So Ryan and I were driving home the other day, and I don’t even remember how we got to it, but he made the old comment, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” I was in one of my fatherly, smart alec moods, so I responded boisterously, “Why are you questioning the motives of the chicken? Can’t the chicken just go from one point to another without being questioned? Maybe the chicken is running from Colonel Sanders. Maybe the chicken saw a worm. Why does it matter?”
There was a lot of laughter between the two of us, and it was great fun. As soon as we got home, Ryan quickly told my wife that we should not be questioning the motives of the chicken.
Later on this got me to thinking about a meme I recently saw. It started with a sign that said, “I love you.” Someone then asks, “Why? You don’t even know me.” The final response is, “If people can hate without reason, then I can love without reason.”
We have been conditioned in two ways. The first is to question the motives of everyone. When we watch a court drama, they always ask, what was the motive. Now, in my experience, motive is rarely if ever considered in court other than maybe sentencing, but still we ask why does someone do something. Secondly, we are always told to have a reason as to why we do something.
I think this way of thinking gets in the path of some creative freedom. Jesus simply tells us to love others. He does not give us a reason, other than he tells us to which is more than sufficient. Love other people. Love all people. One does not need a reason. We are not called to love them because of their wealth, or what they can do for us, or their awards, or even their power. Just love them.
The other thing is this, sometimes being random is not a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with just taking a walk at some point. There is nothing wrong with jumping in the water puddle. It is perfectly fine and wonderful to try new things, to step out into new experiences, to do the unexpected. We have gotten so conditioned to schedules, the clock, programs, and such that we can’t even see the beauty in the world unless it is on our schedule.
Jesus did a lot of the unexpected, and not on schedule. In the same way we can be bold, creative, and who knows, maybe, just maybe, by crossing a different road, we will see something new or even make a special friend.
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