M-G: 7.15.22 // Scarerock

This picture is not much of a work of art, yes? It is neither a trail marker nor a tribute to a pagan god nor a symbol that “we were here” like Beverly and I did when we stacked some stones on the windward side of Aruba. This stack of rocks in Tennessee was not about a sense of balance, patience, growth, spirituality, or keeping us on the right path. It was simply dubbed, “Scarerock,” which was erected to “shoo” unwanted rocks away from our property. It was analogous to the function of a scarecrow in keeping the crows away from the corn fields by its very presence! The idea of rocks scaring other rocks is ludicrous, right? 

Actually, it can be viewed in some sense as a symbol of satire as a testament to the builder’s failure to remove all of the rocks from off of our property, but even that idea has faded into meaningless. There was, however, a far greater reason for its existence that prompted me into stacking rocks. The very name Scarerock has others questioning my sanity, but I never laid claim to the proposition that I was all here in the first place! But the original and primary function of Scarerock was not so crazy of an idea. Scarerock continues to serve as a visible reminder to Beverly and me that it was God who brought us to this place, not us, and for us to shoo away any doubt to the contrary.

We merely stepped into the river of obedience and collected some of the rocks left behind by the builder on our crossing over to this place. Though our builder intended it to be a thorn in our side, God meant it for good to be used for other things more constructive (cf. Gn 50:20, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good).

Scarerock has yet to chase one unwanted rock away from our property by its presence, not even perchance a pair of loud cawing crows which had taken up residence here in our backyard with corn falling on a daily basis from the table of a cracked corn feeder suspended in the air for doves and smaller birds. This manna from the sky was the result of reflexive movements of beaks and feet by mourning doves and other smaller birds searching for food while standing right on top of the cracked corn! 

Scarerock the Intimidator was less than ten feet away. The undaunted crows somehow knew that Scarerock was not after crows. A number of birds had used its head as a throne from which to rest! Scarerock was good for neither rock nor fowl, but it was very good as a reminder to us of God’s goodness in this place, yes?

Day after day the mourning doves along with smaller birds carelessly and naturally whisked away their own food source. The crows stood among the ground feeders like giants. They were too large to perch on the tray feeder or attend to the cylindrical feeders, but those smaller birds hadn’t figured out that it is easier eating at the feeders than searching through the grass for fallen manna. Even the visitors at the tube feeders dropped more seeds to the ground through probing and thrashing of their beaks from the feeder ports than they consumed. Fortunately, the ground feeders took advantage of it; so very little seed went to waste.

A couple of years after moving into our new home, we had a problem with our outside faucets. It was discovered they were installed improperly. Rather than pursuing legal leverage against this reluctant plumber hired by the builder, it was financially better to call another plumber to fix it than pay for legal fees to force this contractor to fix a problem he created though he was blaming me for it! In the course of repair, the plumber who helped fix the problem had a helper with him who eventually asked if we were Indians! I replied, “Why do you think that?” He pointed to Scarerock.

I was initially stunned by the question, and after a few quick moments, I answered facetiously, “Crow tribe,” and pointing to our rock formation, “its name is Scarerock; it is expected to scare away undesirable rocks from our property by the Great Spirit.” He stood in silence and awe. Upon leaving, I thanked the plumber for visiting my tipi and making himself available in his busy schedule. He smiled silently for the sake of his helper.

Now, you may wonder, “Why didn’t I just give him the spiritual reason for Scarerock like Yahweh gave the reason for the stones in crossing the river Jordan at flood stage (Josh 4:3-7)? I will probably provide you with an unsatisfactory answer, but here it is.  

Had the helper asked me a follow-up question, I would have told him. He was only interested in identifying me by this strange anomaly in my yard and not inquiring about what purpose did these rocks really serve? Rocks do not chase away rocks, yes? The answer I gave him apparently satisfied his curiosity? He was off in a flash to do some crawling in the crawlspace.  

I have learned not to make every human encounter an evangelistic moment. It sounds so spiritual to be that way, but is it? What I have learned is that it is wiser and more effective to be ready to speak when the Holy Spirit is leading, and when He is leading me to remain silent (cf. Eccl 3:7b), and yes, I want all men to be saved, but that is not going to happen, and I am not a silent witness; M-G is a testament to that.

I had called for this other plumber to come and fix my outside faucets because I trusted his workmanship and integrity. He had done some work for me in the past, and I was impressed, and I liked his personality. A few months earlier, he came over to fix my water heater which turned out to be improperly wired by the same plumber who failed to install my faucets correctly. This plumber I contracted was a believer, and by the way, the other plumber who did shoddy plumbing hired by the builder claimed to be a Christian, too!

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:18); everything would have to include difficult circumstances, too, yes? The preposition “in” not “for” is used by Paul to differentiate being thankful in a circumstance rather than thankful for a circumstance. He knew right well that contentment is not based on the circumstances of life (easy or challenging it may be) but is found only in Christ (cf. Rom 8:28, that good is to be more like Christ, Rom 8:29; Php 4:11-13; Heb 13:5; et al). The world, on the other hand, seeks for a certain circumstance to bring about contentment that we see as believers as only illusory or false because God is not in the picture.

We are to always be grateful in everything not for everything 24x7, with no exclusions or options (the tense, voice, and mood of the verb give is present active imperative in Greek). This verse lends support to the idea that nothing is allowed to enter our lives unless Yahweh permits or orchestrates it.

We know that whatever happens, we are going to win in the end because God is sovereign and sufficient for all things. It is analogous to watching a recording of a game of our favorite team and knowing already who won. Whatever happens during any stage of the game that runs contrary to what we know is not going to upset us because we already know the outcome. We know Yahweh knows absolutely how it is all going to end. It is a unique and neat kind of trust in God, folks. We need to think about that in the decline of America. God is in control; we are on the winning side. No matter what we see or experience in America it is not going to change the outcome of God’s will.

Our adversary jumps on that command in 1 Thess 5:18, “You see! What have I been telling you; all of the bad in your life is God’s fault! He’s in charge!” Satan wants you and me to question Yahweh’s trustworthiness. Satan knows and all of the fallen angels know how it ends. These demons want us to quit believing in how we think it is going to end. If they can’t keep us from going to heaven, they want us to be ineffective for Jesus and completely miserable on this side of eternity. There is another alternative: trust in the One who knows and controls the outcome.   

Now, we don’t need to build stone phylacteries like Scarerock to remind us of the grace and goodness of God in our lives, but whatever we do or have, a spirit of settled thankfulness in the circumstances of life serves as a great reminder to us that it is God that has brought us to a place, pleasing to Him and for our good to be more like Him (cf. Rom 8:28-29). The less we are like Him, our contentment will wane. A state of contentment on this side of eternity is not permanent; it is vulnerable to run contrary to the will of God by non-biblical choices.

Authentic gratefulness will always be in sync with the teaching of Scripture; that’s our metric. Yahweh is all-knowing and rightly knows the quality of our sincerity (cf. Jer 17:9-10).

If we should ever take an inkling of credit for this or that, it serves only as a reminder to us that we are not entirely acknowledging His sovereignty and sufficiency in our lives. In the flesh, there is this proclivity to take credit for this or that. In other words, due to our pride, we are not giving Him preeminence in our lives, only second place (Col 1:18, that in all things He may have the preeminence). 90% credit to Him and 10% for ourselves or whatever ratio that is less than 100% for God’s glory is not giving Jesus preeminence in our lives, nor are we glorifying Him fully or properly. Anything less than 100% is ego or “Edging God Out” (Michael Youssef). In some strange way, Scarerock’s existence makes perfect sense to me. <><

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess 5:18).