The following entries are from the book I co-wrote with Mark Sutton, "Still God's Man," published by Kregel Publishing in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Trouble In The Family
1 Samuel 2:12-25
When our family is in trouble nothing else seems to matter. Some of you reading these words will wince at the remembrance of your situation. You may feel that a wedge had been driven between you and your wife. You may realize that a child has rejected you and your values. Nothing hurts like pain of family discord.
Hannah had dedicated young Samuel to the service of God under Eli’s leadership. That sounds fine until we realize that Eli did not do such a wonderful job of rearing his own children. Today’s text shows that the boys were arrogant and disrespectful of both Eli and God. “The sins of the young men was very great in the LORD’s sight, for they were treating the LORD’s offering with contempt” (v. 17). Their father tried to intervene and straighten the boys out. You can already guess the outcome. What happens when we speak to our children? Often they do the exact opposite of what we want them to do. “His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke….” (v. 25).
What are we to do when our family gets into trouble? First, don’t panic. Remember that no family is perfect. Ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance. Deal with love and patience no matter what. If necessary, get outside help. Family counselors are helpful in sorting out difficulties. Do not hesitate to get help if you need it. When one of our sons was a high school senior he was always upset and hostile. I finally took him to a counselor who worked with him for several months to help him settle down and get over his attitude. I do not consider my taking him there a failure. I consider it a success.
Whatever it takes, do what you can for your family. All sacrifices are worth the effort.
Help us, Lord, with our families. They mean everything to us but You know how difficult things can be. Give us wisdom and patience. Whatever it takes to have a stable family we will do. Through Christ, Amen.
Symbolizing God’s Presence
1 Samuel 4:1-11
How do you symbolize God’s presence? What object or relationship or feeling could make you believe that God is here, right now? These are not idle questions. From biblical days people have wanted something to let them know that God was with them. Devotion to Him, while necessary, sometimes seems insufficient by itself. That is where religious symbols come in. These symbols are like sign posts pointing beyond themselves to a greater reality.
Moses brought the tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai. Those tablets were placed in a special box called the Ark of the Covenant. If you have ever seen the movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” you will at least know a Hollywood version of what it looked like. That ark was the symbol to the Hebrews of God’s very presence with them. When the ark was present, God was present. That is why the capture of the ark by the Philistine army seemed such a disaster. It was as if the reality of God was being taken away.
The greatest symbol Christians have today is the cross. It exists in many forms, shapes, textures, and materials. Some of them are mere jewelry, but I have always been surprised that people would wear a hangman’s noose or an electric chair around their necks. That is what the cross is—a symbol of death. But of course it is more than death. The Christian cross is the symbol of hope, life, courage, and God’s great “Yes” to us.
The next time you see a cross think of it as a sign pointing to something beyond itself. Death is not the last word because the cross in empty. The Savior who hung there is alive and will someday return. Let the symbol of God’s power inspire and encourage you.
Speak to me in the powerful symbol of faith, Lord. Let Your presence in my life be a constant that keeps me going and gives me strength. Through Christ, Amen.
Chance Or Choice?
1 Samuel 6:1-9
On July 29, 2000, I came to and realized I was being lifted onto a stretcher. At first I could not understand what was happening. A few minutes before a friend and I had been cutting a broken limb from an oak tree in my back yard. Part of it was on the ground and part was still attached to the tree. We each had a chain saw and worked our way from the end on the ground closer and closer to the tree. That’s when it happened. The part attached to the tree broke off and fell. The smaller part reared up and hit my legs knocking me to the ground. Then the larger part hit the ground, bounced up over my friend, and came down on the left half of my head. Just that quickly I had a fractured skull and a blood clot on my brain.
What followed was three weeks of hospitalization, two surgeries on my head, pain like I have never known before, and physical and speech therapy. I was out of my pulpit for months and when I went back my schedule was severely limited for several months.
Why did all that happen? That is a natural question that many people ask when unusual things happen. But the short answer is, “I don’t know.” Actually, I never asked that question. I never once felt singled out, punished, attacked, or anything else. It was just an accident. Things happen. I don’t leap to any premature conclusions.
In today’s passage the Philistines returned the Ark of the Covenant to the Israelites. They had experienced turmoil in their land while they had the ark. They placed it on a cart, hitched it to a pair of oxen, and let it go wherever the animals took it. They said that if it went one direction then God was responsible for their trouble. If it went the other way then everything had happened by “chance.”
God or chance. That is often the choice in life. I believe that God is present in all circumstances, not directly as the cause of everything, but there as Lord of all circumstances. Would you trust Him with your circumstances?
Lord, I do trust You. Whatever happens to me, I will believe that You are here with me. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen. But You are redeeming us out of this world. Thank You for the Grace. In Christ, Amen.
Blessed
1 Samuel 10:1-8
Have you ever been blessed? I don’t mean in some fuzzy nonspecific way. I mean in a personal, specific, and emotional way. If you have ever been chosen quarterback on your recess team, you have been blessed. If the girl you proposed to said “yes,” you were blessed. If you received a promotion or a raise, you were blessed.
I have had this on several occasions and can tell you that each time is touching. In one of my pastorates we went through a rough time regarding personnel issues. In one meeting the leader of that meeting had me and my wife sit in the middle of a circle and people joined hands. One man placed his hands on my shoulders and prayed for us. That was the last thing I expected in that meeting but believe me, I was blessed! I drew strength, comfort, and resolve from that experience.
The prophet Samuel anointed Saul as king. The process of anointing was a ceremony of blessing. Saul drew from it what I had from my experience. Not everyone will have an experience like Saul’s of course, but everyone can receive the hand of God upon him. Our salvation through faith in Christ is a time where God puts His blessing upon us. We are chosen. We are touched. We are wanted. No matter what anyone else might think, we are God’s men.
