Have You Ever?

 

I think that as one gets older, one’s thinking process begins to change.  Instead of thinking about the next mountain to conquer or the next ocean to cross, one begins to do a little more reminiscing and thinking back on life and living.  A few years ago, I noticed that I was beginning to think about life in that way more so than I had been in times past.

I was approaching 70 years old at the time, and found myself thinking about where I had been in life, what I had done, and how that has affected me now.  During some of these times of thinking, I began to recall things I did in life that although they may not have been unique, they were, at least in my mind, things that not just anyone would have the privilege of doing.  I began to record those things in a document file under a heading of, "Have You Ever?"  Over time, I have added to that list, and now have a list of about 80 things that I have done which I consider to be things that not just anyone and everyone has done in life.

What kinds of things?  Things such as operating a real railroad locomotive.  Driving a Chevrolet Corvette.  Visiting the Yukon Territory in Canada.  Hiking up Pikes Peak.  Dining at an officers’ club on a military base.  Singing “Amazing Grace” with Judy Collins in a live concert.  Standing outside in a snowstorm in July.  Petting a live porcupine.

These and many others are things that in and of themselves aren’t necessarily earth-shattering or life-changing, but each of them has had a part in the formulation of who I am.  As with many other events in life, each of these events has helped shape my thoughts and yes, my actions today, even though many of them happened years ago, and some happened decades ago in my youth…as was hiking up Pikes Peak… 

The writing down of these kinds of things has also brought to mind something else…how incredibly blessed life has been these past 70-some years.  We often think that our lives consist pretty much all about the daily activities of living…eating, sleeping, working, paying bills, doing laundry, wrangling kids.  In other words, the routine and ordinary.  And although those things are indeed part of life and living, often there is so much more that we are participants in and are part of…things that enrich us…make us better people…give us joy…and teach us about life.

One doesn’t have to be wealthy to experience things in life that enrich us and give us joy.  Often, things that are free…that cost nothing…are some of the best life-enrichment events there are.  I realize that enjoying a sunrise, hearing robins singing on a spring morning, getting a thank-you card in the mail, helping a neighbor with something, taking food to someone who can’t get out, and looking after a grand child may seem ordinary and everyday.  And they aren’t of themselves unusual or unique like operating a real railroad locomotive or hiking up Pikes Peak.  But they are things that can give us joy, teach us about life, and make us better people.

I encourage you to start your own “Have You Ever” list of things in your life history that you believe may be a bit unusual or out of the ordinary.  Add to it as you think of things.  Review that list from time to time as you live your daily life.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the variety of experiences, the joy, and the wealth of “life education” you have received as a result of those experiences.  If you’re like most people, your life has been anything but dull and routine.  You just may not have come to that realization yet.  This exercise may help you do that.

 

Blessings,

Gratitude and Grief

 "Gratitude and grief don't have to cancel each other out. Grief for our sorrow and gratitude for God's presence live together in tangled harmony. And when we remember that truth, gratitude becomes a conscious, mindful act of worship that we can wrestle toward even when life hurts."

Good morning, and welcome.  My friend, author, mother and wife Kendra Broekhuis writes a monthly letter she sends out via email called “Present Tense.”  The paragraph I just quoted came from the most recent of those letters.

In this month’s edition, she speaks of the tension between gratitude and grief, and the often misunderstood nature of those two things in life and living.  When we are grieving, we often fail to think of what I will call a corollary to grief…that is, gratitude.  What’s more, we often can’t see how those two things…grief and gratitude…can live together in harmony with each other.  But Kendra says it’s possible, even if that harmony is “tangled”…to use her word to describe that relationship.

Kendra is no stranger to grief.  In perhaps one of her most tragic times in life, she and her family lost a baby to a miscarriage in 2015.  The memory of little Eliza Broekhuis sometimes becomes fresh to them all over again, even after these intervening years.  Although we have never lost a child to a miscarriage, or in any other way for that matter, my guess is that grieving will always be part of their lives, and that some days will be heavier than others.

So, as a Christian she certainly has the qualifications, if you will, to write about both grief and gratitude.  It is telling that she speaks of wrestling “toward” gratitude as a “mindful act of worship.”  Dropping into a mindset of gratitude during a period of grief isn’t a naturally-occurring, automatic thing.  Sometimes one has to wrestle with the idea of gratitude during grief, and sometimes one has to intentionally work to move oneself toward gratitude in that wrestling period

It can sometimes be difficult…incredibly difficult…to worship God in gratitude for His presence in our lives in the midst of unimaginable grief and loss.

The questions always seem to arise.  Why me?  Where were you, God, when this happened?  How do you expect me to go on in life and living?  Why do you allow these kinds of things to happen?  And many more questions…all of which have no pat and sure answers.  Instead, we are left with the questions…unanswered…and the unwavering presence of God Himself telling us that He loves us and He is enough for us.

We dare not allow our questions to overtake us in despair and unbelief.  Yes, as I said, there are no answers for the things that happen which impale us on the javelin of grief.  The platitudes about a fallen world, or about our having to bear a cross just don’t cut it in moments of grief and loss.  The presence of God both within us and beside us, however, can cut through some of the darkest of times and cause us to say, as did Job of old in one of his darkest times, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

And also notice that Kendra calls gratitude a conscious act of worship…something intentional…something specific…something planned and premeditated.  That premeditation…that intention…needs to be something that is inculcated into our beings…our daily lives.  Such that when grief comes, and it assuredly will come to all of us from time to time, we will at the same time be able to worship in gratitude for the presence and comfort of the God of Heaven and Earth, even in the midst of our suffering and grief.

Grief and gratitude…strange bedfellows in the minds of many.  May you learn, along with Kendra, to worship in gratitude for the presence of God even in the face of overwhelming grief and loss. 

 Blessings,

More Money !!

 Good morning.

 If you live in the Wichita area, you’ve probably seen the billboard signs advertising a certain injury lawyer firm.  The sign says, in huge letters, MORE MONEY  MORE MONEY  MORE MONEY.  The attorneys are smiling to the side of the letters, and the message is obvious.  If you are injured and want the most money from a lawsuit, contact this law firm.  I will tell you that if I did need an injury lawyer for some reason, I would not contact this law firm, because they are, whether they know it or not, banking on a person’s greed to get business.

I’m not naïve.  I realize that much of the advertising you see or hear is geared to one or more desires that when seen from a Biblical perspective is not always a positive desire.  Some of those desires might be desire for physical comfort and convenience, looking attractive to others, having a one-up on one’s neighbor by having a nicer car, house, furniture, etc. (that’s called pride, by the way), sexual attractiveness, having the latest and greatest of some item, ability to boast or brag about an experience, a trip, or whatever to others, and I’m sure you can think of other things in this area of life and living in today’s world.

