The glasses are lined up on the bar pad...they have been dug in the tub for ice cubes, liquor spills over them and they are filled, served, and consumed. Beer cans are cracked and opened, trays are set to serve, feet walk to tables and hands transfer over the liquid thought of the moment...and God is there.
Patrons line up, standing room only, profanitys are echoed, eyes are set, some wander, others stare into space, belly up, grab chairs to fill a table, stand by a pool table, a jukebox, an entrance...and God is there.
There are no secrets when people partake of the poison, " en vito veritas" ( in wine there is truth) and nare a truer word has ever been spoken. Doubts, questions,fears,thoughts,secrets,joys, pains,heartbreak,love,lost love,triumphs,defeats,the conquerors, and the conquered in life...gravitate to this place alike...and God is there.
Some people would think it odd for God to be in a place such as this...a bar. Bars have a bad image for the most part, not on their own merit, but the consensus of the masses. One needs only to look at scripture to understand where a living God would work...and it wouldnt just be within the brick walls of a church, a mission, a temple, a sinogogue, a parsinage...WWJB ( where would JESUS be?) I say a bar, an alley, a lake, a road, a concert, a baseball field, footbal field, soccer field, hockey rink, park, meeting room, balcony. Think about this...we spend at most 1 day a week in church on average. We spend 6 days in the real world in all of these other places...where do you think God would be? I would like to think in all of these other places and then he joins us on Sunday to celebrate and renew our thoughts and minds for the 6 days again we face.
Ever had that thought...ever allowed the thought to absorb in your minds eye, that no matter how far you fall in life, where you go, what you do, who you do it with, how you fail, how you fall, where that takes you, when you fall to the bottom, look in the mirror, stand in the shower,fall on your knees, cry about it all,struggle to stand, have a fear to speak, to take another step, because you feel unworthy...be considered a fool, a failure...then to realize there is an unconditional hand underneath your life...that catches you...and quiets it all. This hand controls it all, your life, your hopes, dreams, doubts,fears,questions,answers,failures,successes,addictions,sins, and your gifts...we always seem to forget about our gifts it seems- I know I do.
I know God for I have seen him in the unlikeliest of lonely places in life. I have seen him in bars, cabs, airports, coffee shops, ball games, homes, golf courses, fields of hunting,fields of sport, and places of vocation. God is seen there because he inhabits our lives, our daily lives, no matter where it takes us, he chases us down...think about that and allow that thought to detinate in your skull and blow your mind. The God who created the heavens and the earth, knows how many hairs are on your head, sees you in your current place in life, knows you, loves you, and cherishes and wants the best for you, chases you and millions like and unlike you.
Change doesnt occur in set places, change occurs where God choses to inhabit. As for me, I most recently have seen a God chase me to a place and put people in my life where there was a choice to make, there were changed lives in front of me. The ministered to, become the ministers, and beauty of that is evidence of a living God. Neat, or on the rocks, shaken, or stirred, in a can, or in a glass, everyone has there own preferences here, and God has his angels placed as well.
It doesnt matter where you find yourself...what matters is when you see God there...do you chose to drop it all and follow where he leads. Could be a conversation, could be a tear, a story. Could be change right in front of you on the rocks, or a shot...with a living God chaser.
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