Saul had a tough time with his blessing. When the time came for his public anointing as king he was hiding among the baggage. The people had to find him. That’s the way life is sometimes. We are almost embarrassed to receive God’s blessing. But who are we to turn down what God has offered?
Lord, You have blessed me. You chose me to be part of Your kingdom. Iam both thrilled and embarrassed. How could You choose the likes of me? But You did and I will make the most of Your choice. Thank You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Standing The Test of Time
1 Samuel 12:1-3
Have you ever thought about your last words? When you wrap up your life what do you want to say? Will you think about the work you didn’t do? The meeting you did not attend. The customers you did not win over?
Samuel, the old prophet of Israel, looked back over his life and thought about what to say to his people He asked the people to remember his life and how he treated people. He testified that he had not cheated anyone or oppressed them or took bribes. In other words, he lived with integrity. He was good as his word.
I love that idea. The grit in Samuel’s life was enough to say, “Look at my life and see if it adds up.” I have known many people who have lived that way. My father was one of them. When he said “yes” he meant yes. When he said “no” nothing on earth could move him. As a child I thought that way of life was too rigid and harsh. I know better now.
The world needs more people who can reach the end and say, “I’ve done it right.” I do not mean that they are perfect. No one is. But they live consistently. Nothing is more damaging to a man’s reputation than the charge that he is a hypocrite. To claim to be one thing while actually being another is absurd. Faith gives us the courage to live what we say and say what we live. That is what Samuel had done. That is what I want to do. What about you?
Lord, give me the strength to live right all the days of my life. Through Christ, Amen.
Don’t Get The Big Head
1 Samuel 13:1-14
An older relative used to have an expression for people she thought were acting arrogant. She would say, “Don’t get the big head.” I have always laughed about that expression but I understand it. Our heads swell with pride and arrogance when we see ourselves as better than others.
King Saul found his army in an important battle. He wanted the aid of God but did not know how to ask for it. Because the prophet Samuel was absent from the battlefield, Saul offered burnt offerings himself. The problem was that only an authorized person could do so. In this case, that person was Samuel, not Saul. The prophet’s rebuke to Saul is stark: “Your kingdom will not endure.”
This may seem like an incredibly harsh judgment but remember the context. God was establishing His nation out of a rather motley group. The people needed to stick together if they were going to get anything done. When King Saul took it upon himself to perform the priestly function of the offering, he was intruding upon the province of God’s man. It is not that Samuel was better than Saul. He we simply called by God to a different function.
The Christian gospel tells us we are alike in God’s sight. But that does not mean that each person can do anything he pleases. God calls us to Himself and gives us work to do and gifts to use. I cannot do everything you can nor can you do everything I can. This is not an excuse for trying our best, but it is a recognition that God’s still appoints people to His work.
Are you serving God to the best of your understanding and ability? If so, great! But remember—“Don’t get the big head.”
Help me, Lord, to stay humble and remember who I am. You have called me and I will rememberI work for You. In Christ’s, Amen.
Reject
1 Samuel 15:17-34
There is a word that is hard to say or hear—reject. We do not like to think of anything as not being good enough but we realize that some things must be perfect in order to be useful. When I take my car to the shop to be repaired, I do not want the mechanic to use parts that have the word reject stamped on them. What good what that do me?
Even harder to think about is a person who is a reject. I do not mean to be harsh or judgmental here. The fact is simply that some people have chosen a path in life that leads to disaster. King Saul in today’s Bible reading is such a person. He was chosen by God to be the king of Israel but Saul did not succeed. He took upon himself some duties meant only for God’s prophets. Because of his arrogance, Saul ended up being a reject. The last sentence in chapter 15 of 1 Samuel sums up his tragic life: “And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.” Even God was sorry that Saul had failed so completely.
We could get depressed if we take that too personally. Who among us does not feel like a failure in some aspects of life? I know some business men who are successful in their work but their home life is a wreck. I know some guys who are okay at home but their careers are in shambles. Life does not have to be either/or, of course. I am merely pointing out that most of us feel not quite up to par in some area of life.
Here is the good news. In Jesus Christ no one needs to be a reject. We can all accept Him as our savior and live as His servants. To be included is the greatest blessing in life. Don’t be a reject.
Lord, thank You for accepting me. I am not all I should be but I am better than I once was. Keep me moving, Lord, and growing for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Chosen
1 Samuel 16:1-13
What a great joy to be chosen! In school we would play ball. The captains of our teams would choose players. Do you remember how it felt as they looked around at the potential team? My heart used to race and my palms would get sweaty. Then I’d hear those wonderful words: “I choose Don.”
As tough as it is to be rejected, so it is as sweet to be chosen. We go through life being chosen. We go to school and get chosen to receive a degree. We find a mate who chooses us back. We enter the job market and hear those wonderful words of choice, “You’re hired.” Children come along and we feel chosen by God to be the father of these precious bundles of possibility.
King Saul was rejected by God because of his arrogance. Young David was chosen to be his successor. How do you step into a king’s sandals? The task would be overwhelming, but David grew into the responsibility. Therein lies the key to life. We grow into the positions we take on. I remember bringing our twin sons home from the hospital eight days after they were born. We placed them in their bassinets on the living room floor and I looked at Carla and asked, “Well, now what?” I did not know how to be a father but I learned.
What do you feel “chosen” to do? Be a success at work? Have a great family life? Serve God in special ways? Write a book? Build a house? When we do what we feel we should be doing we often feel chosen by something greater than ourselves to do that task. That is the way God deals with us. The Lord has chosen you. Enjoy the privilege.
You have chosen us for salvation, Father, and we are so grateful. You have blessed us with so much in life and we feel privileged. Help us keep our eyes on You all of our journey. In Christ, Amen.
How To Fight A Giant
1 Samuel 17:1-50
You have been up against them. So have I. Giants—people or forces that loom large on the horizon and make us want to shrink back. A friend wanted to start his own business. His enthusiasm was matched by the number of frustrations with regulations, cash flow, and personnel. He finally got it up and running but was amazed how difficult it was. I know another man who had a construction business. One of his subcontractors on a major job skipped town without paying his bills. The IRS got involved and the man ended up going bankrupt.
