Saturday

Dead Man Tells Tales

I like pirates. I probably would not really. But they seem to have some cool attributes. Most boys played a pirate as a kid and I was no exception. Many went to Disneyworld and rode on "The Pirates of the Caribbean" ride. "Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"

Pirates have a code (really just guidelines) but it is a code. They swashbuckle, they walk planks and generally have adventures. Now I know they are bad guys, but deep down.....deep down, some of them seem to be good. Maybe they were orphans, or victimized as youths. They just seem to be doing what they know how to do and that includes a spirit of adventure and storytelling.

People who betray pirates wind up in Davy Jones locker and everyone knows that "dead men don't tell tales." There is where I might walk a different plank then the average pirate. The dead man Jesus tells tales. Tales of coming to an earth full of pirates. Pirates not being able to live up to the guidelines, let alone a full code. Pirates who swashbuckle, as if they own the ship, and cause others to walk planks. Pirates who are orphans and are really bad deep down. Pirates who are doing what their dark nature tells them to do.

He tells a tale of betrayal, and forgiveness, and going to "Davy Jones" locker for the redemption of......pirates like you and me. He tells a tale of resurrection. We are pirates. That is why we secretly like them.

This weekend we are reminded that a mutiny has happened and Captain Jesus has taken over the ship. All hands on deck. No more swabbing. No more pillaging. The old colors have been struck and new ones hoisted. We chart a new course today under a fresh wind that blows from the Spirit. We will have an adventure like no other under His command. "Yo ho, Yo ho, a Christian's life for me!!"