Imprinting

DateLine (1/31/07 – Nanuet, NY)

The appointment is 7:00 on Saturday night. Two back to back session s of Andy Griffith on WFBC TV4. I realize that appointment TV is a little old fashioned in the Ti-Vo age, but Saturday night normally is downtime for me anyway. Besides, I don’t have Ti-Vo. Generally I’m not that much into TV now but there is something relaxing about sharing this time with my friends from Mayberry; Andy, Barney, Goober, Floyd, and the gang. Occasionally after Andy Griffith goes off I’ll flip over to public TV and watch Lawrence Welk returns. In my video library I have DVDs of 50s TV icons like Ozzie and Harriet and 60s TV like Dragnet.

Now I’m fully aware that some of you have no idea about some of the shows that I’ve referring to. If you’ll go to either Google, YouTube, or Wikipedia you can get the rundown on some of these classics. What is it about these shows some 40-50 years after they originally aired that entice me to devout valuable time to watch. The only conclusion that I can draw is that they bridge me back to a time during the innocence of childhood. These shows imprinted me at a time when life was easy. For me it’s an escape of sorts, a time when now in the middle of a complex time starved life I can retreat almost instantly into an idyllic state of mind; an oasis in time.

It’s not the escapism that I wish to emphasize but the power of imprinting. I’ve read stories and have seen documentaries on television where newborn animals are fooled into thinking that a female of another species is their mother when the other species is the first thing that they see. This phenomenon is so powerful that it can alter the laws of nature. What’s the point? As Christians we have an amazing opportunity to imprint our world. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls it being “salt and light.” We literally can be a conduit between people and God. We can be the bridge that people cross for the first time to reach an idyllic life; the Christian life. Idyllic is not defined as the world defines it; but when viewed from the perspective of eternity there is nothing like it. This bridge is not an escape backward like my TV watching, but a leap forward to a time in the future when we will literally reign like Kings. There have been countless saints who have profoundly influenced my life; some aware of their effect and some not; school teachers, pastors, Sunday School teachers, friends, family, work mates, and fellow parishioners.

I saw one of the most influential pastors of our time being interviewed on television during the holidays. He told the interviewer that at one time He considered becoming a politician. After careful examination he determined that politicians were not influential enough in our society; hence not worthy of the life commitment. He deduced that the most influential positions in the society were those that were changing the culture; at the time he observed that to be movie starts and musicians. At some point God impressed him that pastoring a church presented an opportunity to radically alter the culture. He committed his life’s journey toward that end. Now I’m not saying each of us should aspire to be a pastor; that’s for you and God to determine. But I am saying that each of us have a tremendous opportunity to influence people right where we live, work and play. The truth is you’re imprinting someone whether you know it or know; either positively or negatively.

Our challenge is simple. Go forth and make a positive imprint. It’s a bridge to eternity.