A couple rainy Fridays...

Ben in the McDonalds playhouse.

While the rain we have been getting the last three weeks was desperately needed, I did not plan on having to relocate WyldLife on Fridays in May! The first week we met at Cinnamon Productions, but since our group was quite large, and possibly a bit disruptive (middle school kids being disruptive?!?) we decided to try McDonalds as a rainy day option. It worked so much better than CP. While the food may not be quite as good, there is a perfect space for us to meet, with a playhouse already built in, and far fewer people to bother.

Jack and Brandon getting crazy with Jenga!

To be honest, I enjoy when we have to change things up because of rain. When we meet at a restaurant, the whole vibe is much more relaxed, and the leaders get a better chance to actually hang out with kids. We bring games to play, and spend most of the time just talking and learning about what is going on in their lives.  

Grant talking about Jesus and "Blind Bart"

The last few times we have been able to end things with a talk about Jesus, like we normally do. Two weeks ago Grant was able to share about Jesus and a blind man named Bart (his real name was Bartimaeus). This man didn't have many options as far as making a living, and spent his time begging by the side of the road. This man heard Jesus coming, and started yelling, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" It was incredibly disruptive and the crowd began to get annoyed and angry. Many of the people in the crowd following Jesus began to rebuke Bart, telling him to shut up. To them, Bart didn't matter. He was a nuisance that was to be tolerated, but that was it. He wasn't a real person, just a beggar on the side of the road.

But he mattered greatly to Jesus.

As the crowd yelled at Bart to shut up, Bart yelled even louder for Jesus. "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus heard Bart, and told the same people trying to get Bart to be quiet to go and get him. I love how Jesus works here. He asks the people who don't want Bart around, to go and get Bart and bring him front and center. He wants to make sure they all know that even blind beggars matter, that even the people no one wants to notice are incredibly important.

Jesus ends up healing Bart, and Bart left his place on the side of the road and began following Jesus. What a story of restoration, love, and new life. Like I have said over and over again, this is what Jesus does for people.

Last week I was able to share a story about a time when one of the "religious experts" was trying to trick Jesus and asked a question about what the most important law in the Bible was. Jesus didn't make very many friends among the religious elite of his time. He hung around people they didn't care for, he didn't seem to follow their rules and traditions, and he constantly called them out for treating people harshly.

The question posed to Jesus was about what the greatest commandment was. Jesus responded by saying the greatest commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also said that second was just as important, love others like we love ourselves. Jesus modeled this throughout his life. He was constantly loving people, caring for people, and going out of his way to be with the kind of people no one else wanted to be with. He loved the people society and Jewish religious culture had tossed to the side. And he love God with everything he was, going so far as to trust God with the ultimate act of sacrifice, his life.

I pray that when you think of Jesus, you don't think of a religious expert, or a system of beliefs, or a way of living, but a person. Jesus was a person, a human, and Jesus was God. Jesus showed us what God was like, and God wasn't like most people expected. God loved people, truly, even those people that the religious people of the time felt should be excluded. Jesus restored people and gave new and true life. Jesus loved his Father with his entire being, and Jesus loved those he came in contact with enough to die for them. Jesus loves you in the same manner. Jesus showed us God, and God is love. It is no surprise that the greatest commandment in the Bible is about love.