IN PRAISE OF WHAT LASTS

 We replaced our old microwave oven recently. The remarkable thing is that we bought it in 1982! I had just started my doctoral work in New Orleans when I got an advance for a book I had written. That check was for $850, which seemed like all the money in the world at that time. I asked Carla what she wanted. She said, “A color television and a microwave.”

 We went to our local Sears and she picked out the ones she wanted. The television died long ago and I don’t remember anything about it. But she chose a microwave/convection combination that was the most expensive in the store. We lugged it home, set it up, and began modern life.

 That microwave was like a time machine. It was the only microwave my children ever knew while they were growing up. It was in our house in Louisiana when it got flooded; it traveled with us to Tennessee, and then, finally, landed in Florida. It cooked every conceivable meal that we set on our table. It was like that little battery bunny in the commercials—it kept going, and going, and going. Finally, it began acting unpredictably and we got a new one.

 Look around your house. How many items do you have that are still functioning from 1982 or earlier? I’m not talking about that seersucker suit you have in your closet hoping it will come back into style. What can you still use?

I have two turtleneck sweaters that I’ve had since 1976 when I bought them in Louisville, Kentucky. They still fit and I wear them under my shirts when the weather is really cold. Like me, they are showing signs of wear and tear, but they still work.

 The point is that we live so fast and have access to so many items that nothing seems to last very long. We buy something, it breaks, we throw it out and get another one. What is made to last?

 Religious faith puts us in touch with the eternal. As Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Christ is the eternal anchor holding us fast to eternity. In a world of shifting values, changing priorities, and sliding morals, that is genuinely good news. Trust Him and live your life connected to something that won’t break down or wear out.

 Oh, and that seersucker suit in your closet—go ahead and wear it. Maybe you’ll start a new fashion trend.

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A Ready Harvest

“Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest.”

John 4:35b

I keep some special things on my desk. One is a fossilized fish. The label says that it was found in Wyoming and is 50 million years old. All time is God’s time and a thousand years are like a day to Him. Time is God’s gift to us to use wisely. Our time is limited.

Another thing on my desk is a bag of mini balls fired from muskets at Fort Sumter , South Carolina , during the Civil War. They remind me that people can treat other human beings in the most horrible and demeaning ways. Sin is a reality.

A third thing on my desk is a small globe. I slowly spin it and think about people all over the world who, for all their differences, are alike in one respect. They all need a savior.

A fish that represents time, a mini ball that represents our defect, and a globe that represents our mission. These three things speak to me as Jesus spoke to his followers: “Look around you. People are in need. Vast fields are ready and the time is now.”

Open your eyes to what God is doing around you today.

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A Crooked Smile

“Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains.”

Proverbs 14:13

I flew over lower Manhattan one evening about a year after the 9/11 attacks there. I could clearly see where the twin towers of the World Trade Center had been. The city was lit up but the tower site was dark. From 30,000 feet it looked like a smiling face with two front teeth missing—a crooked smile that will never be quite right.

Our lives are filled with grief. The loss of anything significant to us can produce an inner pain that is hard to describe but easy to recognize. We have all had it. A personal tragedy, like a death in the family, or a national disaster, like the terrorists attacks, can send us into a tailspin while we cry out, “Where is God in all of this?”

Whatever the explanation, we live in a world filled with grief. The only genuine relief is from the loving embrace of our Heavenly Father. The writer of the proverb was right—when the laughter ends, the grief remains.

Through the grace of God, grief is never the last word.

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Me and Elvis:

Learning that the First Shall be Last

“Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

Our family lived in Memphis years ago. One day our 16-year old son saw in the local paper that a movie about Elvis Presley was going to be filmed at Graceland . The film company was looking for extras—people who would appear in crowd scenes—so our son wanted to do it.

I took him to the sign-up area on the specified day and he was interviewed and signed up. Since he was a minor, I had to sign up also giving my permission for him to be in the movie. Several weeks later I got a call from the production company saying that they really did not want teenagers, but asking if I and my wife would be extras. The timing was good for our schedule so we agreed. I had never been on a movie set so I thought it might be interesting.

We drove out to the Graceland area at the appointed day and time and found ourselves in the middle of a madhouse. Hundreds of people milled around looking for the right tent. We finally found our way in the extras tent and were briefly interviewed and taken the to wardrobe tent. Carla’s clothes were okay. I was given a baseball cap. All of that took a couple of hours. Afterwards an assistant producer spoke to the group of extras we were in, explaining what we would do and how we would do it.

Our group was to mark Elvis’ birthday with a candlelight march in front of the wall at Graceland . It was supposed to be summer in the movie but we were filming in early spring and the weather was still cold. Every time they were ready to film, we all had to take off our coats and lay them out of view. Then when the director said “Cut,” everyone would run over and get our coats.

As we began, Carla and I found ourselves in the front of this line of people. Along with everyone else, we were to raise candles as we walked along. I thought how strange it would be that I would be in the front of that line in full view of the camera. I wondered what we would look like on film, but my reverie was short lived. Just as we were ready to film the first take, the director told our group to turn around. We turned around so now I was at the back of the line! When I saw the finished movie a couple of years later, I thought I could see my hand as I held up the candle.

We spent 14 hours on that set filming what turned out to be about one minute in the movie. I can’t imagine what it cost the production company to pay all of us and serve a catered dinner.

