JESUS WALKING ON WATER

To see more great pictures go to photobucket by clicking the link on the title above the picture.

DOING A LOT WITH A LITTLE

For more of this art go to Biblical Art on the WWW and look for the artist, Isabella Colette.

Do you ever wonder how to get more bang for the buck, more go to the gallon, more bounce for the ounce? One of the secrets of doing more with less is given to us in the miracle of feeding the multitude, with just enough for a boy’s lunch.

Almost apologetically, Andrew announces: “There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people” (John 6:9, Contemporary English Version)? They estimated 5,000 men in the group; how many women and children? No wonder Andrew felt embarrassed to even mention it.

During those wonderfully exhausting and stressful years of raising five children on the modest salary of a pastor and a gifted stay at home mom, who with her homemaking skills got the most out of every dollar; I found myself, at times, slipping into the Andrew syndrome: What a limited budget with so many mouths to feed, how can we possibly make ends meet?

One week as I was preparing to preach on our Lord’s miracle of feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, I made a great discovery. As John records it: “Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God.” Anyone can be thankful after the marvelous miracle of multiplication. Jesus gave thanks before this embarrassing scarcity became an amazing surplus. The story tells us that after everyone had eaten their fill, the disciples gathered up the remaining fragments and they filled twelve baskets.

The trick is to be thankful before the miracle occurs. Isn’t it true that those who are less than thankful seem to need more of everything and have less to show for it? It’s so easy to grumble about what is lacking and fail to celebrate what God has provided as limited as it may look to our financial calculations.

Now, with the children gone and providing for their own children, my focus of gratitude has shifted a few degrees. When I walk into church I want to say with Andrew: “There is a boy here,” and there is a girl there. They are growing up all around us. We dare not look past them as if they didn’t count until they grow up. The young lad in our story counted when he turned his lunch over to Jesus. Do you suppose he thought of holding back a portion for himself? But when he surrendered it to Jesus his little suddenly became a lot. Some of these children are in our church family and believe me; God will use them to change the world.

THE CHRIST OF THE COSMOS

The above article appeared in The Vine and Branches Vol. 24, Issue 4, 2009, published in Ohio. It reminds us that the historical Jesus has become the Christ of faith. Our Jewish carpenter, the lowly Galilean who lived in the first century, has been exalted and glorified by the power of the resurrection to become the Lord of the universe.

If there is life on other planets, in other galaxies; they too have a Savior who offers them eternal life. The One who in the days of his incarnation never left the land of Palestine, never journeyed more than 100 miles from Bethlehem of Judah, his birthplace, is now available to the furthest reaches of space. To infinity and back communion with our cosmic Christ is available to all who remember him in his broken body and his blood, shed for the remission of sins.

I invite you to take that step of faith to believe that the man known in history as Jesus of Nazareth is risen to dimensions of eternity. This is not a small step; it is rather a giant leap in a person’s understanding of the love that drew salvation’s plan, the grace that brought it down to man and the mighty gulf that God did span in the incarnation and glorification of his son.

DIGGING FOR NUGGETS OF TRUTH

Embedded in Scripture and lying just below the surface, one can find nuggets of spiritual truth. With daily diligence, one can dig them out and turn them into the gold of Christian character. This daily devotional guide is intended as a tool to assist in the mining of such treasure. The secret is to dig into the Word of God on a daily basis.

Like the Manna in the Hebrew Scripture, which would spoil if gathered weekly and stored; fresh insights must be gleaned from the Bible every day. This kind of daily discipline can maintain a growing and glowing personal relationship to our Lord and Savior that can not be done in a hit and miss fashion.

During their wilderness wanderings the people of God gathered the Manna every morning before the sun melted it. This devotional guide recommends that we reserve a period of time in the morning to meditate on the daily Scripture reading, ponder the key concept and reflect on the devotional study, closing with a prayer for the day. Because of its flexibility, this exercise can be done in five minutes or extended to a longer period of time. By the time you get through the three hundred and sixty five days, you will have the foundation you need to begin composing your own devotional literature.

There is a river of life flowing through the Scripture. As you pan for gold, you will discover nuggets of truth that will enrich your faith.

The Cross Stands Fast

The Southern California fire fighters that were near to this cross, as it was engulfed by flames, felt sure that it was gone. Gene Blevins, a photographer, returned to the scene the next day to get some more shots. He was surprised and amazed to find that the cross was not incinerated; it was not even scorched by the heat.

