real men carry chainsaws...

This is Jeff. Jeff has a handlebar mustache, wears cammo pants, has a sweatshirt that says something about mud bogging, drives a truck, and he carries a chainsaw on his hip. Jeff is my newest hero.

We've had a dead tree in our front yard for about a year now and the other day Jeff came over to take it down. Now, there were lots of people who had stopped by and given us a bid on how much it'd cost to remove the tree. They all talked about bringing in a boom and crew to get it down (the tree was right next to the power lines). But not Jeff. With a Marbrol on his lip he sized up the tree, strapped on some leg spikes, fired up the saw and got to climbing.

This one man wrecking crew climbed 40+ feet up a dead pine tree and brought it to its knees. I must say that it was amazing to watch as Jeff hung from the trunk, sans helmet or goggles, and hacked away.

I sat in my living room for over an hour staring (with my son) at this amazing feat. When it was over Jeff hopped off the tree, takes a few final hacks, threw his gear in his truck, lit another Marbrol, and cracked open a beer. He surveyed his destruction and walked my way, ready to collect his pay. As he handed me the bill I felt that, for Jeff, part of the pay was the satisfaction of being a man... a man with a chainsaw... actually two chainsaws.

I wonder what Jeff would think about most of the churches he'd walk into on any given Sunday. I wonder what he'd think about if he walked into my church on Sunday morning. Would Jeff meet the Jesus of the bible who also had an affinity for wood? The Jesus who put in long hours as a carpenter. The Jesus who never had a chainsaw, but was more of a man than Jeff or myself could ever be. The Jesus who was man enough to climb a tree, not with ropes but with nails... and not for his own ego or to make some money... but to pay for my sin and Jeff's sin. I hope Jeff meets Jesus. I think there is something about the Jeff's of the world that we need in the church.

While I don't know if I'll ever see Jeff again, I can but say a prayer for him and get back to raising my own little man to know Jesus and show His strength and glory to the world, including the Jeff's.