"To the man who has, more will be given; and he who has not, will lose even the little he thinks he has" (Luke 8:18).
This certainly seems unfair. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Perhaps Jesus is telling us here that truth that is not understood and made applicable in our lives will be lost. The proverb, "If you don't use it, you lose it," is so true. Neglect and misuse of a gift, whether truth or youth, means we not only lose the blessing inherent in the gift but we also lose the greater opportunities that would have come our way had we used the gift properly.
We have a very practical God who knows what is best for us. He invests us with abilities and opportunities and the courage to use them. He wants us to light this poor dark world with whatever aptitudes he graciously gives us. If we don't take advantage of the opportunities, we will wake up one day and discover that we have wasted time, talent and breaks--and both God and we will be broken-hearted.
“Luke 8:18 lays down the universal law that the man who has will get more; and that the man who has not will lose what he has. If a man is physically fit and keeps himself so, his body will be ready forever greater efforts; if he lets himself go flabby, he will lose even the abilities he has. The more a student learns, the more he can learn; but if he refuses to go on learning, he will lose the knowledge he has. This is just another way of saying that there is no standing still in life. All the time we are either going forward or going back. The seeker will always find; but the man who stops seeking will lose even what he has” (William Barclay).
Friday, March 9, 2012
Frittering
“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:48); "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12).
We weren't born to fritter away these grand lives. One of the most beautiful narratives in the Bible is the poignant story of Mary and the alabaster box (John 12:3). Jesus gave Mary a new life; she was born again to The Way of love and sacrifice and devotion, and what better way to show it than by anointing her Savior. Jesus took a consumed life and conserved it. He charted a new reality for Mary, His reality wherein is Truth and Life. For this she anointed Him with gratitude and submission.
And shouldn't we all? Has He done any less for us? We have been given much, too, for He has charted our reality, as well. What He has given us in talents and possessions isn't important. What we do with what we have is the crucial test. God doesn't waste His irreplaceable time on worthless materials. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." (Jeremiah 1:5). Knowing this should encourage us to be humble and it should help motivate us to live worthier lives.
Contrary to common opinion, privilege doesn't have ranks, whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual privilege; rather, it has responsibilities. Above all, we are responsible for and to each other. "Our world at the present time is largely directed by criminally irresponsible adventurers and cynical and complacent men who have grown old in the ways of self interest. Unless their place is taken by men of understanding and humility, whose guiding principle is love, the world of man is doomed. The life of every human being is a part of our own, for we are involved in mankind. Each one of us is responsible for the other. It was Dostoyevsky who said, `Each of us is responsible for everything to everyone else.' That is what we now know. It is up to us to do something with that knowledge" (Ashley Montagu, On Being Human).
We weren't born to fritter away these grand lives. One of the most beautiful narratives in the Bible is the poignant story of Mary and the alabaster box (John 12:3). Jesus gave Mary a new life; she was born again to The Way of love and sacrifice and devotion, and what better way to show it than by anointing her Savior. Jesus took a consumed life and conserved it. He charted a new reality for Mary, His reality wherein is Truth and Life. For this she anointed Him with gratitude and submission.
And shouldn't we all? Has He done any less for us? We have been given much, too, for He has charted our reality, as well. What He has given us in talents and possessions isn't important. What we do with what we have is the crucial test. God doesn't waste His irreplaceable time on worthless materials. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." (Jeremiah 1:5). Knowing this should encourage us to be humble and it should help motivate us to live worthier lives.
Contrary to common opinion, privilege doesn't have ranks, whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual privilege; rather, it has responsibilities. Above all, we are responsible for and to each other. "Our world at the present time is largely directed by criminally irresponsible adventurers and cynical and complacent men who have grown old in the ways of self interest. Unless their place is taken by men of understanding and humility, whose guiding principle is love, the world of man is doomed. The life of every human being is a part of our own, for we are involved in mankind. Each one of us is responsible for the other. It was Dostoyevsky who said, `Each of us is responsible for everything to everyone else.' That is what we now know. It is up to us to do something with that knowledge" (Ashley Montagu, On Being Human).
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Too Little, Too Late
"Love is kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4).
