Jim, Joe or John?
"For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own
children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God,
who calls you into his kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2: 11-12 NIV)
The car sped down Hwy 407, Jane at the wheel. Jim, Joe and John, her passengers,
were quietly gazing out their windows when Jane suddenly slowed down and began
guiding the car to the shoulder of the road.
"Jane, why are we pulling over?" Jim asked.
"I think we have a flat," was the response. And sure enough, by the time the car
stopped, the right front tire looked like a pancake.
"We must have picked up a nail in that last patch of road construction. I'll
need to go and get some help." With this, Jane matter-of-factly stuck out her
thumb, and seconds later, a passing car stopped to pick her up. "I'll go and buy
a new tire," she called to her traveling companions. "I'll be back as soon as I
can!"
As the car sped away with their driver, the three guys were left standing along
the side of the road. Now what?
"Why didn't Jane just use her cell phone?" Jim grumbled. "She could have called
CAA and we would have been out of here in one, two, three. Now who knows how
long we will be here."
"Awww, Com'on!" coaxed John. "Let's just enjoy God's sunshine. It isn't all that
bad to be stuck here!"
"I think I'll get back in the car," Jim decided. "I brought my portable DVD
player, just in case something like this happened!"
"There he goes again!" complained Jim. "I hate that guy! He's such a lazy bum."
"Oh, he has his positive traits," responded John.
"Oh yeah? Which ones?"
"Like..."
"Just look at this heavy traffic!" Jim interrupted. "We'll be stuck here all
day!"
"Traffic?" John shifted his gaze to the road. "Wow! It IS busy out there! I
hadn't even noticed. I was too busy admiring the beautiful trees. You know,
maybe it's best to be stuck here on the side of the road until some of this
passes!"
"Oh, go on!" Jim complained. "You're no better than my work place. My boss never
thinks about us, his employees. He only thinks about filling his own pockets.
He's selfish and-and our unions aren't any better! Real jerks, all of them!"
"Life isn't that bad Jim. No matter what bad stuff happens, God has given us
good things as well!"
"Oh yeah? Wait until you hear about what my landlord did to me. You won't
believe it..."
The next three hours passed very slowly as Jim continued to complain and Joe
watched his DVDs. It didn't matter to John, however. He always enjoyed himself,
no matter who he was with or what circumstances he found himself in.
When Jane finally appeared with a brand-new tire, John and Jim immediately set
to work replacing it. Despite the fact that Joe was too busy watching his DVDs
to help, it didn't take long to remove the old "pancake" tire and replace it
with the new one; and by the time they were ready to roll again, the traffic had
thinned down. They would reach their final destination after all!
Our journey on this planet is quite similar to Jim, Joe, John and Jane's car
trip. Unforeseen events continually hamper our daily progress, and it will be
our attitude that determines if our ride will be enjoyable or not. Complainers,
like Jim, will always be bitter. They may help out, but their negativity
alienates them from others, which in turn makes them even more bitter. Life is a
bore to them, and their attitude sours the experience for all of the others
around them.
Those like Joe may seem to be enjoying life, but because it has no purpose
beyond having fun and thinking about themselves, they are not fruitful in their
endeavors and people tend to not rely on them.
John's attitude is relatively rare. He enjoys life, no matter what circumstances
he finds himself in. Why? Because he knows that God is with him. Why complain
when you have a friend like Jesus living inside of you? John is a blessing to
all those who meet him. He is reliable, enjoyable and fun to be with. He knows
his purpose in life and looks forward in anticipation of what might be around
the next bend.
Which one of these guys are you? Are you living like Jim, bitter about
everything? Or are you like Joe, with your only purpose being self-gratification
and fulfillment? If you are like John, it means that Jesus reigns in your heart!
When you let Him be in control of your life, you will be able to find your true
purpose. Any events, good or bad, are welcome, because you can rely on Jesus to
deal with them.
"But what about Jane?" You may wonder. "What kind of a person is she?"
Jane, my friend, is you, and it's up to you to decide!
Rob Chaffart
P. S. Dedicated to my son Donovan, who is so like the character of John.