Some would say: “Big deal, this often happens in a fire. One building is destroyed and the one next to it escapes damage.” True, but this cross was right in the middle of a conflagration and surrounded on all sides. Nevertheless, those who are so inclined can explain this away as a coincidence that has no special meaning. For those, however, who choose to believe, this kind of phenomenon can have deep symbolic and theological significance.

Around the middle of the 19th century, it is reported that Sir John Bowring was involved in a ship wreck. He was able to cling to some drift wood and the currents carried him to an island. As the fog lifted, he saw a cross standing on a mountain, keeping watch over the bay where he was swept ashore. Reflecting on this, sometime after his rescue, these words came to mind which have found their way into our church hymnals: “In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time; all the light of sacred story gathers round its head sublime.”

The Bible tells us that in the eternal plan of God, Christ was crucified before the foundations of the world. Some of us believe that long after those foundations are shaken to their core, the cross will still be standing over the wrecks of time.
Many of us believe that the cross is history’s clearest revelation of a love which survives the worst that man can do and keeps on loving.

Building Bridges

In one of our previous blogs, we summarized our Savior’s ministry as breaking down barriers. He is continually working to chip away at those “Berlin walls” which divide man from man, man from God and nation from nation. To take that one step farther; he would also build a bridge over the ruins of those manmade barriers; bridges of understanding which connect classes, cultures and creeds.

When the French started building the Panama canal in 1870, the thought was to dig a gorge deep enough to cut through the isthmus of Panama and connect the two oceans at sea level. Despite their dedication to the task and their outstanding engineering skills, they ran out of time and money and were not able to complete the task.

What enabled America to succeed where France had failed? For one, by 1907 medical science had made dramatic progress in understanding the causes of tropical diseases and how to control them. In addition, engineering technology had also made huge strides.

But there was something else that was equally important: A new concept had emerged. Instead of cutting through at sea level, why not build over the isthmus, a series of locks, which would use water power to lift the great ships, on the Pacific side, 85 feet over the land barrier and then another series of locks that would lower them back to the level of the Caribbean? Instead of cutting through let’s build over. It was this new concept that enabled the Americans to succeed where the French had failed.

Often times we fail because we think we can, with sheer effort and determination, blast our way through mountains of difficulty. With American ingenuity and ambition we can achieve anything we set our hands to do. History has made it clear that had we endeavored to cut a canal deep enough to connect the two oceans we also would have failed. The topography necessitated not a gorge but a bridge; a water bridge to lift the huge ocean liners up and over to provide a path between the seas.

When we maneuver ourselves by faith into the lock of God’s love, a power flows around us, lifting us to the next higher level in our journey through time toward an ocean of eternity. On the cross Jesus reached out in both directions and provided just the bridge we need.

I’ve heard it said: If you can’t get around a problem then climb over it. If you can’t climb over it, dig under it. If you can’t dig under it, then tunnel through and turn it into a gold mine. I like that kind of can do philosophy. But the day comes, trust me, when no amount of trying in our own strength can avail. That’s the time to start trusting in the overarching love of God which provides just the bridge we need. Next time you see a rainbow, remind yourself of that.

Starlight Navigation

A father and son were fishing beyond the breakwater of San Diego Harbor. It had been a long day, so they decided to hoist anchor and head toward the dock. As night fell the father decided to give his son a lesson in navigation. He pointed out the Big Dipper and showed him how to identify the Little Dipper. From these two reference points he showed him how to find Polaris.

Turning the wheel over to his son he gave him these instructions: “Just run along parallel with the North Star on your port side and you will be going east toward the harbor.” Dad went to the stern of the boat to take a little nap. The son became drowsy at the helm. As he dozed, the boat made a slow turn toward starboard in a southerly direction. Awaking with a start, the son didn’t realize that his guiding star was now behind him. He called out to his father: “Dad, wake up and give me another star, we just sailed right on past that other one!”

Those of us who live in the 21st century are tempted to think that we have gone beyond the guiding lights of the ancient past. The 10 commandments sound so old and obsolete; surely we need a more contemporary standard of ethics to chart our course.

I beg to differ. For thousands of years, ancient mariners have used the sun by day and the stars by night to plot their course and keep an accurate chart of their position. There are some things that are the same, yesterday, today, and forever, because they are grounded in the unchangeable and immutable nature of deity.

