Day Eight

08.11.12

Jeremiah 7.27 27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. NASB

Today is day eight. Last week on Saturday we took our soon-to-be ninth-grader and a friend to a water park over near Boise for the day. We decided since we haven’t done much of anything this summer we at least ought to “load up the truck and head to Boi-oy-se, swimmin’ pools, bright sun, no movie stars.” So off we went and we spent the day in the abundant sun of western Idaho.

At one point when we arrived we informed our soon-to-be ninth-grader, hey dude, are you going to put some sunscreen on or at least wear a tee-shirt? (You can see where I’m going, I’m sure.) As I said, today is day eight because we spoke all those words to someone but he didn’t listen and we called to him but he didn’t answer, and, well, you know the color of tomato soup? Well, I think they got that color from him… a really bad sunburn…ouch.

I remember when I was a lad and I decided I too, was going to be tan like all of the rest of the urchins with whom I ran. I was wrong: red-heads and sun? Well, the two mix like pale and burn… which is what I did. What is the American fascination with being tan? The height of my summer tan is a light hue of un-pink that is just this side of really pale and sickly…sheesh!

Not wanting to make light of Jeremiah, I see, in his writings today, a people who would not listen to their God – like omniscient fourteen-year-olds, they knew better. Like a child disregarding his parent’s warnings, Israel chose to get really sunburnt by their own choices. If you’re gonna get burnt at least get burnt by the Right Light.

I am a graduate student in the School of Hard Knocks. For most of my life I’ve just been too damn smart for my own good and now when the sun isn’t quite as bright as it used to be (metaphorically speaking) I long for the tan I could’ve really had that this world knows nothing of because of its insistence on being omniscient (metaphorically speaking). I long for the Moses Tan, the tan of having been around God so much that I have to wear a veil to so folks won’t look at me all weird – not the way they do now: Oh, you’re just as stupid as the rest of us!

One of the things I pray for is God’s wisdom. James says if we ask for it, He loves to give it without reminding us that it’s day eight – and oh, I told you so. But it’s one thing to ask for God’s wisdom, it’s another to heed what He says. Miraculously, God would have spared His people all of the pain and judgment they went through had they just listened – and put on sunscreen or a tee-shirt (metaphorically speaking). But they had to learn the hard way as most of the rest of us do.

It’s day eight and the blisters are drying up. The redness has paled a bit and it looks like we’re on the mend (except for the itching and the peeling). What day is it in the days of our lives that we would humble ourselves before the Lord and listen to Him? If you’re a consummate listener, then this isn’t for you. If it’s day eight and you’re on the mend, then I hope what you’ve heard is something you can appreciate.

And if it’s only the ride home from Boise on a scorching 98-ish degree evening and your shoulders are on fire and you’re miserable, and the air-conditioning just won’t make the pain go away (metaphorically speaking), then I pray that you will hear and heed the voice of the Lord: He’s speaking through your pain. I think He’s saying, I told you so – but He’s got His arms open wide for the healing of the repentant…