Out Our Way: Even so! - Judges 6:15-16

Out our way, we know that working cattle from horseback has its potential dangers. Wise cowhands remind me that if I am going to push cows in the Tiger Ridge, it is not a question of if I will get hurt but when.  Indeed, even my doctor — a fellow horseman — laughed the second time I came to him with sprained ribs. He knew it would happen because it happens all the time.

My pard, Charlie, also knew this, and indeed a few years back was so badly hurt they took him to the ER in town. He ended up in a wheelchair, and died not that long afterward. But I never heard him complain or regret all those times he rode the Tiger or the Bear Paws working cattle. You can’t cowboy if you worry too much about the risk. But one thing Charlie and the others I rode with taught me was that fear — not the actual hurt — is the real killer of the cowboy heart. Everyone gets tossed, most of us get busted up. There are no seat belts on the saddle or airbags amongst the rocks and cactus along the trail. But the issue is not if you get thrown, but what will you do afterward?  Will you stay on the ground and whimper? Or will you get back on board and ride?

Gideon was a good guy — but afraid when the Lord called him to service.  He was a nobody and he knew it. To follow the Lord’s directions would very likely get him hurt. But even so, God called him — and even so, Gideon accepted the call. Like getting back into the saddle after being tossed hard and maybe even stomped, the brave man or woman is not the one who feels no fear, but who refuses to be intimidated by it and steps up any way.

These days being a Christian — even in the good old USA — takes some courage. California’s  senator from San Francisco has challenged federal judge appointees because of their faith. She is not the only one who denigrates Christians as second-class citizens. Christians at universities and colleges are often harassed and even physically attacked for their faith, with the approval of professors and the media. Even in the Church of Jesus Christ itself, secular clergy and leaders have come out in favor of infanticide in the name of secular political agendas and most believers remain quiet. Why? Because we are afraid.

Even so, the Lord is with us, who can stand against us? Christ challenged the “professional” religious leaders of His day, the Priests of the Sadducees who worked hand in hand with pagan Rome and the secular culture of the day; and the Pharisee who were, as we say, “All hat and no cattle.” They talked the talk but did not walk the walk. Sadly, I have run into a number of former church folk who found the cowardice of the present church to stand up to the secular/pagan orces that dominate our culture even in the church these days.

Yup — to stand up for Christ rather than the culture takes guts. It is not if you will get slammed and tossed, but when. Gideon knew there would be a price to pay for standing up to the pagan-dominated culture of his day, but the Lord said, “even so, I will be with you.” Is He not saying the same today?

Recently, I have taken a number of hits as a Christian and as a pastor from folks who feel the Church is the enemy — and so am I. Granted, while divinely instituted, it is run by sinners like me. I have messed up many a time and forgotten Whose church it is on more than one occasion. I have also used the church for my own purposes — declaring Christ is on my side, rather than striving to be on Christ’s side.

Have I taken my licks for being a disciple? Yup. Have I also taken my licks for being a lousy disciple? Double yup. “Even so, I am with you,” says the Lord.

Like Gideon, I am afraid — I see who I really am as does everyone else and cry out, “Who am I to be ay or do anything?” Yup, I have been tossed and stomped as a believer — most often because of my own foolishness and ignorance. Yet for some weird unknown reason, God calls me to get back aboard. Surely He can do better! Yet He chose me. Yet He chose you! You and I are nothing special — neither was Gideon, or David, or Peter, or Paul — until God chose them. God doesn’t seek heroes and heroines, but ordinary folks who are willing, despite their failures and flaws, even so, to be available to the call. It may be I have been of use in ways I don’t not know, for I see nothing special in my ministry. It maybe I will yet be of use in ways I don’t imagine, fro the trail up ahead looks pretty empty and ordinary.

Even so, the Lord has His own plans. I am not much in eyes of the world and in my own — but, even so, the Lord tells me to saddle up and get back on board. All I can do is tighten my cinch, shrug at Doc’s questioning gaze, take the reins and step up and take off the way the Lord leads me. “Who am I, Lord? ” Nobody. What can I do? I can just barely hang on. Even so — like Gideon and so many others, all I can say is “Here am I, Lord. Use me.” I know I am nothing — the world knows it as well and delights in reminding me. Yet, “even so … .”

Blessings

Brother John Bruington