The Last Straw

"Love never fails..."

- St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:8

"If you've ever found a dog on the side of the road that's been hurt, and you nurse him back to health -- that dog will never bite you. And therein is the chief difference between a dog and a man."

- Mark Twain

I love books that have one-liners that just press themselves upon my mind and heart, and make me think. Sometimes these quotes find their way out of those books and begin to shape or influence a culture. Remember...

"It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

But one of the quotes that's marked me most has really never gotten a lot of traction in our world. So, today, I'd like to correct that. It was actually written by the first African American pitcher who was called up to the big leagues right after Jackie Robinson… Leroy Satchel Page. Leroy had no birth certificate, so nobody ever really knew how old he was, even though he is in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and threw more no-hitters than any other pitcher. The story is told how one time they sent all the infielder's into the dugout and left the outfielders just behind second base while Leroy threw a no-hitter. He was a one man wrecking crew. And like Yogi Berra, Satchel Page had some memorable quotes… but this one lives with me…

"Dance like nobody's watching, and love like you've never been hurt."

For those of us who are always worried about what other people think… the first line, if we practice it, can set us free to be ourselves and truly start to enjoy life. But the second line… this is what can totally transform our life, our relationships, our families, our world. Because somewhere, sometime, you will be hurt, rejected, and suffer heartbreak because of someone's actions. It's inevitable.

Someone will deeply disappoint you… they will let you down… they will lie to you, betray you, stab you in the back… spread false stories about you… and desert you. And every one of us has just seen a face… So, how will you respond?

Pastor John Ortberg gave me a wake up call years ago when he told this story:

"I look in on my children as they sleep at night, and I want to think about the kind of father I'd like to be. I want to create moments of magic for them… I want them to remember laughing until the tears flowed down their cheeks… I want to have slow, tender, special talks with them just as they’re getting ready to close their eyes. I want to chase fireflies with them, push them on swings until their hearts soar, teach them to play tennis, to boogie board, to surf, to snowboard… to have food fights and pillow fights… and then to hold them and pray with them, and for them, in a way that makes them feel cherished.

“Instead… too often… I find myself looking in on my children at night, and I remember how the day really went. I remember how they started arguing over a game they were playing and I walked out of the room… frustrated… instead of spending the energy to teach them how to resolve conflict. I remember how my daughter spilled cherry punch at dinner and I yelled at her as if she was somehow flawed in character. I yelled at her… to tell you the truth… because I could… because I was bigger than her.. .and she had messed up my world. I remember how… during so many nights… I did not have those special little talks… but instead rushed the children off to bed so I could have more time to myself."

I know too many spouses who aren't talking to each other. I know too many parents who have not spoken to their adult children in over a year. I know too many teenagers who don't like being home. Too many people are just not getting along… because we don't want to get along… because we have been hurt. Do you know what God the Father did when we hurt Him? When we turned our back on Him? When we let Him down? When we rebelled against Him? When we rejected Him? When we nailed Him to a cross? He loved us like He'd never been hurt!

Listen… if today, you're thinking about someone and saying, "That's the last straw!" because someone offended you and messed up your world… instead of building a wall, think about building a bridge, like Jesus did for us.

Because He made the decision to love like He'd never been hurt.

Pastor Harry

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