Red Frogs and Good Neighbours

What are Red Frogs? For some people they are just lollies which can give one a boost during the day. For others, Red Frogs are a helping hand, a pancake breakfast, a ride back home after a long night out, a feeling that one is safe, a room cleaning service, and a light in the dark.

Each year, thousands of school leavers celebrate the end of their secondary education by going away from home and celebrating the next phase of their lives with friends. While for many this is merely a release from the pressures of Year 12 exams, for some, things go too far and get out of control quickly. And this is where the Red Frogs come in.

The Red Frogs consist of young adults who volunteer their time and energy to assist, befriend, guide, feed and entertain schoolies. The aims of the Red Frogs (according to their website: http://www.redfrogs.com.au/hotelchaplaincy/about-us/what-is-red-frogs) are to “support school leavers” during schoolies week and to provide “a positive presence within their party culture”. While many (mostly those who don’t have children) wouldn’t be too concerned about what these youngsters are up to, there is something very Jesus-like about these Red Frogs.

Two thoughts come to mind. For starters, these Red Frogs go in to help, not to be judgemental. They mingle with the teenagers, try to spot trouble before it begins and provide good advice without too much condemnation and finger shaking. Very much like Jesus and the woman who was almost stoned to death (John 8:3-11).

Secondly, there is something also quite Jesus-like about how they help those who might have despised them in the past. Let’s have no illusions about how hard it is to be identified as a Christian while one is in High School. Apart from the higher moral standards Christian teens have to hold on to (which isn’t a bad thing) they also may have to cop snide remarks and occasional ridicule from their peers. But they still stop and help out anyway, pulling them out from the gutter (when necessary). How remarkably like another story from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37).

Total Recall Required

The A380 was hailed as the next level in passenger planes. When it was first launched, the plane was larger and could carry more people than any other commercial aircraft at that time. Unfortunately the A380 suffered a blow to its reputation two weeks ago during a Qantas flight when an explosion in one of its engines forced it back to the nearest airport. Those who were in the plane at that time reported a catastrophic malfunction which sent a spray of shrapnel through the wing of the A380. The stricken plane managed to land safely and fortunately there were no injuries but since then, every other airline which uses the A380 has been rushing to replace one of the components in the Trent 900 engines which the plane uses.

After frantically studying the problem, Rolls Royce, the manufacturer of the faulty engine, issued a statement claiming, “… the failure was confined to a specific component in the turbine area of the engine (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/12/3065263.htm).” In other words, one of the many parts in the engine had failed and in failing had almost brought the plane down. In order for the A380 to fly safely every single component of each engine must work perfectly. Even if 99.99 of all the components were to work well it still isn’t good enough as we now know.

While many of us are happy knowing that we are 75% perfect, or 85% perfect, or for a rare few 99.99% perfect, to God, that’s not good enough to fly on. Like each of the components in the Rolls Royce Trent 900, only 100% will do. But no one is 100% perfect and that is why God’s plan of salvation involves a total recall. We must all be born again (John 3:3-7) in order to be 100% perfect. All of us are tainted by sin but God has given us a way out by sending Jesus to show us how to be remade in His image. By putting our faith in Jesus and accepting what He did for us on the cross, we can destroy our sinful nature and experience a new life (1 Peter 1:3).

Like a flower on the field

As for mortals, their days are like grass;

They flourish like a flower on the field;

For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

And its place knows it no more.

Psalm 103:15-16, NRSV

Where were you when Mel died? According to a report at least 2.335 million were watching when the popular character was killed off on the hit TV series Packed to the Rafters. For those who don’t watch (or care), poor Mel died in a car accident while texting and driving (an object lesson on why doing both simultaneously often leads to tears). Within moments of the event, fans of Packed were venting their sadness (or anger) over the tragic incident with a psychologist even warning that the episode could trigger overwhelming sadness which would require some to “…adopt strategies to overcome their grief” (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad-application/rafters-funeral-hits-raw-nerve-with-fans/story-fn6bfkm6-1225950231325).

It is a tragedy of death that we all know it’s coming but we don’t know when. Many who saw Ben Rafter planning that romantic getaway with Mel and running to the knock on the door might have reached for that Kleenex just then. What an awful moment it is when we are suddenly confronted with the realisation that all our hopes and dreams of sharing the future with a loved one are irrefutably and undeniably over.

As Christians, the Bible reminds us that death is the result of sin entering the world (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23) but that Jesus came to set us free from our fear of death (Hebrew 2:15). It will always be a mystery how the Immortal, Eternal Creator of Heaven and Earth shared humanity’s experience of death and overcame it but in doing so He made it possible for us to share in His victory (Romans 4:25, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:14). Just as we walk with God in this life, we will walk with God in the next. Sadly those who choose not to be in a relationship with God in this world will not be forced to spend eternity with Him in the next. God respects choice but the Bible has nothing good to say about eternal separation from God.

A celebration of darkness

Sometimes we just forget. We forget our house keys, where we parked the car or (sometime to our great peril) loved one’s birthdays. This is possibly why Christmas is often associated with Rudolph and hohoho. It is because some have forgotten the real reason behind the celebration. In the same way, many have also forgotten what Halloween is all about.

Last weekend, many in town would have noticed a fair number of people wandering the streets in the guise of goblins, gremlins, ghouls, witches, warlocks, vampires, villains and other representations of the undead. But why is this associated with Halloween and what are we celebrating? Well it really depends on who you are. If you’re a teenager, it’s just another excuse to paaartaaay. Commercially, it’s another reason for retail growth but to druids or neo pagans, it’s a festival of darkness or the dead.

According to the fount of all knowledge (aka Wikipedia) it was believed that at this time of the year, those that had passed on could cross back over into this world and that in order to ward off evil spirits, a person had to dress up like one to confuse them (as if).

In stark contrast, Christianity is all about life (Psalm 36:9, John 6:33, Colossians 2:13). The Bible teaches that death is evil (Genesis 2:17, Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:1) and that Jesus came that we might not just have life, but have it in abundance (John 10:10). As Christians we believe that light will always triumph over the darkness and that the resurrection of Christ is a celebration of life and victory over death (1 Corinthians 15:26, 2 Titus 1:10, Revelation 1:18).

Still, it is doubtful that this annual occurrence will go away anytime soon so we should consider it an opportunity to discuss the reality of the spiritual world with those who haven’t picked a side yet. The Bible teaches that (even though we can’t see it) there is a war going on in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:17) and we all need to pick a side, whether we like it or not.