BART AND MY PROBLEM WITH A WOMAN.
Bart (not his name) is not a real person. Bart is a Lego piece . He is, however, a friend to Roger.
Roger (not his name) is a person. He is a man we know. Roger is Bart's friend, and Roger is my friend.
I’m not sure of Bart the Lego's age, but Roger the man is in his 40s; however, he thinks of his friend Burt like you may have thought of a doll or pet during your childhood. He's a little 'youthful' in that regard. And I'm supposing you'll understand. These two are loyal buddies. In the two years I have known them, I have not seen them apart. They are inseparable.
One day a few years ago Roger showed up at one of our meetings with Bart. Bart is is the pilot of a Lego-spaceship. (maybe it is a jet plane...I'ver never been certain.). Each Sunday Roger updated me on the craft’s latest armament, and often, the details of ‘conversations’ he’d had with Bart in the course of the day or week. Bart could really be funny.
For a long while Roger was a wall flower at our meetings. Roger mostly just sat quietly with Bart and ship beside him. Except for the occasional lull when the low volume on his hand held PSP could be heard, or the rare times when he offered to answer a question from the preacher or added a personal request for prayer, he was hardly noticed. That was until recently. I don’t know what made the difference, but one day almost a year ago my eyes were opened and I saw Roger like I had not before.
I said to someone standing near me at the time, “You know, Roger is God’s greatest gift to this church. To the degree that we can love Roger well, we are truly the Body of Christ.”
From that day I noticed changes in myself. I listened to Roger better. I tried to show more genuine interest in his conversations with Roger, and I called on him to pray in one of our meetings. (He did a great job, by the way. I nearly cried at its simple sincerity.) I checked to be sure he was present at gatherings, and worried about him when he didn’t come by starting time. Roger became important to me and a gauge of how much like (or unlike) Christ we were as a fellowship. I suppose he was also a barometer of my own Christlikeness. No longer was he a nice little guy we smiled at and humored as he showed us his new toys. Roger was not a nobody, not a project, not a non-counter, he was important, he was a person, and he became a highly valued friend.
Two months ago Roger arrived at a meeting without Bart in his hand; instead, a woman was holding it! I knew her. “This isn’t good,” I thought. Right away I didn’t like her ‘kidnapping’ our dear, innocent, naïve friend. I knew we had a real problem on our hands (his hand) and my intuition proved true; the relationship led to trouble almost instantly.
I had seen this woman destroy men before. His little amount of money would go into her pockets. His health would be lost to her diseases. His heart would be ripped and tossed into the heap with the others. For all the good they accomplished, my cautions to Roger could have as equally been spoken to Bart. Like a spider wrapping victims in a cocoon, this woman separated Roger from those around him. Her web spun, she drew him all to herself until he stopped attending our fellowships. He became estranged from his familhy. A few nights ago I saw the couple in town, just the two of them—now even Bart is excluded.
The pair's flaming relationship will burn up. When it does, our representation of Christ to Roger will be shown for what it is. When Roger is alone again, He will need friendship, companionship, and someone to love him. If in those months with us we sowed true love, the genuine love, Christ-love then they will sprout in those ashes of loneliness. If we were genuine representatives of Christ, he’ll be back. If, however, we weren’t respectful, honoring, or delighted in him; if we were playing make-believe, only pretending to be his friend, then he’ll not return. Can you blame him? I mean, why would anyone with good sense want a Lego-church?
Pray With Me—
LORD,
Keep us from make believe. May we not be actors, or hypocrites, or fakes.
Make us real, genuine, sincere.
We do not want to be man-made; we want to be God-breathed.
Please, bring Roger back, and his Bart………..and… ..okay, even his girlfriend.
Certainly, she too needs true friends. With your craftsmanship we can be that to her also.
Amen.
NEWS FLASH!!! SEE A RECENT CITING OF 'ROGER' IN UGANDA! : www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com Warning!- “Bring tissues.”
NEW NEWS FLASH!!! Roger (and Burt) were with us at worship yesterday! We cheered (literally). Now, ramp up your prayers for the lady.
All material copyrighted by Stephen Meeks
