The Bungee Cord. 3-17-25

Hello,

I am on my way to Florida to watch a couple of Pirate games with a friend of mine. We got to the airport in plenty of time, so as we were waiting at our gate we chatted about all sorts of things. As we were chatting, my friend told me of a humorous event in his life.

He has a friend who is a whiskey connoisseur, so for his friend’s birthday he bought a very nice bottle of whiskey. The friend was delighted with the gift, so delighted that he placed it on his fireplace mantel and surrounded it with two flashlights to light it up for display. A couple of months later, my friend was at his friend’s house and he noticed that the bottle was still on the mantel, lit up by the flashlights, and unopened.

“I see that you haven’t opened the bottle yet,” said my friend.

“Nope,” was his friend’s reply, “I am waiting for a real special occasion.”

Later that year, one of his son’s graduated from college, and the bottle remained unopened. A year later, his daughter graduated from college. Still the bottle remained unopened. Not too long afterwards, his daughter got married. The bottle remained unopened. His youngest son graduated from college. The bottle stayed sealed.

Some time after all of these events that apparently were not special enough to open that bottle of fine whiskey, my friend went over to his friend’s house and spied the bottle on the mantel, still lit by the flashlights, but there was something new. The bottle had been opened. Surprised by the sight, my friend asked his friend as to what the special occasion was that he was worthy of opening the bottle and having a drink.

“The dog died.”

I don’t suspect that God has a mantel in his heavenly mansion that displays a fine bottle of whiskey that he keeps sealed awaiting a very special occasion, but if he did I suspect that you and I would find it sealed when we, his children, accomplish things in our lives like graduations, weddings, and the like. I suspect that he would keep the bottle sealed by all the things that we mark as important accomplishments in our lives: sports victories, job promotions, acts of great charity, and mvp’s….not that any of these things are of no import. But I have come to learn something about God, something that God has taught me in Jesus. And that is that the things that we do, even the things of greatest importance, are of less importance to God than the thing that God has done for us.

As the Bible says, God pulls out all the stops in heaven when he has found a wandering sheep and brought it home in his arms….when he has found a lost coin that he has searched for for hours…when he has cleansed a leper from his life-sapping condition. The most special things to God are when God employs his grace and changes a person…forever! Hopeless to hopeful! Joyless to joyful! Lost to found! Fearful to peaceful! Dead to alive!

I don’t know if you have ever heard it, but Jesus tells us that there is a never-ending party going on in heaven over you. And it is a party that God is throwing, not because of anything you have done – as good or as bad as those accomplishments might be – but because of what God has done…God has taken hold of you out of the grasp of the traps that have snapped on you, out of the hole that you have fallen into, away from the greedy forces of the world that have grabbed you….and God has embraced you on his eternal lap.

And so, God has wrapped you in God’s finest robes. God has put his ring on your finger. God has slaughtered the fatted calf for you. And he has opened his finest bottle of whiskey that has sat on his mantel and says, “Time for a toast! Here’s to my child who I have with me now and forever! L’chaim!”

Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger

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