Joe is one of the guys I live with and is hands-down one of the best guys I know. He’s had a rough 72 hours. His birthday was Thursday, September 9th, the day was off to a rough start at 5:30am when Joe was leaving for student teaching and heard the “thump, thump, thump” of a flat tire. He called his parents and quickly they were there with another car for him to head off to school. As the day continued it only got worse, around 11 am Joe’s 1-year-old Macbook Pro died.
We joked Joe about having the worst birthday ever and tried to make it up by hanging out and fixing some awesome burgers.
Last night as the evening was winding down after a house naming party with our girl neighbors we were laying low, watching Oceans Eleven when we heard a sound that is never welcome. We heard loud yelling, laughing and breaking glass. I heard Joe from upstairs start yelling and running down stairs. As Joe took off running out the door I finally saw what he was so upset about, 6 or 7 drunken 16-19 year old Hispanic guys standing on the back bumper of Joe’s 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid. They were kicking the car; resulting in a broken out tail light, big dent in the passenger door and a large, gouged out scratch on the back passenger door. It quickly became evident who had done it, they were standing around talking to us explaining how we couldn’t prove that it was them.
Throughout the whole situation one element of it stood out clearly in my mind; Joe was standing there living out so much of what we are called to do as Disciples of Christ. 1 Corinthians 13: says that ‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth”
Watching Joe speak face to face with either the guys who had just caused better than a thousand dollars in damage to his car, I know that I could have put Joe’s name into 1 Corinthians 13. Joe is patient, Joe is Kind, Joe is not rude, Joe is not self-seeking and Joe is not easily angered.” Joe even said, "I don't even care about the car I just want them to know that this is not ok, this is not how you treat people."
He’s a good man…I don’t think I would have handled nearly the same way.
In the book of James, he says for us to “2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
There is no question to me that Joe has been run through the ringer in the last 72 hours but I have been so encouraged by someone who is so literally living out scripture.
I hope that we can learn to consider it pure JOY when we get run through the ringer, because we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. Let us strive to be able to put our names into 1 Corinthians 13.
God is good, I know it more deeply because of Joe’s life.
(Joe mentioned to me today that I should write about last night in my blog. Joe is a fisher…a fisher of compliments. Haha.)
1 comment:
i love that joby.
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