Looking Foolish

From the Series—Chase the Lion
December 20, 2006

This evotional concludes the series titled: Chase the Lion.

The series is based on the book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. You can purchase a copy online at amazon.com. Or download a free PDF of the first chapter at chasethelion.com.

Climbing Trees

A few months ago I was reading the writings of John Muir—the founder of the Sierra Club. Muir is tough to describe, but the love of nature was the central passion of his life. He spent his life studying it, protecting it, and appreciating it.

One of my favorite Muir moments happened in December of 1874. John Muir was staying with a friend at his cabin in the Sierra Mountains and a winter storm set in. The wind was so strong that it bent the trees over backwards. But instead of retreating to the safety of the cabin, Muir chased the storm! He found a mountain ridge; climbed to the top of a giant Douglas Fir tree; and held on for dear life for several hours feasting his senses on the sights and sounds and scents.

In his journal, Muir writes:

When the storm began to sound I lost no time in pushing out into the woods to enjoy it. For on such occasions, Nature always has something rare to show us, and the danger to life and limb is hardly greater than one would experience crouching deprecatingly beneath a roof.

John Muir was no stranger to danger. He climbed mountains and crossed rivers and explored glaciers. But there is something about this mental picture of John Muir climbing a one-hundred foot Douglas fir tree during a storm that is iconic.

In the words of Eugene Peterson, the story of John Muir climbing to the top of that storm-whipped Douglas Fir is an icon of Christian spirituality. He said it’s a standing rebuke against becoming a mere spectator to life, preferring creature comfort to Creator confrontation.

We are called to climb trees! And it’s based on more than an eccentric naturalist named John Muir. Climbing trees is actually a biblical metaphor in Luke 19.

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’" But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house.”

We read stories like this and don’t think much of it. But how many adults do you know that still climb trees? Not too many.

I love the mental picture of this tax collector in a three-piece suit climbing a tree just to get a glimpse of Jesus!

Zacchaeus had a reputation to protect. He had an image to uphold. But this distinguished tax collector in a three-piece suit climbs a tree like a little kid. He didn’t care about decorum. He didn’t care about protocol. He didn’t care how foolish he looked. He just wanted to get a glimpse of Jesus!

And I want you to notice what is often overlooked in this story. Zacchaeus was willing to looking foolish to get a glimpse of Jesus. And Jesus returned the favor. The people criticized Jesus for hanging out with Zacchaeus.

The end result is an amazing conversion. Zacchaeus gives half his possessions to the poor on the spot. And Jesus says, “Salvation has come to your house.”

This is one of those days you never forget. Zacchaeus never forget the day Jesus came through Jericho—the day he climbed a sycamore tree and Jesus hung out at his house! This is the defining moment of His life. I’ve got to think that Zacchaeus would occasionally make a pilgrimage back to this sycamore tree. Maybe even climb it for old time’s sake. I bet he brought his grandkids there and let them climb the tree and told them that is where he met Jesus!

I don’t know what happens to Zacchaeus. I actually think we’ll get to hear the rest of the story in heaven. But I’ve got to think that giving half his possessions to the poor was just the beginning. He could have cheated people the rest of his life and lived selfishly. But if this story is any indication, Zacchaeus made a difference with his life! And it all started with climbing a tree.

Let me tell you what God is looking for. And I think this is huge. If you don’t know what God is looking for it is awfully hard to please him. In fact, we waste a lot of effort trying to please God in ways that aren’t pleasing to him. The Pharisees are exhibit A. God isn’t looking for religious protocol. I think God is looking for tree climbers. God is looking for people who will do anything to get to God.

Read the gospels and you’ll find that God is looking for tax collectors who climb trees to get to Jesus and prostitutes who crash parties to get to Jesus. He is looking for people who push through crowds like the woman with the issue of blood. He is looking for people who yell at the top of their lungs like the blind beggar. He is looking for people who cut holes in ceilings; jump out of boats; and follow stars to get to Jesus!

