: “Should I let them
have it now or later?”
Finally, the guide from a couple of kayaks back, got out
and walked along the underwater sand bars up to the boys and pushed them to a
place where they could make headway once more. As soon as the water opened up,
we tried to pass them again, but just like the last time, they became
competitive and tried to beat us. This time we weren’t having any of it and we
went still faster until we were blessedly in the lead. Their argument resumed,
but they fell to the rear, out of our immediate experience.
Now, I don’t know the spiritual condition of those two
boys. One or both may have accepted the Lord at some point. I don’t know. But I
DO know that their behavior reminded me of adult people I have known in
government, in business, in corporations and most disturbing of all – in the
church. As our Scripture for today reveals, we “are taught
by God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). And yet, when the
crisis comes; when we are in some kind of “kayak”
experience in life and must work together; all too often it is revealed that our
love for one another is actually not very impressive.
Each of us is to “aspire to lead a
quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands,”
and Paul continued: “as we commanded you” (1
Thessalonians 4:11). Let’s be completely honest: Though we are “taught
by God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9), as a church, we aren’t
very good at it. Because of local zoning laws, you often see several churches
grouped together in one area, but it is though they are alien planets isolated
from each another. They may have events, services, building projects, and so on,
and yet it is seldom they do anything jointly. When you go to some other church
than the one you have been attending, you often have to “join”
that new church, as though you weren’t previously part of the Body of Christ!
Jesus prayed to the Father “that they (you and me)
may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You;
that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe You sent Me”
(John 17:21).
“That the world may believe,”
is very similar to what Paul said to the Thessalonians: “that
you may walk properly toward those who are outside” (1 Thessalonians
4:12). You may wonder, WHY doesn’t the world turn to Jesus Christ? for - “There
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”
(Acts 4:12) and yet they don’t turn to Him. The answer should cause us to take a
look at how we treat one another, for we are all too often like those boys in
the kayak. One said disparaging things about the other, who responded by
ignoring his brother and pretending he did not exist. We are the problem and
it’s time for us to begin to love.
Father, change our hearts. Help those boys; help us.
Enable us to really love one another as we should, in the power of God, that
others may be saved. In Jesus Name. Amen.