How do you fight a giant? Look at what young David did when he faced Goliath. First he volunteered for the job. He did not let his fears stop him. Next he refused to go out in another man’s armor. Saul meant well when he offered his armor to David but it just did not fit. No one has the exact formula for success for us.
Next, David prayed for God’s strength and wisdom. The fact that he prayed did not mean that David could sit back then and do nothing. He still had to go out and face Goliath. Also, David chose his weapons carefully. He picked up five smooth stones for his sling. One of them proved to be lethal.
If you are like most men you are facing some giants of your own. Yours may be the bank that seems to be a black hole, the job that is unfulfilling, a wife who is distant, or a child who is rebellious. Maybe it is all of the above! But do not give up. Life’s greatest prizes go to the marathon runner, not the sprinter. Face your giants. You will take great pleasure in seeing them fall.
Lord, as with David of old, give me courage and wisdom as I face my giants. You know what they are. Help me with each one. I will do my part in this battle as You do Your part. Thanks for the victory, no matter what. In Christ, Amen.
Gray Dog Versus New Puppy
1 Samuel 18:1-16
The green-eyed monster of jealousy has crept up on many a man. You work yourself silly to master a skill and build a career. You become one of the old “gray dogs” in your field. You do everything the right way but you may not go as far as you had dreamed. Then along comes a new guy who does not know half what you know. He is a “new puppy.” But he gets the promotion and the raise. You feel like you get the shaft.
Is this a new situation of the 21st century? Hardly. Look at what happened after David killed Goliath. He got all the glory. That is fine except that people began taunting King Saul with David’s victory. They sang, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” The Scripture says, “Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him.” No kidding! It would gall anyone.
I have been there. Have you? This should make us very aware how we talk to people and how we treat everyone. Sure, success needs to be rewarded, even if it is just with a card or a pat on the back. But does someone’s success mean that others need to feel like a failure? In a car race only one driver will cross the finish line first but are the other drivers failures? Of course not! They were at least in the race.
Even churches can be bad about creating an environment where some people are elevated while others can be made to feel irrelevant. Let’s get this clear right now—no one is irrelevant or unwanted in the Kingdom of God. The Lord will raise up a David now and then and people will flock to him. But we need Sauls to keep things moving.
Are you a “gray dog” or a “new puppy”? Either way, you need the other.
Keep me from jealousy, envy, or feelings of superiority Lord. Whatever I am, I am Yours. That’s good enough for me. In Christ, Amen.
Friends (Part 1)
1 Samuel 20:16-17
When Stuart Miller began research for his book, Men and Friendship, most people thought he was working on a book about homosexuality. But Miller was asking the question many men raise, “Why don’t I have many close friends?” After spending years searching for answers, he concluded that genuine friendship is hard to find. “True friendship must also be true engagement with the friend—a very frequent mutual holding in the mind and heart. Though the centrifugal pressures of modern life limit the frequency of the physical presence of friends, engagement makes physical proximity less of a problem. Male friendship can thus be thought of as a place in a man’s inner being, a space in his life, that is daily occupied by another man, a place that is regularly charged with love, concern, hurt. Engagement means emotional involvement.”
The rise of groups such as Promise Keepers is, in part, the result of men wanting more out of life and relationships than just golfing buddies. They want close relationships with other men. They want love and friendship. St. Augustine in his book, Confessions, wrote, “Men go forth to wonder at the heights of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad flow of the rivers, the vast compass of the ocean, the courses of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.” To wonder means to accept ourselves and our full capacity to love others and to express that love. That is often difficult to do. We fear we might appear weak or foolish to others if we open ourselves to love. But what other option is there? To remain suspicious and non-loving?
David and Jonathan were friends. They loved each other. That is a fact that some guys have trouble with, but they should not be troubled. I have friends whom I love. There is nothing perverse about it. It is a gift of God and I appreciate my friends. If you have a friend, treasure that man. Spend some time with him. Let him know you care. You will both be better for it.
Thanks for my friends, Lord, and thanks that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. In the Name of that Friend, Amen.
Friends (Part 2)
1 Samuel 20:16-17
When I was growing up I had many friends, but one special one. His name is Milton. He and I were almost inseparable. We lived a half mile apart in a rural area of south Louisiana. There were woods, swamps, a bayou, and pastures for cattle around us, and we knew every square inch of them. Together Milton and I hunted, fished, went to school, played basketball at school and softball at home, and threw cow “muffins” at each other. We once lined up tin cans on the little road in front of our houses so cars would have to slow down when they got there. We waited in the palmetto bushes and shot out their tail lights with BB guns. [I’ve regretted this many times since!]
We swung from vines out over Bayou Des Canes giving our Tarzan yells as we let go and hit the water. We climbed small pines and would grab the tops of these saplings and jump out so the trees would bend and we would get an “elevator” ride down. Sometimes the tops would snap off and our ride down would be faster than we wanted! Milton and I would pick mayhaws in the swamps and ride around in boats during flood times. He had a huge abandoned sawdust pile behind his house and we spent many hours tunneling through the sawdust with old stockings over our heads to keep the sawdust out of our eyes and noses. We were friends and friends will do anything with, or for, friends.
Milton and I do not see each other very often now. We have gone our separate ways as adults do, although I still hold him in high esteem. There is something about that relationship that taught me some important things about friendship.
Lord, thanks for the good friends I have had along through my life. Thanks for the ones I have now. Bless them in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Spare A Life
1 Samuel 24:1-22
It sounds like something out of Hollywood. A villain is trying to hunt down the hero. The bad guy then lets his guard down for a minute and gives the good guy a chance to kill him. But the hero is a man of conscience. He lets the villain know he could have ended his life but has let him live. The two men finally reconcile.
