Freedom That Fascinates

Good Morning America!

If you're reading this in the land of my birth, you're probably too busy to be reading it.  I can picture you wiping off the BBQ sauce with your elbow as you scroll down the page.  How we miss America, especially this time of year!

We have a little pack of cousins in North Texas and “The Fourth” (as it should be) is enjoyed to the eyeballs … or elbows, if you will.  There is red, white and blue bunting everywhere, a football game on the lawn complete with resplendent water sprinklers, or as in the case a few years back, a stock tank filled with fresh water for a baptism, followed by a quick dip by every kid in the yard for a nice cool down.  Some of my happiest memories have been there.

And the reason?  Because we live in a FREE country.  We celebrate what we want, worship Who we want ......... all with the freedoms allowed us, thanks to the blood of our ancestors and their quest for freedom. (and we can say the same for our other country Australia, very similar.) 

I'd like to repeat a little ditty I wrote many years ago, just to keep you “fascinated" this weekend. It goes like this:

The other day I remembered something I heard while tearing around Bangkok with my best Japanese friend. With her I realised that having a good friend who shares your values as well as your sense of humour is a real gift.  Even better when it involves a bit of ditsy-ness. 

This is a trait I find rather rare here in Japan, which makes it so much more precious when I come across it in the life of a Japanese work colleague. Please don’t misunderstand; I have many good friends here, but because of their non-Christian status, everything I do is countered with the deep underlying thought of, “How can I show Christ in this moment?”  

However, Kanae is a strong Christian who really 'gets' me.   She speaks pretty good English, but occasionally her speech sounds (I'm guessing) a little like my Japanese. She gets the point across but often uses a word I would have never thought of.

So anyway, we were jabbering away in our strange language combinations you’d never find anywhere else. Upon arriving at her tailors to drop something off, she said, “This lady is a really good tailor, but when I brought in 10 pairs of my husband’s trousers to be altered, she did it, but after that she refused me.” 

"Oh?" I said, a bit surprised. "Why"?

Then she replied, “Because she said she does not find altering trousers fascinating.”

I laughed in her face.  I knew right away what she was getting at, thinking in Japanese but struggling to find an English equivalent. There’s a word in Japanese, “omoshiori”, which I would translate as “interesting”, but Kanae’s answer I felt overshot the situation a bit. 

I could just picture a little old lady sitting in a dark corner under a single cobweb-covered bulb, working a treadle machine and saying to herself, "Garsh, this job is just not giving me the buzz I was looking for!"

OK, here's my point (you knew I had one somewhere, right?).

Is MY work “Fascinating”?  Is YOUR LIFE “Fascinating”?  For that matter, do we even have the right to fascination in everything we do? 

I think that working under God’s calling is the most exciting/thrilling/exhilarating/fulfilling work on the planet ........ except on the days (and I won't go into percentages here) where the work is dull/depressing/demoralising/and … well, just no fun.  

Paul said many things in his letters to the churches, a lot of it, I’m convinced, pointing to the 'fascination' of working with God.  I like the one in Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain". And another verse in Colossians 3:23-24,  “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

What could be more fascinating than that?

Let's go into this weekend with a spirit of WONDER ..... wonder that freedom is still something to be celebrated in a country where Christ is still honoured among His people.

My prayer for you, gentle friends, is that today you will find a moment when you can wipe the BBQ (or whatever celebratory food floats your boat) off your chin, look around you and breathe this simple prayer: “Fascinating”.

Marsha