In my view, these pinpricks of lights from the past are our best reference points to navigate on the sea of life. In the Book of Revelation the Savior is described as “the bright and morning star.” Like Polaris his teaching and example remain fixed in the heavens. We can get our bearings from them and steer a straight course toward our home port.

The Spirit of Brotherhood Survives the Insanity of War

It was Easter Sunrise, 1969, on a beach in Phu Yen province. Rising before the dawn two chaplains and a chaplain’s assistant carried three crosses to a place just beyond the reach of the South China Sea. Looking back, we could see the tracks the crosses made as they were drug through the sand. There we planted them, leaning slightly toward the wind and the waves. Then we sat down on logs and awaited the dawn.

Soon we three were joined by two other chaplains, a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest. That morning we stood on pallets and conducted an ecumenical service. We watched the rising sun illuminate the faces of a great diversity of ranks and ethnicities. Doctors and nurses came over from the combat support hospital. Troops from the Republic of Korea (that protected our perimeter) were in attendance with their chaplain, as well as Vietnamese troops. All colors and creeds were represented and they were all looking toward the dawning of a new day that could be bright with hope. We joined as one in praying that peace would rise out of the ashes of war and that broken dreams and failed policies could be healed by a love that was stronger than death.

After the service, the hospital mess hall invited us all to an Easter breakfast. After breakfast, some of us boarded a bus and drove into the town of Tuy Hoa to visit a Catholic orphanage. The GIs set to work painting walls and repairing equipment. The children squealed with delight as they were given horsy-back rides. Combat hardened faces seemed to soften. As we were bused back to the military compound, everybody was in good spirits. Our morale was soaring on the wings of a faith that is risen and survives even in the insanity of war.

I came out of that experience with a new respect for the spirit of unity and the bond of brotherhood than binds us together; orient and occident, north and south, east and west. The Spirit of our risen Lord is as relevant on a beach in a Buddhist country as in the Bible belt of the United States. Jesus of Nazareth has become the cosmic Christ of faith, whose love draws a circle to include the circumferences of planet earth. We often draw circles to exclude people who look and act differently.

A piece of doggerel put it this way: He drew a circle to shut me out; rebel, heretic, a thing to flout. But love and me had the wit to win; we drew a circle that took him in.

The quality I miss the most during my years as a military chaplain is the spirit of ecumenicity that enabled us to cooperate across denomination lines, in order to fulfill our mission of bringing God to man and man to God.

Can Arch Enemies Become Friends?

I’ve heard it said that life is a cat and mouse game. It sure seems that way sometimes. Locked into instinctual patterns of behavior, the cat can do nothing but go on the hunt; using stealth to close in for the kill. The mouse can do nothing but use his speed and dexterity to avoid his perennial predator. Must it always be that way? Is there no way that the survival of the fittest could be transcended by a power greater than itself?

I’ve also heard it said that two people fight like cats and dogs. But again, does not nature itself offer examples where this proverbial metaphor can be transcended? The Hebrew Bible describes an idyllic time when the lion will lie down with the lamb. Why couldn’t the dog rescue the cat in a perilous situation?

Jesus of Nazareth taught us to forgive our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us. Is that too much to ask of human nature? Are we so trapped in cycles of revenge we must get even at any cost? Perhaps we are so locked into the law of retaliation; “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” that breaking that cycle is an impossible dream which must wait for utopia to come to this world.

In spite of mounting evidence that screams of man’s inhumanity to man, I choose to cling to my ideal that human nature, with divine empowerment, can transcend the predisposition of instinct and point to a better way. In saints and spiritual giants of the past, we catch glimpses of what humankind could be at its best. I want to keep that vision alive in my heart.

A Leap of Faith

You can click on the picture to find the source.

In a cruise through the Panama Canal, one of our first ports of call was Acapulco, Mexico. There we witnessed the daring cliff-divers plunge 130 feet to enter 12 feet of water. The tide had to be just right for them to have sufficient depth. From where they stood, the rocky side of the cliff obscured their view of the ocean below. They must launch out about 12 feet to clear the rocks. That’s a leap of faith. No wonder, they each take time to pray before they attempt it.

Our choice to believe, in some ways, can be likened to a leap of faith. The logical powers of the mind can only take us so far. What happens when we reach the limits of human reason to prove the existence of God? Feelings can only take us so far. What do we do when the harsh realities of life seem to argue against the existence of an all powerful and all caring Creator? All attempts to employ the powers of the intellect to establish an iron clad system of logical principles are found wanting. We can make a powerful argument that may convince someone who wants to believe but we cannot prove that there is a God. Then what do we do?

