By Ray Miranda
Several years ago, my wife and I went on a trip to visit friends in Mexico City. Our friends had a pretty sweet set up there. To give you an idea how sweet – when I asked the husband how many restrooms they had…before counting under his breath, he responded with, “Ya know, I’m not sure.” Along with the many restrooms, they had their own driver. As part of the tour of the town, I got to visit my very first castle. It reminded me of my own home in that it too had doors. We also went about an hour away to a very small town called Tlalpan. It had the coolest little town square that everyone in the area seemed to visit on that Sunday afternoon. There were two things that really stood out. First, I was amazed to find out that their traffic makes DFW traffic look as non-threatening as a merry go round. People literally do not stop at red lights for reasons I do not understand. The trading of paint is a common occurrence (happened to us once) and it seems that he who hesitates will get hit from all directions. Second, we went to something I watched a little growing up called Lucha Libre. If you’ve seen Nacho Libre then it is kind of like that…only Jack Black seems to be in better shape than some of those guys. My dad forced us to watch it on TV growing up so it was a real kick for me to see (no pun intended or probably even noticed). It was at a stadium that was surrounded by thousands of people. With so many people I’m not sure how we got there or how we got out but it was surely an experience.
Do you know something, if you would’ve dropped my wife and I off in Mexico City without knowing anyone, we would never have experienced this stuff. I would’ve been afraid to drive in that traffic (well not me but guys who are less tough would’ve been). I would not have gone to a distant town having never been there. I wouldn’t have been willing to trade paint with all those VW bugs (about 6 of 10 cars were old beetles). I also wouldn’t have stood among thousands, many who started the night wearing masks, to see the luchadores (look it up). But we were with our friends and as the leaders of the trip, they were reliable and they were trustworthy. Just think about it, following someone who is unreliable and not trustworthy anywhere is nerve wracking. But when it is someone you trust and they are reliable, you can just relax.
Your question to me right now might be, “Okay, what in the world are you talking about?” I get that. Now I have some questions for you. Who are you following in your life? (Pause for effect)
What if it is actually true that the Lord knows everything? What if He knows the past, present and everything about you? What if there really is no one more trustworthy or reliable? If that is true, then how much peace could you have following Him? Consider where you are in life…don’t you think it might be worth looking into? I think a great first step could be to check out a few churches until you find the one that is right for you. Good churches actually help us to learn to follow this God we are talking about. You never know, it might just be the beginning of a great story.
Ray Miranda
Pastor of the Story church in Wylie
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