4/24/09

You can FOOL ALL the PEOPLE

some of the TIME but
YOU can NEVER
FOOL GOD !
I am very aware of my own skills, talents,
abilities, & commitments. And I work
around young people who are trying to
develop skills, become educated, learn
what they can & cannot do. And I get to
know when people are NOT giving it their
all. They are not giving 120% let alone
100%.

And I know when I am not giving it my

all. I feel it in my heart, mind, & soul.
Fortunately, I am able to correct myself
when such is the case, & I “turn up the
volume” knowing how short this life is &
knowing that God will be playing the

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videotape of my life when I get to the
pearly gates. He knows everything, He
sees everything.

And some of you know I grew up in

Michigan: Grand Rapids, to be specific.
Actually, some of you don’t know I was
born in Iowa in 1967 but that about four
years later we moved back to Grand
Rapids where my mom grew up (after
being born in Evanston, IL), & where my
dad went to college (Calvin) as did I later
on in life.

So there I was in Grand Rapids, four

years old & suddenly going to school for
the first time. I first attended Alger Public
Elementary School at the corner of Alger
& Blaine in the Alger Heights section of
Grand Rapids.

And then when I was in 5th grade my

parents decided I should go to the

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Christian school & suddenly I was at
Seymour Elementary School—and the
first major experience was a fight with
Dave Dejong who decided to “test me” as
I sat by the backstop of the baseball field
watching the other boys play baseball.
They didn’t know who I was, but they
knew each other. Slowly but surely I got
to know Dave Dejong (after beating him
up by the baseball field). And then I got
to know Dave Engelhard, Steve Griffeon,
Rick Byle, Colin Piers, Greg Bouwer,
Keith Steensma, Rick Otte, Greg Heynen,
Mike Faber, and the list goes on: a lot of
nice “Christian” girls too: Amy Meyers,
Amy Dice, Julie Lubbers, & so many
more.

After two years at Seymour Christian we

all went to Millbrook Junior High. And I
met more great boys & girls: Rick
Minnema, Brad Rottschaefer, Joan
Dekker, Mary Jo Meulenberg, Kathy

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Beltman, Betsy Bowman, Julie Bouman,
Jeff Blanker, Dan Takens, Dianne
Takens… & so many more… !

Then from there I went on to Grand

Rapids Christian High and met even
more great “Christian” kids. All the
Christian middle schools merged into one
high school: GRCH ! The Ada kids
including Mike Terhorst, Steve Korhorn,
Melissa Theule, Lee Berkenpas, Jim
Reitsma, Gary ___ , And the Sylvan kids
including Lisa Korf, Dave Tuuk, Doug
Bouman, Joe Pleune, & so many more.
The Westside kids including Dan
Klunder, Jeff Bradshaw, Ken Shellhaas,&
so many more. Oakdale kids including my
“aunt” Teri Peters, also Eric Spearman,
James Maze (), & so many more—the
list goes on & on..

There’s so many names of so many kids I

knew & really “loved” in an Christian

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agape kind of way, & still do. At that age
you really become a “body” & are
compelled to care for those around you in
a way that lasts a lifetime, even James
Maze, I suppose I still love.

And recently with the death of my good

ol’ friend Rick Byle, who was really a
unique kind of friend with so many
experiences we had together I began
reflecting on these past friendships, &
have also connected with “Liz” by email
who was a year younger than me at
GRCH and was a friend of Rick Byle as
well.

Weve been reminiscing by email for a few

months now & saying “Have you seen so
& so’ or heard from “so & so” and
catching up on how people are doing. Of
course she has a better chance of knowing
how GRCH classmates are doing than me
—being that she is still there in West

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Michigan. She even mentioned that she
saw Dan Klunder a few days ago.

And I keep telling her that my MAIN

PURPOSE in life is Christian evangelism
& mission & I have to keep BACKING
THAT UP with concrete, specific,
examples of what I do as an “evangelist.”
But more importantly I am
ACCOUNTABLE to GOD.

And so periodically, almost every day, or

at least several days per week I go out and
do STREET EVANGELISM—primarily
“windshield wiper evangelism” where I
place Christian tracts under windshield
wipers of parked cars.

And then yesterday (5/1/09), I was at

Mass at Lady of Grace Catholic Church
and there was a SHUDDER—and the
whole church shook. I thought maybe it
was a big truck driving by but it was

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TOO BIG for that—so I realized an
earthquake had just struck around 6:08
pm according to my phone (but according
to an earthquake website it said a 4.4
quake struck at 6:13pm).

And the message given a few moments

later by the pastor was about the
NECESSITY of the EUCHARIST &
telling the GOOD NEWS, otherwise we
become “lukewarm.”

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who

believes in Me has everlasting life. I am
the bread of life. Your fathers ate the
manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the bread which comes down from
heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
I am the living bread which came down
from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever; and the bread that I
shall give is My flesh, which I shall give
for the life of the world."

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 The Jews therefore quarreled among
themselves, saying, "How can this Man
give us His flesh to eat?"

Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly,

I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink His blood, you have
no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and
drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day. For My flesh
is food indeed, and My blood is drink
indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks
My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As
the living Father sent Me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who feeds on
Me will live because of Me. This is the
bread which came down from heaven —
not as your fathers ate the manna, and are
dead. He who eats this bread
will live forever."
John 6:47-58

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This is the passage that the pastor
expounded upon moments after the 4.4
earthquake hit. It was NOT a big
earthquake but we all felt it (except,
perhaps, for the pastor, himself, who
showed no signs that he felt it).

Nonetheless, it struck me this morning

that all of us go thru life, many of us as
“Christians’ but without really SHINING
our light as bright as we are able to do so.

The pastor, himself, said there are a lot of

“Catholics” who go “through the
motions” of being Catholic but if they are
not here at the Eucharist on a regular
basis and not reaching others with the
Good News are they really “Catholic”?
He emphasized that the Eucharist gives
us strength, & rejuvenates us.

Are we really ‘Christian” if we are not

telling the Good news in one way or

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another and TRYING to plant seeds of
faith in the heart & souls of others ?

We can TALK about being Christian or

Catholic & go to church & go thru the
motions but ultimately we MUST become
“PLAYERS” not just “spectators” calling
balls-and-strikes.

As they say, “We can fool all the people

some of the time, some of the people all the
time, but we can’t fool all the people all the
time” And I ADD: “We can’t fool
God ever !”
God sees all, knows all, hears all. He
knows OUR hearts. He knows YOUR
heart. He knows My heart. Don’t let your
heart die while you are still alive. That’s
the name of my next movie: “HEART
DEAD, MAN ALIVE”

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Keep the faith. KEEP YOUR HEART
ALIVE ! Keep going to Eucharist, Keep
building up the Body of Christ until HE
COMES AGAIN ! Or until YOU go to
HIM when you leave this world & the
videotape of your life is replayed at the
PEARLY GATES for all to judge.

As the bumper sticker on a pastor’s car

said: “We all inherit eternal life. The only
question is where will it be?”

vanderKOK
JOHN the EVANGELIST
BA/BA/M.Div

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