bowties & southern belles.

it's been a busy day and its only 1:30pm. car wouldn't start this morning. or yesterday. shout out to markus copeland and the electricians of his company for bailing me out both times. google 'em. copeland electric. ask for trevor. he's in charge. oh, and thanks to hays for getting me at the shop this morning. not having a car can be brutal. i need to be more thankful for the small mercies. like getting to spend time with crazy hays. the kid smiles and laughs more than anybody i've ever met and it's contagious.

i've been telling our high school kiddos and parents to get ready for wed. night.
this week we're covering why Jesus told the crowd to hate their mother and father if they wanted to be His disciple.
my first reaction was to laugh. i guess that's just me. i think i laugh when i hear crazy, serious, but completely far-fetched ideas! this has gotten me in trouble in many a staff meeting, but it's just part of me. i laugh. oops.

He's gotta be kidding. right? is Jesus kidding? joking around?? or is he incredibly serious? and if He's serious, how do i hate my parents? now, i could've answered that last question in a nanosecond around 9th or 10th grade. dad would yell at me from the bottom of the stairs to put on khakis and something that resembled a clean shirt and get to sunday school. i hated sunday school. and thus, i hated the person that made me go.

but, i don't think that's what Jesus is getting at. turns out, dad was right. they talk about Jesus in sunday school and thus, i needed to be there. i later found out who Jesus was and thus, liked sunday school a little bit more after that. parents are usually right. think of the song "hank" by ben rector. perfect illustration. go listen. let me say this, i am blessed to have incredible parents. and i'm not just saying this because they are two of the 3.5 people that read this thing. they are good. my parents have taught me more about Jesus than any sermon or sunday school class ever could.

dad laughs, wears bowties, and is bald. mom has brown hair and is a feisty, southern belle who wears heels to intimidate opponents. (okay, the intimidation part isn't true...but it's FUNNY). dad likes the movie, 2012. it is the absolute worst move of all-time. for serious. brutal. dad made all of us watch it together on the sb trip home last year. four. hours. long. we made fun. mom defended dad's movie choice the whole time. mom loves dad like that. mom always tells the truth. always. even if it hurts. dad is the proud owner of a red-ryder BB gun. mom won't let him shoot it in the house. mom makes her own drapes and changes the furniture around every 3 weeks. mom likes hardwood floors. so does dad. they are brilliant. mom went to tennessee. dad went to vanderbilt. because of this, mom usually wins games and dad usually loses them. mom likes hats. big ones. kentucky derby ones. i firmly believe these hats were used to embarrass me at church as a kid. dad likes lemonade. weird lemonade. mom does not. dad takes photographs. mom takes exception if you eat the last of the raspberry sorbet that's in the freezer. mom prays. dad prays. mom likes convertibles but hated my old wrangler. dad likes green lawn mowers. mom eats fish. dad catches them. mom likes listening to some group called manheim steamroller all Christmas long. dad loves the amy grant christmas cd. who doesn't? mom didn't like "elf" when i first made her watch it. neither did dad. they have since been converted and we watch it all Christmas long. over and over. mom likes shopping in downtown franklin. dad goes with mom for moral support. mom likes puckett's. dad loves puckett's. dad asked. mom said yes. oh, and i'm pretty sure dad was a hippie. he did have a mustache.

my parents are legit. and thus, i'm finding it so incredibly difficult to hate them. and this whole "hate" talk comes from the guy who says we must "love our enemies" and even "pray for them." some would say that this is a "bible contradiction." the fact is, it isn't. Jesus is employing hyperbole here. i pulled up the little dictionary on my mac here (because macs are cool like that) and hyperbole is simply an exaggeration or a use of magnification. WHATTT????!?!

here's the point. Jesus is telling us to LOVE Him in such an way that our closest relationships on earth look like hate in comparison.

first thought: that is one INCREDIBLE love.

love for Him is magnified. 'till all others look like hate.

wow.

take a minute and sit back in your chair. think about that. really. sit and think. it's a love i don't fully know yet. why? because i truly love my parents and i have trouble comprehending loving Jesus in a way that would make my love for my parents seem hateful.

but, i must find that love, because i truly want to be His disciple.

i'm working my way through that thought this hour. and the next. and for a long time. i pray this moves in your heart, too. please be praying i communicate this effectively to a room full of high school kiddos on wed. night. they must know this if they want to truly follow Jesus and not just go to sunday school.

thanks for listening.

g