Bravely Facing “Fleeting” Time  “with a  Heart for any Fate”

Watching this sweet child racing the waves, flying like a fairy, building sand castles and enjoying the magic and awe of this beach and some other fantastical, ethereal place  in her mind, one envies such pure, innocent, boundless imagination. She frolics unencumbered  by the questions and worries of politicians, managers, philosophers, and theologians, unware of the chaos and cynicism of the culture she is inheriting, and unhindered by the nearsightedness of daily routines and worry, the traumas of surviving, and the fear of loss.  She is free to enjoy the present without the restrictions imposed by reason, logic, and knowledge!

Prayfully, her imaginative energies will mature into discovering her value and giftedness , the wonders of her universe including the astonishing beauty of this world, a reverential awe of the transcendent, and the purpose and the eternality of her soul.

 Henry W. Longfellow’s  “A Psalm of Life” is  a poem containing the well known quote: “ Life is real! life is earnest! /And the grave is not its goal; /Dust thou art, to dust returnest/ Was not spoken of the soul.”  Recognizing that there is  more to life than our material existence, that purpose lies in a destiny somewhere beyond our earthly experiences, he  said that “not enjoyment, and not sorrow/ is our destined end or way,”  that human life must be faced by acting “Heart within, and God o’erhead!”

We struggle in this material world to find pleasure and fulfillment despite disappointments, failures, losses, and suffering. Scripture teaches us that there is a sovereign will for our lives, an enabling divine power by which we can live, and a faith which gives us victory over those things that can consume us. (1 John 5:4) God is the One who redeems us, our works, and our circumstances. He is all about redemption and will make the most of us and our messes through the Good News of Christ and the empowerment of the Gospel. (Romans 8:28-30)

Longfellow’s poem contains a reminder and a thoughtful exhortation about fulfilling our purposes: “Time is fleeting” and “Let us, then be up and doing/ With a heart for any fate…”  That latter adage is undoubtedly the source of my college roommate’s frequent mantra that his father had taught him as a young boy. As he rolled out of his bed for early morning classes, he was motivated by the thought: ” I must be up and be doing for what can be sadder than to stop at the foot of the ladder!” But what does “up and doing “ mean according to Jesus? When he was asked, Jesus defined what it means to do God’s work: “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29).  Belief in Christ and his teaching is fundamental to the Christian context. Believing faith, trusting in the redemptive work of Christ, evolves into the practice of faith or living out personal circumstances with the selfless graces of Christ and his Gospel e.g. love, forgiveness, kindness, compassion, integrity, generosity, patience, and peace. Such Faith leaves “Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o’er life’s solemn main/A forlorn and shipwrecked brother/Seeing, shall take heart again.”

However, faith looks beyond good works, social justice and immediacy to a spiritual journey and intimacy and future with God with great confidence in the declaration of “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?…But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1( Corinthians 15:55-57 )

God has done all that is possible to give us meaning and purpose and power to bravely face “fleeting time,” to embrace it “with a heart for any fate,” and to live in hopeful expectation.

No Matter How Far away You Roam…

“Home Again,” Cutler Harbor, Maine

Hopefully, as we leave this Christmas season with its bright lights and uplifting music, worship services, and warm gatherings of family and friends, we have garnered excitement for a new year.

For some, it has been a sweet time. For others, this is a difficult time of year. Unfortunate or even tragic circumstances, seemingly unending pandemic uncertainties, severe family dysfunction and disconnectedness, loneliness, or unwarranted stress and lack of simplicity may have blunted Christmas joy because much of this season’s deep specialness is due to a sense of place and of connection with people with whom we have shared life. However, even if we have had losses or have not felt the sense of belonging or of being loved, this season is a gentle reminder that we are always on God’s mind, that we are never alone, that we have the eternal gift of Emmanuel-God with us.

For those who have been fortunate enough to have had a warm place from which as fledglings they could barely wait to leave, they long to go back at least once a year to the innocence and closeness of what “used to be.” We all listen to Perry Como or the Carpenters sing about  “…the man who lives in Tennessee/…heading for Pennsylvania/And some home made pumpkin pie” and  that “no matter/How far away you roam/If you want/To be happy in a million ways/For the holidays, you can’t beat/Home, sweet home.” So, like the sparrows returning to Capistrano every mid March, we eagerly return in December to relive favorite, family traditions with those who still love us. Sometimes, we can only memory-travel to sweet people and years past, but often we take those “Country Roads” back to  “mountain Mama”  or to quiet, fishing villages in Maine, or to places about which John Denver sang, “Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend/Yes, and hey, it’s good to be back home again.” 

