Resting In Peace (No, Not Death)

Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
JOHN 11:28-30

If you're over forty, you have probably met (or will meet) today someone who will indicate to you that they are tired; and you will relate to them. Unfortunately, many of the people you meet will be under forty. Researchers have concluded that the source of this tiredness is either from disease, sickness, poor diet, obesity or weariness from living in an unstable world.

I've been spending some rough nights, with difficulty breathing and chest congestion, from seasonal allergies (and probably working in a doctor's office). But my spirit seems to feel quite chipper, thank you. And I think that that is the medicine (along with lots of vitamin C) that will render my condition manageable. Studies have also determined that a good attitude makes for a speedy recovery.

What about those spirits that are sick? Those mental conditions that convey sadness, misery, loneliness, anger, frustration and depression? To be sure, we all suffer from each of those from time to time, but many seem to live with them. Why do some shake them off, while others trudge along, carrying them on their backs?

I honestly don't know, but I am firmly convinced that God is not only constantly aware of them, but he is in the mix. You see, I believe that everything has a purpose. A great many Christians believe that God set things in motion and then stepped back to watch the outcome. Others think that he only intervenes on occasion, especially at the time we are to "accept Christ." Then we're left to ourselves to "work out" our salvation.

I'm convinced in my heart that he is intimately aware of (and concerned about) our daily doings as his very own dear children. We are often told to shake off our negative emotions, and sometimes that works --- only to have them sneak right back in --- or even to return with a vengeance.

That's why God has coupled us with his son, Jesus. Because Jesus has been there/done that, felt our emotions --- and still remained an obedient, peaceful and loving son. Many carry their crosses as they carry their Bibles, more as a badge of honor, with a woe-is-me attitude, when all the time Jesus assures us that the yoke is easy, the burden is light.

Now, we cannot help at times passing through the valley of despair. My wife and I have a running argument as to how much Satan is involved in the mind games. She thinks I give him way too much credit. She may be right. We definitely do not want to make him our excuse for behaving badly.

Three things jump out at me in the quoted verse. One is that we are to learn from Jesus. How? By reading what he said (the Gospels) and by listening to his Spirit (the voice inside). We must also concentrate on gentleness. In my frustrating workday, I may snap at someone without thinking. In my passion for discussing heartfelt spiritual issues, I may come across as overpowering or abrasive. In short, I must remain calm and collected as I deal with these challenges.

Finally, I must show humility. This is the most difficult because, as I have written before, if you are consciously aware that you are humble, then you are not humble. The key to this quality may also be the gentleness. It is a form of waiting on God, testing the spirits and being willing to learn and to accept your own shortcomings, with a firm determination to constantly do better.

The image of the yoke is powerful. Two beings bound together to perform a task that one could not manage alone. We know that Jesus could pull the whole load himself, but he won't do that. He will not walk off and leave us. We must step out with him in order to proceed on our journey.

What does this say? We're never alone. We always have an advocate to the Father for us. We always have a companion to share our burden. Walk with him. Work with him. It will be a wonderful experience. One that will bring joy.
STEVE

Hope For Eternity

Who doesn't want to live forever? How about people whose lives are messed up, who suffer from debilitating diseases or who have lost a life partner? Others, who have every need met, who are the picture of health and are surrounded by loving friends and family don't want life to end.

But time runs out. Or life is cut short. We must all one day face the Grim Reaper. So we shift our focus to life after life. Will there be one? Will it be better than this one? Do I have to sit on a cloud, playing a harp forever? How long is forever?

The concept of eternity has been debated for ages, from Aristotle to Augustine. Most theories involve God (or a god, or gods), existing outside of time and space as we know it. The philosophers attempt different methods of inductive reasoning and metaphysical understanding. It can become quite brain-numbing, like the following:

Time must be eternal because to refer to a time "before" time began implies that there was time before time, making the concept self-contradictory.

