Cold Water

Nothing good has ever happened to me before noon, so I prefer to sleep in when I can. (If the first line didn’t give it away, this is not Jeff writing. I understand he reads 300 pages, changes the brake pads on his truck, posts this blog, and cooks a three-course breakfast for Cathy before sunrise.)

I like to sleep. Every morning is a titanic battle of my will to get something done before lunchtime and my passion for the snooze button. But I have learned something.
If I can make it to the bathroom sink, I will win the battle and stay awake. I turn the knob all the way to the right until the water is as cold as it gets, cup my hands and take the plunge. When the cold water hits my face, I am wide awake. In that icy instant, my heart skips a beat and my brain becomes a little clearer. It is only then that I am ready to face the day (the coffee helps, too.)

For many years of my life, I was asleep to the world around me. But there have been splashes of cold water in my face. Something I see wakes me up. Something somebody says. I start listening. Yes, I am waking up. I am being saved from sleeping through my whole life.

Jesus said, “Let those who have ears hear.” It has taken a great deal of cold water for me to wake up and listen.

Here is some cold water that has been splashed in my face recently. In Tony Campolo’s sermon, It’s Friday, but Sunday’s Coming, he says the following. “While you were sleeping last night, thirty thousand children under the age of twelve died of either starvation or diseases related to malnutrition, and we weren’t shocked over that. We’re not depressed over that. We’re not crying over that. And it happens every day, every day, every day.” [Emphasis mine]

Did you go to a Chiefs game this year? They averaged 60,000 in attendance. Picture that crowd. If you haven’t seen it in person, you’ve seen it on TV. And while we slept peacefully the last two nights, that’s how many children died from just not having enough food.

60,000 children dead while we sleep. Isn’t it time for us to wake up?

There are two ways we generally respond to a message like this. Either we feel guilty for what has happened, or we become passionate about what could happen. (I guess there’s also a third response – you could just get mad at me for bringing it up, but I assume you’re all giving me the benefit of the doubt because I really do love you and mean well.) And I also don’t want you to feel guilty. But if we are serious about following Christ, we might start getting that invigorating but panicked feeling of having cold water splashed in our face. Guilt is a horrible reason to get out of bed. May you awake with passion!

I realize that’s just one story. Granted, poverty is one BIG story. As Campolo explains, there are 2,000 verses of the Bible that talk about the poor. God loves the poor, and so should we.

But maybe, for you, there’s another story, another challenge, another issue that pours cold water on your face and cold chills down your spine? Will you share it with us? What has God placed on your heart? What passion has he given you? May you pour it out today all around you (starting by telling us about it.)

Every morning, I am faced with the choice to keep sleeping, or let the cold water wake me up. When you find your cold water in life, I hope you let it pour down on you like rain. Let it wake you up. Let it break your heart. And take those wide-open eyes and that broken heart and never go back to sleep again.

When your church sees your passion, we will wake up, too. When you are weak, we will help you. When you are weak, Christ will strengthen you.

May you be baptized in freezing, cold water today.

With love,

a young shepherd.