subject: Father's Day, character and what makes change easy [print this page] Father's Day, character and what makes change easy
Liviu Librescu was a holocaust survivor who became a professor at Virginia Tech. When a shooter entered the campus three years ago, Librescu barricaded his classroom door and held the killer at bay while each of his twenty students crawled safely out of the window. Librescu himself was killed, sacrificing his own life to save others.
C.H. Spurgeon stated, "A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you. So carve you name on hearts, and not on marble." People like Liviu Lecrescu remind us what incredible character looks like.
Or consider Hudson Taylor, whose love for the people of China led him to move there to spend his life serving with all of his heart and soul. It was said of him, "For forty years the sun never rose on China that God didn't find him on his knees."
Then there is John Knox who spent his life praying and laboring on behalf of his beloved Scotland. On his final night on this mortal coil he was in the middle of prayer for his nation when he died. Queen Mary infamously said, "I fear the prayers of John Knox more than I do the armies of my enemies."
Not long ago I read one of those "What If" books where researchers test urban legends and do devious stunts. For instance, will pouring sugar in a gas tank stop a car? They found it only clogged up the filter. What really hurts an engine is pouring water in the tank which flows much faster than fuel and will quickly enter and damage the motor while leaving the gasoline in the reservoir.
Does diesel fuel hurt a car that runs on unleaded gasoline? In the end it will do no damage because the motor can't start with diesel fuel in it, so the lines must simply be flushed to get you back on the road.
And then there are rental cars. How many people have wanted to see what would happen if the car was thrown into reverse while going down the highway? Turns out more people than you might think, and engineers know this. As such, it is impossible to put a car on the highway into reverse because the gear shaft is spinning too fast, preventing such a mishap.
But let's consider another what if' scenario. What if men; married, single, parents or not, decided to truly live with outstanding character beginning this Father's Day? To make it a part of their very core, to become prayerful, selfless, and filled with courage to stand against the tides of injustice. Men like the friend of Gary Thomas who told his wife on their anniversary, "My gift to you this year is going to be practicing on a daily basis kindness and gentleness."
Or to be men like A.W. Tozer, a writer and missionary who poured his life into others. Buried just outside of Cleveland, his memorial simply reads, "A man of God."
Change is not as hard as many people think, in reality it is 80% psychology, i.e. what you believe is or is not possible. Only about 20% of change is mechanics.
Everything starts with a decision that cuts off every other option and refuses to settle or compromise. It all begins the moment we consider other possibilities, enlist new beliefs, dream dreams and simply ask, "What it?"