Huh? It makes my head hurt to read some of this stuff. I'm still amazed at how they can put me out, perform five hours of surgery, wake me up, and I have absolutely no concept of the time having passed.

Christians and scientists agree on at least one thing --- that our universe had a start. Christians say that God created it. NASA says that it exploded into being 13.7 billion years ago. (Only scientists can add a .7 to an already unbelievable number!)

We have no remembrance of anything prior to our own birth (actually later than that), and we don't have a clue as to what really happens after death. So it seems our real focus is the here and now, with a positive outlook on the hereafter. The Bible says that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men." (Eccl. 3:11).

I'm also amazed at the similarities between us humans and the animal kingdom (mammals, that is) --- with one difference. I look at my dog. He has similar body parts. Eats, drinks, sleeps, just like me. But he doesn't worry. He doesn't plot. He is always ready to greet me joyfully after five minutes, or five days. I can ascribe human emotions to him because they look similar to my own. But upon careful study, I soon learn that his "emotions" are from instinct. He doesn't hold grudges or pit me against my wife. He will sit loyally at my feet, but won't have a dialogue with me. He looks like he's thinking, but we won't be having a discussion about life. In short, his only goal is to be a dog, for this day, for this moment.

I'm beginning to realize that God wants me to be his son, for this day, for this moment. My dog was created to honor his creator by his very existence. So am I --- with one exception. I have been given a higher intelligence, one in which I can embrace or reject my creator. And my relationship to him will be bound eternally to my relationship with other humans (and how I treat my pets).

I must live for the moment, doing the things that God wants me to do, no matter how trivial they may seem to me. Like many others, I live for the weekend. Time with my wife, grown children and grandchildren. Time to unwind. I've got to change that. While those moments are precious, I must realize that every moment is precious. Appreciating life in intricate detail.

Jesus said in a prayer to his Father, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) Notice, he didn't say anything about length of time. That matters not to God. When you're right with him, time becomes unnecessary.

Like the billboard says: GET RIGHT WITH GOD
STEVE

George MacDonald from "Unspoken Sermons"

I believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, my elder brother, my lord and master.

I believe that he has a right to my absolute obedience whenever I know or shall come to know his will; that to obey him is to ascend to the highest point of my being; that not to obey him would be to deny him.

I believe that he died that I might die like him --- die to any ruling power in me but the will of God --- live ready to be nailed to the cross as he was, if God wills it.

I believe that he is my Savior from myself, and from all that comes of loving myself, from all that God does not love, and would not have me love --- from all that is not worth loving; that he died that the justice, the mercy of God, might have its way with me, making me just as God is just, merciful as he is merciful, perfect as my father in heaven is perfect.

I believe and pray that he will give whatever punishment needed to set me right, or to keep me from going wrong.

I believe that he died to deliver me from all meanness, all pretending, all falseness, all unfairness, all self-pity, all cowardice, all fear, all anxiety, all forms of self-love, all trust or hope in possessions; making me joyful as a child, the child of our father in heaven, loving nothing but what is lovely, desiring nothing that I should be ashamed to let the universe of God see me desire.

I believe that God is just like Jesus, only greater yet, because Jesus said so.

I believe that God is absolutely, grandly beautiful, even as the highest soul of man counts beauty, but infinitely more beautiful than that soul's highest idea --- with the beauty that creates beauty, not merely shows it, or itself exists as beautiful.

I believe that God has always done, is always doing his best for everyone; that no one is miserable because God is forgetting them; that he is not a God to crouch before, but our father, to whom the child-heart cries with joy, "Do with me as you will."

I believe that there is nothing good for me or for anyone but God, and more and more of God, and that only through knowing Christ can we come near to him.

I believe that no one is ever condemned for any sin except one --- that he or she will not leave their sins and come out of them, and be the child of him who is their father.

