Don't Squander the Wander!

What if the hokey pokey is what its all about?

We all laugh when we see this question posed on greeting cards, bumper stickers, or memes. But let’s unpack this idea for a minute.

What if all our earthly choices, our silly habits and sins that make us feel good for a minute or a mile are for naught? What if, just what if, everything we strive to do or be according to the world’s playlist is but a mirage that is here today, gone when we hit the grave?

Yeah, I know, if it all boiled down to the hokey pokey, that would be a shame. Devastating, really. To know that putting feet and hands and whatever into playtime scenarios was what life was all about. To realize joining and leaving an imaginary band of brothers, encircled and entertained, shaking yourself all about in an attempt to perform skillfully with the masses was the extent of our purpose.

But the fun only lasts so long. Until the music stops. The tune ends. Game over.

At some point, some portion, or all of you, is stuck in slow motion, looking around at the others who are also trying to stop their bodies from flailing too and fro.

Its fun until it isn’t.

It seems fulfilling until we realize it really never was. Something always felt a little off. Left us a tiny bit or a whole lot empty. It’s the same with sin.

Flailing with the masses might be tempting, even exhilarating for a moment or a season, but then what? What happens when the newness wears off, when the fad ends, when the addiction takes over, or when the stuff we thought would satisfy our needs winds up being the very stuff that makes us wonder how we got where we are? Possibly quite far from where we ever thought we’d be? Probably tired, broke, and far behind the goals we set once upon a time. Maybe even looking up and wondering what in the world happened.

Thank God life isn’t in the hands of the hokey pokey.

Thank God there is more to life than the pokey of the hoke.

Praise God He has created us for so much more. He loves us with a perfect love.

He has our best in mind.

Life is a grand adventure, and we are all given parts to play in the world around us. We are called to be productive people in society, making a difference everywhere we go. We are brilliant creatures given intelligent thoughts and creative ideas. The human race is pretty amazing. And our heart beats to the drum of the One who created us.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of thanking Him for the opportunity to love Him.

Opportunity? Yes.

God gives us the choice to be His.

Seriously? The God of the Universe, the One who set the stars and planets and galaxies in motion, and created us from the dust of the earth, said we can take Him or leave Him. Let that sink in. He loves us enough to let us walk away from the purest, most complete love we can ever know. In search of lesser things. He lovingly waits until we see that all we choose away from Him will keep us from His best for us. The Father waits for us to come home.

And, when we do choose Him, I think those lesser moments in our past weave together to make our choice solid. Because we’ve seen what happens when we say yes to the schemes of the enemy. We know how much the glittering promises of this world fall short. We understand how much more the love of God will satisfy our souls.

God says its up to you, flail or flourish.

Wave and weave your way through the thorns of life, or stand on the truth of who He is, and what He has promised for those who follow Him. This is a huge decision. This choice seals our eternal destination. What if Jesus is all He says He is? What if the gospel is true, and without Jesus we have no salvation? In that case, Jesus, the One who holds the hope of life for us, will make a tremendous difference in our life. An eternal difference. It really will matter.

The world may say we are weak for not following the crowd, for following a religion. Guys, Jesus is much more than a religion. And it is He who makes us strong, not the world.

Maybe I’m just too fragile, but honey, I’m not banking on that hokey pokey to give me a hope and a future. I need the Savior. Like so very much.

Why?

I know what I’m capable of, and not capable of, in my own strength. I also unfortunately have seen what other people are capable of, and not capable of, with regards to my life, health, and safety.

I just won’t expect humanity to do or be any more than it will ever do or be.

And that’s a good thing.

Because this very tension brought my attention to the One who loves me.

It is in that crux of faith, that crossroads of processing, that each of us have to make our mind up. Will we believe what Jesus has said, and who He is? Or, will we keep running back to the failing, flailing ways of this weak and weary world, that promises much but produces little.

Stop settling for lesser things. Stop the music, leave the charade.

Put your whole self in the hands of Jesus.

Jesus is what its all about.