Stranger in A Strange land

Stranger in A Strange land

Remember the old math equation. If A=B, and B=C, then A=C. What that adds up to for us guys is this.

A. We love our wives and daughters.

B. They love to go to weird places.

C. Men sometimes end up as strangers in a strange land.

Example #1 -- Baby Showers

I was at one of those about a year or so ago for Joni’s cousin. There was food, so that helped. I discovered that if you eat about a dozen finger sandwiches, it can make a meal. That can also get you banned from the sandwich table. The same applies to the cake table. My son and nephew were also at the shower. They were chicken and fled to the computer room. When the going gets tough, the tough play “Grand Theft Auto.”

So guys, what do they do at these baby showers? I’m with that great philosopher, Linus Van Pelt, of Peanuts and Charlie Brown. Linus, after observing the fuss made over a new baby said “If they ever took the word ‘cute’ out of the English language, we’d all perish.” The same applies to the words, “OOOH,” “AAAH,” and giggling in general. It was back to the sandwich table.

Example #2 -- Women’s Underwear Stores

I’m not talking about the underwear section of a department store. Most guys know that we can sneak over to the electronics section, and watch six different football games at the same time.

No, this is one of those obnoxious outlet stores. There were bras and panties as far as the eye can see. And that’s the problem. My eyes did not want to see this. You can’t even look at the displays. You can’t make eye contact with the people. The other women look at you like you’re a Peeping Bob, and the guys have the same “lamb to the slaughter” look that you have. You can’t even look up. There are life sized posters of girls in their unmentionables. So, you’re being led about the hand by your female guide (wife or daughter).

Worse yet is when your women are raptured into the dressing room and leave you stranded in Playtex Purgatory. This one store had a small place of refuge --a lingerie lifeboat, an underwear oasis. Some kind soul put up a small display area of men’s socks. So picture about 10 guys in a closet type display, pretending to be interested in men’s socks. We were indeed strangers in a strange land. We guys end up in weird places because of the women we love. Christ was that way, too.

John 3:16 reminds us that God loves us and sent Jesus to die for us. Jesus left the comforts of heaven to live in our weird, wild world with temptation at every corner (John 1:14, Heb 4:15).

We, too, are spiritual strangers in a strange land. Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” As citizens of heaven, we are supposed to feel weird and strange in this world, because our home is in heaven. Our minds are with the Master, and our eyes are focused on eternity. We are not to get comfortable here, but to be anxious to go home to heaven.

For now, I’m hanging out at the sandwich table.