Actually, Christmas is more about leaving home than about returning, about new experiences rather than reliving the past. God, who is a historically proven, faithful promise keeper, had promised many centuries before Christ that there would be One who would take the chastisement for our sins and heal our wounds. Then in time, Christ left heaven’s safety, splendor and perfection and miraculously joined humanity in his difficult pilgrimage of love through this chaotic world only to be rebuffed by its cold evilness. (Isaiah 53) Although his advent was announced with great joy and with a promise of peace for a troubled humanity, (Luke 2:10-14) he and his message were not readily accepted, and he longed to be home with his heavenly Father, who was his constant source of joy and peace. However, divine love and purpose conquered his difficulties and homesickness.

He journeyed  from Christmas to Easter through a vail of harassments and human afflictions. Only after completing the objectives designed for him, after accomplishing the will of His Father, after dealing with the difficulties and temptations of humanity, after enduring the wrath and shame of a cruel, criminal’s cross for our unholiness so that we could be at peace with God, after guaranteeing  our hope of everlasting life with an astonishing resurrection, after he had done what he could, he joyfully returned home  leaving us with the promise that those who will trust him will also have a heavenly home (Hebrews 12:2) ( John 14) which the Apostle Peter described as “…an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  (John 14:1-6) (1 Peter 1:4-5)

Regardless of who we are, what our earthly traumas have been, what we may have done, or what our current situation may be, God understands us, values us, and has never abandoned us. His love is immeasurable. (Romans 8 :38)(John 3:16) Even in our rebellion, He mercifully opens His welcoming arms like a shepherd rescuing a wandering, lost lamb by carrying it back to the protection of the fold. He longs to be our home, our Refuge, our mighty Fortress, our Salvation.

On a special night in Bethlehem, He fulfilled that ever so distant, wonderful prophetic promise as angels declared the good, joyful news for all people that God had sent forth His Son. The Savior had been born to heal mankind, to make those who desire to to be God’s sons and daughters, to be His family. (Luke 2:10-11) (Galatians 4:4-7) That is His gracious gift to all who choose to receive it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

That was and is great news! His love pursues us regardless of where we may roam. By faith, we arrive where we are accepted, where we were made to be–home with God.

Underneath Change

Change, Bucksport, Maine

A recent poll of Americans found them to be exhausted and fearful and confused about the future. Sometimes it seems that “time” is filled with a jumbled, disconnected series of stories without a cohesive meaning.

“Time” does change things, or things change with time. Seasons pass. Years pile up. Successes and happy times come and go. Changes may be filled with joy or despair, readily apparent and dramatic, or barely perceptible and overlooked. But “time” holds both personal and cosmic trajectories.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox captured the uncertainties of “change” in her poem by that name: “ Is it so very strange/ That hearts, like all things underneath God’s skies/Should sometimes feel the influence of change?/The birds, the flowers, the foliage of the trees/The stars which seem so fixed, and so sublime/Vast continents, and the eternal seas/ All these do change, with ever-changing time.

The face our mirror shows us year on year/ Is not the same; our dearest aim, or need,/Our lightest thought, or feeling, hope, or fear/ All, all the law of alternation heed./How can we ask the human heart to stay/Content with fancies of Youth’s earliest hours?/The year outgrows the violets of May/Although, maybe, there are no fairer flowers.” (portions of the poem, “Change”, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

Our safety, health, economic stability, national security, affections, and commitments are fragile, not guaranteed, and waver if unattended. However, in the background of human existence, God’s commitment has remained purposeful and unfaltering because His nature is immutable. Nothing about God’s nature changes. His holiness, His sovereign power, His unwavering redemptive love, and His principles for living well are constants. His Word lives and endures and does not mutate with the follies and philosophies of culture. It is firmly established. (Psalm 119:89) (Isaiah 40:8) (Matthew 5:17-19) ( Matthew 7:24-27) (1 Peter 1:25)