This particular advertisement is, I believe, rather blatant in catering to a desire for more wealth.  Yes, if someone is wronged in a vehicle accident, it needs to be made right as much as possible.  But this ad seems to go beyond that and into the area of greed, in my opinion.

Think also about other advertisements you see and hear.  Sometimes, it is more of a necessity to have, for example, a larger vehicle due to work requirements or some other rational reason.  Sometimes it is more of a necessity to be nicely dressed for some occasion.  I get that.  But there is, I think all too often the outright pandering to our more base desires in a way that is not beneficial…is not loving…is not in the way of right living and doing.

Jesus had something to say about money and greed.  Mark chapter 7 is a classic example.  “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Another example is from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6.  “No one can serve two masters.  Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money.”

I don’t know if the legal firm that pays for these advertisements is letting money take over their lives or not.  Nor do I know with certainty that they are intentionally appealing to the greed of the average individual in their quest for business.  However, I do know that seeing these kinds of things tends to bring out the desire for more…greed, if you will…that is naturally within us all.

Please be careful as you continue to navigate this thing called life and living.  It is so easy to allow something like greed to infiltrate your thoughts…and in ways that you don’t even realize is happening.  Be aware of outside influences on your thoughts and actions.  Remember that the fruit of the Spirit of God is the polar opposite of these kinds of thoughts and actions.  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness.  Those are the things we should be desiring…not those things that the advertisement “more money, more money, more money” tend to bring about.

Thanks for listening, and blessings.

Howard Norton

 Good afternoon.

 The day today started off fairly well, in large part due to the rainfall we’ve had the last day or two as well as generally feeling pretty good after a decent night in bed.  At older age, sometimes the nights can get kind of long, but last night was a good one for me.  The air is cool and the trees are showing off some brilliant colors this year.  All in all, the day promised to be a good one.

And it still is; however, opening my social media this morning at work, I discovered that someone who taught at OCU and who I knew otherwise had passed from this life.  Howard Norton was a lion of the church in the Oklahoma City area, and his influence was felt world-wide.  His missionary work in Brazil in earlier days is still being remembered and appreciated, as well as his passion for missions in all of Central and South America.  His time at the College Church on staff as well as his days teaching at OCU, his serving in various capacities in both academia as well as in the church, have left an indelible imprint on the lives of countless thousands who crossed paths with him.

I don’t know if Howard would have remembered me if we had crossed paths a few years ago, but I counted him as a friend and mentor in my earlier days.  Always the gentleman.  Always pleasant to converse with.  Always willing to help.  Always seasoning his speech with salt, as it were and as the Apostle Paul said (Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:6).

Although I am saddened at his passing, I am content knowing of his eternal destiny and the fact that he and I will cross paths again in the New Heavens and New Earth.  I’m betting (can one place a bet in the afterlife?) that he’ll know me then and we’ll have a good conversation about what happened in life following my time at OCU.  I am using today to think back on various interactions I’ve had with Howard, and how, in all probability unknowingly, he helped shape and mold me into who I am today.

He, along with countless other Godly men and women, many of whom I never knew, have crossed my path and have helped me in some way to be here today, doing what I love to do.  I am incredibly humbled by the twists and turns in my life that have brought me here…any one of which over the last 50 or so years would have derailed me and put me in a different place today.

I don’t know if you’ve taken the time to think back over the years at your life and how you arrived at where you are today.  If you haven’t, I urge you to do so, remembering the twists and turns in your life that eventually brought you to where you are today.  Actions have consequences…some good and some not so good.  Some consequences which appeared to be the latter sometimes end up for the good as one’s life plays out.  It’s interesting to me how that works in life and living, and I am continually amazed.

We all make choices in life.  Those choices, in large part, drive us to where we are today.  But sometimes others help us make those choices, or even make those choices on our behalf.  Those choices that others make or help us make also drive us in a certain way.  To the extent that we control our choices, we need to make good ones…choices that benefit not only ourselves, but others as well.  Choices that are good, noble, and right.  Choices that both serve and praise our Lord God.

Howard Norton was a man who knew about choices.  Although imperfect and fallible as he was (and as we all are), his choices moved the Kingdom into places and into hearts that even today are serving and worshipping the living God.

May his example be for us a call to love and serve as he and his Lord and Savior did.

 Blessings.

Heroes All

 Good morning, all.

 I’m not at all sure today that I even want to write out a Thursday Thought for you.  The events of the past days, both locally as well as internationally, are causes for concern, are troubling, and are disconcerting.  Unless you’ve been on a cruise to Mars, you know of the conflict in the Middle East.  The old “eye for an eye” thing is alive and well there, fueled by the centuries-long animosity between the descendants of Isaac and those of Ishmael, sons of Abraham of the Old Testament.  This kind of hatred and retribution does nothing to promote peace, order, or civility; rather, just the opposite is the norm.  And until “eye for an eye” is replaced by “love your neighbor,” this will continue.

In the more local neighborhood, HumanKind will no longer support their traditional winter overflow shelter for the unhoused in the Wichita area.  The announcement was made just a couple of weeks ago, and people are scrambling to find a solution to the winter shelter situation for men in Wichita.  If the powers that be are to be believed, this has been on the table for some time, but only now has come to the forefront, and no solution has as of yet been announced.

I realize there are other hundreds of other issues that are surrounding us locally, nationally, and internationally.  Ukraine.  Medicaid expansion in Kansas.  China.  The mayor race in Wichita.  The teacher shortage.  Taxes.  Gridlock in Washington D.C.  The environment.  The great partisan divide.  Crudeness and incivility in society.  Cancel culture.  Housing.

If you’re like me, you think about these things.  And, the normal response to all of this is that these problems…these issues…are too big for us to even wrap our brains around, let alone do anything of substance about them.  And so we shrug and go about our lives, doing nothing of substance regarding our concerns and fears.

I too become sort of numb to it all.  I spend many an hour on the back patio of our home listening to the sounds coming from the park behind us and thinking about it all.  I too have no answers, and many times don’t even know what questions to ask.  And so all of these issues…all of these problems…all of these concerns…just become sort of jumbled up into a huge ball in my mind; and I am immobilized by it all, incapable of doing anything about any of it.