Let me zoom out an make a theological observation.

One of the toughest questions Christians have to answer is what happens to people who have never heard of Jesus? And there is no way I’m going to resolve an ancient debate in an evotional. But let me give you my take. Job 11:6 says, “True wisdom has two sides.” In other words, truth is found in the tension of opposites.

I think truth is found in the tension between John 14:6 and Hebrews 11:6.

I believe what Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father buy through me.” There is only one way to God. His name is Jesus. He is the only one who died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sin. And he is the only one who was raised from the dead. And He is the only one I’ll stand before on Judgment Day.

I also believe Hebrews 11:6: “God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.” I take it at face value. I honestly believe that if someone earnestly seeks God, God will reward that by revealing Himself somehow someway!

I don’t know exactly how to juxtapose those two passages. And I don’t know how it will all come out in the wash. But I’m confident of this: tree climbers will get a glimpse of Jesus.

The Willingness to Look Foolish

Let me give you a definition of faith. Faith is the willingness to look foolish.

It seems like the people that God uses the most are the people who are willing to climb trees or get out of boats or follow stars or chase lions! The greatest turning points in Scripture can be traced back to someone who was willing to look foolish.

Don’t tell me Noah didn’t feel a little foolish building an ark when rain wasn’t in the forecast for another 120 years! Don’t tell me David didn’t feel a little foolish going to war with a slingshot. Don’t tell me Benaiah didn’t feel a little foolish chasing the king of the beasts. Don’t tell me the Wise Men didn’t feel a little foolish when Jewish border agents asked them the reason for their visit. Don’t tell me a professional fisherman named Peter didn’t feel a little foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake. And don’t tell me Jesus didn’t feel a little foolish hanging half-naked on the cross in front of him family and friends.But faith is the willingness to look foolish. And the results speak for themselves. Noah was saved from the flood. David defeated Goliath. The Wise Men found the Messiah. Peter walked on water. And Jesus was raised from the dead.

Let me tell you why some of us have never killed a giant or walked on water or found the Messiah. It’s because we’re not willing to look foolish.

I Corinthians 1:27 reveals God’s modus operandi:

God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.

Nothing has changed.

If you aren’t willing to look foolish you’re foolish.

I felt a little foolish giving up a scholarship and transferring from the University of Chicago to Central Bible College. It felt a little foolish moving to Washington, DC with no place to live and no guaranteed salary. It felt a little foolish when we used to start services with half a dozen people. It felt like we were playing church. It felt a little foolish writing a book with no publisher. But those acts of foolishness were lions God had called me to chase.

Deep down inside I think all of us have this primal longing to do something crazy for God. We want to build an ark or kill a giant or chase a lion. We want to do something great for God, but we allow the fear of foolishness paralyze.

I can’t share might faith—I might look foolish. I can’t pray for a miracle—I might look foolish. I can’t get involved in a ministry—I might look foolish. I can’t seek out counseling—I might look foolish. I can’t change majors—I might look foolish. I can’t quit my job—I might look foolish. I can’t ask them out on a date—I might look foolish. I can’t raise my hand—I might look foolish.

It is the fear of foolishness that keeps us from walking on water or killing giants or finding the Messiah.

What lion is God calling you to chase?

Maybe it’s time to apply for your dream job; admit your addiction; reconcile the relationship; ask her out; take the exam; go on a mission trip; mentor someone; stop attending church and start serving; add a stamp to your passport; take a night class; start a business; or write the manuscript.

Drunk

So how do we overcome this fear of foolishness? I think the answer is found in Ephesians 5:18: Don’t be drunk with wine. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill you and control you.

What happens when you get drunk? You lose all inhibition. But Paul is saying that wine is the wrong way to lose inhibition. The right way is being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us overcome our ungodly inhibitions. You can see a picture of it in the book of Acts. When the Apostles are filled with the spirit there is a boldness that compels them to action. In fact, the same Peter who denied Jesus three times says, “We cannot help but speak what we have seen and heard.” He became an unstoppable force! Why? He was filled with the Spirit of God. When we are filled with the Spirit we care less about what people think and care more about what God thinks.