“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" (Anonymous). "Do not say to your neighbor, `Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' -- when you now have it with you" (Proverbs 3:28). Compassion cannot be timed. "Too little, too late" is a tragic assessment of damaged friendship. There is a proper time for impulsiveness. When we feel compelled to make a call or to take up a worthwhile cause, there is no time, literally, like the present to make of life a present to others. To do that, sometimes we have to be present!
At times we weigh an action on a scale of what we call common sense until it becomes such a heavy burden and so one-sided that we decide we can't help. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Burdens come in all sizes and shapes. They may seem to be--indeed, often are--unfair burdens, both for ourselves and others. But we are all dust and the environment in which we all live is polluted and our loved ones die always at a bad time and tornadoes and hurricanes always strike at inopportune times and babies are born at inconvenient times. We're all in the same rocking boat of a world; therefore these are the only times we have to take advantage of our opportunities to give others God's love and ours.
Kin Hubbard leaves us this thought, "Kindness goes a long ways lots of times when it ought to stay at home." How hard it is to love the unlovable, especially the home folks. The humorous footnote to this is that our family members may well feel the same way about us!
“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" (Anonymous). "Do not say to your neighbor, `Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' -- when you now have it with you" (Proverbs 3:28). Compassion cannot be timed. "Too little, too late" is a tragic assessment of damaged friendship. There is a proper time for impulsiveness. When we feel compelled to make a call or to take up a worthwhile cause, there is no time, literally, like the present to make of life a present to others. To do that, sometimes we have to be present!
At times we weigh an action on a scale of what we call common sense until it becomes such a heavy burden and so one-sided that we decide we can't help. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Burdens come in all sizes and shapes. They may seem to be--indeed, often are--unfair burdens, both for ourselves and others. But we are all dust and the environment in which we all live is polluted and our loved ones die always at a bad time and tornadoes and hurricanes always strike at inopportune times and babies are born at inconvenient times. We're all in the same rocking boat of a world; therefore these are the only times we have to take advantage of our opportunities to give others God's love and ours.
Kin Hubbard leaves us this thought, "Kindness goes a long ways lots of times when it ought to stay at home." How hard it is to love the unlovable, especially the home folks. The humorous footnote to this is that our family members may well feel the same way about us!
In You the Fatherless Find Mercy
"...For in You the fatherless find mercy" (Hosea 14:3); "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).
I was adopted when I was five by a gentle man who I knew loved me. Many years later I married and had children who he loved just as much as he loved me. When he was 65 he died suddenly and months later our oldest son died. Shortly after, I joined a group to search for my biological father. At the time I thought it would comfort and support me to find my "real" father.
I went for about a year. During that year I wrote different places trying to get information and usually came up with little to nothing. Finally, at one of these meetings I listened yet again to the accounts of money and time spent searching for a rainbow that could just as easily turn into a storm. One day I decided at a meeting that I already had a Father who cared: "When my father and mother forsake me (for whatever reason), then the Lord will take care of me" (Psalm 27:10). Our Father's mercy train had carried me through lands of both joy and sorrow this far, so why was I wasting His time and money reversing the train? The thought nourished me, and I didn't go back to any more meetings.
I certainly don't mean to criticize those who dig for their unknown roots. I rejoice when I read an account of relatives who have been brought together through these organizations that have done so much good work. But I felt that, if I personally kept pursuing the search, I was telling my Father that I lacked faith in Him that He would finally answer all my questions. Anyway, it wasn't really necessary that I know. I felt enormous relief when I finally accepted this.
John 14:18 tells us: "No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm -- I will come to you." In this beloved chapter, Jesus promises the Presence of the Holy Spirit at all times for us. We need never feel alone! In this day of aloneness in the crowds, what a dear promise this is. In Zephaniah 3:17, we learn that "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." I particularly like the promise of God quieting us with His love. We really don't have to worry about the peripherals in life when we have the Principal.
I suppose I also felt finally that it was a dishonor to my stepfather who was the only father I knew and loved. Again, this is not to disparage those who do searches. It's only that I so believe that my heavenly Father filled the gap nicely, and I'd best leave it alone.
Thank You, Father, for being my Father!
I was adopted when I was five by a gentle man who I knew loved me. Many years later I married and had children who he loved just as much as he loved me. When he was 65 he died suddenly and months later our oldest son died. Shortly after, I joined a group to search for my biological father. At the time I thought it would comfort and support me to find my "real" father.
