What If. . .

Did you ever play the game called, "What if?"? You know the one -- you imagine a scenario and play it out to its natural conclusion. For example, many of us in America have already been playing the what if game: What if Congress passes a law demanding everyone in America should have health care and the government will pay for it? Now that's an interesting what if game, don't you think?

Now there are other what if games too. For instance, what if there is no money left in my retirement fund when I retire? What if the football team I follow makes a bad draft choice? What if my house doesn't sell? What if the Colorado Rockies has the only pitcher that can throw a no-hitter?

We can also play this game: what if we can't worship God? Now some of you might be thinking, here we go again, bringing out the ole' we-are-headed-down-the-Socialism-path again shtick. Well, I'm not really talking about the government taking away our right to worship God -- although that is always a possibility. Just ask the Russians, the Germans, or Christians in Africa. We are really only a dictator away from having our ability to openly worship God taken away.

No, what I am talking about is this: what if there is an earthquake and we are trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building? What if we are trapped in our car due to a bridge collapsing? What if we are on top of a roof with floodwaters rising around us? What if we are in a shelter because the mine caved in?

There may come a time when we need to quote Bible passages of comfort, sing an inspiring hymn, or turn to a prayer of hope and find we have no access to a Bible, a hymnal, or a devotion book. Then what will we do?

Men, I suggest we use our powers of memorization for more than sports stats, barbecue recipes, or even our kid's birthday dates. Yes, we have a powerful mind capable of holding millions of pieces of information. We can drive a route once and return years later and know just where to go; we can remember where every lure is on our tackle box; we can even sing our favorite song -- word for word.

I challenge you to memorize Bible passages, memorize hymns, memorize devotions, and memorize prayers. There will come a time when the words of Scripture we quote will inspire, calm, encourage, and liberate. There will be phrases of joy, peace, and hope in hymns and spiritual songs we recite. People will strain to hear us as we quote a devotion, or a prayer. Men, we are leaders! When we find ourselves with an opportunity to give words of comfort, peace, and hope -- let us do so with boldness!