More Than Lemonade From Lemons

If you reside at the safe house at the Kilimambogo Orphanage, you can finally breathe.

Typically, if you have been orphaned in Kenya, you will be taken in by the nearest relative, even if their space is limited. If no relative lives nearby, you will likely find a home with a guardian who will look after your wellbeing.

Orphans are easy to come by in Kenya. Unfortunately, so are people who have suffered so much that their view of the world has been horribly distorted, resulting in orphans being molested by their relatives or guardians. Sometimes they are forced into prostitution to help provide income for the household. That’s when the safe house steps in.

The young women who reside at the safe house have been victimized. But they are no longer victims of the abuse they endured. They are surviving and even thriving as they learn about God and the teachings of Jesus.

One example they have probably heard of is Jacob’s marriage fiasco found in Genesis 29.
Recall that Jacob was on the run, away from his brother who was pretty torqued that Jacob acquired the lion’s share of their father Isaac’s forthcoming inheritance. Jacob found a distant relative – Laban – with whom he could stay in exchange for work.

Laban was delighted with Jacob’s work ethic, and asked what a fair price would be in exchange for his labor. Jacob knew exactly what he wanted – Laban’s daughter, Rachel, for his wife. He offered to work for seven years for his blessing to marry Rachel. Laban gladly agreed.

After seven years, Laban threw a marriage party for Jacob and his daughter. It must have been some party, indeed, for Jacob went to bed with Laban’s daughter, but when he finally woke up, he realized he had been given the wrong daughter! Laban tricked Jacob into consummating marriage with his oldest daughter, Leah, instead. He was now legally bound to her. What a rip off!

Jacob was surely disappointed, but there was an emotion at work which was much more powerful than revenge: love. Jacob so loved Rachel that he willingly offered to work an additional seven years to be with her!

I think Jacob made this commitment for a number of reasons. He remembered that God was still with him, and that God was intent on carrying out his vision for Jacob. In other words, as bad as things looked, Jacob knew on a deep level that things were somehow going to be okay because God was “all over this process.” Jacob also made an important value decision – love was to win over pride. He was willing to do whatever it took for the love of his life.

We can learn a lot from this story. We all face disappointments that tempt us to give up or do things that further destruction. But Jacob’s example reminds us that in spite of things other people do, or even mistakes we make, pursuing the good which we value most is worth more than anything else. Time. Money. Devotion. Whatever.

Jesus spoke along similar lines. He used parables to describe this reality. It’s like a guy who discovers treasure in a field. He sells everything he has so that he can buy the field along with its treasure. Or like a guy who finds an incredible pearl. He sells everything in order to acquire it. Jesus said that’s what it’s like when we discover the Kingdom of God.

Paul, who was probably thinking of Jacob’s marriage story (among others) noted in his letter to the church in Rome: “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Paul understood personally that when we order our lives based on our love for God and God’s purposes for our lives, things work out. Sometimes in spite of circumstances.

Tabson became an orphan just a week after he was born. In his youth, he came down with polio, which gave him terrible sores and left him with a severely deformed, scarred right leg. He had a choice to make. He could throw himself a lifelong pity party, or he could love and follow the God who loved him. He chose to love and follow God. He has committed his life to teaching the 400 orphans about the hope of Jesus Christ at Furaha Community Center’s school in Nairboi’s slum, Huruma. All while hobbling around with a steel bar for a walking staff.

This is more than making lemons out of lemonade, by the way. Anybody can squeeze lemons. I believe some situations cannot be “juiced” without the help of God. Some situations can utterly defeat people. But when we choose to love God and follow God as fully as we know how, God redeems in amazing ways. Not just a glass of lemonade, but fountains of lemonade overflowing for the masses. Lemon meringue pie for all. Lemon sorbet to top it off.

This is what enabled dark, dingy, filthy, blood- guts- and feces-filled jail cells to become houses of worship for the many early disciples of Jesus. It’s this power that transforms the world, and attracts the world back to God.