It seems to me that at some point, we have to take a leap beyond feeling, philosophy and intellect and make a gorgeous gamble, betting everything that beyond the power of logic and the limits of human understanding there is an all knowing and all loving Supreme Being. That can be scary but it is, in my view, a win/win situation.

If I choose to take that leap and there is nothing there but theological speculation, then I have been comforted and empowered by years of believing. If my faith is confirmed, beyond time, by ultimate reality, then better still. Either way, how can I go wrong? If my hopes are a pipe dream, they have still served me well and ministered comfort in times of despair. If they are grounded on eternal reality, then I am twice blest.

"As A Tree...."

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Given sufficient time and patience, it’s amazing how a tree can be trained to grow into the most unusual shapes. (For more amazing pictures go to pooktre planted).It takes years for the tree surgeon to bend and graft and coax the tree to grow into the image he has in mind. In like manner, it takes a lifetime for the Great Physician to grow us into a shape that is authentically human and reflective of the divine image within us.

The first Psalm describes a blessed person as “a tree planted by streams of water….” What a marvelous metaphor. A tree must grow down into those underground sources of moisture. Then it can grow up and out.

We also need to grow down into the rich soil of truth. In the words of the first Psalm, “our delight is in the law of the Lord, and on that law we meditate day and night.” Being rooted and grounded in the foundations of our faith is a key to spiritual growth. With such an anchor of conviction we can avoid being “like chaff that the wind blows away.”

If our down reach is downright then our up reach will be upright. We will avoid “walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing in the way of sinners, or sitting in the seat of mockers.” There is a sense in which we can be judged by the people we grow to admire. As a wise man said: “bad company corrupts good morals.”

When our down reach is downright and our up reach is upright then our outreach can be outright. We can extend the branches of our influence into ever widening circles. In walking through a grove of giant redwoods, we were told by a guide that their roots are seldom deeper than six feet. How can six feet of depth support three hundred feet of height and thousands of pounds of weight without toppling over? The guide explained that their root system grows out perhaps a hundred feet in all directions. They entwine themselves on the surface-roots of neighboring trees, which help to stabilize each other.

We were also told that most of the new saplings spring from those roots which reach out close to the surface of the ground. This gives birth to a growing community where everything is interconnected in a complex network of life. A Lone Ranger lifestyle where we ride off to do our own thing in our own way is very unproductive. Its “leaf does wither,” and it does not “yield its fruit in season” (take another look at the first Psalm). As we are woven into the fabric of a community of faith and we reach out to take the hands and touch the hearts of others, we grow “as a tree.”

A One Word Prayer That Brings Results

Who can resist the cry for “HELP” that this picture invokes? Right away we want to do whatever we can to reverse global warming so that the polar bear will have a platform of ice to sustain itself. Is God any less responsive to his children when they call out for help from their hearts?

The Bible is a library of 66 books. It offers commandments to obey, sins to avoid, examples to follow, principles to apply and promises to claim. I like the promises best of all. I have long believed that one of the best ways to maintain a healthy, positive attitude is to become more promise and less problem conscious. It seems to me that for every difficulty one may encounter, there is a promise, somewhere in the sacred scriptures, that is uniquely tailored to fit that situation.

One of my favorite promises is: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble … God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Psalms 46:1 and 5). As I look back over nearly eight decades of physical existence, it seems that there is one prayer God has heard and answered; boiled down into one word that prayer is simply “HELP!” Perhaps the help did not come at just the time and in just the way I expected but there was a result that later I could see was the divine response to my prayer.

A long time ago, I read a prayer that I have partially forgotten. Part of it went something like this:

I asked for all things so I could enjoy life.
I was given life so I could enjoy all things.
I asked for power so I could do great things.
I was given weakness so God could do good things through me.
I asked for a charming personality so I could win favor with people.
I was given a humble attitude so that I might be a loyal friend.
I was given nothing I prayed for but everything I longed for.
I am of all people most blessed.

You can never predict what may come when you cry “help.” But be sure of this, there will be a response that may take years for you to discern as the answer to your prayer. God may say “no” or “wait and grow” to the literal meaning of our petitions. God has not promised to answer the words of our mouths but he has promised to fulfill the desires of our hearts.