Then I come to work and look at the wall across from my desk.  There, I’ve put the photos of people I call my heroes.  People who live ordinary lives, doing the ordinary things of life and living…and who are also making a difference in their corners of the world.  Many of them are women.  These people too are very much aware of the issues and problems of the world today.  But rather than being frozen…immobilized…unable to move…these people have created great change for the better in a segment of the world that few sometimes dare to enter.

There’s Jennifer, who battles human trafficking.  Michele, who provides safety for street women who want to get out of that life.  Jessica, who is paving the way for women in a vocation traditionally left to men.  Rachel, who spoke up and caused a sea change in the way we see sexual assault and abuse.  Julie, who works with birth mothers who wish to give their newborns up to adoption to loving families.  Moses, who daily teaches the ways of God to a lost and dying world.  Mark, who risked his life to provide safety for others.  Collin and Kendra, who moved with their family to a neighborhood that was less than ideal in order to share the love of Jesus Christ.  Victor, who mentors young ministers and provides much-needed stability in the churches he serves.  There’s Sam, who shows the world that a disability need not be a barrier to living a rich and full life.

I could go on naming many others who may or may not be on my wall of heroes, but nevertheless every day are bringing kindness, compassion, civility, and positive change to their sphere of influence.  Many of these people are also bringing the Kingdom of God into the hearts and minds of others, telling and better yet showing a better way of life.  Loving God…the first and greatest commandment; and the one like unto it…to love one’s neighbor as one loves oneself.  Beyond even the Golden Rule, loving one’s neighbor is the pinnacle, I believe, of relationships as they should be.  And these people along with countless others are not only seeing, but doing.

Now I think you see why I have a wall of heroes.  In those times when I get down, paralyzed by all that’s happening around me, I see these people and I remember the words of Jesus and I become refreshed and renewed.  I am able to function again and go about my day, doing what I can to renew the creation as God intended.  I may never create a world-wide earthquake of change.  But I can do what I can do, for as long as God allows me to do it.  And that is all I can ask of myself, because that’s all that God asks of me.

 

Blessings,

Read, Listen, Learn, Grow

 Good morning !!

 Thanks for joining me in today’s thought.

 I don’t know about you, but there are parts of the Bible which for me have over the years continued to be somewhat mysterious and not well-understood.  There are entire books of the Bible that I know very little about, even decades after professing my Christian faith.  If you are a Christian, you also probably have parts of the Bible that you don’t understand and couldn’t discuss with any measure of intelligence.

For me, books like Ezekiel, II Peter, and one or two of the Minor Prophets remain mostly a mystery to me.  I’ve studied Revelation rather thoroughly, and although there are many places in that writing that I still don’t understand, at least I think I get the overall viewpoint of the book.  The same goes for most of the prophetic Old Testament books, with one or two exceptions.

Most of us have avoided the Song of Songs all together and have only snippets of knowledge of the Proverbs and the Psalms.  Job can be on the difficult side of the spectrum, and the book of Hebrews is sometimes an issue for some.

As part of what I do at the church, I plan the adult class curriculum.  I’m working now on 2024, and have penciled in the books of Ezekiel and Daniel along with a couple books out of the New Testament for study during the first six or so months of the year.  I’ve found teachers for the New Testament books, but they are few and far between for the Old Testament books.  It seems that Ezekiel and Daniel aren’t on many people’s favorite reading list.

Nor are they on my list.  I know very little about Ezekiel, with the strange visions that are described in the book along with some of the, well, let’s face it…weird…things Ezekiel says he did to get his message across to the people.  Daniel is fairly straightforward until the latter part of the book, again with visions that seem to be really strange and have been subjects of many and varied forms of interpretation over the centuries.

So, facing a dearth of teachers willing to take on these two books, and not knowing much about them myself…especially Ezekiel, I decided to teach the Ezekiel class myself.  I often will do this as a way to learn a part of the Bible story about which I know little.  I am forced to dig in to the book…its history, the characters in it, how it fits with the rest of the Bible story, and the lessons for us today.  This is going to be something that will consume a lot of my time in the next several weeks, but in the end will be well worth it.  And hopefully, I’ll be able to convey what I’ve learned to those in the class so they too will be better informed about a book in the Bible that many avoid.

I say all of that to ask you some questions.  What do you do when you run up against something you know little about, but really need to know more?  Do you think of all of the work that will be necessary to learn about it and decide to procrastinate…put it off indefinitely?  Or do you decide you’re going to, so to speak, tackle it and learn as much as possible about it?  Does learning new things engage you or inspire you in any way?  Or do you consider the whole thing to be some kind of drudgery that has to be done for one reason or another?

It seems to me that considering learning new things to be drudgery…done only because of necessity…betrays a general attitude of indifference, willing ignorance, and laziness.  Regardless of one’s age, I would think that to continue to learn and grow in thought and knowledge would be a mark of one who values life and the incredible opportunities one has in life.

So, just because you at times are thinking that the world is passing you by, or that you are no longer relevant…and, by the way, all of us who are older think those things from time to time…don’t let those thoughts take hold.  Keep your mind active.  Read.  Listen.  Learn.  Grow.  It’s some of the best medicine we can take.

 

Blessings.

Vocations

 Good morning !!

 As I write this, I hear sort of “chunking” noises coming from across the hall.  Not to worry, though.  The plumber is in the restroom on the other side of the wall doing some of what plumbers do in restrooms.  As our building is fifty or so years old, some of the plumbing is no longer what it once was, and is in need of some upgrading and repairing.  He’s doing some of that for us today.

I’ve kind of saved up for him today.  He has three jobs to do in the building, which will probably take him at least until noon or a little later.  I’m not looking forward to the bill, but am appreciative of people like him who have the knowledge and desire to do these kinds of things.  I’m also thinking of people such as mechanics, electricians, HVAC technicians, carpenters, heavy equipment operators, and others who have chosen professions that provide services, fix things, and make life a little better for us all.

It used to be, it seems, that the trades were once looked down upon by those who believed that a university education following high school was the only way to be successful.  “Trade Schools,” as they were called, were often thought of as second-rate places for those who didn’t have the intelligence to get a real education.  But that thinking has changed considerably over the last few decades.  Vocational education is in demand.  Students are offered scholarships.  Graduates can earn a very decent living after a couple of years or less of study and practice.  Some vocational tracks are as short as eight weeks or so, and guarantee interviews with prospective employers for jobs that pay well over forty thousand dollars a year.

Any more, people like Billy, the plumber who is working across the hall, are respected as true professionals, and are often paid accordingly.  These professions are no longer second-rate vocations, reserved for those who couldn’t handle college or university.