Hollywood? Hardly. This is right out of the Bible. Saul had been furious with his young protégé David. The young man had captured the hearts of the people and Saul was jealous. He vowed to hunt David down and kill him. David and his men hid in a cave. Saul came in to “relieve himself.” While he was doing his business, David got close enough to cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. David had caught him with his pants down and could have easily overpowered him. Instead, David let him live and leave the cave. What happened next is amazing.
David called out to Saul and asked for a settling of their differences. Saul wept when he heard the request. He agreed to cease the hostilities. What could have ended in bloodshed wound up with a peace between two groups.
Does that sound like a fairy tale? Is this possible today? Too many of us wear our feelings on our sleeve and get bent out of shape for the wrong reasons. Few of us literally have someone out to kill us. What we have is a competitor who may be trying to take our business or win a promotion over us. Yes, you have to protect yourself in many situations, but think of the ways you might be able to call off the war. I would much rather have a colleague than an enemy. How about you?
Give us grace enough to be strong, Lord, strong enough to make the first move of reconciliation toward an enemy. Help us make peace and not war. Through Jesus’ name, Amen.
Taking Our Own Life
1 Samuel 31:1-13
A friend of mine is killing himself—slowly. He is not taking arsenic or drawing up an elaborate plan to put a .44 to his head. He is killing himself with a knife and fork. Another guy is murdering himself with a small white cylinder he regularly sets on fire and places in his mouth. Still another is committing suicide every time he pours the fluid out of the bottle and shoots it down. Another jabs a needle in his arm and relaxes as the chemical takes effect. Another flops in front of the TV with a can of beer and bag of potato chips and never moves.
Each one is dying slowly. What about you? In today’s Bible reading king Saul was wounded and did not want his enemies to get the pleasure of killing him. Instead, he placed the tip of his sword to his body and fell on it and died. Many a wounded man has felt like dying. One man I know lost his job after pouring his life into that company. But times changed and he was given his walking papers. He is wounded so badly he feels like dying.
May I give you a word of grace today? God knows exactly where you are and what you are up against. Exactly! Others are facing situation like yours, but some are worse. As bad as yours might be, your circumstances are not hopeless. Call on God for strength and guidance. Ask Him for patience and wisdom as you go through this situation.
One thing I ask of you. Do not kill yourself. God needs you. That is why He made you. Others need you. Put away the bottle or the needle. Be careful with the knife and fork. Skip the momentary high of the cigarette. Get moving and motivated. Don’t fall on your own sword.
Lord, You do know what I’m up against. Sometimes I feel like dying. But give me life—give me Life. You are the life-giver and sustainer. I trust You and ask for Your help, guidance, wisdom, and strength. Help me make it one more day. Through Jesus’ name, Amen.
Gone But Not Forgotten
2 Samuel 1:17-27
I conducted a funeral service a while back for a fellow I did not know well. I asked his family about him and got some amazing stories about his life. His family and friends loved him and missed him. As they told stories about Jim they got animated and laughed and cried. They missed their companion and openly wept over his departure.
We guys sometimes have trouble with our grief. We lose friends and family and do not know what to do. But any loss brings the same grief—loss of a job, of our health, of our status. Never underestimate the power of loss.
When you read today’s selection from the Bible you might wonder what is going on. Saul had hunted David like an animal and tried to kill him. Yet when David heard of the death of Saul he mourned his loss. After all, Saul had been the king and now was dead. David refused to simply “forget” Saul. He wrote a lament song and taught it to his people. They sang it in honor of their fallen king.
Have you ever wondered what people will sing in your honor? Let us hope it not be like the old country song, “Thank God and Greyhound She’s Gone.” We are writing our mourning song right now. Our relationships with our friends, the way we treat our family, our attitude toward God and His work—all of those variables will go into the song people sing about us.
David sang, “How the mighty have fallen!” While we might expect him to say, “good riddance,” he mourned. Life is precious. Value it and live it to your full potential. Amaze your friends. Make them sing a great song over you when you are gone.
Thank You, Lord, for giving me the opportunities I have. My family is precious to me, my friends are a delight, my work is challenging, and future is secure in You. Accept my gratitude in Christ, Amen.
Come To The Dance
2 Samuel 6:12-22
When I was a teenager the little church I attended had a debate. Could a Christian dance or not? You may laugh when you think about that weighty discussion but at the time it was important. Some thought it was a sin, no matter what, and others thought as long as it was supervised, dancing was fine.
You can imagine my surprise when I read about David dancing in the Bible! The story is told in today’s Scripture reading. The Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets that Moses brought down from the mountain, was returned to the people of God. When it arrived in Jerusalem David was ecstatic. That word “ecstatic” literally means “to stand outside of oneself.” We have all had occasions where we got so caught up in the excitement of an event that we got carried away. I have seen this at ball games many times.
David got caught up in the thrill of the event of the ark’s arrival. He danced with joy and abandon. His wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul, saw his display and thought it was vulgar. She and David had a sharp argument about it. David’s defense was simple—“I will celebrate before the LORD.”
Have you noticed that someone always wants to dump cold water on people who are energetic and enthusiastic? “Don’t get too excited,” they say. “Be just like everyone else. Don’t call attention to yourself.” But David was right. Sometimes we express ourselves before God in ways that may not be very “dignified” to some people, but that expression is heartfelt and meant as an offering.
Love God with all your heart. Give yourself as an offering to Him. Enjoy the pleasure of His presence. Come to the dance.
Lord, You know how much I love You. Everything about me, including my emotions, belong to You. Accept even my dance as an acceptable gift. Through Christ, Amen.
The Promise
2 Samuel 7:1-17
“Cross my heart and hope to die.” That was the phrase boys used when I was a child to seal a promise. That meant we were really serious about the truth we were telling. If you crossed your heart you simply had to tell the truth! The consequences would be unbearably awful if you broke your word.
