Sunday, March 25, 2012

Grief And Hope

Focus verses: I Thessalonians 4:13-18

Grief comes to all of us from time to time. The loss of a friend or family member, loss of a job or precious possession, or wayward children can grieve us. Somehow, I seem always to have known that such grief is temporary - a reflection of our personal emotions at a specific moment in time - not a permanent condition.

It might have been Doctor G. who quoted the phrase "grieve not as them who have no hope." I was absolutely certain that it came from this passage of scripture. But I could not find those exact words in any of the translations on biblegateway.com. That quote might just have been a paraphrase rather than a quote. At any rate, the sense is certainly from this passage.

Doctor G. stood as godfather at my baptism in the Lutheran church. He was a rock-solid foundation in my life. A spiritually wise man, he taught me many things. But more than that, he infected me with the joy of the Lord and an educated faith in Jesus.

He was a bible scholar, a student of the word, and a poet. On my twelfth birthday, he gave me a scrapbook which he had put together with his own hands. And he wrote this poem about him and me and heaven. It's long, so I'll just quote the pertinent verses here.

You are twelve years old today, dear,
And I'm past seventy-three.
With back to back we're dreaming,
But it's different things we see.

You look AT the golden sunrise,
See dream castle in the mist:
It's the road ahead for you, dear -
Life at its borning best.
___

I look THROUGH the golden sunset,
With its beckoning promise bright
To a day without a sundown,
Where it's always day - not night.
___

And when you have passed the Sunset
To the day without Sundown,
When Life's pilgrimage is over,
And you've won your victor's crown;

I'll be at the gate of heaven,
With glad heart to see you come;
Glad to welcome you, my daughter,
Into our Eternal Home.
- HWG
His knowledge of the word and my faith in his always telling me the exact truth - pleasant or unpleasant - gave me the assurance that this life is not all there is. I can grieve a loss, but it doesn't decimate me.

My friend was the sister in a family with two brothers. She lost first one and then the other. At the funeral of the second brother, I went to hug her. Her grief was not only obvious, but it was painful to see. There was an element of hopelessness in it that I had never seen before. She could not be comforted.

Paul doesn't say here that we don't grieve. We simply do not grieve as those people who have no hope of Christ and the resurrection - no hope of heaven.

Father, God,

Grant that we may always keep our eyes upon You, not on the attractions of this world. Let us see with the eternal perspective the ultimate good in Your will, no matter how it looks from an earthly perspective.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Jars Of Clay

Focus verses: II Corinthians 4:7-12

The metaphor of clay in the life of the Christian has always been a source of comfort for me, but I didn't fully realize what it meant until I became involved with my daughter's pottery class.

Clay is malleable. It can be rolled, stretched, incised, imprinted, and watered down and worked again. I love working with clay.

The clay became even more special to me when I took classes in precious metal clays. You see, the "clay" part is just a binder to hold the tiny fragments of the metal together. The clay burns off when you fire the piece to harden the metal clay. If you are working with silver clay, you come out with a product called "fine" silver. It is more nearly pure silver than sterling.

But handling this clay takes special care. First it must be kept moist or wet. If you let it dry out, you cannot work with it as you should.

Then you must oil both your hands and any surface that it touches to keep it from sticking in places where you don't want it and ruining the piece you are making.

Once the piece is completed, you let it dry - sort of like a desert experience.

When it is dry, you file any rough edges or accidental protrusions.

Then you put it in a kiln - or in the flame of a torch to fire.

Once it is fired, you polish it by putting it in a tumbler with shot.

If you want special effects, you treat it with chemicals to change the color or give it the appearance of age.

Eventually you have a piece of jewelry that is 99% fine silver, a thing of beauty and a joy to wear.

We have the treasure of the gospel in our jars of clay. Only if we keep it watered with the Word, oiled by the Holy Spirit, will it fit for molding by the Lord.

We may go through desert experiences and have abrasives applied to refine our shape. We will most certainly be proved in fire of one kind or another. Then we will be thrust into a world that tumbles us with grit or shot to polish us to a high shine so that we reflect the light of Christ. In fact, the dross of us will have been burnt away, leaving only the pure spirit of Christ in us.

Completely yielded, we can be of service to the Lord. It's not a quick process. It takes time. Let us yield with patience to the Lord's shaping.

Father, God,

Help us to be soft, malleable clay in Your hands. Give us the grace to endure the process so that we may come out refined and useful to Your kingdom. Less of us and more of you.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Almost Is Not Good Enough

Focus verses: Acts 25:23-26:29

Paul tells his story time and again. In fact, from the testimony in his trials, we should be able to assume that this is the message he preaches when he talks to the people. Conversion after conversion follows Paul in all his travels.

But in Jerusalem, he is prosecuted as a trouble maker. He stands trial three times, before Felix, before Agrippa, and before Festus. Each time he tells the same story of his life as a Pharisee, his encounter on the road to Damascus, and his life after his encounter with Jesus.

In fact, Agrippa is so moved by his testimony that he says he is almost persuaded (KJV) to become as Paul is.

Paul's reason for appealing to Rome for his trial is not told here, but it would seem reasonable that he was playing for time, more opportunities to speak his piece in front of gentiles. At least that is the effect it had.

But what has this to do with us? Today there are people with a nebulous sense of God. Many people pray in times of crisis. But whether we have had a dramatic encounter like Paul's on the road to Damascus, or simply a growing in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, some of us are not truly Christian.

We are almost persuaded by our intellect, but we have not made the commitment that Paul has made. We have not put telling the story of Jesus at the head of our to-do list each day. We are his witnesses in this world. Our need to defend our faith in Him should be the motivation for all we do and say.

We cannot be a sometimes Christian. We must not be a pseudo-Christian. We must be fully committed to Christ alone. Our fidelity to Him must be foremost in our lives.

Father, God,

Help us to put You first in our lives. Keep us from being distracted by this world. Grant that we may serve You completely, wholly committed to spreading the good news of Jesus and Your love for us.
In Jesus' most precious name.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The Insidious Sin of Forgetfulness

Focus Verses: Jude 1: 3-5 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

The history of God's people is spotty. Sometimes they were filled with faith. Other times, they forgot his benefits and were drawn to the things of the world.  When those times came, the Lord was patient with them until they went beyond the point of no return. Then he allowed the other nations to chastise them.

Those who had lost the faith eventually remembered or died. And a new generation began believing again. But the destruction between the loss of faith and its rebirth was costly.

But how did it happen that the nation lost its faith? "Certain men crept in unawares.." The disbelief comes in slowly through people who water down the word of God. Look at the original deceiver. He began with a question:  Did God really say...? 

Then he started rationalizing. He explained away God's direction to Adam and Eve.

When we start believing that we know better than God what is needful, we are in danger of being led into disbelief and infidelity. That is why we must earnestly contend for the faith.

We must be on the alert to the minor deviations from God's word that, if followed for any length, will lead even the believer totally astray.

Father, God,
Help us to stay on the straight and narrow. Keep us mindful of your fidelity and your promises. Remind us of your mercies from the past. Shield us from the wiles of the enemy. Help us to guard our minds.
In Jesus' most precious name.
Amen.