Even when tested by Israel, God loved them and told them “…I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6) Those profound and reassuring words echo throughout history as a message for all of mankind, a message which He proved through the extreme price paid for the world’s redemption through the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins. And Jesus Christ’s purposes do not change. He is “ the same yesterday, today, and forever.”(Hebrew 13:6)

In 1882, George Matheson, a Scottish parish minister, expressed this same thought differently but beautifully: “O Love that will not let me go/I rest my weary soul in thee/I give thee back the life I owe, /that in thine ocean depths its flow/ may richer, fuller be.“

Over 400 years ago Isaac Watts wrote “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”, a beautiful, magestic hymn which we sing in our churches today : “Before the hills in order stood/or earth received its frame/from everlasting you are God, to endless years the same.// O God, our help in ages past/ our hope for years to come/ still be our guard while troubles last/ and our eternal home.

That is tracking into time’s highest trajectory for all creation….Underneath and beyond personal dreams and successes, beyond altruism and common good, God wants our weary souls to know Him and enjoy Him forever. He has done everything possible to make that possible as He redeems His creation.

No Matter How Far away You Roam…

“Home Again,” Cutler Harbor, Maine

Hopefully, as we leave this Christmas season with its bright lights and uplifting music, worship services, and warm gatherings of family and friends, we have garnered excitement for a new year.

For some, it has been a sweet time. For others, this is a difficult time of year. Unfortunate or even tragic circumstances, seemingly unending pandemic uncertainties, severe family dysfunction and disconnectedness, loneliness, or unwarranted stress and lack of simplicity may have blunted Christmas joy because much of this season’s deep specialness is due to a sense of place and of connection with people with whom we have shared life. However, even if we have had losses or have not felt the sense of belonging or of being loved, this season is a gentle reminder that we are always on God’s mind, that we are never alone, that we have the eternal gift of Emmanuel-God with us.

For those who have been fortunate enough to have had a warm place from which as fledglings they could barely wait to leave, they long to go back at least once a year to the innocence and closeness of what “used to be.” We all listen to Perry Como or the Carpenters sing about  “…the man who lives in Tennessee/…heading for Pennsylvania/And some home made pumpkin pie” and  that “no matter/How far away you roam/If you want/To be happy in a million ways/For the holidays, you can’t beat/Home, sweet home.” So, like the sparrows returning to Capistrano every mid March, we eagerly return in December to relive favorite, family traditions with those who still love us. Sometimes, we can only memory-travel to sweet people and years past, but often we take those “Country Roads” back to  “mountain Mama”  or to quiet, fishing villages in Maine, or to places about which John Denver sang, “Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend/Yes, and hey, it’s good to be back home again.” 

Actually, Christmas is more about leaving home than about returning, about new experiences rather than reliving the past. God, who is a historically proven, faithful promise keeper, had promised many centuries before Christ that there would be One who would take the chastisement for our sins and heal our wounds. Then in time, Christ left heaven’s safety, splendor and perfection and miraculously joined humanity in his difficult pilgrimage of love through this chaotic world only to be rebuffed by its cold evilness. (Isaiah 53) Although his advent was announced with great joy and with a promise of peace for a troubled humanity, (Luke 2:10-14) he and his message were not readily accepted, and he longed to be home with his heavenly Father, who was his constant source of joy and peace. However, divine love and purpose conquered his difficulties and homesickness.

He journeyed  from Christmas to Easter through a vail of harassments and human afflictions. Only after completing the objectives designed for him, after accomplishing the will of His Father, after dealing with the difficulties and temptations of humanity, after enduring the wrath and shame of a cruel, criminal’s cross for our unholiness so that we could be at peace with God, after guaranteeing  our hope of everlasting life with an astonishing resurrection, after he had done what he could, he joyfully returned home  leaving us with the promise that those who will trust him will also have a heavenly home (Hebrews 12:2) ( John 14) which the Apostle Peter described as “…an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  (John 14:1-6) (1 Peter 1:4-5)

Regardless of who we are, what our earthly traumas have been, what we may have done, or what our current situation may be, God understands us, values us, and has never abandoned us. His love is immeasurable. (Romans 8 :38)(John 3:16) Even in our rebellion, He mercifully opens His welcoming arms like a shepherd rescuing a wandering, lost lamb by carrying it back to the protection of the fold. He longs to be our home, our Refuge, our mighty Fortress, our Salvation.