What if God Himself made a promise to you? Do you think you could trust that promise? Nathan, the prophet, went to King David with a word from God. In essence the Lord said to David that his kingdom would forever stand and that God would never take His love away from David. What must it have been like to hear that word from Nathan?
Neither you nor I have heard anything quite like that but we certainly do have some promises from the Lord. He promises to save us when we call out to Him. He promises to give His Spirit to be with us in all our trials and joys. And God promises to take us to be with Him for all of eternity when our time in this life is over.
I can well imagine that some guys reading these words question these promises. Some of you are going through the most incredible trials. Possible financial ruin, eminent death in the family, crisis after crisis—all this comes crashing down over you as if you were caught in a landslide. Has God abandoned you? No, I do not think so. We are never promised that we will not face trouble. What we are promised is that God will be with us in our trouble. That makes all the difference in the world.
No matter what you might be facing, hold on to God’s presence with you. Draw from His strength. He has given you a promise and He keeps His word.
You do keep Your promises, Lord, and I thank You that I can trust in them. Help me to draw strength from You. You know exactly what I am facing. Give me grace and resolve to get through this time with Your peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Reflections from my book, "God's Man"
Where’s The Safety Valve?
Exodus 20:8-11
With
oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico right now, I realized I may be one of the
few people with first-hand experience with an oil well blowout. When I was a
young man I worked as a roughneck on an oil drilling rig in Louisiana. The work
was brutal and dangerous. One day we hit a pocket of high pressure gas and had
a blowout. Crude oil blew up through the drill pipe and sprayed all over the
rig and us workers. A blowout is very dangerous because a spark can set the oil
and gas on fire.
We
kept a safety valve handy for just such emergencies. The valve is about two
feet long and can withstand 25,000 pounds of pressure. The trick was to
position it over the open drill pipe about waist high, screw it into the pipe
while oil is spewing out, and then close it off. When the blowout happened we
all began asking, “Where’s the safety valve?” We couldn’t find it! Everyone ran
around on the raised floor of the rig looking for it. Finally someone located
it and we got it on and closed. The blowout was over.
Today’s
biblical passage tells us about another kind of “safety valve.” It is rest.
Mankind is to work six days and then take a day off from labor. A day off is
leisure time, a time of relaxation and recreation. We can think of it as
“re-creation.”
I
call leisure time a “safety valve” because it keeps us from blowing our tops!
Everyone needs to be able to slow down, shift gears, and recharge mentally and
physically. The fourth commandment is not just good theology. It is good
psychology and physiology. We are tempted to brag about how hard we work, but
as an old proverb says, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Where’s
your safety valve? Don’t have a blowout.
Lord,
help me to slow down sometimes. Let me be like you, ceasing work on the seventh
day of creation so you could rest and charge back in on the eighth day.
The Habit of Rest
Psalm 55:6
You
can hear the weariness in the psalmist’s soul as he writes, “O that I had wings
like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” You have probably had times like
that, too. You envision yourself on an island surrounded by nothing but sun and
water. Or you see yourself putting on the back nine for weeks at a time. Or you
are hunched over your band saw working on your latest project.
Leisure
is not just a lazy person’s escape. It is a time to recreate the mind and the
body. We need it. The person who brags about putting in 60 and 70 hours is
fooling himself. He isn’t doing himself any good. We all need time to put
ourselves back together after the concerns of our jobs and families seem to
pull us apart.
Maybe
you have never thought of it this way, but the best thing you can do for
yourself and your family is to make a habit of getting proper rest and
nutrition. Make a habit of it. Psychologist Denis Waitley, “Habits start out as
off-hand remarks, magazine advertisements, friendly hints, experiments—like
flimsy cobwebs with little substance. They grow with practice, layer upon
layer—thought upon thought—fused with imagination and emotion until they become
like steel cables—unbreakable. Habits are attitudes which grow from cobwebs
into cables that control your everyday life.”
Day
by day, year by year, learn to use leisure as you spiritual “filling station.”
Then maybe you won’t have such a need to run off to a deserted island.
Lord,
at times I’m so tired. Tired of the demands from work; tired from the needs at
home; tired of being pulled in a hundred directions at the same time. Give me
rest in my leisure time. Through Christ, Amen.
Rest in God
Psalm 116:7
If
you are like most people, you don’t go to church to rest. Far from it. From the
minute you walk through the door until you leave, you may have many
duties—teacher, usher, deacon or elder, door closer and floor sweeper. Even
worship may not be restful because the pastor calls on the congregation to get
involved in this project or serve in that capacity. By the time you leave, you
feel like you have put in a long hard day.
A
friend was a deacon in his church, served on several committees, and directed
major plays. It got to the point that he hated to go to church because so many
people pulled at him for something when he walked in. He had to give up some of
his duties in order simply to be still and learn to worship again.
The
Psalmist is today’s text is praising God for his bounty toward him. Knowing God
personally allowed him to say, “Return to your rest, O my soul.” Genuine rest
and leisure comes to us when we accept our place in God’s family and know we
are loved. We don’t have to prove anything nor do we need to act as if we must
earn God’s approval.
God
has dealt bountifully toward you, hasn’t he? You have more than you need.
According to much of the world’s standards, you are practically rich. Thank God
for your life, even with all of it trials. Learn to rest in him. Accept the
fact that he loves you and is with you. Don’t feel guilty when you engage in
some leisure time activity (or inactivity). The rhythm of life makes it
necessary.
O
Lord, I sometimes feel like I need to prove something to you—that I’m worthy, that
I measure up. But you don’t measure my life by how busy I am. You measure it by
how much I love you. Help me to learn to rest in you and to accept your bounty
toward me. Amen.
Go Fishing
John 21:3
When
he did not know what else to do, Peter went fishing. Maybe that’s why I like
him so much. After the crucifixion of Jesus, Peter was at a loss. What should
he do? He went back to the only thing he knew—fishing. For him and the others
it wasn’t a leisure activity. It was their job. But it gave him time to collect
himself and figure out what to do next.
