Last February, Jonathan Byfield asked me to do the bible thought/message for a musical festival hosted by the band and songsters. I wrote this for me and Claire.
(I'm not sure how clear it comes out with bloggers unique method of editing out unnesessary space marks - I haven't been able to include any space between our names and our dialogue)
To Tell You the Truth…
Glyn Ladies and gentlemen,
Claire we stand before you now,
Glyn on a pedestal,
Claire high and towering.
Glyn It’s a pedestal from which we can look down at all you lovely people.
Claire A pedestal from which you all look like ants.
Glyn A pedestal that has served us for many years.
Claire A pedestal that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Glyn A tall pedestal.
Claire A strong pedestal.
Glyn An indestructible pedestal.
Claire Well…
Glyn kind of.
Claire To tell you the truth,
Glyn if we’re completely honest,
Claire it’s a bit…
Glyn a bit…
C&G old!
Claire Time has not been good to our pedestal.
Glyn It’s chipped
Claire and cracked
Glyn and a little bit wobbly.
Claire But we stand before you now,
Glyn on our pedestal,
Claire insecure as it is,
Glyn ready to impart some wisdom,
Claire speak some truth
Glyn and shed some light onto you,
Claire the ground-dwellers.
(Grin. Pause. Exchange glances. Grin fades)
Glyn At least that was the plan.
Claire You see…
Glyn the thing about our pedestal is…it’s…
Claire it’s…
Glyn Well to tell you the truth,
Claire if we’re completely honest,
Glyn it’s collapsed.
Claire Flattened
Glyn Completely
Claire Nothing but a pile of rubble.
Glyn Rubble that was once a fine pedestal.
Claire But is now…just…
Glyn …rubble.
Claire So,
Glyn ladies and gentlemen,
Claire we stand before you now,
Glyn in the shallow hole that was once the foundation of our pedestal,
Claire smiling up at you,
Glyn the ground-dwellers,
Claire asking for just a moment of your time,
Glyn so that we might tell you that,
Claire despite our current trench-residing situation,
Glyn we’re doing just great.
Claire We’ve chosen to embrace this hole.
Glyn To see it as an opportunity for growth.
Claire Real character building stuff.
Glyn God has placed us in this hole,
Claire so that we might dig a much deeper hole,
Glyn which will form the foundation of our next pedestal.
Claire So we approach the circumstances regarding our hole prayerfully,
Glyn doctrinally,
Claire and with the greatest humility.
Glyn Right!
Claire Right?
Glyn Yeah!
Claire Yeah?
Glyn Sure!
Claire Sure?
Glyn Weeeeell…to tell you the truth,
Claire if we’re completely honest,
Glyn we’ve not taken to our recent hole-shaped opportunity as gracefully as you might have thought.
Claire Since the expiration of our pedestal, things haven’t exactly been easy.
Glyn We’ve…struggled.
Claire We’ve slipped up on occasion.
Glyn Our attitude could maybe have been better.
Claire Perhaps.
Glyn Perhaps.
Claire Our prayer life may not be as passionate as it once was.
Glyn Our bible study not quite as disciplined.
Claire Our Christian standard of living not so…
Glyn not quite so…
Claire to tell you the truth
Glyn if we’re completely honest,
Claire we’re not doing very well at all.
Glyn We get scared.
Claire And angry.
Glyn And irrational.
Claire And insecure.
Glyn We lie.
Claire And doubt.
Glyn And lust.
Claire Well…
Glyn I lust.
Claire We obsess over self-image.
Glyn We panic about things that shouldn’t worry us
Claire We blame others for our mistakes.
Glyn We blame God for everyone’s mistakes.
Claire We get depressed.
Glyn And anxious.
Claire And selfish.
Glyn And insensitive.
Claire To say that all our actions are inspired by God and motivated by love would be…
Glyn well it would be generous
Claire to say the least.
Glyn To tell you the truth,
Claire if we’re completely honest,
Glyn we are,
Claire in no uncertain terms,
Glyn a bit of a mess.
Claire So,
Glyn ladies and gentlemen,
Claire we stand before you now,
Glyn in a mess,
Claire to let you know that despite our shortcomings,
Glyn and failings,
Claire and flaws,
Glyn we are,
Claire in fact,
Glyn in pretty good company.
Claire Ladies and gentlemen,
Glyn we present to you,
Claire the bible,
Glyn which is filled with flawed misfits.
Claire For example,
Glyn Jacob:
Claire Deceitful.
Glyn Gideon:
Claire Coward.
Glyn Samson:
Claire Co-dependent.
Glyn Rahab:
Claire Immoral.
Glyn David:
Claire Sex mad.
Glyn Elijah:
Claire Suicidal.
Glyn Jeremiah:
Claire Depressed.
Glyn Jonah:
Claire Disobedient.
Glyn John the Baptist:
Claire Eccentric.
Glyn Peter:
Claire Impulsive and hot-tempered.
Glyn Zacchaeus:
Claire A liar and a cheat.
Glyn Thomas:
Claire Doubter.
Glyn And yet God,
Claire in a various number of God like ways,
Glyn managed to use them all.
Claire In his second letter to the Corinthians,
Glyn chapter 12
Claire verses 7-10,
Glyn Paul says this:
Claire To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.
Glyn Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
Claire But he said to me:
Glyn “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Claire Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Glyn That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.
Claire For when I am weak,
Glyn then I am strong.
Claire Ladies and gentlemen,
Glyn we stand before you now,
Claire laid bare,
Glyn to inform you that whatever success we might have,
Claire whatever we might achieve,
Glyn whatever we just happen to get right,
Claire we can assure you,
Glyn that to tell you the truth,
Claire if we’re completely honest,
Glyn it has absolutely nothing to do with us.