52 Paths to Heaven

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
- Genesis 1:27

Shame on me for doing a double take when I saw the extraordinary Susan Boyle who performed on Britain’s Got Talent TV show.

By now, you’ve seen the video.

Her instant fame gave me pause about my initial reaction and how we regard or write off some people.

For a second, I thought she might be a man because of her appearance - the face, hairstyle and the bushy eyebrows. And then I thought she might just be another self-deceived, undiscovered “talent” who would simply elicit laughter. Instead, the judges and the audience stopped giggling and offered applause (most honored her with a standing ovation).

I wonder how we feel about unusual or unsightly people. Do we turn away and just ignore them? Do we figure they will merely stay home or hold jobs out of public view?

Society is full of rejects, crippled people and human beings of all ages with deformities we wouldn’t wish on anyone.

The Susan Boyles of the world remind me of the Hermey the Misfit Elf in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” He simply aspired to be a dentist rather than a toymaker.

Unemployed and not married at 47, Susan Boyle just wanted a chance to sing. I can’t imagine the ridicule she has faced over her lifetime. TV’s Larry King asked Susan if she was going to do anything about her appearance. Since he’s a media personality, I couldn’t blame him. People do wonder. Susan told him she has no plans to change.

Sometimes people do alter their looks, just like Elliott Yamin of American Idol fame did with his teeth.

When we see someone with a defect, we’d like to think we don’t jeer. But if we’re honest, we did judge Susan Boyle.

Hopefully most of the time we’re busy helping the blind, mentally retarded, deaf, etc.

What if the cashier has an ugly growth - maybe even a tumor hanging off their face? Will we wait longer in a different checkout aisle? You may have heard of neurofibromatosis, better known as Elephant Man disease.

We all matter to God:

“You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
- Psalm 139:13-14

Every person deserves their dignity - even the ones who can’t sing but somehow believe they’re destined for stardom. I’m glad Susan got her moment; I’d buy a ticket in a heartbeat. Her moxie and confidence stand out as well (I loved it when she wiggled her hips).

We’re all imperfect in one sense of another - spiritually and physically. I’m sometimes ill-tempered and I have a deformed right ankle that works fine even though it’s considerably larger than the norm.

On the spiritual side, my sins have been forgiven by Jesus who hung on a cross for me 2,000 years ago. And while I too often neglect Him and His power, I know Him and turn to Him.

As for this body of mine, it’s just temporary. Someday I’ll be in heaven - maybe even with Susan. Together, we can sing in perfect harmony.

It must be tough for a toddler to distinguish one crowd from another.

I got a kick out my friend’s 2-year-old son who went to church in Cleveland Sunday. He figured it would be just like the last crowd he was around - inside a pro hockey arena in Detroit.

He was thrilled to see so many people. “Hockey! Hockey!” he yelled.

Maybe he didn’t realize the players wouldn’t be racing about. But he picked up on the joy. Everyone came out for a great occasion - to worship the King.

No ice, skates, or protective gear. He just needed wonderment and innocence - enough to make Jesus smile.

Matthew 19:14

Jesus, however, said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these.”

Jesus doesn’t require much from the rest of us - just hearts open enough to receive what He has for us … as we invite Him to transform our lives.

I had heard of this “Everything” drama based on the Lifehouse song. And then I saw it.

I know people who aren’t keen on drama. Yet, given the song, the story and the creative presentation, it’s not hard for me to be moved every time I see it.

The scene is simple - mankind was once at peace with God but fell into sin. And the scary thing is that sin blocks us from God, our Creator. We may seek Him in one fashion or another. But sin is so powerful; sin thwarts us as we search.

When Jesus throws steps in between us and sin - the intensity of the video is undeniable. Finally, He throws sin back, defeating it by His sacrifice. It’s an amazing video that you can easily personalize - whether you’re on the journey toward the Lord or struggling with sin like me even in the beauty of your relationship with Him.

I’ll be signing copies of my book, “52 Paths To Heaven” 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 22 at Logos Bookstore in Kent.

I’ll also be breaking away to a meeting room to give a brief talk, “How Far Will God Go to Reach You?”

The Record Courier published a feature story about the event.

Please stop by if you’re in the area or let me know if you have friends who might be interested.

It’s probably a good thing that we have such intense debates about capital punishment. Our humanity may be lacking if it were easy to kill someone for killing someone else.

The Bible isn’t clear about when it’s OK to apply capital punishment. In Genesis 9:6, God pretty much sounds like it’s OK to repay blood for blood. And in Romans 13:1-7, we’re pretty much told to honor government and authorities.

Ex-cop Bobby Cutts Jr. made the national press for killing his wife and unborn baby. In the end, the jury decided to spare his life and allow for a lengthy prison sentence. Personally, I think he deserves to die. We’re not talking about a vehicular accident. He took his rage out against her and the child.

When does mercy apply? After all, in John 8:7 Jesus is all for sparing a woman caught in adultry (not sure where her spouse is). The jury had more mercy than I have to offer. I guess I’d have more mercy if Cutts was on the phone admitting his mistake seconds or minutes after his attack. Instead, he allowed days to lapse while pretending he didn’t do it.

Cutts is an enemy of society. Killing him is no worse than killing an opponent on the battle field. His horrific actions have consequences. One day God will deal with Cutts for all of eternity. Maybe I’ll hang out with him in heaven.

Why do people assume God checked out or never existed in the first place just because of a natural disaster or a school campus shooting?

Sure, He made the world and maybe He knew hurricanes would kill people. But who can say the weather patterns weren’t different before sin? And earth is supposed to be temporary anyway. On the crime front, the last time I knew God didn’t pull the trigger.

Despite the ugly aspects of our world, God is very much in charge. And He has a way of comforting us - if we’re willing to let him. Simply asking, “God, I need your help” may not be enough - though He’s known to respond in different ways.  We’d be better off saying, “I need you.” It’s not His help we need in the middle of a crisis as much as the relationship He longs for us to embrace.

Have you?

I’m impressed that my son has picked up a concept I touch on in the book. It’s about how we seem to forget that you don’t need to see something to believe it’s real. He’s challenging his teacher and students to realize that’s what faith is - not seeing but knowing something is real.

Scientists amaze me with their knowledge and discoveries. But like some scientists, many people grow frustrated when they can’t prove something exists. Therefore, it must not be real, right? Wrong. We can’t see gravity, but we respect its presence. We can’t see God, but we still have faith in Him. He’s more real to us than He needs to be - in that soft, still voice we hear in our minds and in our hearts, in an embrace of a friend or a stranger, in nature, in circumstances and in His Word.

Can’t see Jesus? Set aside your pride and His presence will be clear enough.