I think about that experience of being at the front of the line, then turning around and being at the back. It sounds downright biblical. Jesus once said, “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30). I appreciate high achievement but remember that if we spend our lives just trying to push our way to the front of the line, some day someone will say, “Turn around.” Then were will we be? In God’s economy, many surprises will emerge. That is one line I won’t care about my position in as long as I’m in there somewhere. How about you?

If you ever see the movie, “Finding Graceland,” pay attention to the candlelight walk in front of the mansion. Mine is the hand holding the short candle at the back of the line. I think.

Prayer: Lord, remind us that when we are with you, any place in line is okay. Through Christ, Amen.

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An Undeliverable Card

I have a greeting card that can never be delivered—unless the US Postal Service can find a way to get it to eternity.

This came about because I keep a three year calendar. A couple of years ago I somehow ended up buying two Mother’s Day cards. I sent one to my mother and put the other in my May calendar for a year ahead. Mom died shortly after I sent that first card, and I forgot about the second one until recently. I came across it in this year’s calendar. I felt really strange holding a card that can never be sent to its intended recipient.

But that mirrors so much of life. We run into situations where we realize we can never again do what we intended. No matter how much we may want it, we can’t hold on to the past. A loved one dies and we grieve that we will never hear their comforting, loving voice. Disease creeps up on us and robs us of the ability to do what we once enjoyed. An accident drops on us and in the blink of an eye we lose some function that we took for granted.

There is a good word for these situations—finality.

That is a hard word to say. We don’t like it and we spend great energy trying to find ways around it. We play the “if only” game. “If only I try harder it might get better.” “If only I act better maybe there’s still a chance.” And even, “If only I pray harder he might make it.”

But even prayer won’t change some situations. My mother is gone and the most fervent prayer won’t bring her back. What prayer will do, though, is help me to remember that life is short and I need to love while I can. It also reminds me to be grateful for what I enjoy now because it could be gone before I open next year’s calendar.

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples about reaching out to God. “When you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matt. 6:7-8).

God knows. He knows the sorrow you feel over those situations stamped “final” in your life. He knows every loss and grief you have been through, and he knows the struggles you face right now. Of course God knows—He lost a Son once Himself.

So love now. Enjoy today. Be grateful this instant. It is really all you have. Squeeze every drop of joy from each day. Pray hard and love deeply.

And if you can, send you mom a Mother’s Day card.

The Boomerang of Actions

Obadiah 10-15

          Life has a way of giving back to us what we give to others. I think of this as the boomerang of actions. What we throw out into the world has a habit of coming back to us. If we are angry, suspicious, and mistrusting of others, they will treat us the same way. If we are friendly, open, and honest we receive the same. Oh, I know. Sometimes things do not work out that way. That is the exception and not the rule. For the most part we get what we give.

          A story is told of a stranger walking into a village. He was met at the village gate by an old man who seemed to have lots of time on his hands. The stranger asked, “What kinds of people are here? What are they like?” The old man said, “What kinds of people lived in the place you came from?” The traveler said, “The people where I came from were mean and unfriendly.” The old man said, “You’ll find the same kind of people here.” The next day another stranger came to the village. He saw the old man at the gate and asked the same question. The old man replied, “What kinds of people lived in the place you came from.” “Oh,” said the stranger, “they were good people, friendly and kind to each other.” “Well, you’ll find the same kinds of people here,” said the old man.

          Obadiah the prophet took his people to task for turning their backs on each other. Their fellow Jews were plundered by foreigners but Obadiah’s people “stood aloof.” They did not get involved. The boomerang of actions has always been true. What they gave out they later got back. Funny how it always happens like that.

          Do you know someone who needs your help? Don’t “stand aloof.”

Lord, help me sow the seeds of love in order to reap a harvest of peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Build On Your Legacy

Matthew 1:1-17

          On Good Friday the year I turned 40 I saw a picture of my father’s father for the first time. I had never seen my grandfather since he died long before I was born. No one in our family thought a picture of him even existed. Then a distant relative discovered a picture and sent it to my mother. She had a negative made of it and then printed copies for me and my siblings.

          The picture shows four men standing on the platform of an oil drilling rig. From the looks of the equipment and the clothes the men wore, I would guess that the time was the 1930’s. My grandfather worked in the oilfields of Texas and Louisiana. None of the four men was identified in the picture but I could tell immediately which was James Terrell Aycock. He was tall and thin and had the facial features that identified him as one of my forebears. He had the face of my father and the body of my children. I belong to him.

          I do not have any financial wealth in my family. We came from humble beginnings but I still count myself rich in heritage. People on my mother’s side were farmers. Family on my father’s side were oilfield workers and laborers of various sorts. But these people left me with a rich legacy of family, values, morals, and ideals. I have tried to sort through all of that throughout my life and separate the positive from the negative. I want to keep the former and trash the latter.        

          Everybody comes from somewhere—everybody including Jesus. Matthew’s narrative reaches back into the history of Jesus’ family and builds on it. As Jesus’ life unfolds in the gospels we see that he built on the legacy given by both his earthly and his heavenly fathers.

          Build on your legacy and pass on the best your family has to offer. Someday your progeny can look at your picture and say, “I know him. I look a lot like him.”

Lord, help me to look at where I came from and to have the wisdom to separate the helpful from the destructive aspects of my heritage. Let me build a legacy that will bless my family for generations. In Christ, Amen.