As I think about all of this, I am reminded of several things.  First, things change.  Plumbers and mechanics now are respected and admired.  Archie Bunker of the old TV show “All In The Family,” once said, “I like change better when everything stays the same!”  I think most of us would agree with him, but the fact is that change is endemic in the creation.  Nothing ever, ever, remains the same in our universe.

Second, the Good Book says that the laborer is worthy of his hire.  I don’t know about you, but these people are worth every cent they receive.  Not many of us would want to do the work they do.  They often work in dirty and unpleasant environments.  They could easily be injured if they didn’t practice good safety procedures.  They often work long hours in out-of-the-way places.  Many are on call weekends and holidays.  They deserve their pay.

Third, these people keep everything moving.  They keep the world on track.  They are absolutely essential to the well-being of modern societies the world over.  The man across the hall making chunking noises isn’t just some guy fixing a faucet.  He’s part of a greater network of vocational people who work daily to make the world a better place…at least in their corner of it.  Which brings me to the point of it all.

All of us…each one of us…in some way or another has a job to do…a vocation if you will.  We all live in and are part of the greater world order.  We have a responsibility to do what we can to make our corner of the world a better place for our having been here.  We don’t have to be a carpenter or an HVAC technician.  We can be anything…and still do the job.

All of us can show kindness to others.  We can all respect and treat other people with dignity.  We can be generous toward those who may not have the necessities of life.  We can, in short, treat others as we would like to be treated.

And for those of us who call ourselves Christians, we can emulate…we can mirror…Jesus Christ to the world through our lives…what we do…what we say.  We can tell others who wish to hear the Good News of God at work redeeming the creation, calling us to partner with Him.

So, I ask you.  What is your vocation?  No, I’m not speaking of what you do to earn a living.  I’m now talking about what you do to right the wrongs…care for those in need…generously give…making your corner of the world a better place for your having been here.

Let’s get to work.

 

Blessings.

Deep Questions

 I think I’ve told you before that I like to sit out on our back patio when the weather allows, and just watch nature, along with the people who go by on the walking path in the park behind our house.  I especially like to go out in the evening and watch the twilight come and darkness…well, as much darkness as can be had in a city…fall.  Things gradually become more quiet, more subdued, and one feels more closeness, if you will, as darkness invades the day.

We have a decent amount of traffic on the walking path in the park.  Kids on bicycles, people walking for exercise, a few runners, families out for a stroll, people exercising their dogs, and the occasional rider on a horse go by.  During the quieter moments, deer often will come up close to the fence and wander along it because the grass is shorter there…there are no trees in that narrow strip of land, and it is easier for them to navigate to and from food and water.

Squirrels are nesting in trees close by, and sometimes come into the yard for a drink out of the fish pond.  Once in awhile I see a garter or bull snake sauntering along in our back yard, or that of our neighbor.  And the birds are always, it seems, there in some fashion.

Recently, I’ve begun to wonder about the people I see.  I know many of the children, if they live to a normal old age, will probably see the turn of the 22^nd century.  I wonder what life will be like for them then, and in the intervening years.  I see older kids, and wonder how they’re doing in school…what home life is like for them…and how they see the world and their place in it.  I see adults, young and old, and wonder what they think and believe about an afterlife…about God…about their purpose in life and living.

I wonder if the young woman walking with the two-year old will go home a little later to an abusive partner.  I think about whether the teens may have anything illegal on them…weapons, pills, and so on…and what their home life is like.  I have to also wonder how those teens are getting along socially and how well they are maturing into the kind of adults the world needs right now.

These are admittedly deep questions that I can’t answer, and even if I stopped someone and asked, probably wouldn’t get an honest answer.  But I know things can’t be all roses and rainbows for these folks.  It isn’t for me.  It isn’t that way for you.  And it isn’t that way for them either.

We all have issues…physical, emotional, relational, mental…that keep poking at us, reminding us that we are fallible and frail…not in control of our lives nearly as much as we might like to think.

I was reminded of that just today when I read a Facebook post from one of my friends who lives several states away.  She used to live in Wichita where we got acquainted, and for a time worked together, but she moved a few years ago.  Her post said that tomorrow she was going under the knife to have a new pacemaker implanted, as the old one was eleven years old, and it was time for a new one.

This woman is at least 25 years younger than I am, has a busy, full life, family, and friends.  I had no clue when we knew each other in Wichita that she had a pacemaker or had need of one.  Just looking at her posts, one would think that the rainbows and unicorns were dancing all around her and her life.  And at times, that may be true; but there’s that “thing” always in the background that reminds her, and me, that life isn’t perfect.  That there are always thorny places and uncertain times in everyone’s life.  Her pacemaker is a great example of that, because without it, she may well not be alive today, or if she was living today may well be an invalid, unable to work or be as productive and active as she now is.

If you just look around a bit, you’ll see mothers who have miscarried, people who have lost jobs, families in financial crisis, children who are mentally ill, victims of abuse, generationally dysfunctional families, many who are afraid of death and dying, victims of bullying, racial bias, or poverty, those who are despairing of life and contemplating suicide, people with chronic physiological ailments, those who are addicted to pornography, pills, or gambling, along with a host of other societal, human, and life-and-living ailments and issues.  Undoubtedly, you fit in one or more of these kinds of categories.

But I don’t want to leave you in a funk about life and living.  There is hope.  There is relief.  There is blessing.  Look around you.  There is beauty.  There is good.  There is hope.  And those things point to, for those who will accept it, the promise of God made through Jesus the Christ.  The promise that all will be made right.  Death and decay will be no more.

 

I pray that you know the Everlasting God and that you come to Jesus Christ for healing and peace.

 

Blessings,

"If You're Going to Love Someone..."

 Good morning and welcome.  My older son recently sent me an email asking me what I thought of a certain video he had come across.  The video had to do with the by now old WWJD…What Would Jesus Do…thing that was going around some years ago and is brought back to life from time to time.

The thought of the video was that many answer that question in ways they think would be the way of Jesus, but in reality is nothing more than a kind of a self feel-good activity…giving a homeless man a couple of dollars…putting a dollar or two into the Salvation Army Christmas bucket, or the proverbial helping the old lady across the street.

Yes, those things are good things to do, but hardly answer the question of what would Jesus do in that circumstance.

In seeing the video and responding to my son, I was brought back to a video that I had seen some time ago.  It was about a woman who befriended and eventually took in a homeless man into her home.  I did a Thursday Thought about that woman, and am repeating it here because I believe it’s worth considering again, especially in this age of self feel-good generosity.

 

Good morning, and welcome to another Thursday Thought.