I
have been an angler since my youth in Louisiana. For me, fishing is more than
hauling in a day’s catch. It is a metaphor for life. It is leisure that helps
me re-create myself and my thoughts. Like Peter, whenever I am at a loss to
know what to do, I go fishing.
I
have enjoyed teaching my sons to fish, too. I admit my impatience with them at
times, but we generally have fun. Once we went 50 miles out into the Gulf of
Mexico from Galveston, Texas, to deep-sea fish. My father-in-law went with us.
My son Ryan got seasick and spent much of the day hanging over the rails. But
he caught his limit of Red Snapper just like the rest of us did. In all we had
a great time of family fun.
I
also enjoy taking my Fender Telecaster guitar, and trying to figure out those
wonderful tunes played by Chet Atkins. That, too, has been a life-long
interest.
You
may not like fishing or guitar playing. Your thing might be fixing up that old
‘57 Chevy in your garage, or bagging your limit of ducks, or sewing a new
outfit, or following a ball around the golf course. Everyone needs a hobby,
something to help him unwind, catch his breath, and remember that life is a rhythm
of work and play. To lose yourself in some leisure activity is to find yourself
for work and other important duties. Learn to play. Go fishing.
Thanks,
Lord, for the activities that help us unwind, and regain our perspective. Thank
you for this wonderful world of yours that is so much fun to explore and live
in. And Lord, thanks for Red Snapper and Chet Atkins.
A Time To Laugh
Ecclesiastes
3:4
Sometimes we simply need to laugh.
Period. No explanations or apologies. A friend recently sent me a list of
bumper stickers. Here are some of my favorites. Read them, laugh at them, and
pass them on.
All generalizations are false.
Cover me. I’m changing lanes.
Forget about World Peace...Visualize
using your turn signal.
We have enough youth, how about a
fountain of Smart?
He who laughs last thinks slowest.
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad
at math.
I love cats...they taste just like
chicken.
Out of my mind. Back in five
minutes.
The more people I meet, the more I
like my dog.
Laugh alone and the world thinks
you're an idiot.
Rehab is for quitters.
I get enough exercise just pushing
my luck.
Sometimes I wake up grumpy; Other
times I let him sleep.
I didn’t fight my way to the top of
the food chain to be a vegetarian.
Real women don't have hot flashes,
they have power surges.
I took an IQ test and the results
were negative.
OK, who stopped payment on my
reality check?
Few women admit their age; Fewer men
act it.
IRS: We’ve got what it takes to take
what you’ve got.
Time is the best teacher;
Unfortunately it kills all its students.
Very funny Scotty, now beam down my
clothes.
Consciousness: That annoying time
between naps.
i souport publik edekashun.
Be nice to your kids. They’ll choose
your nursing home.
There are 3 kinds of people: those
who can count & those who can’t.
Thanks, Lord, for the gentle leisure of a
belly laugh. Amen.
God’s Place of Rest
Isaiah 28:12
Ty
Cobb was a legendary baseball player. He had a lifetime batting average of
.335. He stole 892 bases, made 4,191 hits, scored 2,245 runs, and batted .367
from 1905 until 1928. It sounds like Cobb had so much going for him. But a
sports writer recently summed him up this way:
“His
talents for collecting base hits was equaled only be a perverted genius for
alienating people. So to hear Cobb described by his peers as the game’s
greatest player is a most telling tribute, because most of the encomiasts
despised him, usually with evidence in hand, because Ty at one time or another
had spiked them, turned them down, slugged them, bedeviled them, insulted them,
or otherwise unsettled their digestive tracts.”
Two of his sons, Ty, Jr.
and Herschel, died before Cobb. At the age of 71 Cobb tried to move back to his
old home near Cornelia, Georgia. He wanted to settle down, but could not. He
crisscrossed the country several more times searching for peace and happiness,
but he never found it. Cobb apparently could not accept life with its family
tragedies. As age caught up with him, he became a manager instead of a player,
but he never matched the success he had enjoyed before.
Many
people dream of making a living at sports. But we should consider that success
is not in having a dream job. It is in learning to love what we do now. Ty Cobb
seems to have had it made, but he could not seem to adjust to the ups and downs
of life.
Leisure
is a gift of God to help us pull aside from the normal burdens of life. Let’s
not turn our leisure into more work and stress. Relax. Enjoy. Accept from God
what He offers.
Lord,
help us use our leisure time for things that we love doing. But help us not
turn it into more stress. Through Christ, Amen.
Ultimate Retirement
Revelation
14:13
I
read of a lady who began investing in the stock market in 1944 and kept doing
so until her death at age 101 in 1995. She built a portfolio worth $22 million!
But she lived a loveless, shallow life. Someone who knew her said “a big day
for her was walking down to Merrill Lynch to visit her stock certificates.” She
seems to have lived a wasted life because close relationships to others and
love for God were lacking.
I
want to spend my life doing something more than chasing sheets of paper,
whether dollars or stock certificates. I also want to accept God’s promise of
being with him forever through faith. Don’t you? I sometimes tell people, “I am
a pastor. The pay is not so hot but we have a great retirement plan!”
Ultimately
we will all sit down to a large banquet of consequences. The table will be set
with our deeds and garnished with our attitudes. Today’s text from the last
book of the Bible reminds us that those who know Christ need not fear death or
judgment. We have the promise of the ultimate retirement system—we will be with
God for eternity! Those who have trusted Christ will “rest from their labors
for their deeds follow with them.”
Leisure
is not wasting time. It is resting in the present and preparing for eternity.
Someday our life on the earth will end. Faith tells us never to fear death. It
will put us into the presence of God. That is the ultimate retirement plan, a
time when we “rest from our labors.”
Lord,
thank you for such a promise. We get awfully weary here at times. I accept your
promise of being with you forever. In Christ’s name, Amen.
Jesus, the Man
I have been thinking about Jesus, the man. Here is an outline of some of my thinking that I shared with several men's conferences lately.
