Australia is known for a lot of things: the iconic structure of the Sydney Opera House on that city’s skyline; koalas and kangaroos, the Outback, Aborigines, and Crocodile Dundee. Australia is incorrectly identified as the “birthplace” of the boomerang. It is true that Australia is credited with being where the first “throwing stick” returned to the thrower. Boomerang comes from one of the indigenous tribal languages. Boomerangs have entered the arena of competitive sports, and every two years there is a Boomerang World Cup. The traditional warning to new enthusiasts: “Remember – you are the target.”

One of my favorite contemporary Christian music groups is For Him. They wrote a song titled “Love Boomerang”. The chorus goes, “Love Boomerang, throw it out and it will come right back.” We know this to be true. The gift of love does return to us, often when we least expect it. God surprises us, “winks” at us when we show love in our lives. The love of Jesus always comes back to us, and will come back in a visible, powerful way some day. Love expands the circle of humanity. I think that may even be part of the lyrics to “Love Boomerang.” Thankfully, we are the target of God’s incredible, unconditional love. We wish more people would be open to experiencing that love. I am reminded of another song that many of you might know: “Pass It On”. I have a mental picture of sitting cross-legged around a campfire as someone strums out the chords on their acoustic guitar and we sway to the lilting rhythm. Aaaah,…feel good, “warm fuzzy” moments. Imagine the amazing feeling a new believer might feel when they internalize those words and get the close, personal nature of our relationship with Christ.

Pick up that “love boomerang” and share that gift that never returns empty.

Pastor Art