Ginger Sprouse is a typical suburban woman living with her husband in an upscale neighborhood in the Houston area.  Some years ago, Steve Hartman with CBS News interviewed Ginger and her husband for one of his “On The Road” segments that airs each Friday at the end of the evening newscast.  The reason for the interview?

Well, it seems that Ginger had always had thoughts of the homeless that she saw regularly that were not kind at all, but rather were condescending and critical.  In the interview, she told Steve Hartman that she often would say demeaning things to them.

“I would say, ‘Why don’t you get a job?  Or, what’s your problem?’  It made me very uncomfortable.  I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. I’ve been that way my whole life.”

 Ginger had the same attitude toward the homeless as most of us.  We look on the homeless as somehow less than fully human, less than honorable, less than worthy of the dignity and respect every human is due.

How many of us have said the same thing as Ginger, if not directly to a homeless person, at least we thought that line…”Why don’t you get a job?  What’s your problem?”  It’s so easy for those of us who have managed to stay in the middle class to be critical and condescending toward those who are in poverty or are homeless.  We like to think that we’ve made life good for ourselves, and that anyone else could do the same if they’d only put themselves to the task and work their way out of poverty and off of the street.  We believe that their issue is laziness or a lack of desire to succeed.  We point to all of the social services that are available which our tax dollars pay for, and wonder why they don’t take advantage of them.  We notice their missing teeth, their unkempt appearance and musty body odor and move away from them as much as we can.

 So, why did Hartman interview Ginger Sprouse?  Because she had a change of heart.  She repented of her superior attitude and decided she wanted to do better.  Acting on the decision she made, she befriended a man she had regularly seen on a street corner, first stopping just to talk.  She asked him to tell his story.  His mother, he says, abandoned him when he was yet a child, and he had been in and out of homelessness since that time.  Ginger couldn’t get him out of her mind, and began making regular trips to stop and just visit with him.

 One late fall day when she visited him, she said she decided she couldn’t just leave him there on the street in the cold.  She went home, talked with her husband, went back and invited Victor Hubbard into their home.  And that was the beginning of a new life for Victor.  They helped him get the social services he needed, medical appointments, and all the rest.  Victor now is working two jobs and is a lifelong member of the family.

Ginger’s life, her outlook on life and her perception of people in need changed as well.  In the closing segment of the news piece with Hartman, Ginger says this about her experience.  “Life is messy.  But if you’re going to love other people, you have to be willing to step into their mess.  My whole life I’ve wanted to avoid that, and that’s why I rolled the window up and didn’t look.”

 “If you’re going to love other people, you have to be willing to step into their mess.”  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to step into someone’s mess.  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to get out of her comfort zone.  Ginger Sprouse knows what it’s like to love other people.

We have known for centuries that the God who created us expects us to love others.  The Torah is explicit in the book of Leviticus. 

 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

 At least seven more times in the New Testament, Jesus, Paul the Apostle, and James repeat this command to love others.  And Jesus expanded what it meant to love one’s neighbor by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, who saw to the needs of a man he didn’t know and whose nationality should have been reason enough to ignore his plight.  Nevertheless, he cared for the man as best he could and saw to his needs.  The Samaritan stepped into someone’s mess.

 Are you willing to step into someone’s mess?  Are you willing to have a change of heart?  Are you willing to truly love your neighbor?  You don’t have to take in a homeless person in order to love your neighbor unless you know that is your calling.  There are hundreds of ways you can demonstrate and emulate the love of Jesus.  Your neighbor is hurting.  You can help by stepping into his mess.

 

 That was the previous Thursday Thought.  I leave you with the old question What Would Jesus Do?  Would he have given the homeless man a few dollars or some crackers and peanut butter?  Or would he have done as Ginger Sprouse did…take him into his care, see to his needs, and love him unconditionally for the long haul?

 

 Blessings.

Praying Down the Line

 

“Help us to the right use of our minds…”  That sentence, given in a prayer before a meal 80 or more years ago by my Grandfather, and was heard by a six year old boy who was at the table, prompted that boy to become a Psychiatrist at a time when such a vocation was not well-received by his faith tradition.

Vernon, that six year old boy and my first cousin, became a healer of the mind and was well-known in central Kansas during his career at Prairie View in Newton.  His son Jim recently told me the story of a remarkable answer to prayer in the life of his father.

My guess is that Vernon and my grandfather, Sol, didn’t have a psychiatric career in mind for Vernon when he gave that prayer.  I rather believe he was invoking God’s protection from various kinds of dementias and brain disorders, as one of his sons suffered from some kind of neurological disorder and lived a relatively short life.

Nevertheless, the idea that came to Vernon in his young days as a result of those words was just as much an answer to that prayer as was Sol Plank’s long life…his mind ever sharp until his last day.

As a corollary to this story, I have often wondered how many prayers have been given over the decades, and yes, even centuries, by Godly men and women of old in my ancestry who prayed for their descendants…people they would never know.  And I have to think that one of those descendants is me.  The thought of my ancestors praying for my welfare is humbling to say the least, and brings out a kind of guilt in me because I have not done much of that kind of praying for those who will be descended from me in the coming decades and centuries.

The timeless God who already knows those who will come after me, even though they aren’t a gleam in anyone’s eye right now, hears those kinds of prayers and acts upon them in His time and in His way.  We don’t have a clue what the world will be like in a hundred, two hundred, or five hundred years.  Yet we can pray that those who come after us will be seekers of God, followers of Jesus Christ, and indwelt by the Spirit of God.  We can pray that they will be like Jesus and display His love as they navigate whatever the world offers at that time.  We can pray that they understand that the Kingdom of God is not of this world and is to be sought and cherished more than anything the world has to offer.  We can pray that, like Vernon, they will choose a course in life that heals rather than hurts, unites rather than divides, and helps rather than hinders.

I don’t know what your prayer life is like.  But if it’s like mine, you’re probably stuck in the here and now praying about events, situations, and people in the immediate time.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but I encourage you to expand your thoughts about prayer to include those who will follow you…people you will never meet or know.  If nothing else, pray that they will know God, will know Jesus Christ.  As Paul the great apostle said to the Philippians, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”  I want my descendants to also know Christ in this way.

Thanks for listening today.  May your day be filled with blessing.

Mall-Walking

 Good morning !!

 During very hot or very cold weather, in order to get some kind of physical exercise I often will go to the mall that is nearest our house.  It’s also on the way home from work, and I will sometimes stop there in the late afternoon to get my walk in for the day.  The walk around the inside perimeter of the mall is right at a mile.  I only do the circuit once as I can’t go much more than that due to some physical deficits.  But that mile seems to be enough to keep me in some kind of physical condition better than nothing.