I believe that justice and mercy are simply one and the same thing; without justice to the full there can be no mercy, and without mercy to the full there can be no justice; that the mercy of God is such that he will hold his children in the consuming fire of his distance until they pay the last penny, until they drop the purse of selfishness with all the trash in it, and rush home to the Father and the Son, and with the many brothers and sisters rush inside the center of his life-giving fire whose outer circles burn.

I believe that no hell will be lacking which would help the just mercy of God to redeem his children.

I believe that to those who obey, and thus open the doors of their hearts to receive the eternal gift, God gives the spirit of his son, the spirit of himself, to be in them, and lead them to the understanding of all truth; that the true disciple may thus always know what he or she ought to do, though not necessarily what another ought to do; and that same spirit of the Father and the Son will enlighten by teaching righteousness.

I believe that no teacher should strive to make others think as he thinks, but to lead them to the living Truth, to the Master himself, from whom alone they can learn anything, who will make them in themselves know what is true by the very seeing of it.

I believe that the inspiration of the Almighty alone gives understanding.

I believe that to be a disciple of Christ is the ultimate goal of being; that to persuade others to be his disciples is the ultimate goal of teaching.

Amen. I believe also.
STEVE

Lead, Follow or Get Out Of The Way

I used to think that there were two kinds of people in the world --- those who were Christian and those who were not. The Jews called anyone who weren't Jews Gentiles. Some may even classify humanity as those who have religion and those who don't.

I'm at the end of the project that I started on December 29, 2006, in which I commented on George MacDonald's "statement of faith" as it relates to my own life. The entire list of beliefs that I referenced will be collected in my next blog for preservation, since I will be removing them from the left-hand margin.

I make no apology for the fact that I have been inspired by his many teachings through his novels, sermons and poetry. He has brought into my life a refreshing approach to knowing God as who he really is, and seeing for the first time the purpose of Jesus the Christ in bringing the Good News from his heavenly Father.

What I see as the spiritual world order is quite simple. First, there is God --- one God --- no matter what name you might give him. There is also Jesus, God's son. He has always been in existence as far back as the beginning of our world --- probably even farther. God has always interacted with his creation throughout our history through prophets, signs and wonders. Even with all of that we seemed to constantly get it wrong. We particularly misunderstood his character as our father, as well as his desired relationship with us.

So he sent Jesus somewhere between B.C. and A.D our time, to teach us about his Father and to show us how to live with our brothers and sisters, and how we are to receive spiritual guidance. All of this is the good news (gospel).

Now, I realize that there are many religions in the world, many of which either don't know Christ, or, from their limited view of him, don't believe in him. No matter. If we are to leave this earthly vessel without getting it sorted out, we will have plenty of time to sort it out later. We are on a journey. The first part of our journey ends upon our death in this life. Death is but a door that we step through into a broader sensual experience --- an existence that will focus on our spiritual development, without the hindrance of physical woes.

I believe that all human creatures must go through the Son (Jesus) to reach the Father (God). The Biblical account in the Gospels reflects the earthly teaching by Jesus of heavenly things. We have enough information now to greatly enhance our journey. If we refuse to learn, or if some don't even have exposure to the truth, then Jesus will be waiting on the other side to resume (or begin) his teaching.

Here's the kicker. I could be wrong in all of this. If there is no God, then I have lived a life of joy and peace. However, I firmly believe that if there be a God, he will NOT burn me in Hell forever for getting my facts wrong. I desire to know his will --- in this life and the next. I trust in his love, rest in his care and hope for his sure guidance. He is my Father.
STEVE

A Penny For Your Thoughts

We all have opinions. If you occasionally keep your opinions (and any other talk) to yourself, someone might ask what you're thinking about ("a penny for your thoughts"). In today's economy you might want to hold out for more money, or you may want to choose your response carefully, as the thought could be something negative about them.

On the other hand, if you are not asked --- and if you have strong opinions --- you could volunteer to put your "two cents worth" in. Folks I have known will more likely put several dollars worth in, and I am tempted to give most of it back in change.