You are not alone if you struggle with disappointment in your life. You are in great company. But the decision about what it does to you or for you is yours alone. You can throw a pity party. You can try to make some lemonade. Or you can really make something of it by remembering that God, who loves you, is with you, carrying a vision for your life. Loving and following God as best you can, you open up the doors for the winds of the Spirit to flow into your mess and change the air. You enable the power of God the right to enter in. You make it possible for your situation to be redeemed not just for yourself, but for countless others who need to know God is still around, redeeming all the while. We have no idea how much influence we have on the world around us - your faithfulness may have a butterfly effect that will eventually touch another part of the world! So be steadfast! Be faithful!

Benediction: May you remember that God is with you, and that God absolutely and unconditionally loves you. May you trust God’s love for you and love God in return. May you love God not just with your heart, but with your mind, mouth, eyes, ears, hands and feet. May your situation be redeemed, that others may be encouraged by what God has done in and through you and your obedience.

Questions…

1. Everybody struggles. Everybody faces disappointment on various levels all the time. What disappointment are you dealing with right now?
2. What are your core values? Is love of God the most core value of all? Why or why not?
3. Paul’s wise instruction counsels that all the garbage works together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Why is there a connection between our love and obedience and God’s capacity to work things for good?
4. What do you think of this statement: It just may be that when we do not love or follow God that we are blind to the work of God. It could be that God is working out all sorts of good for a person ignoring God altogether. The difference is that the ignorant person cannot perceive or appreciate God’s good, permeating presence.
5. Or how about this statement: Maybe it’s not just a perception issue. Perhaps we play a bigger role than we realize. What if God intends for us to be conduits of his Spirit’s power? What if situations cannot be redeemed unless we are present and open to usher the Spirit in?
6. What do you think?

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Wake Up

He was running for his life.

With the help of his mother, he had just secured the lion’s share of his father’s estate – right under the nose of his brother, the rightful beneficiary. Jacob had good reason to run – his angry sibling, Esau, was a very skilled hunter. Jacob had a target on his back…
Nightfall came, and Jacob found himself in a remote location. All alone. A rock for a pillow.

Questions: What range of emotions do you suppose he was experiencing that night? Think it was easy to fall asleep? How do you relate to Jacob? How alone do you feel? What or who is pursuing you? What fears keep you awake at night?

Jacob drifted off to sleep. At some point in his slumber, he had a vivid dream of a staircase extending from where he was all the way to heaven. He could see angels ascending and descending – this was some sort of portal joining heaven and earth.

Questions: What connection might exist between Jacob’s state of mind as he drifted off to sleep and the capacity for God to break through to him? What does our level of desperation do to our receptivity of God’s revelation?

Before he could wake himself up and wonder what sort of mushrooms could have caused such a dream, the vision’s weirdness factor increased exponentially: God appeared and spoke to Jacob. God’s words to him were promises – that he would come back and own this place; that his descendants would be innumerable; and that all the people on earth would be blessed through Jacob. And – here’s the whopper – that God would be with Jacob wherever he went, never leaving him alone, to make sure the promises were fulfilled.

Note that dreams were taken extremely seriously back then as a primary vehicle for the divine to speak to mortals – this was a big deal. Also, the reigning thought of the day was that gods were regional, and needed to be appeased to insure their region-specific blessing. God’s statement that he would be with Jacob wherever he went required a massive paradigm shift for Jacob – this God was powerful on a global scale.

Questions: What did it mean for Jacob that this globally present God was going to create an incredible future for him? What affect would it have on Jacob for him to know that God would be constantly with him? These same truths have been communicated to us by Jesus. So, what do God’s promise and presence do for you?

Jacob woke up. He really woke up. He realized the message of the dream and its powerful implications for his life and future. His response was to worship. With his mouth he declared the truth of God’s revelation. Then he made a make-shift altar, a common worship practice of his era. Then he made a vow to be materially generous toward God as God blessed him.

Questions: What motivated Jacob’s worshipful response toward God? Why was it important for him to speak the truth with his lips, to make an altar, and to commit himself to God tangibly? What motivates your worship? How do you worship with your lips, your actions, and your resources? Have you awakened to God’s revelation yet? How? When? Where? What did it do to you?

Benediction. As you struggle with life’s challenges, may you discover that you are not as alone as you think you are. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear God’s presence all around you. May you be receptive to God’s promise. May you wake up and begin living differently, in worshipful response to the God who will never let you go.

Source of Story: Genesis 28:10-22.

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