Towne West is a mall in decline, as many places like that are.  There are still a couple of anchors there…J C Penney and Dick’s Sporting Goods.  But Dillards has left, as well as Sears.  There are quite a number of empty store spaces in the mall, and during the weekday, there are usually as many or more walkers than there are shoppers in the public areas.

As I make the circuit, I notice when a new business has leased space and is remodeling the area so they can eventually open.  That happens at times, and it’s interesting to see what goes in.  I also notice when a business pulls out and is there no more.  The kiosks in the public areas will sometimes come and go as well.  And the holiday season brings out temporary businesses and kiosks, hoping to capture some of the holiday business.

Some businesses are open only certain days of the week.  Some just certain hours of the day.  No doubt that’s due to the limited customer base during the days and times they aren’t open.  I would think that would be kind of a self-fulfilling thing, however.  If businesses aren’t open, customers won’t come.  If customers won’t come, businesses aren’t open.  Seems to me to be sort of a round-robin type of thing.

Some places, though, seem to do a fairly good business regardless.  There’s a barbershop in the mall that always has customers, it seems, and more than one barber many times.  One of the jewelry stores seems to have customers who are doing more than “just looking” more often than not.  A massage business seems to always have one or more customers receiving what looks to me like very soothing massages.  And there’s an “outlet” type of store which is apparently doing fairly well.

A temporary business has moved in for the Halloween holiday, occupying a lot of space and having a lot…and I mean a lot…of Halloween-type stuff.  There seems to be a steady stream in and out of the store, so I’m thinking that it was something that was probably a good idea, at least for those who opened the business.

OK, so why am I talking about the mall, the businesses in it, and my walking in the mall on a routine basis?  Sometimes, I will start some music on my phone, which is connected via Bluetooth to my hearing aids.  I can hear it, but no one else can.  Most of the time I will either play a classical piece like Canon in D or Bolero, or something from Handel’s Messiah.  Yes, I know.  I’m an old person, and don’t have much appetite for some genres of music that others may like.

I was in the mood yesterday as I was walking for some of that music.  As I listened to the last two arias of The Messiah, I started looking around at the mall, the businesses, the people, and the environment.  There was, it seemed, a great disconnect between what I was hearing in “Worthy” and what I was seeing in the mall.

What was I hearing?  Handel pulled the words to “Worthy” out of Revelation chapter 5.  Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by his blood, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

The majesty, glory, and unmatchable power of God in Jesus Christ outshone all that glittered and enticed in the mall at that moment.  A desire for things, a consumer economy, and other temporal things found in a mall setting are no comparison.

Paul the great apostle of the early church, in his letter to the Philippian church, rattled off a list of his accomplishments as a Pharisee and Jewish leader, along with his genealogy, which was of vital importance to the Jewish people.  He then said this about all that he was and all that he accomplished in life.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

There is nothing wrong with shopping at a mall, or a stand-alone store, or on-line.  There is nothing wrong with having money or a comfortable home.  There is nothing wrong with going to a barber or beauty shop.

The problem comes when we place these things front and center in our lives and live for the next consumer “fix.”  We forget that one day we will stand before the God who created us and account for our lives.

OK.  Enough preaching.  I encourage you, though, to be certain your priorities are in the proper order and you understand and embrace what is truly important in life and living.

May you be blessed this week and this weekend as many of us take some time off and stand down for a short while to reflect on the bounty and blessing that is ours.

 

Blessings,

A Biological "Reboot"

 Good morning, and welcome to the Thursday Thought.

 Of course, the big thing we could be talking about this week would be the very hot temperatures that are being recorded in the Great Plains and surrounding area, due, they say, to what they call a “heat high” pressure area that is parked over us.  I don’t know much about meteorology, but I suspect that this phenomenon is one that has been around for many, many years, but has just in the last few decades become a “thing” for forecasters to talk about.

We’ve had very hot temperatures, along with very high humidity, off and on, for as long as we can know.  I think we’re not quite as tough as we used to be, though, years ago.  And I also think we are healthier and live longer because we don’t have to tough it out in the hot weather department as we did years ago.  So there’s a trade-off there…one I’m willing to take.

But let’s go on to another subject, shall we? 

The house we live in is a bi-level.  In order to get anywhere, we have to either go up or go down stairs.  This can be somewhat of a challenge at times, but most of the time the advantages that are built into the house far outweigh our having to climb or descend steps to get somewhere.  The woods of Pawnee Prairie Park are right behind our lot, we have lots of room, the house is well-built and in good condition, and we are really enjoying the neighborhood.  We have no intention of moving until we have to do so for some reason…such as having to make that final move to the funeral home.

A few days ago, we were going down the steps from the upper level to the garage when I froze about half-way down.  I didn’t go down.  I didn’t go up.  After about a second and a half, I began again my descent down the steps.

What happened?  Well, nothing to be alarmed about, really.  Sometimes my arms or legs don’t always do what I’d like for them to do and I have to do a kind of reset…start over…a reboot, if you will.  Usually, the reluctance of my limbs to comply with my wishes has something to do with my safety in some way.  And that’s what happened then.  I became just a little unsure of my footing, which, by the way, is not unusual for older folks, and my feet, and I suppose also my brain got together and said, whoa…we’re going to just stop everything until we get things straightened out.  It just took literally a second or so to reset everything, and I proceeded down the steps with the wife coming along with me.  On the rest of the way down, she asked me what happened, and I told her.  We saw the humor in what happened, and went on our way.

Now, I could have bemoaned our advancing age and the fact that 20 or 30 years ago this would never have happened.  I could have been upset with myself that my body failed…even for a second...to do what I asked it to do.  I have learned, though, that when things like this happen, usually it’s for a good reason…one that has to do with my well-being and general health.  I’ve come to realize that something inside of me is trying to help me rather than hinder me.  And I’m fine with that.

There are also other things in life now that are different from what they were some time ago.  I used to be an active volunteer in Emergency Medical Services, and was often “on call…” that is, I went about my usual daily activities, but wore a pager or radio that would tell me when someone needed an ambulance.  I had to be within 5 minutes of the EMS garage at all times while on call, and responded as quickly as possible.

The “on call” time also included nights.  I laid out my clothes when on call so I could quickly get into them and out to my vehicle for the trip to the garage.  I prided myself in being able to hear the page, get up, dressed, out the door and into my vehicle in less than a minute.  The garage was about two minutes away if I punched it.  Local law enforcement knew who we were and why we were speeding through town in the middle of the night, and didn’t bother us, so we made it out of the garage with the ambulance in good time.

