A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

My Grandpa was the most amazing man, as I've mentioned about him and my Grandma before in a recent blog. He was always making things, and he had the most interesting backyard.

Being the youngest of five kids and with all the others at school, my mum and I, before I'd started school, used to go over to their place. Mum and Grandma used to sit inside while my Grandpa used to be outside making things.

As I said, they had the most incredible backyard, trees, gardens, and lots of paths all over the place, and you can imagine, as a 5-year-old, before I had started school, with all my siblings not there, Grandpa's place was so fascinating.

He was always making something, and I, being Mr Inquisitive, was always on the chat. I was always asking him what he was making, and I remember this particular day so well.

I guess my inquisitiveness may have gotten the best of Grandpa when I must have asked him what he was making, and he came out with "A wigwam for a goose's bridle". Now, when I think of that, I have a good old laugh.

On the way home that day, I asked Mum what a "wigwam for a goose's bridle" was. And she just cracked up laughing. It seems I must have got the better of Grandpa, and here's what it says on the computer these days. " 'A wigwam for a goose's bridle' is a playful, nonsensical idiom used to describe an imaginary, absurd, or non-existent object. It is commonly used  as a dismissive, humorous, or evasive answer when someone (often an inquisitive child) asks prying questions about what you are making or doing."

That makes me laugh so much when I think about exactly what my Grandpa said to me. I was obviously such an inquisitive kid, always on the chat and always asking him a million questions. Oh, he was a funny and great Grandpa.

Inquisitiveness is amazing and incredible, and has a strong desire in oneself to learn and work out what exactly is going on. To ask other people, like I did with Grandpa, what was happening, and also to tell others what is going on and why!

When I was reading the Bible, and I got to the following chapter in Luke, I was intrigued about the whole thing. When those people hurriedly came to Jesus, they must have been really agitated to have seen what they did, and they had so much to tell him about what was going on in the lives of the Galileans. They must have been feeling pretty bad.

So when the people came to Jesus that day, they told him about some Galileans that Pilate had killed while they were at worship. Pilate was obviously in the middle of some sort of sacrifice and mixed the blood of those he killed with whatever he had on the altar - sounds thoroughly horrible and totally murderous. Pilot was obviously out to get as many Christians as possible.

This is recorded in the bible in Luke chapter 13. Jesus responded by asking the question to everyone who was there if they thought that the murder of those Galileans by Pilate was because they were worse sinners than all the other Galileans?  He really wanted to get through to them all that we all must turn to God, every one of us, at the end of our lives; if we don't turn to God, then punishment will be ours.

Now that really was a thought we should all take on board today.

Jesus then talked to everyone about the towers that collapsed, which caused the very death of eighteen people. He said that certainly sends a message across to everyone. Even today, that message comes across loud and clear that we all need repentance and we must be ready, because no one ever knows when our time is up here on earth.

The tower of Siloam, as also mentioned in Wikipedia, was a structure that fell and killed eighteen people. Siloam is a neighborhood south of Jerusalem's Old City. It's only ever mentioned by Jesus in the New Testament.

Jesus told lots of parables or stories as they are known today. He was trying to get through to the many people listening to him, and of course, even to us today, what he had to say. It was obvious that he knew what was ahead of him: the death he would die and the amazing and incredible resurrection of eternal life.

The amazing part of Jesus's life was that he knew that he was about to die, and he knew the unique and incredible plan that was ahead of him. He was only 33 years old, and yet when you think about it, he had the most incredible and amazing life. 

Jesus then told a story about a man who had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, "What's going on here? For three years now, I've come to this tree expecting apples, and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?" The gardener said, "Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilise, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down."

What Jesus was trying to get through to us here is that we have to make up our minds whether we come to Christ and ask him to take over our lives. To make him number one in our lives in every situation in which we find ourselves. If we don't, then we are destined to constant and everlasting misery. hard to believe that anyone would want everlasting torment and misery over what God has promised as everlasting joy with him.

Just like the unfruitful fig tree in the story that Jesus told, we are like that tree. We can be absolutely worthless and self-satisfying, looking and striving for more and more. Jesus, in his awesome love for us, is patient and kind, yet sends out messages to everyone who cares to listen. 

God's patience can finally come to an end with all of us. In the story above, the owner of the place granted the tree another year, and then if it is still not good, it has to pay the price. We are like that tree. God, in his amazing mercy, extends our time here and keeps granting us yet another day. But time will come, and God's patience will run out if we continue to ignore and slam doors in his face.

The message is clear -  come to Jesus, give your life to him, and make him first in your life, or pay the price. It is entirely up to you and entirely up to me!

The other message in this amazing short story that Jesus told is that as Christians, it is up to us to tell others about Jesus, the powerful and awesome love that He has for all of us. All we have to do is accept his great offer of salvation and everlasting life.

Jesus paid the price for my sin and yours. He took them that day and killed them on the cross. All we have to do is accept his great love for us and ask him to lead our lives. He will then become first in our life and will take us home to be with him when our time here on earth is done. What an amazing promise that is!

This from the Late Billy Graham: "Have you committed your life to Jesus Christ? If so, He now lives within you by His Holy Spirit, and His will is for you to turn your back on sin and - with His help - to live a life that honours God. Make this your goal - beginning today."

God bless you this week, and thank you for reading this. Hope to have you join me next time.