Many people have enough knowledge about several subjects and can present such information in a way so as to regard them as teachers. What gives them that status is our willingness to trust that what they say is true. Whether in a formal classroom or a casual one-on-one encounter, it is a tremendous responsibility, because the one person is affecting other lives.

Opinion is as strong in the area of religion as it is in philosophy or politics. We can claim that the Bible is the final authority, but interpretation is the real player in this scenario. Some passages of scripture seem clear, some appear to be contradictory, and more than we care to admit are just plain confusing.

For this reason, if we believe in God, then we must believe that he desires for us to know the truth, in increasing measure, as we grow spiritually in this life. His truth (or direction) comes to us by someone conveying it to us (spoken or written) and by his still, small voice within us. The voice within is more often than not the confirmation or denial of the "truths" we received from others. We also will receive clarifications of sometimes difficult subject matter.

The really important thing is that we are not put here to convince others of anything. We may very well be vessels, used by God, to purvey knowledge or guidance, but we should never force acceptance of such information. He will turn the lights on when the time is right.

What we can do, though, is reinforce our belief with obedience. We must live each day doing his will, letting others see that he lives and moves within us. This obviously excludes any form of preaching or pestering. Since God is love, then love must be the primary motivator. In 1 Peter 3:15 we read, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." If your words and deeds are in obedience to your heavenly Father, the questions will certainly come.

Above all we must be patient in this pattern of learning and telling. We are to be ever aware of false teaching. That's why the apostle John wrote, "Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) Patience is the form in which God works his will in us. There is plenty to do while we wait. All things are to be done to the glory of God.
STEVE

The Voice Within

I once had a discussion with my Dad (God rest his soul) about whether . . .

[What does that mean, "God rest his soul?" Are we hoping that God will rest his soul? Will his soul be at unrest if we don't say it? Is it a cute little phrase in which we subtly indicate that the person is deceased? Are we imploring God to do just that? Just wondering.]

We had a bit of disagreement on whether it was all right to have women preachers. (My Dad's Methodist church had one.) I quoted Paul the Apostle, who said that he did not permit a woman to teach a man. Dad responded that he had also read that passage, had consulted commentaries and knowledgeable individuals; however, not getting a satisfactory answer, he said that he finally "went straight to The Source."

I have to admit that I was a little put out that he had a direct line to God, when I was the self-appointed Biblical expert in the family. He wasn't really clear about what the answer was, but he indicated that it was sufficient enough for him to accept his lady pastor.

Now that he's gone, I have often reflected on that comment about going directly to God. I know that we pray. And I know the classic response that Bible teachers and preachers will give --- God always answers: sometimes "yes", sometimes "no" and sometimes "wait." But am I really seeking his will for my life, or am I just presenting a shopping list of concerns --- or a gift registry for him to fill?

The heart of the matter is that God is always ready to teach us about everything we need for this life --- and some of what we will need for the next (or rather the continued) life. He encourages us to test the words of those around us who tell us about him, because they are human, with human frailties. He wants us to test the words of the Bible (his Word?), because it was written by frail humans.

The Holy Spirit is God's voice in us. Jesus promised it to us. He is Comforter, Admonisher and Teacher. Jesus? Yes. The Spirit? Yes. God? Absolutely!

Here's the problem. We don't listen. Enough. We know what we want to ask. We know what we want to hear. We know what we've been taught. If we have ears to hear, we MUST beware the "truth" of the religious majority. That's what Jesus warned about. The truth may well be there, but be willing (and daring) enough to seek God's confirmation --- in your own heart.

If you get it wrong, you'll know --- eventually. He is patient and loving, willing to correct and direct when we're willing to get the wax out of our ears. His discipline is a demonstration of his love, and the comforting, correcting voice will always follow. Listen.

Lord, do with me as you will.
STEVE