Contrast that with today.  I rouse up out of sleep, sit on the side of the bed for about a minute getting my bearings, take off my CPAP, and trundle awkwardly to the bathroom, sometimes hitting the door frame of the bathroom as I tumble through it.  Things gradually get better from there, and I’m becoming more ready for the day as the minutes tick away.  But it takes about an hour in the morning for me to be anywhere close to “normal,” anymore.  And I certainly wouldn’t be able to be up, dressed, and out to my vehicle in under a minute anymore.

But, I’m good with that.  While I sometimes still miss EMS, I don’t miss having to get up in the middle of the night to go to a call.  I’m good with the time it takes me in the mornings to do my daily bathroom business.  That business includes getting the morning pills out of their bottles.  I call them my “stay alive” pills, because without them, I may well not be around.  Our family has a history of relatively early demise due to cardiac issues, and I believe these medications are helping me to be relatively healthy, at least in a cardiac sense.  Some of them also make life easier in general by keeping arthritic pain at bay and helping me breathe in spite of my allergies.

Older age can be a time of melancholy, thinking of our past and wishing we were still 30 years old.  Or it can be a time of gratefulness and thanksgiving because we have the blessings of longer life and a better quality of living than many had in those past times.  I choose, although some days it’s more difficult to make this choice than on other days, to be grateful.  I hope you do the same, regardless of your age.

 

Blessings.

A Daily Day

 Good afternoon.  Welcome to Thursday Thought.

 Working in a downtown church such as RiverWalk has, as most vocations do, it’s ups and downs.  The work is interesting, at times demanding, and often makes necessary a sudden shift in priorities as the day unfolds.

As I entered the building this morning, I thought of things that needed to be done or checked on.  One of those things was the re-arranging of tables and chairs to accommodate the weekly Thursday morning Bible class that began at 10:30 today.  That class uses a room that is also used by several other groups during the week, and needs to be reset for the class.  Most of the people who attend the class are older, and many are no longer able to move the tables and chairs into place as needed, so staff tries to get that done for them.  I decided to check on that a little later, and went to open up the office.

As I entered my office, I noticed the notes and papers from last evening’s Missions committee meeting, which reminded me that I needed to do a couple of things regarding decisions made in committee.  I’m a member of the committee, and was here last evening for the meeting.  I determined to handle those items a bit later, and logged in to my laptop to check email.

There was nothing of great magnitude in the email.  However, I replied to a couple of them and cleaned up my inbox.  Linda, our office manager, came into the office about that time.  I was happy to see her as she is the first contact for phone calls and people at the door.  I knew I no longer had to watch those two items and could get some other work done.

As I was going to rearrange the chairs and tables for the Bible study, I ran into CJ, our youth minister.  He was coming from the classroom area where the Bible class meets, so I asked him about arranging the chairs.  He said he had already done that, so that was taken care of.  I went back to the office.

Shortly after I came back, I was told that the ice maker in the kitchen was not working.  We’ve had it serviced several times in the last few months, and I no longer am sure what to do with it.  I haven’t called the repairman yet, but will probably do so later.  There was enough ice in the machine for the lunch that was going to be served at noon today.

One of the people who comes to the Bible class on Thursday mornings came to my office and said the lights were too bright in the class room.  We had recently replaced the old fluorescent lighting with the new LED panel lighting, which is indeed brighter.  She said the lights were dimmable and wanted to know where the dimmer was.  We did not install dimming capabilities for those new fixtures, so I told her that they were what they were.  We had received no other complaints on the brightness of the new fixtures, so I am presuming that it was just her preference to not have them so bright.

I completed the tasks given me by the Missions committee by writing a check to send to someone we support in missions, and sending an email to another ministry we support asking for some information the committee wants.  That didn’t take long, but did take a little bookkeeping for the check.

By this time, the Bible class was ready to begin.  My wife and I had invited a friend who normally doesn’t attend our church to the Thursday morning Bible class a few weeks ago, and she came last week and promised to come again this week.  I went into the classroom to see if she was there yet.  She was, and I made it a point to greet her.

I took some time to visit with Linda about a couple of things that needed discussion.  I filed some paperwork on the fire sprinkler system inspection we recently had completed.  I checked email again and answered a couple more of them, made two appointments for this afternoon, and got some water to bring to my desk. 

Finally, an older gentleman came to the door and asked to speak to a pastor or assistant pastor.  Since I was the only one in the office, it came to me to visit with him.  He wanted to know if all Churches of Christ were the same, and what our general tenants were.  He didn’t ask those questions specifically, but that was the information he was desiring.  I visited with him and answered his questions as best I could off the cuff.  He was satisfied with the responses and asked about our worship services.  I told him about that, and he departed.

In between these things, I managed to check my email, take a quick tour of the building interior just to be sure things looked OK, answer my cell phone a couple of times, get some refreshment, and take care of some additional paperwork.  I also started on this Thursday Thought.  It is now after lunch and I haven’t yet had the time to open a book to read, to study for an upcoming class I’ll be teaching, or engage in deliberate prayer.  Hopefully, some of that will come this afternoon as I await a 3:30pm appointment.

I tell you all of this to say that this kind of a day isn’t at all unusual for me.  What may be a little unusual about the day is that I haven’t yet seen anyone who has a benevolence need.  There aren’t many days pass that don’t have at least one benevolence need that comes our way.  However, the day isn’t over yet.  I trust your day is a good one…one in which you walk with God, whatever your vocation…whatever your circumstance or situation in life.  Sandi Patty wrote a song some time ago called “The Stage is Bare,” which speaks of daily life and living when there are no crowds, no one to sing to or for.  Speaking to God in the song, one of the lyric lines reads, “Tomorrow's such a daily day; And I so need to feel you then Holding my hand.”

Most days are “daily days” for most of us.  May your daily days be filled with the presence and love of God.

 

Blessings,

Sorting Things Out

 I began this Thursday Thought video series over three years ago after COVID hit the world in an effort to maintain some form of communication with you, since it would have been difficult or impossible at that time to engage in more personal forms of communication.  Over that time, I’ve talked about many different topics and have offered, admittedly unsolicited, my opinions on various issues of the day.  I don’t have many followers…in the single digits is the norm…but I don’t do this so much for them as I do for myself.

Writing the script enables me to put my thoughts together into a more cohesive form than they otherwise might be.  I can look at what I’ve written.  I can re-write it.  I can change the wording.  I can eliminate it entirely.  I can do that before anyone else ever sees my thoughts and opinions.  I want to be certain that what I am saying is what I intend to say, rather than having to clean up some mess that I’ve made by saying something I might later regret.

