A little bit of my second childhood died this week.
Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter” was killed by a stingray while shooting a documentary off the coast of Australia.
When we awoke to the news Monday morning, I found myself stunned, and saddened. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to imply that I’ve ever been an official member of the Crocodile Hunter Fan Club of America, or that my remote control cruises over to Animal Planet of its own accord too often.
But I have watched my share of Steve Irwin in the last six years. Remember, I have a six-year-old son, after all.
Somehow, in the pre-fatherhood coolness of young(ish) adulthood, I had forgotten what fun watching a guy like Steve Irwin could be. Sure, I had laughed “at” Irwin before, often finding his over-the-top sense of wonder at spiders and lizards to be nothing short of comical.
But when I sat with my young son and watched him do his thing with the wildlife of jungle, desert and outback, I realized his true identity. Steve Irwin was a wild-man, Tarzan, animal-wrangling hero.
And a fool, right?
After all, his propensity for up-close-and-personal encounters with wildlife got him killed. Surely, only a fool would risk his life, leaving behind his family, friends and those who loved him.
His death was tragic and entirely lamentable. But, even in light of that reality, here’s what I wonder. Could he really have done anything else, and still have been the Steve Irwin he was meant to be?
In the aftermath of tragedies like this one, it’s all too easy to turn human beings into caricatures. No person is all hero, or all fool. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in between, and maybe it gives us the chance to learn about ourselves.
Australians have a word for Steve Irwin, and I like it. Larrikin. “Larrikins” are loud, rowdy, and comical. They don’t take the world very seriously, and they don’t care too much about what other people think. Most importantly, real larrikins don’t take themselves too seriously, and they have a true gift for self-deprication.
A couple of years ago, President Bush went to Australia and a reception was held in his honor. Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard, invited a short list of Australian celebrities and dignitaries to attend this momentous occasion, and Steve Irwin was there in the crowd. What was he wearing when he met President Bush?
Khaki shorts, a wrinkled khaki shirt, and his scuffed, tan hiking boots.
A larrikin at his best.
That attitude allowed Irwin to live more in his 44 years than most people do in 84.
That he died during a wildlife shoot that shouldn’t have carried much risk, especially when compared to other things he had done throughout his career, is a particular tragedy.
None of us know with certainty what any experience, or any given day, will hold.
As I have now given up on baseball for 2006 (trust me on this, Braves’ fans) and moved headlong into football, I am reminded of the distinct differences between the two – which is pretty much everything.
But perhaps the biggest strategic and philosophical difference between baseball, and football, basketball or many other sports, is that major league baseball lacks a clock.
This weekend, in Knoxville, Holly and I got to see every UT fan’s favorite play. The boys in orange walked onto the field at the end of the fourth quarter, snapped the ball, and took a collective knee. They had the lead, time ran out, and the game was over.
How many times this summer did I wish that a Braves’ relief pitcher could simply kneel on the pitcher’s mound with a lead and see the game come to a glorious end?
Baseball doesn’t work that way. You have to play the “outs,” and each side gets 27. That’s wonderfully fair and democratic. It’s what you do with those outs that makes the difference.
Life doesn’t quite match the metaphor of baseball “outs” or a football clock.
Our best sports analogy might be soccer’s “stoppage” time. During the game, the referee keeps track of the time lost to injuries, ball retrieval, etc., and once regulation time has ended, he adds those seconds to the game.
Stoppage time is exciting because only the referee knows how much of it there is.
Everyone plays with urgency, because the game is ending sometime --- soon. In life, like stoppage-time soccer, there is a clock, and it is ticking. We just don’t know how many seconds still remain.
My concern in writing this blog is that you’ll chalk all of this up to another “seize the day,” e-mail forward kind of inspirational idea. My fear is that you’ll think I’m saying you should do more and work harder, that God wants you to add extra pages to your already overbooked calendar, and that you should live “on the edge” by playing with tarantulas and drag racing on the weekends.
That’s not exactly what I’m getting at.
I’m saying that life does carry risk, and that the solution is not to “play out the clock.” I’ve seen many football and basketball teams that get a lead, only to stop trying to score points. They run the ball, a yard at a time, or pass and pass and never shoot, only to let the other team back into the game.
What we need is not “more.” What we need is focus. What we need is purpose. What we need is a “calling.”
Steve Irwin had one, and he knew it.
He once appeared on Larry King Live and talked about realizing his “gift” as a child. “What gift?” King asked, seemingly confused.
“I'm a wild life warrior,” Irwin said. “A warrior is someone who is trained or engaged in battle. My battle is conservation. So I'm a wildlife warrior. Anyone can be one. But I have a gift. God put me on this planet with a mission. My mission is to educate people about conservation.”