On a special night in Bethlehem, He fulfilled that ever so distant, wonderful prophetic promise as angels declared the good, joyful news for all people that God had sent forth His Son. The Savior had been born to heal mankind, to make those who desire to to be God’s sons and daughters, to be His family. (Luke 2:10-11) (Galatians 4:4-7) That is His gracious gift to all who choose to receive it. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

That was and is great news! His love pursues us regardless of where we may roam. By faith, we arrive where we are accepted, where we were made to be–home with God.

Romancing the World

Sheep, Bucks Harbor, Maine

Bucks Harbor, a small, fishing harbor in Washington County, Maine, lies in the distance beyond the sheep. Lobster boats are gently rocking on the tide but are invisible in the foggy, snowy distance. Jesus probably would have been at home here. It was the life he lived! Sheep and fishermen were  elements in his earthly life’s experience and fodder for his practical teaching and parables. His closest friends  were fishermen, but it was to Shepherds that his astonishing birth was announced.

Dr. Luke detailed that astounding, awe inspiring, but somewhat odd event. A heavenly blaze of God’s glory illuminated the sky; a small field of humble shepherds who were watching their flocks at night were startled with a shocking, bewildering, dramatic, angelic message that the long awaited Messiah had been born and was lying in a manger. Then a multitude of the heavenly host appeared praising God for peace among those with whom (God) was pleased! (Luke 2:1-21)

What a strange, baffling, and inconvenient way to deliver such a powerful message! Why would this universally needed, supremely important message from heaven itself be committed to poor, powerless people who had no technical way to broadly convey it? “Downhere,” a Canadian  Rock Band, poses similar questions: ” A child in a manger? Lowly and small, the weakest of all/ Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother’s shawl/ Just a child/ Is this who we’ve waited for?” “Cause how many kings stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? And how many Gods have poured out their hearts/To romance a world that is torn all apart? How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?

Surely, such long awaited, dramatic news deserved better press! However, anonymity and humble beginnings protected the Christ child from the corrupting influences of religion and politics, from opportunists, and from opponents who would have either annihilated him or would have manipulated him into goals and ideas that perverted the Gospel’s redemptive message and the transformation of souls.

Nobody was prepared for the Messiah to be born in suspect circumstances in a cattle stable to humble parents only to slowly grow into the person God meant him to be, to become an itinerant rabbi who championed the eternal Kingdom of God but would die a criminal’s death instead of becoming a warrior King who could improve Israel’s circumstance and advance its political goals. But “Emmanuel,” God embodied in flesh, had stepped into His creation in a unique way in order to bring peace to all humanity. (John1:1-5) (Colossians 1:15-16) (Hebrews 1: 1-3) Was there a catch? Was there an exclusionary clause in the message “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” ? Were they speaking only of Israel? Was this a contradiction? Wasn’t the message one of joy to all people?

God’s grace is immense; it covers the world. His inexpressible love and mercy are for the undeserving; His special peace and joy come through belief for “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come” to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Religions have spent centuries devising suggestions and methods and dogma on how to please and  implore God for peace and joy through works, sacrifices, self humiliations, deprivations, rituals, and traditions. However, Christ revealed God’s grace : his advent, his life, his teachings, his cruel crucifixon which showed the awful punishment that unholiness deserves, his bodily sacrifice and death which took God’s wrath for that unholiness and built the bridge of reconciliation between man and God, and his resurrection which gives us the great confidence of life eternal. Clearly, the message of redemption was for “whosever will,” for the whole world, for Jew and Gentile, for the civilized or uncivilized, for the “sinner” as well as the religious or socially “worthy.” (John 3:16; 8:12) (Acts 2:21)(Galatians 3:28) (Colossians 3:11) Christ is the “once for all” Savior. (Hebrews 7:26)

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn beautifully stating the truth of Christ:  “Love divine, all loves excelling/joy of heaven, to earth come down/…Jesus, thou art all compassion/ pure, unbounded love thou art/Visit us with thy salvation/ enter every trembling heart.” “Come, Almighty, to deliver, let us all thy life receive…”