And, when I read from a script, I don’t go off on some kind of improvisional tangent, saying something that doesn’t fit with the rest of what I’m saying, or which in some way is not appropriate.  I tend to stay on track a little better than I normally would otherwise.

I recognize that not everyone benefits by writing like I do.  People have many and varied ways of formulating and organizing their thoughts.  Some like to talk it out with someone else they trust.  Others may go to a quiet place and meditate on their thoughts for a time.  Some may want to be busy with a hobby or some other distraction while their thoughts gel into something useful.  Still others may want to literally sleep on it, as that seems to be helpful at  times.  There are many ways to “gather one’s thoughts,” so to speak.

My own thoughts have been a kind of a mess recently.  That may be one reason why I’m speaking in this post about putting thoughts together rather than on some other topic of the day.  Everything from the troubles of the world to who to vote for in the Wichita mayoral race this fall are part of my thought process today.  And included in that process are issues such as the state of public transportation in Wichita, the schools starting up for the 2023-2024 school year, the ever-increasing prices of necessary food and commodities, natural disasters such as the fires in Hawaii and flooding in other parts of the nation, the future of the church in this culture, those of our church family who are battling chronic illness, the specter of ignorance and want (think Dicken’s A Christmas Carol) growing in our society, the hijacking and politicizing of the Christian Evangelical movement, and a host of other topics.

Living in this culture, with instant access to the world through the Internet and social media has it’s upsides, but it also has its issues and problems.  The sheer number of things instant knowledge tells us that we are supposed to be concerned about as good citizens of the human race overwhelms us as we struggle sometimes to just put food on the table and get the kids to school on time.  Our normal methods of sorting out those things we need to be concerned about and leaving for others those things we can’t address quickly become overwhelmed and virtually non-functional.  We begin to see the world with a doom and gloom lens and believe there’s no way out of the despair.  Mental and physical health suffer.  Relationships suffer.  Individuals suffer.

It need not be this way.  We can find ways to remodel, so to speak, our issue filters and methods of sorting out those issues.  We can look for things in this life that can help bring us calm and peace even as the world around us seems to become more chaotic and disorganized.

Look for the beauty and incredibly intricate design in the universe.  Look for, as Mr. Rogers famously said, “the helpers” when bad things happen…those who rush in to mitigate the bad things.  Create new relationships with others and enjoy their company.  Take advantage of healthy habits and activities of both body and mind.  Stop, and, to use a well-worn phrase, “Smell the roses.”

Above all, seek relationship with the God who created you, loves you, and desires the best for you.  Rest in His love, grace, justice, and forgiveness.

I’m reminded of the words of an old Christian hymn by Fanny J Crosby…they go like this:

 

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of his love, and covers me there with his hand,

This Man...THIS MAN

 One of my social media friends, a Christian, posted something recently about religion and what immaturity in one’s spiritual life can do.  I believe he quoted someone else, but didn’t give credit for the quote in a way that I could understand.  Here’s part of that post.

When religion remains at an immature level, it tends to create very violent people who ensconce themselves on the side of the good, the worthy, the pure, the saved. They project all their evil somewhere else and attack it over there.

Something has to be sacrificed. Blood has to be shed. Someone has to be blamed, attacked, tortured, imprisoned, or killed. Sacrificial systems create religions and governments of exclusion and violence. Yet Jesus taught and modeled inclusivity and forgiveness!

I think you get the idea.  Religious immaturity, it is said, leads to division, taking sides, and violence in the name of what is perceived as being right and pure.  Religious maturity, however, according to the one saying this, is known by its inclusivity and forgiveness.

When I read that quote the first time, my eyes zeroed in on that last statement…Jesus taught and modeled inclusivity and forgiveness…  That statement is often said by those who want to justify their support for many of the societal issues of the day…abortion, gay rights, immigration, and other issues of the day.  Those issues are sometimes argued in terms of what Jesus did some two thousand years ago in modeling how mankind should live, and emphasizing the idea that Jesus modeled inclusivity and forgiveness and asks us to do the same.

That statement is indeed true.  Jesus DID model inclusivity and forgiveness.  He did befriend the friendless.  He did give dignity to the downtrodden.  He did forgive those who many in the society of that day would have written off as incorrigible.  He indeed included everyone…and I mean everyone…in His call to follow him and his example.

So, what’s the problem?  Why am I even talking about this?  Because when we zero in on just this aspect of the life of Jesus, we get a warped picture of the Son of God.  In this scenario, we tend to see Jesus as a meek and mild itinerant preacher walking down a dusty trail with a rag-tag group of followers on to the next village so he can speak his message of inclusivity and forgiveness there.  And that’s the ONLY picture we get of him.  But there’s so, so much more to the Son of God than just the itinerant preacher picture.

Jesus never encountered an unrepentant sinner and said anything to the effect of, “Aww…it’s OK.  Don’t worry about it.  All is forgiven and forgotten.”  Jesus never told Zacchaeus the tax collector that he could continue to fleece the populace and all would be OK.  He never told the woman caught in adultery that she could go back to the adulterous relationship.  No, Jesus insisted on some kind of heart change…some kind of change in thought and action.

We need to have a more full picture of this person Jesus…the Son of God…the second person of the Trinity.  We need to understand that the Son was present at the creation of the cosmos.  “Let US make man in our image…Genesis says.”  And that to this day the Son continues to uphold the creation he fashioned by his powerful word, according to the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament.

We need to get the picture when we hear Isaiah talk of Jesus as the “Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”

We need to understand what was happening when Jesus made a whip and drove the merchants out of the Temple, calling the Temple "My Father’s House.”

And what about when Paul the Apostle says in his letter to the Phillippians:  Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Or what about the Jesus who John said he saw in Revelation chapter 1, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.  His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.  No wonder John says he fell to the ground as if he were a dead man when he saw Jesus.

And lastly, what about the Jesus who is recorded as saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.  I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

We dare not place Jesus into what for us is a comfortable box that allows him to only be “inclusive and forgiving.”  The Jesus who indeed is those things is also the Alpha and Omega.  He is the one clothed in a brilliance that will make us fall down as if we were dead.  He is also the one to whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess Him as Lord.  He is the Mighty God…the Everlasting Father.  And He…He is the one who upholds all of creation simply by His powerful word.

And if that isn’t enough, listen to what John says toward the end of his apocalypse  regarding Jesus. 

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.  His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns.  He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.  Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.  “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”  He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.  On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

This man…this man is the Jesus Christ of the Bible.  May we always confess Him as such.

 

Blessings.