He explained further, “It's in my genetic makeup. That's where it comes from. I can do stuff with animals that no one else in the world can do. I've got this, I've got the ability to be attractive to wildlife and vice-versa. Then, on top of that, I've got a gift that I didn't know I had, of communicating to cameras, which is in essence looking to millions of people. Combine those two and there you see my mission is to educate people about conservation.”
If you’ve seen the video clip of Irwin speaking those words, you know the passion of his belief in the gift. It was his calling, and he pursued it to the fullest, until the clock finally ran out.
There is power in knowing that you’re hear for a reason. In making the divine wager of faith that says the world is more than a random collection of particles and elements.
Rick Warren once wrote:
“I got lost in the mountains. When I stopped to ask for directions to the campsite, I was told, ‘You can’t get there from here. You must start from the other side of the mountain!’ In the same way, you cannot arrive at your life’s purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God – and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.
Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice-versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, ‘Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.’”
I don’t know what Steve Irwin thought about God or theology. But I do believe that he felt a clear sense of calling in his heart, and for his life. His purpose was something bigger than himself, and he didn’t take himself, or other people, too seriously.
The crazy-eyed, child-like wonder that he displayed for lizards and spiders, crocs and creatures of all kinds was infectious. The power of seeing someone do what they’re meant to do always is.
God holds that power for you, too. Don’t just “seize the day,” seize a call. Be a larrikin for God.
Grace and Peace,
Adam
LIFE AT SOTH:
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time in worship this past Sunday. I’m so proud of Time Potate for “flying solo” on his first Sunday morning preaching experience, and for the great love and support that he’s been shown by the people of SOTH.
This Sunday will begin Adam’s three-week sermon series, “Cracking Up.” Have you ever wondered how to balance all the pressures of life? Sometimes, we can feel as though we’re about to crack. The Bible has much to say about finding peace, balance and calm in the midst of the storm. Topics will include “Time,” “Money,” and “Relationships,” over the next three weeks at 8:30 and 10:00 worship.
SOTH’s new Sunday night worship begins this week, September 10th at 6pm. Bring the whole family for our Sunday night experience. Youth also begins at 6:00, at The Ranch, and we’ll have childcare available for the kids. Don’t miss this chance to be a part of something new to our life at SOTH.
This Sunday morning, copies of the John Ortberg book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat will be on sale, for $12 each. SOTH will study this book in small groups, beginning the week of September 25th, and throughout October. Many more details this Sunday on time and location for each group.
Steve Irwin, “The Crocodile Hunter” was killed by a stingray while shooting a documentary off the coast of Australia.
When we awoke to the news Monday morning, I found myself stunned, and saddened. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to imply that I’ve ever been an official member of the Crocodile Hunter Fan Club of America, or that my remote control cruises over to Animal Planet of its own accord too often.
But I have watched my share of Steve Irwin in the last six years. Remember, I have a six-year-old son, after all.
Somehow, in the pre-fatherhood coolness of young(ish) adulthood, I had forgotten what fun watching a guy like Steve Irwin could be. Sure, I had laughed “at” Irwin before, often finding his over-the-top sense of wonder at spiders and lizards to be nothing short of comical.
But when I sat with my young son and watched him do his thing with the wildlife of jungle, desert and outback, I realized his true identity. Steve Irwin was a wild-man, Tarzan, animal-wrangling hero.
And a fool, right?
After all, his propensity for up-close-and-personal encounters with wildlife got him killed. Surely, only a fool would risk his life, leaving behind his family, friends and those who loved him.
His death was tragic and entirely lamentable. But, even in light of that reality, here’s what I wonder. Could he really have done anything else, and still have been the Steve Irwin he was meant to be?
In the aftermath of tragedies like this one, it’s all too easy to turn human beings into caricatures. No person is all hero, or all fool. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in between, and maybe it gives us the chance to learn about ourselves.
Australians have a word for Steve Irwin, and I like it. Larrikin. “Larrikins” are loud, rowdy, and comical. They don’t take the world very seriously, and they don’t care too much about what other people think. Most importantly, real larrikins don’t take themselves too seriously, and they have a true gift for self-deprication.
A couple of years ago, President Bush went to Australia and a reception was held in his honor. Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard, invited a short list of Australian celebrities and dignitaries to attend this momentous occasion, and Steve Irwin was there in the crowd. What was he wearing when he met President Bush?
Khaki shorts, a wrinkled khaki shirt, and his scuffed, tan hiking boots.
A larrikin at his best.
That attitude allowed Irwin to live more in his 44 years than most people do in 84.
That he died during a wildlife shoot that shouldn’t have carried much risk, especially when compared to other things he had done throughout his career, is a particular tragedy.
None of us know with certainty what any experience, or any given day, will hold.
As I have now given up on baseball for 2006 (trust me on this, Braves’ fans) and moved headlong into football, I am reminded of the distinct differences between the two – which is pretty much everything.
But perhaps the biggest strategic and philosophical difference between baseball, and football, basketball or many other sports, is that major league baseball lacks a clock.