God wanted the world to experience heaven’s joy through Christ, who said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11; 17:13) Therein lies the true Christmas story, the story of God’s steadfast, ever enduring, ever pursuing, immeasurable love for us. That story demands a response. It impacted Isaac Watts, who wrote: ”Joy to the World the Lord has come, Let earth receive her king, Let every heart prepare him room, and Heaven and Nature sing” 

Romancing the World

Sheep, Bucks Harbor, Maine

Bucks Harbor, a small, fishing harbor in Washington County, Maine, lies in the distance beyond the sheep. Lobster boats are gently rocking on the tide but are invisible in the foggy, snowy distance. Jesus probably would have been at home here. It was the life he lived! Sheep and fishermen were  elements in his earthly life’s experience and fodder for his practical teaching and parables. His closest friends  were fishermen, but it was to Shepherds that his astonishing birth was announced.

Dr. Luke detailed that astounding, awe inspiring, but somewhat odd event. A heavenly blaze of God’s glory illuminated the sky; a small field of humble shepherds who were watching their flocks at night were startled with a shocking, bewildering, dramatic, angelic message that the long awaited Messiah had been born and was lying in a manger. Then a multitude of the heavenly host appeared praising God for peace among those with whom (God) was pleased! (Luke 2:1-21)

What a strange, baffling, and inconvenient way to deliver such a powerful message! Why would this universally needed, supremely important message from heaven itself be committed to poor, powerless people who had no technical way to broadly convey it? “Downhere,” a Canadian  Rock Band, poses similar questions: ” A child in a manger? Lowly and small, the weakest of all/ Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother’s shawl/ Just a child/ Is this who we’ve waited for?” “Cause how many kings stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? And how many Gods have poured out their hearts/To romance a world that is torn all apart? How many Fathers gave up their Sons for me?

Surely, such long awaited, dramatic news deserved better press! However, anonymity and humble beginnings protected the Christ child from the corrupting influences of religion and politics, from opportunists, and from opponents who would have either annihilated him or would have manipulated him into goals and ideas that perverted the Gospel’s redemptive message and the transformation of souls.

Nobody was prepared for the Messiah to be born in suspect circumstances in a cattle stable to humble parents only to slowly grow into the person God meant him to be, to become an itinerant rabbi who championed the eternal Kingdom of God but would die a criminal’s death instead of becoming a warrior King who could improve Israel’s circumstance and advance its political goals. But “Emmanuel,” God embodied in flesh, had stepped into His creation in a unique way in order to bring peace to all humanity. (John1:1-5) (Colossians 1:15-16) (Hebrews 1: 1-3) Was there a catch? Was there an exclusionary clause in the message “and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” ? Were they speaking only of Israel? Was this a contradiction? Wasn’t the message one of joy to all people?

God’s grace is immense; it covers the world. His inexpressible love and mercy are for the undeserving; His special peace and joy come through belief for “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come” to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Religions have spent centuries devising suggestions and methods and dogma on how to please and  implore God for peace and joy through works, sacrifices, self humiliations, deprivations, rituals, and traditions. However, Christ revealed God’s grace : his advent, his life, his teachings, his cruel crucifixon which showed the awful punishment that unholiness deserves, his bodily sacrifice and death which took God’s wrath for that unholiness and built the bridge of reconciliation between man and God, and his resurrection which gives us the great confidence of life eternal. Clearly, the message of redemption was for “whosever will,” for the whole world, for Jew and Gentile, for the civilized or uncivilized, for the “sinner” as well as the religious or socially “worthy.” (John 3:16; 8:12) (Acts 2:21)(Galatians 3:28) (Colossians 3:11) Christ is the “once for all” Savior. (Hebrews 7:26)

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn beautifully stating the truth of Christ:  “Love divine, all loves excelling/joy of heaven, to earth come down/…Jesus, thou art all compassion/ pure, unbounded love thou art/Visit us with thy salvation/ enter every trembling heart.” “Come, Almighty, to deliver, let us all thy life receive…”

God wanted the world to experience heaven’s joy through Christ, who said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11; 17:13) Therein lies the true Christmas story, the story of God’s steadfast, ever enduring, ever pursuing, immeasurable love for us. That story demands a response. It impacted Isaac Watts, who wrote: ”Joy to the World the Lord has come, Let earth receive her king, Let every heart prepare him room, and Heaven and Nature sing”  

“In the Bleak Midwinter”….

