last night i was home by myself with the extreme luxury of having a remote control all to myself... what do i do? i channel surf, trying to find something that pique's my interest... i land on a current episode of survivor 2012, episode 10...this show has great memories for me from the first few seasons, watching with the family as we nitpicked the odd behavior of individuals vying for a million dollar prize in lieu of honesty and plain old common courtesy and values... our moral superiority was immense:)... so, with a bit of nostalgia i settled down to watch an auction of items... the rules were: each current survivor (this is episode 10 so i assume they've been there for quite a while, this season began mid february...) is given $500.00 cash in increments of $20.00...they are allowed to bid on items, mostly luxury (leaving a wide berth for interpretation, since they look pretty grungy and malnourished...) AND they are not allowed to share these items with the other members...the be-dimpled host, jeff probst unveils the first item up for auction, cupcakes and a lovely iced coffee, this goes for some exorbitant amount of money... next is, chips, guacamole and a margarita... THEN a lovely outdoor shower with soap, warm water, a toothbrush and toothpaste...the bidding war was pretty extreme for THIS one... no individual had any idea what would come up next in the auction PLUS the auction could also end at any time...yes, you could take your $500 home with you, as "tarzan" one of the members told jeff, "this money will pay for my muffler when i get back home, if i don't win at least i'll have this much" (not a direct quote, but you get the picture...more items are auctioned and then, BAM, up for auction? a letter from home... one young lady, alicia, without hesitation, says while holding back tears, "500 DOLLARS"... no one can beat that... she gladly pays the money to jeff, and obtains her letter, she goes and sits with the group and reads it aloud to everyone... a letter from her dad, who tells her how proud he is of her, how he knows she can do this, and that he loves her and misses her... through more tears, alicia chokes out the words, "my dad has never written me a letter"... not.a.dry.eye.
you may be wondering why i've taken the time to describe some silly, competitive reality game show scenario, and why you have even gotten to this point in this post to understand what my point actually is (and there really is one...)... these people are attempting to survive, on an island, under some pretty intense circumstances...welllll, isn't life like that? can't life be pretty intense, competitive, overwhelming, disappointing, aren't we all surviving in this game called life? but there are life preserver's, there are dear friends, loved ones, common sense, moral codes... but these are earthly life preserver's... what about our eternal life preserver? what about that $500, no holds barred letter that we can read from our Heavenly Father that gives hope and encouragement to make it through this life so that we will eventually be with Him...
martin luther once wrote,
This is my Psalm, my chosen Psalm. I love them all; I love all holy Scripture, which is my consolation and my life. But this Psalm is nearest my heart, and I have a peculiar right to call it mine. It has saved me from many a pressing danger, from which neither emperor, nor kings, nor sages, nor saints, could have saved me. It is my friend; dearer to me than all the honours and power of the earth.
i love that he personified this scripture, how it saved him, he was referring to psalm 118:8 & 9 (which happens to be the exact middle of the bible...) says...
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
the interesting thing about all this, is how God leaves it up to us to read that letter, to read His word, to be saved by scripture and all of His direction that is available right at our fingertips... there's a reason why He is called our Savior! He does save us, He is literally our life preserver! we just need to grab hold, trust Him and He'll pull us in...