I went for about a year. During that year I wrote different places trying to get information and usually came up with little to nothing. Finally, at one of these meetings I listened yet again to the accounts of money and time spent searching for a rainbow that could just as easily turn into a storm. One day I decided at a meeting that I already had a Father who cared: "When my father and mother forsake me (for whatever reason), then the Lord will take care of me" (Psalm 27:10). Our Father's mercy train had carried me through lands of both joy and sorrow this far, so why was I wasting His time and money reversing the train? The thought nourished me, and I didn't go back to any more meetings.
I certainly don't mean to criticize those who dig for their unknown roots. I rejoice when I read an account of relatives who have been brought together through these organizations that have done so much good work. But I felt that, if I personally kept pursuing the search, I was telling my Father that I lacked faith in Him that He would finally answer all my questions. Anyway, it wasn't really necessary that I know. I felt enormous relief when I finally accepted this.
John 14:18 tells us: "No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm -- I will come to you." In this beloved chapter, Jesus promises the Presence of the Holy Spirit at all times for us. We need never feel alone! In this day of aloneness in the crowds, what a dear promise this is. In Zephaniah 3:17, we learn that "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." I particularly like the promise of God quieting us with His love. We really don't have to worry about the peripherals in life when we have the Principal.
I suppose I also felt finally that it was a dishonor to my stepfather who was the only father I knew and loved. Again, this is not to disparage those who do searches. It's only that I so believe that my heavenly Father filled the gap nicely, and I'd best leave it alone.
Thank You, Father, for being my Father!
Fragments
"Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted" (John 6:12b).
God is particular about our fragments, our bits and pieces and what we do with them: fragments of time and opportunity, thoughts and actions. Jesus asked His disciples to gather the broken pieces that represent what is left over from His bounty. When God feeds us, He feasts us! He is able to do exceeding abundantly above that which we ask, even. But He does not want us to waste the fragments from His abundance.
Gathering fragments does not mean to stockpile. When the Israelites were in the desert, they were told not to gather manna on the seventh day (Exodus 16:26). They were to trust in their God that He would furnish their needs for that day, also; that there was no need to hoard provisions when God had promised to provide their daily bread.
With God little things assume great importance. He gives us all things to enjoy, but He also is concerned about the cup of cold water that we give in His name; He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He takes notice when a sparrow falls. We think nothing of killing time, that precious substance that makes up life, only to wish it back when the seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and years are suddenly gone and we are old and sorry for the wasted times and words.
But the saddest waste of all is the wasted life which is epidemic today. God surely weeps as He watches humankind destroy itself with drugs and pornography and violence. Some of the most grievous words in God's Word are, "...The younger son...squandered his wealth in wild living" (Luke 15:13). The parent who has buried a child wasted from riotous living knows well how the little things make or break us.
"Let nothing be wasted," especially one for whom our beloved Jesus died!
God is particular about our fragments, our bits and pieces and what we do with them: fragments of time and opportunity, thoughts and actions. Jesus asked His disciples to gather the broken pieces that represent what is left over from His bounty. When God feeds us, He feasts us! He is able to do exceeding abundantly above that which we ask, even. But He does not want us to waste the fragments from His abundance.
Gathering fragments does not mean to stockpile. When the Israelites were in the desert, they were told not to gather manna on the seventh day (Exodus 16:26). They were to trust in their God that He would furnish their needs for that day, also; that there was no need to hoard provisions when God had promised to provide their daily bread.
With God little things assume great importance. He gives us all things to enjoy, but He also is concerned about the cup of cold water that we give in His name; He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He takes notice when a sparrow falls. We think nothing of killing time, that precious substance that makes up life, only to wish it back when the seconds, minutes, hours, weeks, months and years are suddenly gone and we are old and sorry for the wasted times and words.
But the saddest waste of all is the wasted life which is epidemic today. God surely weeps as He watches humankind destroy itself with drugs and pornography and violence. Some of the most grievous words in God's Word are, "...The younger son...squandered his wealth in wild living" (Luke 15:13). The parent who has buried a child wasted from riotous living knows well how the little things make or break us.
"Let nothing be wasted," especially one for whom our beloved Jesus died!
