Livin' Life as an Outlaw
Growing up, every child has a dream which includes, in some form or fashion, the law. Though in many aspects of my life I have proven to be a contrarian, in this instance, I am no different than the rest of the world as my childhood was filled with dreams about being on one side of the law. Let me explain:
I've always thought farmers were cool people. Now, until more recently in my existence, I hadn't known any, but for one reason or another, I felt in my heart that farmers were if nothing else, good people. This being said, I wanted to be a farmer...and old-time farmer. I wanted a pitchfork and an old pick-up truck, and I wanted my home to be kept up with the blood, sweat, and tears of an aging, balding, country man. But on top of being a farmer, I wanted a little something else with my life. I wanted one of my GIANT bales of hay to actually serve as a garage for my lightning fast police car, with which I would chase down bad guys and basically just fight crime. I obviously didn't even think about sleep. I wanted to uphold what was good and what was right, no matter the cost. I wanted to live on the good side of the law.
Well, let's face it, sometimes it's not really cool to live on the good side of the law, and that's what I want to write a bit about tonight, seeing as I can't sleep. There is something inherently cool about the term 'outlaw.' Every time I hear the word, I have flashes of the movie "American Outlaws," featuring Collin Farrell in a story about Jesse James. There is something so captivating about the story of Jesse James, as he rode from town to town, accepted by the locals whilst being hunted by the federal government every day. There is something so enticing about a life outside the law, where upholding what is good and right doesn't have the shades of gray that come along with our criminal justice system. If I'm honest, it was the stories about outlaws that got me out of my dreaming about being a crime-fighting farmer.
I was leading my Jr. High Sunday School this morning, and I got to thinking about a shirt I've worn often around the church. It has a small cross on the front of it and reads, "This shirt is illegal in 51 countries. Restricted nations: 40. Hostile areas: 11." I've included a picture...
I've always thought farmers were cool people. Now, until more recently in my existence, I hadn't known any, but for one reason or another, I felt in my heart that farmers were if nothing else, good people. This being said, I wanted to be a farmer...and old-time farmer. I wanted a pitchfork and an old pick-up truck, and I wanted my home to be kept up with the blood, sweat, and tears of an aging, balding, country man. But on top of being a farmer, I wanted a little something else with my life. I wanted one of my GIANT bales of hay to actually serve as a garage for my lightning fast police car, with which I would chase down bad guys and basically just fight crime. I obviously didn't even think about sleep. I wanted to uphold what was good and what was right, no matter the cost. I wanted to live on the good side of the law.
Well, let's face it, sometimes it's not really cool to live on the good side of the law, and that's what I want to write a bit about tonight, seeing as I can't sleep. There is something inherently cool about the term 'outlaw.' Every time I hear the word, I have flashes of the movie "American Outlaws," featuring Collin Farrell in a story about Jesse James. There is something so captivating about the story of Jesse James, as he rode from town to town, accepted by the locals whilst being hunted by the federal government every day. There is something so enticing about a life outside the law, where upholding what is good and right doesn't have the shades of gray that come along with our criminal justice system. If I'm honest, it was the stories about outlaws that got me out of my dreaming about being a crime-fighting farmer.
I was leading my Jr. High Sunday School this morning, and I got to thinking about a shirt I've worn often around the church. It has a small cross on the front of it and reads, "This shirt is illegal in 51 countries. Restricted nations: 40. Hostile areas: 11." I've included a picture...
Before we closed our meeting in prayer, I was challenged, and thereby challenged the students that we are living lives as outlaws in the eyes of the world. Granted, as of right now we are free to meet and assemble and preach and speak out about God's work in our lives, but that right is not guaranteed in the future. At the same time, that right is not guaranteed at this very moment in so many places in the world. Christians all over the world are meeting underground, in small houses, up in the mountains, away from the senses of the government, while we take for granted the peace with which we drive to church in the morning. Should we not join them in their suffering of persecution? Should we not take up arms in prayer and petition, so that the 51 nations that restrict the Gospel might tomorrow be 50, and one day, 49, and so on and so forth?
In "American Outlaws," which by no means is the standard by which we should measure outlaws (but go with me, here), Jesse James didn't hide out in places away from the government while there was still work to be done. He rode from town to town, keeping the railroad from riding through his state and didn't rest until his point was made, that what is good and right will prevail, even if it conflicts with the government's notion of those terms. We must not live our lives afraid of making a stance for the Gospel in the corners of the world that are shut off from its message.
A friend of mine caught me wearing the shirt one day, and very plainly asked me, "So what are you going to do about that?" I did not have an immediate answer, and since that poing in time, I have been thoroughly convicted that it's too easy to wear a shirt like this when I'm thousands of miles away from the front lines. I don't know where my travels in the future will take me, but it will take a lot to keep me from entering one of the 50 countries on the Open Door World Watch List (50 countries most severely persecuting Christians). I pray I will be within the borders of one of those countries by the end of this summer.
So, if you feel like an outlaw who still has a passion for right over wrong, I ask you in the words of Derek Moser, "What are you going to do about this?"
Bob
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