Phil. 2:5-11—he “emptied himself.” So as a child, he
had to learn.
A.School
would have included:
a.Shema, Deut. 6:4-9
b.Hallel, Ps. 113-118, the “Praise God” section
c.Genesis 1-5
d.Levit. 1-8
e.A “personal text”—one that began with the first letter of his name and
ended with the last and had all the letters between.For DON: Lev. 19:35-36, “Do not use
dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest
scales and honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin.”
B.Family life
II. A Man of Vocational Integrity
Jesus was a carpenter. He worked and supported his
family.
III.A Man of Strong Emotions
A.Compassion
a.On mankind as a whole: Matt. 9:36;Mark 6:34;
b.On individuals:
1.Zacchaeus
2.Bartemaeus
3.Woman at the well
4.Woman taken in adultery
5.Thief on the cross
B.Humor
a.Playfulness, i.e., “camel and the eye of the needle;”“speck vs. the 2x4;nicknames for disciples;
b.Called a glutton and winebibber
c.Jokes?!
C.Anger
a.Stubborn people: Mark 3:1-5, healing
b.Religious fleecers: Jn. 3, cleansing the Temple
c.Cities: Matt. 11:20ff
d.Groups: Matt. 23
D.Frustration
a.Re. John the Baptist, Matt. 11:1-6
b.Re. mercy, Matt. 12:1ff
c.Re. disciples on the way to Emmaus, Luke 24:25
d.Re. disciples sleeping in the garden, Luke 22:45-46
E.Grief
a.John’s death, Matt. 14:11-14
b.Lazarus’ death, Jn. 11
F.Anguish
a.In Gethsemane, Luke 22:39ff
IV.A Man
of Rigorous Standards
Temptations: no “shortcuts to
success”
V.A Man of Keen Intellect
H.G. Wells: “I am not a believer. But I must
confess, as an historian, this penniless creature from Galilee
is irresistibly the center of history.”
John Dominic Crossan: “He comes as yet unknown into
a hamlet of Lower Galilee. He is watched by
the cold, hard eyes of peasants living long enough at subsistence level to know
exactly where the line is drawn between poverty and destitution. He looks like
a beggar, yet his eyes lack the proper cringe, his voice the proper whine, his
walk the proper shuffle. He speaks about the rule of God, and they listen as
much from curiosity as anything else. They know all about rule and power, about
kingdom and empire, they know it in terms of tax and debt, malnutrition and
sickness, agrarian oppression and demonic possession. What, they really want to
know, can this kingdom
of God do for a lame
child, a blind parent, a demented soul screaming its tortured isolation among
the graves that mark the edges of the village?”
As
a boy of 12, he took up the cause of his “father”:Luke 2:46ff.
The way he taught:he told stories:Parables
A.A scolding woman wears down an unjust judge.
B.A king plunges into a war without being able to win
C.A group of children quarrel in the street
D.A farmer goes out to plant a field
E.A man is mugged and left for dead
He “knew” what was in man: John 3:23-25.
VI.A Man of Warm Relationships
A.He praised others
a.Deflected credit: “Your faith has healed you.”
b.Nathaniel, “a true Israelite in whom nothing is false.”
c.John the Baptist, “none greater among men.”
d.Peter, “The Rock.”
B.Friends
a.Mary, Martha, and Lazarus
b.Peter, Andrew, James, and John
c.Zacchaeus
d.Nicodemus
C.Family
a.Mother
b.Brothers
c.Extended family
VII.A Man of Authentic Authority
After Jesus drove the spirit from the
man the people responded, "What is this?A new teaching--and with authority!He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him."(1:27)The term authority
here is exousia. Exmeans
"out" or "out of" as in our word exit.Ousiameans "essence" or "inner reality."Jesus' authority, his exousia, was thus his inner
reality.He spoke "out of" his
"essence."This was integrity
and authenticity which had never been seen before or since.
Other teachers and rabbis had derived
authority.It came from outside
themselves and was based on citing other teachers so they could show it was
always thought of in that way.New interpretations
of their Law was not looked upon kindly.For Jesus, though, the situation was different.His authority never consisted merely of
quoting others and giving the interpretation of an authoritatively given
text.Instead, "The reality of God
and the authority of his will are always directly present, and are fulfilled in
him."
These
are all words similar in meaning and identical in importance. This week
we will be thinking about the meaning of those words as related to a
special day—Memorial Day.
Memorial
Day was just another day on the calendar for me until an incident on a
summer day in 1979. Carla and I had won scholarships to study at Oxford
University in July of that year. That was our first time overseas and
the experience was wonderful. As part of the cultural events of the
summer, our group went by bus to another university city, Cambridge. As
we were going back to Oxford, we stopped at an unusual place—the
American cemetery outside of Cambridge. This was the final resting
place of US soldiers who died in that area or who were recovered
elsewhere and brought back there during the Second World War.
While
looking at the names displayed on the wall inside the visitor’s center,
Carla stopped at a name that was familiar. It was her uncle. No one in
the family had ever known what happened to him, and they did not know
that his name was inscribed in such a place. We took pictures and sent
them back to family. It was a very emotional experience.
On that day, Memorial Day “happened” to me. I finally got it and I’ve never forgotten the lesson.
To those who have served or are still serving, the United States of America thanks you. The world owes you a great debt.
The
thought of approaching holidays does not always bring delight. Sometimes it
brings a lump in the throat and tear to the eye. Other people may be buying
gifts and planning trips. But you may be planning how to avoid parties and stay
away from people.
Holidays
do not necessarily create feelings of grief in us. Instead, they intensify the
feelings that are already present. How can we deal with the sense of loss and
grief we might feel during holidays?
Think
of the word future. It will help us
get a handle on how we feel and what we can do about it.
Focus on the Here and Now.
We don’t just have
memories—we are our memories. They
help define us and know who we are. A person without memories is to be pitied.