Sorrento Harbor, Maine

Long, cold, 18th century, English winters inspired Christina Rossetti’s Christmas poem, In the Bleak Midwinter. In the course of this dreary weather season, several religions celebrate special days which include the Jewish Festival of Lights or Hanukkah and the Christian celebration of Christ’s Advent or Christmas.

During the extended Christmas holiday, the airways are filled with festive music ranging from rock and pop to country, choral and classical. There is a genre for everyone. Musical moods vary from silly and light hearted to deeply worshipful, from “Grandma got run over by a Reindeer” to “O Holy Night.” There are traditional, Christmas carols or new Christmas albums by favorite vocal and instrumental artists and choirs. The list swings from sentimental to sacred, from I’ll be Home for Christmas” and “Home for the Holidays” to Joy to the World , Silent Night, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and Handel’s Messiah with its magnificent, stirring Hallelujah Chorus. These familiar songs rekindle the emotion, enjoyment, and excitement of Christmas year after year and hopefully help us remember the real reason for celebration!

Over a century after 18th Handel’s masterpiece, Christiana Georgina Rossetti composed  In the Bleak Midwinter, a poem which  became a hymn that was published as “A Christmas Carol.”  Although recorded by artists such as James Taylor and Susan Boyle,  its beautiful lyrics deserve the  majestic sound of a cathedral choral group to give it a full, deeply worshipful sense. Those renditions can be found on YouTube.

The first verse describes the desolate circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth: “In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, /earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone…” The second verse speaks beautifully of Christ’s advent and his eventual, promised return: “Our God, Heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain/ heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes to reign/ In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed/ the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.  Verse three is about Jesus’ humble, isolated birth, and the fourth verse is a personal response to God’s great gift of love: What can I give him, poor as I am? /If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part/ yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

That last phrase clearly states the reason God sent his Son into humanity’s bleakness. Christ came so that mankind would know and respond to God’s incomparable, redemptive love with grateful hearts of love and loyalty.

A Rose by Whatever Name…..

Rugosa Roses, “Beach roses, Sorrento, Maine

According to Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. Juliet knew that the character of the boy she loved was more important than his family origin or the surname that he had been given. Labelling, fancy marketing, having a famous name, or presenting a pleasant affect do not guarantee quality or genuineness. Essence is not in a name or face. We know that. We live in the day of scammers!

We also know the religious world holds opportunity for insincerity. Even within a certain faith tradition, doctrines and expectations differ. There are orthodox and unorthodox, conservative and liberal, contemporary and traditional, radical and devout, practicing and nominal. In the Christian religious world, there are Catholics and Greek Orthodox, and Protestants who are fractured into denominations where religious ethics and doctrines and creeds may vary. All these traditions are observed with different degrees of religious fervor and intellectual vigor.

For the Jew, the inspired truths of the Old Testament are the gold standard that define one’s relationship with God. Faith is the important ingredient not only for the Jew but for the Christian, who believes that both the Old Testament and the New Testament Gospels and letters reveal the grace of God in Christ.

Religions exist in a petrie dish of ideas and cultural influences that will pollute them. By assimilating secular thinking, they become hybrids of cultural and religious beliefs. So, confusion reigns as to what constitutes a genuine disciple/believer. Christianity is no exception. In fact, some people claim to be “Christian” simply by default because they are not Jews or Muslims or followers of some other religion. One would think that a Christian would and should be defined by their trust in the truth of Christ, but other ideas become stirred into the Christian belief system, and sometimes Christian churches become more culture than Christian.

Attempts to maintain purity of doctrine are not new problems. Old Testament Scripture is loaded with admonitions against Jews intermixing with pagan religions and cultures. Similarly, New Testament teaching is filled with cautions about intermingling Christianity’s teachings with other religious thought or social behaviors, but Truth stands strong, unchanging, and consistent despite shifting, populist rhetoric or social standards.

Jesus told an interesting parable about a wheat field where weeds were growing. He was speaking metaphorically about the distinction between  true believers in God and those that were not believers and those that seemed to be believers. The appearances of the wheat and the weeds were similar, and their roots were so entwined that they could not be distinguished from each other. Pulling the weeds would have destroyed some of the wheat! Anyone who has weeded a garden, particularly in the early growing season, knows how difficult it may be to distinguish weeds and crop, and weed pulling may disrupt the plants.

