Who was taken, and who was left?

Luke 17:34-35

I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.

I have always heard this interpreted as a "rapture" passage--in which the one taken is an illustration of the Christian who will be taken, or raptured, prior to the end-time judgment of the world.  And the one who is left will be the one who must suffer judgment.

But, what if that is a misunderstanding of Jesus' point here?  What if Jesus is saying that the one who is taken is in trouble, and the one who is left is the one who is blessed?

What if this is based on the OT imagery of invading armies taking what they want and leaving only a small few, a remnant?  If this is so, then it is not a rapture image at all, but simply an image of judgment.

What do you think?

Don't forget the simple things.

Every time is try to upgrade an electronic component within my electronic system at my house (internet, router, computer, printer, dvd, tv, etc) it is a big ordeal.

Every time!

Am I the only one? 

A couple of days ago I bought anew router to utilize some of equipment better and get a stronger signal throughout our house.

Mission accomplished.

Except, . . . . the printer did not work.  I spent 2 hours that evening trying to get it hooked up. 

NOt happnening.  Spent my lunch hour the next working on it.  Nope.  Nada.

Called a brilliant IT friends, and fellow minister Dean Daniel, and he had some ideas.  But over the phone, nothing worked.

1. I had already done the following:
2. Asked the printer to connect to the router.  Done.
3. asked the printer to connect with the lap top.  Done.
4. Asked the computer to talk to the printer.  Nope.  Offline.
5. Searched internet for solutions.  Found I was already doing what was being suggested.
6.  Went through process again.  Same result.
7. Searched internet for more reasonable solutions.
8. Tried it with my daughter's laptop.  Same result.
9. Reviewed and edited settings on printer.  Same result.
10. Reviewed and edited settings online for router and also for laptops.  Same result.
11. Uninstalled and re-installed software on two laptops.  Same result.
12. Took printer and threw it out front door . . . no just kidding.  Wanted to, but . . . .

So I finally bring the laptop to church and let Dean have a look.  He suggested I go to the Printer Folder, simply delete the printer driver, and ask the laptop to search for the printer on its own.

Why didn't I think of that?

So, I got home after a long day, deleted deleted the icon from the printer folder, searched for a wireless printer, the two machines started talking, and all those test prints started pouring out of the printer.

Success!!

All because of something simple.  Something that I didn't know.

And it reminded me that Christianity is about the simple things.  It helps having knowledgeable friends.  It helps having good communication.  It helps asking for help.  And sometimes, you just need a three step process.

I feel like I make things too complicated sometimes.  It is in my nature, and I fight it constantly.

And the simplest thing that we can do is to pray.  Pray.  Pray.  Pray.

And then talk about what God is showing us through prayer with knowledgeable friends.

And then you replace what is not working with something that will work.

Simple things.

Genesis 21: God's Big Plans and Sarah's Laughter

Sometimes we hear about a huge idea.  And we laugh.  When my kids tell me they want to earn $100 by making a lemonade stand, I chuckle to myself.  When a local youth minister wants to hold an event that 100,000 people will come to, I smile.  When my golf buddy tells me his goal is to break 80, I snicker.  Why is it that we laugh in the face of a great dream or a surprisingly large goal?

Defense mechanism.

The though of failure doesn't hurt so bad if you can laugh.

Contempt for the idea.

The thought of all the useless work we are going to have to do, only to see our resources squandered.

Acknowledging the reality of a pipe dream when we see it.

Maybe if I laugh my friend won't see how I really feel about this idea.

Blow it off.

I can't say exactly which of these responses was in Sarah's laughter when she first heard the idea that God would give her a son.  I have often assumed that she found the idea totally preposterous.  Her laughter was probably a mixture of her own realism and her contempt for anyone who suggest such a thing.  Aren't they smart enough to know that it isn't possible? (Genesis 18:12)

And yet God said it would be so.

And he reminded Abraham and Sarah over and over again that it would happen as he had promised.

• Genesis 15:4. a son coming from your own body will be your heir.
• Genesis 17:19. Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
• Genesis 18:10. Then the Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

 And so, Sarah (and Abraham) heard God's plans.  And they both chuckled to themselves:  How can this be?  Well, alright, if you say so.

To their credit, they believed God could do such miracles.  And that faith led to changed names and lives.

And a change in their laughter.


Genesis 21:6-7 says

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

And her laughter was no longer cynical or dismissive.  Instead, she burst forth with an expression of joy.

She laughed in what God could do, and did.

Laughed in healing within God's plan.

Laughed in the hope of a future.

Laughed shared with a community that knows what hope and healing are found in God. 

What a great joy, knowing that God can turn our cynicism into hope, our hurts into healing, our frustration into a bright future.