Orchids to You
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8); "Love covers all wrongs" (Proverbs 10:12b); "He who covers over an offense promotes love..." (Proverbs 17:9)
Oh, let us engrave these verses on our hurting hearts! These are the verses that, with God's help, can renew our commitment to God Himself, as well as to those who need our cherishment. Love, in spite of how we feel about the who or the what or the why...! What a monumental invitation into the very chambers and the character of the Father. It also takes monumental courage, with emphasis on the mental, for it is taking hold of the will to love, even as God loves, in spite of what has happened--and in place of spite.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to love is the records we keep of wrongs. We know that our precious God covers our sins. He asks us to forget the things--the sins, ours and others--that are behind, and go on with His love and mercy. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them..." (2 Corinthians 5:19). Can we not do for others that which God does for us: write wrongs in ashes? We keep a record of the "sins" which God has already put away from Him, "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12). Our heart is blackened with the soot of another's trespasses and now and then we sweep up a bit of it and rub our hands and minds in it, and then ask God for forgiveness for our meanness--again. Instead, let us reconcile and wipe the record clean forever!
William Barclay explains why love hides a multitude of sins, ours and theirs:
1. It may mean that our love can overlook many sins. "Love covers all offences," says the writer of the Proverbs (Prov.10:12). If we love a person, it is easy to forgive. It is not that love is blind, but that it loves a person just as he is. Love makes patience easy. It is much easier to be patient with our own children than with the children of strangers. If we really love our fellowmen, we can accept their faults, and bear with their foolishness, and even endure their unkindness. Love indeed can cover a multitude of sins.
2. It may mean that, if we love others, God will overlook a multitude of sins in us. In life we meet two kinds of people. We meet those who have no faults at which the finger may be pointed; they are moral, orthodox, and supremely respectable; but they are hard and austere and unable to understand why others make mistakes and fall into sin. We also meet those who have all kinds of faults; but they are kind and sympathetic and they seldom or never condemn. It is the second kind of person to whom the heart more readily warms; and in all reverence we may say that it is so with God. He will forgive much to the man who loves his fellowmen.
3. It may mean that God's love covers the multitude of our sins. That is blessedly and profoundly true. It is the wonder of grace that, sinners as we are, God loves us; that is why he sent his Son (Barclay).
I so appreciate this thought: "In tropical forests the orchids thrust out long floating roots into mid-air, from the impure vapours of which they draw their nourishment. They live on trunks of huge decaying trees, which, as decomposition proceeds very rapidly, would, if left alone, fill the air with poisonous gases. But the orchid swings in rich festoons over the rotting boughs: covers the deformity with its own loveliness, absorbs all foul exhalations and turns them into the perfume of its own sweet flowers. Charity is this beautiful orchid, covering human frailty, clearing away harsh, suspicious, and cruel slanders; breathing forth merciful judgments, compassionate sympathy" (James Neil, M.A.)
O Father, may we be Your orchid today!
Oh, let us engrave these verses on our hurting hearts! These are the verses that, with God's help, can renew our commitment to God Himself, as well as to those who need our cherishment. Love, in spite of how we feel about the who or the what or the why...! What a monumental invitation into the very chambers and the character of the Father. It also takes monumental courage, with emphasis on the mental, for it is taking hold of the will to love, even as God loves, in spite of what has happened--and in place of spite.
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to love is the records we keep of wrongs. We know that our precious God covers our sins. He asks us to forget the things--the sins, ours and others--that are behind, and go on with His love and mercy. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them..." (2 Corinthians 5:19). Can we not do for others that which God does for us: write wrongs in ashes? We keep a record of the "sins" which God has already put away from Him, "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12). Our heart is blackened with the soot of another's trespasses and now and then we sweep up a bit of it and rub our hands and minds in it, and then ask God for forgiveness for our meanness--again. Instead, let us reconcile and wipe the record clean forever!
William Barclay explains why love hides a multitude of sins, ours and theirs:
1. It may mean that our love can overlook many sins. "Love covers all offences," says the writer of the Proverbs (Prov.10:12). If we love a person, it is easy to forgive. It is not that love is blind, but that it loves a person just as he is. Love makes patience easy. It is much easier to be patient with our own children than with the children of strangers. If we really love our fellowmen, we can accept their faults, and bear with their foolishness, and even endure their unkindness. Love indeed can cover a multitude of sins.
