Volume 29, No.41                                          
October 24, 2004

Crashing the Devil’s Pad

   This story adds a new twist to what Jesus said about forgiving those who trespass against you!

   When Beverly Mitchell returned home from a Greek vacation to Douglasville, Georgia where she lived alone, she found her house lights on and a strange care in the driveway.  She called 911.

   Inside the ranch-style home, police found 54-year-old Beverly Valentine who first told them she was renting the place.  Only later did she admit breaking into the house with a shovel.  According to authorities, the trespasser and the homeowner didn’t know each other, but the intruder somehow found out the house was empty.

   During the two-and-a-half weeks Mitchell was away, the illegal occupant allegedly repainted a room, ripped up some carpeting, and replaced the owner’s pictures with her own.  She had the electricity switched over to her name and moved in a washer and dryer, not to mention her dog.  She even wore some of the victim’s clothes.  In the car of the accused, police found a gun and $23,000 worth of jewelry belonging to the homeowner.

   “In 28 years, I’ve never seen anything this strange,” said Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Coleman.  He charged Valentine with burglary, which carries a penalty of one to twenty years in prison.

   As bizarre as the intruder’s behaviour sounds, it’s no different than ours when we make ourselves right at home in a world that doesn’t belong to us;  a world that’s “under the power and control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)  Rather than get too comfortable, we’re told to
remember that we’re “foreigners and aliens here” (1 Peter 2:11), just passing through on our journey to heaven, which is our true home.

   But we all know the trip is long, hard and dispiriting. To make matters worse, we have no idea what it is we’re holding on and holding out for, because heaven is unlike anything in our experience.  Combine that nebulous uncertainty with the world’s have-it-now insanity and it’s no wonder countless Christians decide heaven can wait.

  That decision doesn’t come quickly or easily.  It usually begins with deep discouragement that gives way to dangerous distraction. Whether it’s sin, pain, loss or sheer impatience, anything we struggle with has the capacity to sap our will to go on.  Fatigue and despair make us wonder if the Christian walk is worth it. An eternal reward would be nice, but when we start to look around at what we can have instead, we settle.  Then we settle in.  It’s a funny thing about the flashy, superficial lifestyle of our culture:  once we become absorbed in it, it’s easy to become absorbed by it.

   Paul, who knew a thing or two about worldly compromise and accommodation, offers some advice.  “Endure... as a good soldier of Christ Jesus,” he says.   “And as Christ’s soldier, don’t let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you can’t satisfy the One who enlisted you in his army.” (2 Timothy 2:3,4)  John’s even more blunt.  “Dear children,” he writes, “keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.” (1 John 5:21).  

   You’ve got to keep moving, staying on course by following the direction of the Son.  Staying put and standing pat is not an option.  When it comes to resisting the easy-chair options of this life, God wants you to put your foot down, not your feet up.

   We’ll all be a lot more successful at that if we keep our eyes and hearts trained on the Christian Canaan we’ve been promised, see the ultimate worthlessness of the trinkets we’re tempted to trade for, and remember there’s a penalty for crashing the devil’s pad.

   We can redecorate and try to make it out own.  We can put up some churchy pictures and personalize the space with our quasi-Christian conduct.  But it’s only a matter of time before we start wearing his clothes and looking, sounding and living like him.  In the end, it’s still his place and we still don’t belong.  Lord, forgive
us our trespasses.
 
By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca