Out, But In

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

One of the favorite memories from my teen years is the weekend sleepover. I can't tell you how many jokes were shared, much of which were only funny among friends at 3 am. I don't know where to begin to tell how many parts of life we shared as well. Not all of these life stories were great, some of them involved pain. Those nights, and early mornings, will be held in my heart for as long as they can be.

At first, these sleepovers happened just because; no reason, no planning. For some reason, as the sleepovers continued we felt a need to justify them so we came up with poker night. We would meet at the appointed house with our pennies, nickles, and dimes and play poker for as long as we could stay awake. It was always clean fun, and many times very loud, but somehow our parents didn't seem to mind that we were disruptive into the wee hours of the morning.

The poker game would begin and nobody was allowed not to play. If for some reason one of us lost all our pennies, the others would throw, literally, a few at him. We weren't there to be the big winner of 3 or 4 dollars, we were there to share one another's life.

Of course, there were times when we had to excuse ourselves from the table, and for these times we came up with a saying: I'm out, but I'm in. What that meant was I need to get a soda, or use the restroom, or for whatever reason be away from the table for a short while, but deal me in anyway. We soon expanded the saying to also include "I'm in but I'm out" which meant that I would be away for longer than it takes to play a few hands, but I'm still playing the game.

What these words really meant was that I am now, and forever will be, a part of this familial bond.

This is what I think God's message is to the exiled people of Israel. God is saying through Jeremiah that although the Israelites are living in a different land and apart from their God, the Israelites should live as fruitful lives as possible. In other words, although the Israelites are out, God is helping them find comfort in the knowledge they are still in. God has not abandoned them, God is still a part of their lives, and God wants nothing more than for them to live life to its fullest.

It's been almost 35 years since my friends and I have had a poker night. I can honestly tell you, though, that the familial bonds we made in those nights continue to this day. I still call these friends my brothers. In the same way God is always with us, even when it feels like God isn't.

So, pass the chips, and the ante is anything you're willing to share.