Now that I have fully arrested your attention, I will attempt to reassure you that I have not lost my “church boy” mind. The title to this blog was the exact phrase I heard while exiting Disney land, the self-proclaimed “happiest place on earth.” In the mother’s defense that screamed these words at her kids, we were technically in the parking lot, and no longer in actual “Disneyland.” Adding to the irony of my “dose of reality” while leaving the park, was the fact that it had been no more than 20 minutes since I had ended my stay with the ride “it’s a small world,” a happy little boat ride with serenading animatronic puppets from all over the word piping out the words to the world’s most famous sing-along. I admit that my shock turned to laughter over this woman’s outburst, but this occasion served to deliver a point – Disneyland, is a band-aid. In the secular world, people will always try and find a “patch” or a “band-aid” to somehow place their angry lives on hold and cover up the fact that they don’t have the first idea of where or how to find true happiness. Coming from their point of view, they have just spent an exorbitant amount of money and waited through hours of lines in an attempt that this would somehow put on hold, mask or numb the fact that they are waking up to the reality - that they have no control and their lives are crumbling at an exponential rate. This is the time for the body of Christ to strike. This is where, as believers, we can step in and show that we have a ruling peace that surpasses understanding – a peace the rest of the world is gasping for. And I mean gasping, not grasping - they are parched, they are weary they are fish who have never been in the water. Be faithful to pray for the families you see at Disneyland, the supermarket, your schools and in your community who bear painful witness to the fact they have no hope. Rise up body of Christ and cease your “laughter” at a hurting world.
