Tourist Season

I spent a little better than three hours on ferries this weekend.

On the ferry you can always spot those who sail often from those who are tourists, perhaps sailing for the first time. The frequent floaters have ferry boat routines: they get on board, do their thing, then disembark. Those familiar with the way of the ferry are never surprised to hear that the boat is late, but rather expect it, and you almost never hear them surprised at how much a burger costs. It's not a cruise ship, if you want ketchup with that, it will cost you, but they still complain about it.

Complaining is fun for the ferry faithful. Complaining is almost a sport as you sit around and see who has the best complaint about the ferry.  Oh, and they're constantly going over the good old days when the rows of seats alternated directions so that you could sit down and put your feet up on the seat in front of you. We miss those seating configurations and hearing our sisters complain about our feet being on them. And we miss the old ferry fries. Ferry fries were legendary. Or at least they are for those who knew them.

But for the momentary mariner it's all a brand new experience: everything is fresh, exciting, and surprising. You don't care if the boat is crowded you didn't expect to sit anyways.  A lot of tourists are huddled by the brochure rack* learning about hotel discounts and searching for coupons for surf lessons.  The kids of tourists are on the upper deck testing the hypothesis that if you jump straight up the wind will push you back.

I love watching tourists. At times they're so goofy. I remember watching a tourist try and feed French fries to a sea gull. Locals don't do that. Locals curse the gull because a gull once pooped on them, and they certainly wouldn't feed overpriced food to a scavenger bird.

And I love being a tourist. Little seems to bother me when I'm a tourist. When I'm relaxed, and enjoying the adventure in whatever happens, the annoyances disappear.  It's great acting like a tourist on the ferry.

1 Peter 1:17 jumped out at me Specifically a part in the verse that reads: "live your lives as strangers here."

As Christians this world isn't our home. We're strangers here: tourists even.

I think we need to act more like tourists. We need to be less bothered by what we often classify as annoying. We need to relax and enjoy whatever comes our way. Our faith needs to be less shaken by the events of this world. We need to remember that this world isn't our home. Whatever happens is temporary. We're not going to be here all that long.

We need to stand out and not be afraid to look goofy. We're different, so what. We're not from around here.

Oh, and I recommend taking the ferry. It really is a nice way to travel. And spend some cash on the food, it's all part of the experience.

*as a kid the brochure rack was the free magazine rack. We'd grab stacks of free reading material to entertain ourselves cheaply.

A Big Ol' Cat Fight

I was reading chapter five of 1 Peter today. And verse 8 jumped out at me.

Here's 1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

I don't have a lot of experience with lions. I saw the circus as a kid, and I think I remember lions being a part of it. I've been to the zoo. Actually, I was at a zoo just a couple years ago and I saw some lions there. But most of my experience with lions is all wrapped up in the Lion King. I've seem that animated classic dozens of times.

However, I suspect there's more to this lion business than the film lets on.

I grew up in an area that has a high population of Mountain Lions, or cougars as they are known locally. I've never come face to face with one because the generally leave people alone. Sightings, and attacks on people, are becoming more common. Now and then you hear of a good man versus cougar story. There was an older gentleman who, when attacked by a cougar, fought it off with his pocket knife. He was badly injured, but was able to appear on the 6 o'clock news from his hospital bed to show off his favourite pocket knife.

There was another story of a woman out camping with her family when a cougar attacked one of her children. The story goes that she grabbed a cooler and began beating the cat with it. The cougar ran off and the child suffered no long lasting effect.

These are great stories of man triumphing over large Feline.

We were taught as kids that if you spot a mountain lion, it's been watching you for a long time, but if you make yourself really big, stare it down, and show no fear, you can scare it away. Mountain Lions, so I understand, are chicken.

I am uncertain if the same thing goes for the non-mountainous lion.

I don't know why, after reading this verse many, many times, this image of the Devil being like a lion stood out to me, but as I read it my mind immediately diverted to another lionly image in Christianity: Jesus.

Sometimes Jesus is called "The Lion of Judah" with Biblical support for this name coming out of Revelation 5:5.

And it occurred to me that we are living in this world with two lions--one ruling bringing life and justice and redemption, and one fighting bringing death and destruction.

But that isn't Peter's point in calling the devil out.

In verse nine he tells us to "Resist him, standing firm in the faith"

He is resistible. We can overcome.

I think that if I were staring down a roaring lion I would be filled with a bowel moving fear that causes one to forget all sorts of survival tactics. Meaning, I would poop myself and run. Which is the exact opposite of what to do in the moments before a mountain lion attack.

Yet Peter is telling his readers to stand firm in the faith--that holding onto ones faith is overcoming this lion-like devil.

Hold on to your faith in the midst of the devil's opposition.

Hold on to your faith.

Grab that cooler.

Clutch your trusty pocket knife.

Stand firm.

Resist him.

He may be like a lion, but, so what, lions can be overcome.