At least one of Jesus’ points was that sometimes personal faith may be superficial, just appearance. Despite confessions and professions and  outward appearances, one can not fully see into the soul of another. God will make the judgment about authenticity at some future time when He will disentangle the true from the disingenuous, the counterfeits, the deluded, the mislabeled, and the disengaged.(Matthew 13:24-30) (Matthew 7:21-23; 25:1ff) He, the Lord“… sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) 

The core truths, the roots of Christianity, are about the person of Christ- who he is, about what he taught and did, about his redemptive and restorative work at the cross, and about the eternal hope of his resurrection. Once when speaking to those who were religious but did not believe, Jesus said, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, (John 10:25-28 (NLT2) 

Because salvation is a transaction based on a trusting relationship with God and His grace and mercy to save us, believers are not left in anxious limbo about their personal  safety with God. God understands our failed determinations in the face of temptations. He also knows the deep repentance and intents and desires of those who are his true sheep,  those that have been changed and are changing through the miracle of the cross where he loved us and pursued us to the fullest extent possible in Christ and where he takes us in His arms, receives us as His children, and pulls us to His loving heart which beats with compassion and joy.

So, whatever nametag is applied to them, Christians are imperfect and sometimes wayward, wandering  children of God and awkward disciples who are struggling with how to live amidst the weeds and not be choked out. However, as they learn about and trust their Shepherd, they will smell less like sheep, will bear the fragrance and integrity of Christ into a chaotic world and become the  enduring aroma of the gracious Gospel of mercy, forgiveness, peace and a compassionate, caring love that values all people.

A Paradox: Different but the Same!

Lawn Chairs, Hallowell, Maine

Basically the same but superficially different, these colorful lawn chairs are reminders of both the similarities and the uniqueness of the people who occupy them from time to time. Brown, yellow, black or white, we categorize ourselves by physical characteristics, personal quirkiness, ancestry, social standing , abilities, intellect and other individual differences. However, whether living in some uncivilized aboriginal tribe or sitting at the Queen’s table, human flesh has the same amazingly complex physical properties, predictable functions, and requirements of food, water, security, and shelter for survival. Furthermore, we all stand on terra firma and have views, albeit with different perspectives, of a well ordered, magnificent, awesome, vast universe.

As spiritual beings who struggle with questions about origins, meaning, and purposes which exist beyond the immediate and the material, we intuitively know that we are more than flesh, that we transcend our cellular and chemical makeup, that we are valued but broken, bruised, and weakened spirits who hunger for security, sustaninence, nourishment, relationships, and eternity . We need to be loved, to be part of a tribe,  and to have some sense of continuity.

We seek memorialization, legacies, some form of permanence,  some everlastingness because “eternity has been set in the human heart.”(Ecclesiastes 3:11) We want our spirits to go to a good place when our bodies die. Most of us believe in God or gods or at least question or surmise their existence. So, we attempt to do what we can and try to be more than we can be. We fail at perfection. We know that we are not what we should be because we are imperfect in attitude and behavior. We need redemption and seek it through effort or belief or a hybrid of the two.

We flounder about to fulfill spiritual needs, to find inner peace and healing. Most often that is sought through fragile and superficial relationships, wealth and material things, worthy but fleeting vocations, religion and its rituals, and empty philosophies. These tend to distract and derail us from the fact we are meant for God.

We understand that our bodies will die, and we wonder about our spirits -that special part of us that is us.  They are our core being where we feel and think and formulate and choose behaviors, where we consider ideas and make decisions which are sometimes good and joyous and sometimes flawed and awful, and where we react with emotions that are not always good either. All of us sin and fall short of God’s glory for which we were created. We want forgiveness and peace with God, not the universe.

Our choices become to either live for the present and deny an afterlife, or to struggle to be good enough and to hope for eternal bliss, or to pursue the revelations of the reality behind the complexity of our bodies and souls and the universe. Truth seeking will lead to faith which will be both intuitive and logical if based on revealed Truth.

