Life Systems

Anthony Lynn was a running back for the Denver Broncos. Following his retirement as a player, he moved into the coaching ranks, last coaching for the Dallas Cowboys.  After practice one day, he decided to go to a new pizza place everyone was raving about. 

As he left the Cowboys practice facility, he was crossing the road to the parking lot when he was struck by a drunk driver going 55 in a 25 miles per hour zone.   The authorities estimated that he flew over 45 feet in the air.  The car that struck him was totaled.  The car he landed on was totaled. 

“All I remember was lying on the cold pavement and shaking.  I did not know who I was or where I was.  I did not know I was a father, a husband, or a football coach.  I started praying.  In that moment, the only thing that made sense to me was God.”  At the hospital they discovered both of his lungs collapsed.  Three ribs were shattered.  Plastic surgery was required to mend his face.  It was unclear if he would ever walk again. 

Within a few hours of his arrival at the hospital, his memory started to return.  He recognized his wife who was holding his hand, and his children who were by his bedside.  Miraculously, just four weeks later he was walking again.  He was back coaching a couple of weeks after that.  Lynn said, “I often asked the question, ‘why did this have to happen to me?’  What I discovered is that people are often too full of themselves.  They think things are not supposed to happen to them.  It's okay for others to go through the tough stuff, but not me.” 

It happens to all of us.  We discover it in the frantic prayer of a teenage girl when she finds out she is pregnant.  The only thing she can utter is, “Oh God!”  We can hear it in the depressed prayer of an alcoholic father who has lost everything and puts his head down and mutters “Oh God!”

Those words, “Oh God” are uttered in desperation by thousands of people every day.  When our minds start spinning out of control, or we feel panic, despair, or the shame of our own self-destruction, in those moments we most often count down to life’s common denominator – God. 

In one of the most basic passages in Scripture, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

The way that Jesus talks about here cannot be limited to a mere religious practice or observance of church doctrines.  Following the teachings of Christ is an all-encompassing truth, the root of everything we say and do.  Suddenly, our faith is more than just a faith; it is a lifestyle that broadens our ability to make positive contributions to the world around us. 

My prayer this week is for all of us at CityLinC to discover some new truth that helps us make more sense of God and His desire for our lives.    

With love,

Pastor Mike