Who has any idea when they're standing there at the altar looking all goo-goo eyed at each other what those vows really mean? But there's a reason for those vows. They anticipate what a marriage commitment to someone really means over a lifetime. I'm glad they video record and audio record weddings. As the years unfold, you need to listen again to what you promised. Our wedding was recorded. It was actually chiseled on stone tablets by a stenographer. It was a long time ago, but it wasn't that long. It was too soon for a video tape, but we did get an audio tape. We had the privilege of writing our wedding ceremony, so we got to make a very personal commitment to each other in our vows. But for all the words we said that day, three words capture the essence of what it means to totally commit the rest of your life to someone: "forsaking all others."
The TV news report was actually slightly amusing. These individuals came into the store, waving a piece of paper indicating that they had just won a free DVD player, and they were coming to claim it. What they didn't know was that notice had been mailed by the police to their last known address. See, these people were wanted, but they had disappeared. But when they checked their mail, they had news of having won that DVD player. The amusing part came when the police arrested them on the spot as some of them were actually laughing at what they thought was a joke or some kind of "Candid Camera" TV stunt. It was no joke. They were going to jail.
I've only been to Israel once, and just for a short visit, but I'll never forget the thrill of seeing those places where Jesus walked when He was here, and watching all those names and places in the Bible suddenly come alive. It really was one of the highlights of my life, except for one thing. I went alone, on my way back home from a ministry trip to Africa. As I stood on the Mount of Olives, as I walked the streets of old Jerusalem, as I experienced the feel of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee, I kept thinking, "I want my wife to see all of this. I want to experience this with my kids!" Yes, Israel was terrific, but I really wanted to share it with the people I love.
Back in the 1950s, Walt Disney went to an amusement park he didn't like very much. It was a mess; there was litter all over the ground, dirty bathrooms. It just felt tacky. He made up his mind that when he built the theme park he had dreamed of, it would never be a mess. If you've ever been to Disneyland or Disney World, you know he got what he wanted. Any time we've been there, it's been amazingly clean, considering the millions of people who go through there. I've been told that they have a simple strategy that makes Disney parks clean places. Take care of a mess right away. One day at Disney World I dropped my Coke cup and this guy with mouse ears made a flying leap and caught it before it hit the ground. OK, I'm kidding. But it almost feels like that. It really does stay clean there because they just won't let a mess get started.
A visit to a Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Shop is one of life's simple pleasures. We used to have one near our house, and the kids always enjoyed going there as a treat. And we'd look at all those unusual flavors and we'd have to make that stressful choice as to which one we could get. Well, several years ago I was in a city to speak, and the committee member who picked me up stopped by his store with me on the way back from the airport - his Baskin-Robbins store. It was closed, so he took me in, pointed to all the cases of ice cream with all those great flavors and said those mind-blowing words, "Take whatever you want!" Oh boy! Oh, not just a single little scoop of one little flavor; it's all available to you, boy! Go for it!
When my wife gets her hands on the TV's remote control, which is seldom, she usually chooses something educational. The other night she was watching a feature on what the host called "good things hurricanes do." Well, having seen some of the bad things hurricanes do, I was intrigued to hear about this. The feature told about these Australian pine trees that somehow had taken root in a place in Florida that hosted attractive plants which, in turn, attracted many beautiful birds and small animals. Well, as those pines grew and got tall, they literally created a canopy over those plants, and blocked out the sun. What had once been an area thriving with plant and animal life became a stretch of sterile underbrush - until the hurricane hit. The storm literally snapped those trees in two. And the sun was back. The area is now a beautiful park with pools, greenery, flowers, herons, and lots of interesting wildlife. But it took a hurricane.
I'm holding a $20 bill in my hand. I don't get to do that too often, so this is a really special moment. If you were sitting here with me and I offered this $20 to you, would you take it? I think you would. Now you're going to have to use your imagination to picture what I'm about to do, but here goes. I am now crumpling that nice $20 bill and I am crushing it into a little wad. You still want this bill? If you were right here, would you still take it? It's all wadded up. OK, now I'm beating on this wadded up bill, and I am actually stomping on it with my foot. Now, if I still... (Boy, I get some exercise on this program. That's unusual.) Now, if I still offered to give you this $20, would you still take it? I mean, it's been beat up, it's crushed, stomped on? Well, of course you would.
It's common to most every religious tradition; there's some ceremony or service where you dedicate or commit a new child to God. In some Christian traditions, it takes the form of baptism. Others have a brief baby dedication. The last baby we dedicated was our youngest child, and that was more than a few years ago. I held the little guy in my hands. Times have changed. I don't pick him up anymore, I'd hurt myself. He picks me up - literally. He's greeted me at the airport and pick me up off the ground and spun me around. That's my baby! A lot of things have changed. One thing never has.
My friend called me not long ago to pray for his Mom. During some medical tests, the doctor discovered something he didn't like - a large growth in her stomach. My friend said, "They haven't used the 'C' word yet. They wanted to take some more tests first." Now they've said the "C" word; the word all of us dread hearing from a doctor. You know - cancer. We know what that word can mean.
Our kids learned what "shun piking" is at a very early age. That expression actually goes back to Colonial days when people would leave or "shun" the pike, the main road, and take side roads. Today, it's just a good word to describe getting intentionally lost - just exploring some of those side roads you've never been on to see things you've never seen. Apparently, this shun piking thing has been inherited by the next generation. The other day our daughter took our three-year-old grandson on one of those crazy adventures on some unexplored back roads. And he saw lots of things he never saw before. When she asked him if he was ready to go home, he told her he wanted to keep going. His reason? "I liked exploring."
Twenty-three marks on the wall of his four-by-four prison cell told the story. It has just been three weeks since the soldiers captured him - the number one name on the Most Wanted List - at a local bar and they hauled him into this cell. The charges were robbery, treason, and murder. Day 23 was going to be just another day there, or so he thought until he heard the growing sounds of that angry mob outside the window above him. He managed to grab the bars on the window and pull himself up high enough to hear what the crowd was screaming. It was a combination of shock and fear that swept over him when he heard they were shouting his name! "Give us Ba-rabbas! Give us Ba-rabbas!"
