Weasels Among Us
My wife and I were hiking one summer day in Rocky Mountain National Park when we first saw one.
"Ya know," I commented as we walked, "I have seen just about every animal in this park at one time or another but I have never seen a weasel. Of course, they're nocturnal...." As I finished my sentence, and I kid you not, a weasel ran across the trail, over my boots, and bounded into the brush. We stood there, incredulous...then burst out laughing (If that is not an example of God's sense of humour, I don't know what is!)
It's been about 10 years since that happened, and few weeks ago I saw one again. My son and I were exploring on of the local canyons with our dog. Suddenly, I saw movement a few yards away and the little animal bounded across a clearing and under a log. I recognized it immediately, but it was different from the one I saw those years ago. This one, except for black tip of its tail, was snowy white.
Weasels, like other small mammals of the north, change the color of their fur with the seasons. (Well, they don't do it, it just happens...) In summer, they are brown and in winter they are white. In fact, if he hadn't moved I would never have seen him. Which brings me to my point.....
Too many Christians change their colors to blend in with their surroundings. They don't want to stand out, be different. They just want to fit in, to protect themselves. Like the weasel, their primary interest is to survive. When they stand up for their faith or protest an injustice,they get shot at. They get hurt. Not fun. If they don't move, they will be ok.
But that's not real Christianity. Jesus and the disciples were all killed or imprisoned because they stood up against the lies and evil of their time. Whether it is speaking out against slavery, racism, abortion, relativism or false religions, followers of Jesus have always been persecuted and hunted-and he promised we would.
So if you are a believer, don't be a weasel. They actually are sneaky,mean little creatures, hence the negative connotation their name.
Move.
Don't just blend in and play it safe.
Make a difference....
Be a Grizzly-hard to ignore.
"Ya know," I commented as we walked, "I have seen just about every animal in this park at one time or another but I have never seen a weasel. Of course, they're nocturnal...." As I finished my sentence, and I kid you not, a weasel ran across the trail, over my boots, and bounded into the brush. We stood there, incredulous...then burst out laughing (If that is not an example of God's sense of humour, I don't know what is!)
It's been about 10 years since that happened, and few weeks ago I saw one again. My son and I were exploring on of the local canyons with our dog. Suddenly, I saw movement a few yards away and the little animal bounded across a clearing and under a log. I recognized it immediately, but it was different from the one I saw those years ago. This one, except for black tip of its tail, was snowy white.
Weasels, like other small mammals of the north, change the color of their fur with the seasons. (Well, they don't do it, it just happens...) In summer, they are brown and in winter they are white. In fact, if he hadn't moved I would never have seen him. Which brings me to my point.....
Too many Christians change their colors to blend in with their surroundings. They don't want to stand out, be different. They just want to fit in, to protect themselves. Like the weasel, their primary interest is to survive. When they stand up for their faith or protest an injustice,they get shot at. They get hurt. Not fun. If they don't move, they will be ok.
But that's not real Christianity. Jesus and the disciples were all killed or imprisoned because they stood up against the lies and evil of their time. Whether it is speaking out against slavery, racism, abortion, relativism or false religions, followers of Jesus have always been persecuted and hunted-and he promised we would.
So if you are a believer, don't be a weasel. They actually are sneaky,mean little creatures, hence the negative connotation their name.
Move.
Don't just blend in and play it safe.
Make a difference....
Be a Grizzly-hard to ignore.
posted by Rob | 2:05 PM
1 Comments:
That is such a great lesson. I love it. It has such great timing in my life too. I was beginning to blend in for a while and then I went to a leadership conference and realized how much that was not part of who Christ taught me to be. I love hearing about all the programs you are doing at Utah State and how relative they are to what is going on. The weekend of your Da Vinci outreach, I went to a Great Commission Leadership conference and learned a lot about the Da Vinci code which I thought was so great to know. Thank you and Miriam for always teaching me the truth and not to be like this world. You guys have influenced me in every aspect of my life and it will last through eternity! Thank you! Kimberly
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