Scripture tells us that the Reality behind our world and us is God “ For (God’s) invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So, they are without excuse.” (Romans1:20)

Scripture also reveals that God looks at who we are, at our souls, at our “hearts.” In compassionate understanding and mercy, He gives us grace. He loves us. He wants to do the best possible for us; that requires redemption; the whole counsel of Scripture emphasizes that God alone is adequate to save us. God invites us to Himself and  gives us what our spirits require. He is our hope. “How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey/Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life/ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”(Psalm 119:103-105 (NLT2) “Taste and see that the Lord is good. … blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! …Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing…(Psalm 34:8-10)

Christ’s wonderful redemptive message is the great invitation. Just as that little children’s chorus says, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world/Brown and yellow, black, and white/All are precious in his sight/Jesus love the children of the world.”

We may be unique, but we have the same spiritual needs. Christ can meet them. “Whoever believes in me shall live even though he dies“ (John 11:25) “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:28)

How Many “Glad” Days are there in a Year?

“Glads” in the Window, Sullivan, maine

“Glads” make us glad! Flowers, apart from being gifts of appreciation, tokens of love, and friendly gestures, have a beauty which can and may buoy us up. In one of his “Peanuts” cartoons, Charles Shultz has Charlie Brown hugging Snoopy and questioning, “What if today, we were just grateful for everything? Such an attitude of thankfulness would make for a kinder, more satisfied world, but is that possible? Was the Apostle Paul a bit too exuberant in his exhortation that it was the will of God to be thankful in all circumstances? (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

This week, Americans celebrate our national Thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully, it will be a time to not only remember the hardships endured by the early Plymouth Pilgrims who helped establish our nation and set it on a path toward the still not fully realized ideals of equality, liberty and justice, but also to emulate their gratitude toward God for his sovereignty over their lives even in difficult times, and to appreciate all the goodness in our personal lives.

Regardless of the difficulties and restrictions experienced in various stages of civilization by limited knowledge and technology, natural disasters, and the evilness of men, there have always been those who have sensed God’s involvement in the affairs of men, have understood that all good things come from Him, and have experienced a spiritual joy exceeding that of thankfulness for good circumstances, material things, and human relationships.

That kind of joy is a gift. When the “Mosaic Law” was rediscovered after their Babylonian captivity, the Israelites realized they had betrayed God and wept tears of grief and repentance. Nehemiah comforted them: “…do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”(Nehemiah 8:10) Knowing that, they celebrated with “great rejoicing.” The “joy of the Lord” is bestowed. It is relational in nature. Muslims, Jews and Christians believe hat God is the Creator of mankind and has revealed Himself to humanity, but to the Jew and Christian He is more than a master. He is the loving Heavenly Father of His people. Through unconditional love and extreme grace, He offers forgiveness even in the face of rebellion, rejection, and grave dishonoring. As such, His joy is embedded in, manifested by, and conveyed through encouragement, support, discipline, security, and protection for His children. When received, His joy induces a healthy, loving reciprocation from those who trust the Father’s good purposes, who desire to be  their best selves, and who follow the Father’s principles for living.

This sweet mutual commitment, loyalty, and dedication between God and His children is spoken of throughout Scripture. The prophet Zephaniah spoke of God’s joy, of His rejoicing “with gladness” and exulting with “loud singing” over the salvation He provided His people. (Zephaniah 3:17) The Psalmist’s song affirmed the happiness found in redemption: “…in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” (Psalm 28:7) Jesus’s life’s example and teachings continued the refrain and meld the joy of heaven with that on earth. “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:11)

The Gospel is the story of bestowing. God’s merciful grace gives the blessedness of forgiveness and reconciliation with “Our Father, who art in heaven.” Jesus’ parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son reveal the great earthly and heavenly joy over those who discover or return to the faith, over those who respond to God’s active pursuit and for whom He patiently waits to return. (Luke 15) The Apostle Paul continues this stream of thought in his letter to the Colossian Church. He speaks of “giving thanks to the Father, who …has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:12-14)

Could it be that Charlie Brown was on to something? Every day can be a glad day, a day of Thanksgiving, because joy is relational and derived from God not circumstances. There is the joy of trusting God and praying “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” because He always has redemptive interests of his children in mind. The Psalmist held that keen confidence in God. “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” (Psalm 94:19) “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:1)