Clear eyes. Clean hearts. Can't lose!!!

“Clear eyes. Clean hearts. Can’t lose.” A quote from one of my favourite TV shows, called Friday Night Lights. Its about a high school American Football team and before every game they chant, “Clear eyes. Clean hearts. Can’t lose!” I’m a sucker for stuff like that so I always find it very inspiring.

I know its just a show and that words like this are meant to tug at the old heart strings so that you will come back for more but the reality is that there is truth in that simple quote.

Proverbs 3:1 -12 says this, “Good friend, don't forget all I've taught you; take to heart my commands. They'll help you live a long, long time, a long life lived full and well. Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty. Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart. Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.” The Message

Not to oversimplify things but is says:

Clear eyes: “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.” - Clear eyes. See things God's way. Get the right perspective on things, don’t just assume that you know it all. Clear eyes.

Clean Hearts: “Earn a reputation for living well in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.” “Run to God! Run from evil!” “But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.” - Clean hearts! Make sure you are right with God and people. Accept God’s discipline. Not words we like to hear. How often are our hearts not clean. How often do we resist what God wants in our lives. Keep your heart clean.

Can’t lose: “he's the one who will keep you on track.” “Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.” - Can’t lose!!
I don’t think the point is that we will be healthy and rich, the point is that we will be blessed. If we see things God’s way and run to him then surely the result is we can’t lose in the most important arena of life. We will live in harmony with God and not to be over spiritual but when we do that we really can’t lose!!!

I guess I am left asking myself and you the follow questions:
Do I have clear eyes? Is my heart clean?

Cars and Scars

Scars. I have a few. In one of the creases of the palm of my left had, I have a small one. The result of a very large splitter. Growing up we had an old painter's plank, the kind that they use on scaffolding. We used to prop it up against the wall dividing our house and our next door neighbours. It was easy access to our friends. One day I run up and my foot slipped, so I did the only logical thing . . . I grabbed the side of the plank to stop myself from falling! The result was that a huge piece of dirty wood pieced my left hand. I remember pulling out an inch long piece from my and and thinking that was the only piece and so I ran up the plank and went to play. Soon I realized that there was something wrong, as that part of my hand festered and swelled. Long story short I had to have and equal sided piece surgically removed, which resulted in the one and only 2 stitches I have ever had. I bare the scar as a reminder to be careful when climbing things.

Then there’s the very little one just above my top lip. I was playing tennis with some friends a few years ago. In a bizarre moment that will never be repeated, I attempted to hit the ball but on the follow through I whacked my face with the head of my racquet, thereby jamming the skin into my tooth and literally making a tiny hole. When I closed my mouth and puffed up my cheeks I could feel and hear the air whistling through it. Gross.

The other one is the head injury inflicted by a friend while playing cricket.
I have other “scars”. My weak knees from playing rugby and four square. My 2 front teeth that I chipped on a cricket pitch roller when I was 7 or 8. The list goes on. Some are physical, others are emotional and to be honest there are some spiritual ones too.

The other day, my wife and I took our little girl, Emily to see Cars 2. To be honest I was skeptical about it but its a Pixar movie and my thoughts are, Pixar at their worst is probably better than anything anyone else has to offer. I enjoyed it. Emily feel asleep. This however is not a review. There is this one moment when Mater, the rusted, crazy tow truck is being fitted with a disguise as he has mistakingly been confused as a secret agent (stay with me now). The car doing the work wants to fix his dents so that the disguise will work properly but Mater refuses because his dents remind him of the good times he has had with his friends, specifically Lightening McQueen. In other words, his dents are part of what defines him.

You see our scars tell our story. Think about the scars you have and generally they are wrapped up in a story that involves someone else. Whether they are physical, emotional or spiritual there is a story behind them and like it or not they play a big part in defining who we are.
Scar are important to us because:
They remind us of the people in our lives. Every one of my scars reminds of the people I was with when I got the scar. Good or bad. Positive or negative. The thing I have come to realize though is that for the most part is that those people whether I like it or not who have contributed to who I am.
They remind us of the lessons we have learned. For instance I will never again use a cricket pitch roller as a seesaw. The fact is though each scar serves as a lesson. Sometimes we learn from that lesson and sometimes we don’t.
They are in integral part of our story.
They can influence and affect others.

The interesting thing is that the Bible tells us of Jesus’ scars. Yes there were the physical ones on the cross in his hands, feet and side but his scars ran deeper than just the physical. Rejected, mocked, teased, let down by friends . . . I used to think that Jesus was somehow unaffected by all of that. He wasn’t. He couldn’t have been. If he was fully human then his scars were really and he felt them and they defined him, or how he dealt with them defined him.

Isaiah from the Bible tells that Jesus’ wounds/scars heal us. He is not talking about physical healing but is referring to the fact that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross heals our relationship with God. How he carries or uses his scars defines him as the one who brings healing.

So I guess it’s not the scar but how you carry it that defines you.