Have you ever known someone with Alzheimer’s disease? If so, then you
understand.
But
we cannot live only in the past. We can become an emotional Lot’s
wife, always looking behind us to see what lay back there. Maybe it was helpful
and good. Maybe it was painful. But at least the past was known. The future can
be scary and uncertain.
A
helpful strategy for dealing with holiday grief is to look at today and plan
for now. This does not mean that you have to forget the past. It simply means
that you determine not to be stuck there. If your situation is different from
what it used to be, ask yourself how you might still have a meaningful holiday.
What can you do differently? Are there other people in your similar situation
you could be with?
Don’t
just drift. Plan. Think about today. Do something for yourself. Focus on the
here and now.
Understand Your Changing
Situation.
People
in a crisis often feel they are walking an uncharted road. For them it may be,
but many others have walked that road before. Those who have gone before have
blazed a trail and left behind maps that will help you navigate the rugged
terrain.
Investigate
what you are going through. Read books and other material about grief. They
will help you understand how you feel. Go to the library or bookstore and get
some books on grief. Read and absorb them. One person who did this was amazed
that some of the writers were able to articulate exactly what she was feeling.
She said, “I had never really thought that anyone had felt this way, but now I
see they have.” Granger Westberg’s little book, Good Grief, has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and has helped
many people deal with loss.[1]
Many others like it are in print.Understanding
what a grieving person is going through is itself part of the healing process.
Your
religious faith comes into play here, too. Ask God for help in understanding
this time and in getting through it. If you are familiar with the Psalms then
you know that many of them are very open about the terrible situation the
author was in. Some express anger and frustration, but they always look beyond
the pain of the moment to divine help. Consider Psalm 34:18-19 for example:
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in
spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from
them all.” (NIV)
Touch As Often As
Appropriate.
We
never lose our need to touch. Age or grief does not necessarily blunt our need
to touch other people and be touched. In fact, it may increase it. I learned
this fact many years ago when I was a young pastor. One day I went to visit an
older friend of mine in a nursing home. As I walked through the lobby I heard
someone laughing. I turned to see an older woman standing there. She was
laughing at me. Although I did not know her I stopped. She looked at me
intently and said, “You know, you look just like my old man!” Then it was my
turn to laugh. She said, “I sure wish I could hug you.” I stepped up to her and
said, “Be my guest.” That lady latched on to me with surprising strength. When
we had hugged each other for a moment, she laughed some more and then shuffled
off down the hall. I never saw her again.
That
experience convinced me that everyone needs to touch and be touched in
appropriate ways, even in times of grief. Television personality Joan Rivers’
husband committed suicide. Their daughter was a student at the University of
Pennsylvania at the time. She said, “A lot of people, ones I expected nothing
from, would just randomly come up and hug me and then walk away. It was very
moving.”[2]
Some
people do not like to be touched, so be careful about this. Others who are
still grieving recoil from touch. Be sensitive to the needs of those around
you. If you need a hug or someone to hold your hand for a while, tell people.
Most will gladly oblige.
Unite With Other People in
Your Same Situation.
Being
together with others who have experienced the same losses as you have can be a
great comfort. But heed this caution. Don’t let your time together become a
protracted “pity party.” Most communities have various support groups for
survivors of losses. There are support groups for divorce, survivors of
suicides, losses of a child, and others. These groups can help a grieving
person walk through the known issues that will crop up from time to time during
the grieving process.
The
Bible has an example of a group of people going through grief together and
helping each other. Psalm 137 gives this picture. The Jews had been deported to
Babylon. Thinking of their former homeland was bitter to them. Listen to their
cry: “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There
on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our
tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of
Zion!’ How can we sing the songs of the LORD in a foreign land?” You can feel
the collective grief expressed in this Psalm. The people went through it together
and helped each other.
Alfred,
Lord Tennyson, wrote in his In Memoriam:“That loss is common would not make my own
less bitter, rather more. Too common! Never morning wore to evening, but some
heart did not break.”[3]The commonness of loss and grief caught
Tennyson’s attention. It catches ours, too. Others have experienced what you
have. Let them help you.
Reach Out To Others In Need.
You
are not the only person who has experienced grief. Many others have, too. One
thing many people find helpful during grief is reaching out to others and doing
something for them. One man whose wife died said, “I have discovered that the
routine tasks of maintaining my job and family have helped restore in my life
that familiar structure which the chaos of grief threatened to destroy.” The
very act of helping his children and going to work to do his part helped him
during his time of grief.
Doing
something for others helps to relieve your sense of loss and helps you to heal.
Can you think of people who need you now? Even if you do not have children
living at home now, you probably have neighbors, friends at church, and
acquaintances at civic clubs who could genuinely use your help. Giving yourself
away in service is one helpful way to heal from your own wound of grief.
Evolve With the Times.
You
have experienced a great loss. There is no one way to deal with it. There are,
instead, many ways. But whatever you do, you need to know that things will
never be exactly as they were before. Situations change. The key word here is adapt. Be willing to change and be
flexible.
One
family was willing to change like this. The wife and mother of this family died
during surgery. The husband and grown children were devastated. They had not
expected the death. The first Christmas after her death was a time of high
anxiety for them. How would they get through the holidays without her?
She
had collected small bells for years. The family decided to get together for
Christmas as usual, but this time everyone would bring a bell in honor of their
loved one. It was a new ritual they started that will help them heal and still
honor the memory of their loved one.
Maybe
you need to begin new traditions and rituals. We are not stuck doing the same
things over and over again. Change with your circumstances when appropriate.
Evolve with the times.
This
will give you a future— something to
look forward to and to live for. May God bless you during this special time of
the year.
[1] Granger Westberg, Good Grief: A Constructive Approach to the
Problems of Loss (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971).
[2] Joan Rivers, Bouncing Back(New York: HarperCollins, 1997), p. 86.
3Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “In
Memoriam,” canto vi., lines 5-8.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
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.
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