2. It may mean that, if we love others, God will overlook a multitude of sins in us. In life we meet two kinds of people. We meet those who have no faults at which the finger may be pointed; they are moral, orthodox, and supremely respectable; but they are hard and austere and unable to understand why others make mistakes and fall into sin. We also meet those who have all kinds of faults; but they are kind and sympathetic and they seldom or never condemn. It is the second kind of person to whom the heart more readily warms; and in all reverence we may say that it is so with God. He will forgive much to the man who loves his fellowmen.
3. It may mean that God's love covers the multitude of our sins. That is blessedly and profoundly true. It is the wonder of grace that, sinners as we are, God loves us; that is why he sent his Son (Barclay).
I so appreciate this thought: "In tropical forests the orchids thrust out long floating roots into mid-air, from the impure vapours of which they draw their nourishment. They live on trunks of huge decaying trees, which, as decomposition proceeds very rapidly, would, if left alone, fill the air with poisonous gases. But the orchid swings in rich festoons over the rotting boughs: covers the deformity with its own loveliness, absorbs all foul exhalations and turns them into the perfume of its own sweet flowers. Charity is this beautiful orchid, covering human frailty, clearing away harsh, suspicious, and cruel slanders; breathing forth merciful judgments, compassionate sympathy" (James Neil, M.A.)
O Father, may we be Your orchid today!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who miraculously survived the Russian gulags, gave a commencement speech at Harvard University in 1978 that rankled the press but was probably one of the most astute modern statements on the state of the affairs of our nation ever voiced by a non-American:
"How many hasty, immature, superficial, and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing readers, without any verification? The press can both stimulate public opinion and miseducate it. Thus we may see terrorists turned into heroes, or secret matters pertaining to one's nation's defense publicly revealed, or we may witness shameless intrusion on the privacy of well-known people under the slogan: 'Everyone is entitled to know everything.' But this is a false slogan, characteristic of a false era: people also have a right not to know, and it a much more valuable one. The right not to have their divine souls stuffed with gossip, nonsense, vain talk. A person who works and leads a meaningful life does not need the successive burdening flow of information.
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. In-depth analysis of a problem is anathema to the press. It stops at sensational formulas...
"After suffering decades of violence and depression, the human soul longs for higher things, warmer and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits, exemplified by the revolting invasion of privacy, by TV stupor, and by intolerable music...."
The press' response follows:
"We find that primarily he is the champion not of freedom but of spiritual well-being. The two causes are by no means the same..." The New Yorker, 8/21/1978 issue.
Olga Carlisle, Newsweek, 7/24/78: "[Solzhenitsyn's] convictions are deeply rooted in the Russian spirit, which is untempered by the civilizing influences of a democratic tradition."
Henry Fairlie, The New Republic, 7/29/78: "...There is nothing for the West to learn from it."
Reader, think about this! Then pray for our nation and our leaders.
"How many hasty, immature, superficial, and misleading judgments are expressed every day, confusing readers, without any verification? The press can both stimulate public opinion and miseducate it. Thus we may see terrorists turned into heroes, or secret matters pertaining to one's nation's defense publicly revealed, or we may witness shameless intrusion on the privacy of well-known people under the slogan: 'Everyone is entitled to know everything.' But this is a false slogan, characteristic of a false era: people also have a right not to know, and it a much more valuable one. The right not to have their divine souls stuffed with gossip, nonsense, vain talk. A person who works and leads a meaningful life does not need the successive burdening flow of information.
"Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press. In-depth analysis of a problem is anathema to the press. It stops at sensational formulas...
"After suffering decades of violence and depression, the human soul longs for higher things, warmer and purer than those offered by today's mass living habits, exemplified by the revolting invasion of privacy, by TV stupor, and by intolerable music...."
The press' response follows:
"We find that primarily he is the champion not of freedom but of spiritual well-being. The two causes are by no means the same..." The New Yorker, 8/21/1978 issue.
Olga Carlisle, Newsweek, 7/24/78: "[Solzhenitsyn's] convictions are deeply rooted in the Russian spirit, which is untempered by the civilizing influences of a democratic tradition."
Henry Fairlie, The New Republic, 7/29/78: "...There is nothing for the West to learn from it."
Reader, think about this! Then pray for our nation and our leaders.
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