"I Got a Rock"

This is a big weekend for many churches, as a variety of fall festivals and Halloween alternatives are gearing up, and I pray that as churches open their doors to their neighborhoods and communities, that God would make Himself very real to the people who attend, and there would be a rich harvest of souls who become devoted to Christ.


There are a number of fall traditions that we celebrate.   And, at our house, one of those is the yearly viewing of "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown".   It's a tender amalgamation of various Peanuts comic strips, and while it may seem a little disjointed, as the 1966 animation and voice tracks float seamlessly from the classic Lucy-jerk-away-the-football to the pack of kids going from house to house for "tricks-or-treats" to Linus' misplaced hope that the Great Pumpkin will appear.   Of course, throw in Snoopy's delusional World War I flying ace segments and Schroeder's perplexing military tribute, and you have the perfect mix for heartwarming family entertainment.


I think Peanuts was, and continues to be, so popular, because Charles Schulz really nailed the human condition.   And, think about the contrast between Charlie Brown and Linus - Charlie Brown "got a rock" at every house, and that kind of typlifies his mindset throughout the Peanuts universe.   Linus seems to be the more supernatural one - looking for something beyond himself in which to place hope, and while it was misguided with respect to the Great Pumpkin, by Christmastime he gets it right - "that's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown".


The Bible deals with the hopelessness of the human condition but the true hope we can find through a relationshp with God, which is made possible because of Jesus.

From Psalm 42:
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God.
 




You know, I think we all feel from time to time that life puts a rock in our respective bags.   But, when you think, "I got a rock", then that becomes a potential defining moment for us - we can either accept that life isn't fair, life is miserable, life is hopeless and live beneath what God has intended, or see that rock in life as an opportunity for growth, for building our testimony for Christ, for allow God to do the work in us that He would intend.   It's our choice - we can choose to walk in a state of being downcast, or walk in a state of true hope in Christ.