This weekend, in Knoxville, Holly and I got to see every UT fan’s favorite play. The boys in orange walked onto the field at the end of the fourth quarter, snapped the ball, and took a collective knee. They had the lead, time ran out, and the game was over.
How many times this summer did I wish that a Braves’ relief pitcher could simply kneel on the pitcher’s mound with a lead and see the game come to a glorious end?
Baseball doesn’t work that way. You have to play the “outs,” and each side gets 27. That’s wonderfully fair and democratic. It’s what you do with those outs that makes the difference.
Life doesn’t quite match the metaphor of baseball “outs” or a football clock.
Our best sports analogy might be soccer’s “stoppage” time. During the game, the referee keeps track of the time lost to injuries, ball retrieval, etc., and once regulation time has ended, he adds those seconds to the game.
Stoppage time is exciting because only the referee knows how much of it there is.
Everyone plays with urgency, because the game is ending sometime --- soon. In life, like stoppage-time soccer, there is a clock, and it is ticking. We just don’t know how many seconds still remain.
My concern in writing this blog is that you’ll chalk all of this up to another “seize the day,” e-mail forward kind of inspirational idea. My fear is that you’ll think I’m saying you should do more and work harder, that God wants you to add extra pages to your already overbooked calendar, and that you should live “on the edge” by playing with tarantulas and drag racing on the weekends.
That’s not exactly what I’m getting at.
I’m saying that life does carry risk, and that the solution is not to “play out the clock.” I’ve seen many football and basketball teams that get a lead, only to stop trying to score points. They run the ball, a yard at a time, or pass and pass and never shoot, only to let the other team back into the game.
What we need is not “more.” What we need is focus. What we need is purpose. What we need is a “calling.”
Steve Irwin had one, and he knew it.
He once appeared on Larry King Live and talked about realizing his “gift” as a child. “What gift?” King asked, seemingly confused.
“I'm a wild life warrior,” Irwin said. “A warrior is someone who is trained or engaged in battle. My battle is conservation. So I'm a wildlife warrior. Anyone can be one. But I have a gift. God put me on this planet with a mission. My mission is to educate people about conservation.”
He explained further, “It's in my genetic makeup. That's where it comes from. I can do stuff with animals that no one else in the world can do. I've got this, I've got the ability to be attractive to wildlife and vice-versa. Then, on top of that, I've got a gift that I didn't know I had, of communicating to cameras, which is in essence looking to millions of people. Combine those two and there you see my mission is to educate people about conservation.”
If you’ve seen the video clip of Irwin speaking those words, you know the passion of his belief in the gift. It was his calling, and he pursued it to the fullest, until the clock finally ran out.
There is power in knowing that you’re hear for a reason. In making the divine wager of faith that says the world is more than a random collection of particles and elements.
Rick Warren once wrote:
“I got lost in the mountains. When I stopped to ask for directions to the campsite, I was told, ‘You can’t get there from here. You must start from the other side of the mountain!’ In the same way, you cannot arrive at your life’s purpose by starting with a focus on yourself. You must begin with God, your Creator. You exist only because God wills that you exist. You were made by God and for God – and until you understand that, life will never make sense. It is only in God that we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny. Every other path leads to a dead end.
Many people try to use God for their own self-actualization, but that is a reversal of nature and is doomed to failure. You were made for God, not vice-versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, ‘Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.’”
I don’t know what Steve Irwin thought about God or theology. But I do believe that he felt a clear sense of calling in his heart, and for his life. His purpose was something bigger than himself, and he didn’t take himself, or other people, too seriously.
The crazy-eyed, child-like wonder that he displayed for lizards and spiders, crocs and creatures of all kinds was infectious. The power of seeing someone do what they’re meant to do always is.
God holds that power for you, too. Don’t just “seize the day,” seize a call. Be a larrikin for God.
Grace and Peace,
Adam
LIFE AT SOTH:
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time in worship this past Sunday. I’m so proud of Time Potate for “flying solo” on his first Sunday morning preaching experience, and for the great love and support that he’s been shown by the people of SOTH.
This Sunday will begin Adam’s three-week sermon series, “Cracking Up.” Have you ever wondered how to balance all the pressures of life? Sometimes, we can feel as though we’re about to crack. The Bible has much to say about finding peace, balance and calm in the midst of the storm. Topics will include “Time,” “Money,” and “Relationships,” over the next three weeks at 8:30 and 10:00 worship.
SOTH’s new Sunday night worship begins this week, September 10th at 6pm. Bring the whole family for our Sunday night experience. Youth also begins at 6:00, at The Ranch, and we’ll have childcare available for the kids. Don’t miss this chance to be a part of something new to our life at SOTH.
This Sunday morning, copies of the John Ortberg book, If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat will be on sale, for $12 each. SOTH will study this book in small groups, beginning the week of September 25th, and throughout October. Many more details this Sunday on time and location for each group.
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