By Dr. Rebekah McCloud

 

I heard about a HR manager who had a rather colorful name for those he considered unusual interviewees. He called them breakfast food: flakes, fruits and nuts. I wasn’t quite sure of the difference among the three so I looked them up. The dictionary says a flake is a crazy or eccentric person; a ditz, space cadet, air head, fool or scatter brain. Fruit is a slur for a cray person; such as a fruitcake, fruit loop or loopy. Nut is also a slang term for a crazy or eccentric person; wacky, dumb nut or out of one’s mind.

Bottom line, they are all C-R-A-Z-Y, crazy. But, you know, anything out of the ordinary, anything different, anything we cannot explain, anything we cannot understand, or anything we have not seen or heard of before, we call it crazy. I submit to you, there are a bunch of people in the Bible, by their actions alone, who could be called a flake, a fruit, a nut or just plain crazy.

If David had shown up for one of these interviews, he probably would have been called a flake, a fruit or a nut.     2 Samuel 6:14 tells us that David, in his joy, danced before the Lord with all his might. Some say he danced out of his clothes. My grandma called him a dancing fool.

If the folks who were in the house on the Day of Pentecost had shown up; surely, they would have been called crazy. Acts 2:3-4 tells us, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Amen.

If Paul had shown up for one of these interviews, he probably would have been called a flake, a fruit or a nut. In Acts 9, Paul tells of his encounter with Jesus while he was on the Damarcus road. Paul was a persecutor of Christians and he was a man of considerable wealth, position, power and influence. But when he met Jesus, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Paul threw it all away and followed the Master.

Now, the rich, young ruler would have definitely called Paul crazy. Because when Jesus told him to sell what he had, Matthew 19:22 says, the rich, young ruler went away sorrowful because he had many possessions.

If Jesus had shown up for one of these interviews, he probably would have been called a flake, a fruit or a nut.  He went across the country doing things that were miraculous, unheard of, strange and never seen before. He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, casted out demons, and changed water into wine. People were in awe of him; some thought him crazy. In fact, Mark 3: 20-21 tells us that, “people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” In verse 23, they even charged him with being possessed by Beelzebub. How else could they explain the miracles?

Let’s face it, some of the things that Jesus said, in the natural, we’d call them and him crazy. For example, in        1 Peter 3:9 Jesus says “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing.” In Matthew 5:39 Jesus says “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.”

Now, we haven’t always been saved. Amen. So there has probably been a time, BYWS (Before You Were Saved), when if someone had done you a wrong, repaying them with a blessing would have been the last thing on your mind. Turning the other cheek would not have been on your list. We would have thought these actions were C-R-A-Z-Y, crazy. Thank God for the blood.

If we showed up, for an interview, what would the HR manager see? Grace, we are supposed to be a peculiar people, in the world, but not of the world. 2 Timothy 2:19 tells us, “The Lord knows those who are his.” And Matthew 7:16 says, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” We should be crazy like David, crazy like Paul and crazy like Jesus. After all, we are children of the “Most High”. Amen.

 

Flake, fruit, nut or just plain crazy, Lord, fill me up till I overflow. I want to run over. I want more of you. More of your presence, more of your love, more of your grace, your favor, your wisdom, your mercy, your patience, your loving kindness, your shelter, your provision, your healing, your strength, your joy, your peace, your understanding, your promises, your forgiveness and your word. I want more of you. Lord, I’m crazy about you and I know that you are crazy about me. My prayer, as your good and faithful servant, is that no good thing will you withhold from me. And when the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there. Amen.

 

8/25/18