Monday, September 15, 2008

Bump! Bump! Bump!

Hey Ladies,
Do you remember the dance the "Bump?" How about riding in bumper cars at the fair? Have you ever been in a bump up? Bumped someone out of place? Bumped into someone lately? Have you ever bumped heads with someone?

Bump! Bump! Bump!

I'm going to intentionally bump someone today. In fact we all will bump people today unless we are secluded hermits. We bump everyone we meet one way or another. Every encounter is a bump for us.

C.S. Lewis says, "It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations...There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations---these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit---immortal horrors or everlasting splendors."

Now, let me tell you C.S. Lewis is hard for me to understand sometimes. His writing is often too deep for my country girl's brain.

But this quote haunts me. Here's my take on what he is saying:

We need to understand that everyone we encounter (Bump into) is on a journey to eternity. We are everlasting creatures. We are either on the road to being an everlasting being, made to look like Jesus and His glory in Heaven, or like the repulsive horror of Satan in hell. There is no other choice. We will be spending eternity one place or the other. With that being the case, our encounters become more important. Because we are either going to bump someone toward Jesus or bump them toward Hell. I don't know about you but I want to bump them toward Jesus!

I have looked at my daily life in a different way. I have told you before that I enjoy telling drivers what to do, and not always in a calm way. I think that's one reason they asked me to do pick-up duty at school. :) Since meditating on this idea of bumping people toward heaven or hell, I have tried to change my actions. Instead of making faces at, or giving other drivers a good talking too, I now try (Key word "try" cause I'm still learning) to pray for them. My encounters at school have more importance, as does my encounters at the post office, the grocery store, the bank, the gas station (this one is hard right now with gas prices so high), the doctors office (spending a lot of painful time there), the person who served me my coffee at Dunken Doughnuts this morning, and anyone I walk by or bump into. They are all on their way to looking like Jesus or looking like the enemy for eternity. My actions will push them closer to one or the other.

Listen,
Time is running out! Jesus may come in our lifetime, but even if He doesn't come until after we are long gone, we are not promised tomorrow. Today, you will affect someone! Today, you will either push someone toward God or the enemy, unless you sit at home and don't talk to another soul. Even then, you don't know who may be watching your house wondering if you ever come out. Bump them toward Jesus!

Remember you are being bumped too. I hope that by reading this I have bumped you toward Jesus. You have bumped me toward Him many times and I love you for that! It's time we make it an agenda---a priority.

Bump! Bump! Bump!

Bumping for Jesus!

Love ya
Pamela R.

8 comments:

Runner Mom said...

Hey! I hope that I can bump some high school girls towards Jesus tonight at Bible study!! Great job at helping us see what Lewis is saying--he is tough to understand!
HUgs,
Susan

Beverly said...

Thanks for giving me a bump today!
and I pray that I will give many bumps this week

Angela said...

Bring
Us
More
People!
Love it!
Angela

Kelly said...

Yes ma'am, we are the only bible some people ever read. What do our actions show them?

Loved it. Another great one.

Nicole said...

C.S. Lewis can be difficult to understand. Thank you for bumping me in the right direction and for the challenge.

I've missed your visits. How's everything going with your recent job change, and how about your husband's new position???
Love to you my friend!

Nicole

Elizabethd said...

Very thought provoking, and so true.
It reminds me of those immortal words of John Donne...'No man is an island, entire of himself'...

Anonymous said...

What a great post. Deep and light at the same time. I get it! Thanks.

Nicole said...

I am so sorry to hear about your back still giving you problems. I will definetly be praying for you...

Dear Father in Heaven please be with Pamela right now. Please let her feel your presence right now and please heal her back pain. Dear Lord as Pamela "deals" with her intense pain I pray that it reminds her to search her heart for any pain also. Please help this physical pain that she is feeling not go in vain, per say (this is what my prayer has been during my physical health issues and my prayer for you too). I love you Lord and thank you for Pamela's life and how you are using her. I pray that everything with her book goes according to your will. We pray this in your name. Amen!

I understand if you are not able to visit as often just wanted to let you know that I missed you!!!

We will be busy these next 2-4 weeks. We close on our house tomorrow, then we are painting and laying carpet, then moving and then cleaning up our current apartment. So my visits may be less also. Maybe...maybe not...we'll have to see how things go.:)

Love,
Nicole