Thanks, Bud!

Just for the record, God has gone from preaching to meddling in my life this week. First, that whole revelation that there is love lacking in my attitude toward others. And now, building on that one, a reminder of a lesson my dear mentor taught me.

My step-dad, the man who raised me, died when I was 22 years old. His loss in my life left a dad-sized hole that I never expected to close. Fast forward 25 years, and I met Bud and Clauda Orrell. Bud, a retired pastor has a shepherd's heart and tremendous love of people. At my first appearance in his home, he told me I needed to repent for what I was saying about someone. The spirit of conviction zapped me on the spot, and our mentor/mentee relationship began.

Since that day, Bud has taught me a number of lessons - the greatest of which is to love other people. He always teaches by example. When I am wrong, he tells me so. When I am happy he laughs with me. When I am sad he consoles me. And, he always tells me how much I am loved. The Lord has used him to fill that dad-sized hole in my heart - he is a perfect fit.

Perhaps the most important lesson Bud taught me was that you cannot offend a dead man. Well, I begged to differ with him. Since I happened to know the scriptures about dying to sin and alive in God and I am a believer, (therefore) a dead man. and there are still a whole lot of things that upset me. I have never tolerated liberalism or stupidity well - they offend me.

Bud and I argued over the issue for a period of several weeks. I gave all my rational thinking about things that could and should offend us.

He said, "You can't offend a dead man."

I explained and gave examples of ignorant things people do, mistreatment of children, abuse of animals, people cutting you off in traffic. (I almost had him with the traffic example.)

He said, "You can't offend a dead man."

I told him how I felt, which naturally must be the truth, because it was truthfully how I was feeling.

He said, "You can't offend a dead man."

I gave it my best to prove him wrong, then prayed about it and finally came back to acknowledge (as if it were a truth I had just discovered all by myself) that you cannot offend a dead man. We just may need to die a little more completely or in a new area.

It was a revolutionary discovery for me. Each time I would feel myself picking up an offense, my first reaction was to seek out what it was that needed to die in me. Slowly, I began to allow all those things in me that kept getting offended to die. And, since that happened in my life, I have found that there is a whole lot more room for the lesson from yesterday (it is all a labor of love) to take hold.

Sure, there is still a struggle in me from time to time. But I know I am making progress as liberals and people making ill-advised statements cause my eyebrows to raise, but not my blood pressure.

You should give it a try.

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:11