Let me take you all the way back to the Garden of Eden. I would suggest that there were no inhibitions in Eden before the fall of man. Adam and Eve were running around naked. And there was no shame. But what happened the moment they sinned? They became self-conscious.

Genesis 3:7 says, “At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.”

I think self-consciousness is part of the curse! And the more we sin the more self-conscious we become.

I think sanctification works the opposite way. As we are filled with the Spirit of God, we care less about what people think and care more about what God thinks! We become less self-conscious and more God-conscious until we have no ungodly inhibitions.

And for what it’s worth, I think we’ll be completely God-conscious when we get to heaven. I don’t think there will be any negative self-consciousness in heaven because there will be no shame. We’ll be so enraptured with the presence of God that we won’t have time to waste on self-consciousness.

I like the way Ron Rolheiser describes one function of the Holy Spirit. He says, “Isn’t it the task of the Holy Spirit to introduce some madness and intoxication into the world? Why this propensity for balance and safety? Don’t we all long for one moment of raw risk, one moment of divine madness?”

Caged Christians

A few months ago I was in the Galapagos Islands on a mission trip. And it’s hard to describe, but it felt like we were flying into the Garden of Eden. I’ve got to think that this archipelago of islands is the closest thing to Eden left on earth. It doesn’t feel like the islands belong to the people. It feels like the islands belong to the animals. And the animals let the people live there. It was almost like going to the zoo except there were no cages or fences!

I’m not even sure how to say it, but there is nothing like seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat. It’s one thing to see a caged bird. It’s an altogether different thing to see a blue-footed booby circling about 100 feet up in the air and dive-bombed ten feet into the ocean and catching a fish two feet from your boat.

It’s one thing seeing a dolphin show in a manmade pool. It is an altogether different thing swimming with sea lions or walking a beach at night with dozens of sea lions barking at you and chasing you. We were surrounded by huge tortoises, beautiful marine iguanas, and pelicans that looked pre-historic. And part of the excitement was the fact that they weren’t caged.

So after returning from the Galapagos we took our kids to the zoo and you know what, it wasn’t the same! I’m ruined for zoos! I love zoos. But it’s not the same seeing a caged animal. It’s too safe. It’s too controlled. It’s too predictable.

So we were walking through the ape house and I had this thought as I looked at a caged gorilla: I wonder if churches do to people what zoos do to animals.

We take something that is wild and we domesticate it. And we put it in a cage for easy observation. We remove the danger. We remove the risk. And the end result is caged Christians.

It just seems to me that that isn’t the approach Jesus took. For starters, he handpicked a dozen disciples who were totally uncultured, uncivilized, and undomesticated. And Jesus didn’t cage people. He unleashed them.

In fact, he used a zoological metaphor in Matthew 10:16. He was about to send them on their inaugural mission and he said, “I am sending you like sheep among wolves.” Imagine a zookeeper putting a bunch of sheep in the wolf cage. Now that is a zoo worth visiting!

Jesus doesn’t put the disciples in a safe cage. He unleashed them. He sends them into the wolf cage. And he says you need to be innocent as doves and shrewd as snakes.

The goal of church isn’t to take people out of their natural habitat and domesticate them—make them look and talk and act like Christians. When we pronounce the benediction at the end of the service we’re releasing people back into the wild. And you go back into your natural habitat as an ambassador of God’s grace.

I love the way Erwin McManus says it in his book Unstoppable Force: “The center of God’s will is not a safe place but the most dangerous place in the world.” Then he makes a great distinction: “To live outside of God’s will puts us in danger; to live in his will makes us dangerous.”

A Lion Chasers Manifesto

So what lion is God calling you to chase?

Here’s a lion chasers manifesto.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.