The Feminine Side of Deity

We have the expression of someone “watching over us like a mother hen.” There were tears in Jesus’ eyes as he looked down upon Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and poured out this lament: “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37).

The divine nature, I believe, transcends gender and is a perfect blending of the male and the female. Throughout the history of the church, unfortunately, there has been an overemphasis on the former and a serious de-emphasis upon the later. This has resulted, in my view, in the evolution of a religious institution which, all too often, is focused upon the controlling power of dominance. In Jesus we see a more perfect blending which often brings out the nurturing side of the Almighty.

In a parable Jesus points to a happy Hebrew homemaker as a metaphor for the kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened” (Matthew 13:33). The transforming power of God often works internally and invisibly, until all of society is lifted by its quiet and consistent influence.

The Apostle Paul who, in some circles, is regarded as the original male chauvinist writes: “There is no longer Jew or Greek … slave or free … male or female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Under the shadow of such wings all are infolded in the warmth of divine grace. Even those whom some would regard as a different breed, who don’t belong to the heavenly kingdom, are welcomed to a warm and comfortable place of rest.

The Treasures of the Snow

“Have you entered into the treasures of the snow? Or have you seen the treasures of the hail” (Job 38:22)? Living three millennia ago in an arid region of Mesopotamia, snow would have been a rare delight to Job. But there is a special treasure locked up in every snow crystal that Job could not have imagined. Since the invention of modern methods of magnification, it has come to light that as complex snow crystals form, they branch out in amazing patterns of diversity that gives each one a uniqueness that makes it different from all others.

In a high school science class, I was taught that no two snow crystals are exactly alike. My skeptical adolescent mind thought: “how could they know without examining every snow flake that has ever fallen?”

According to Kenneth G. Libbrecht, who is a physicist at Caltech, “it is unlikely that any two complex snow crystals, out of all those made over the entire history of the planet, have ever looked completely alike.” For more information you can go to his fascinating web site, SnowCrystals.com.

I simply want to take his scientific expertise and give it a theological application. “For it was you who formed my inward parts … I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). If snowflakes are so complex in their intricate designs, how much more the formation of a human being? Even in the case of identical twins that come from a division of the same fertilized egg, there are significant differences in personality characteristics and environmental factors, which make them unique individuals. There’s no one that is an exact duplicate of you. As we often say, when God made you he broke the mold.

For me, all this amazing complexity and diversity boils down to this simple affirmation of faith: The value of every human life is so awesome and wonderful it must not be cheapened. Rather, it should be regarded as a sacred gift to be treasured.

Borne on Eagles' Wings

How did the people of the Hebrew Bible survive hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and 40 years of wandering in the Arabian Desert? How could they have endured exiles and a holocaust without losing their identity and perishing as a nation? It seems clear to me that throughout their long history from Father Abraham, they have been carried and lifted by a power greater than themselves. In the Hebrew Scriptures we find this inspired explanation: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4).

I’m told that soaring in a glider and piloting a propeller driven aircraft are totally different sensations. When you reach a designated altitude and the cable is released connecting you to the mother plane you are sitting in an eerie silence. There’s no sound of a motor turning a prop pulling you through space. The pilot often feels the need to over control and to make something happen by trying to steer the glider. It takes a while to just sit back and relax and trust the updrafts to carry you as high and as far as they will. Losing altitude might cause some panic even with a seasoned pilot. One needs an instructor in the cockpit to help one trust and wait patiently for the next current to provide the needed lift. Just let go and let God, it will come. We have a sacred promise on which we can rely: “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

What happens when it’s time for the eaglets to fly for themselves? They will probably need some poking and some prodding. The nest is so cozy and comfortable. It’s so nice to have your meals flown in without any effort on your part. That’s when the adult eagles begin to “stir up the nest” (Deuteronomy 32:11) nudging them closer to the edge of the cliff. One last push and they are tumbling out into empty space flapping their wings while falling to the earth. That’s when old baldy and his mate fly underneath them, catching them on their wings, and bearing them aloft. On reaching a safe altitude they do a sharp banking maneuver and off they go again tumbling through space. After three or four of these elevator rides they are beginning to get it. It won’t be long and they will be soaring on their own like tiny specks in the sky.

Is that not nature’s metaphor of what God is doing in our lives?

The Magnificent Monarch

Nature is full of surprises! Who could have imagined that a tiny insect, the Monarch butterfly, could migrate a distance of sixteen hundred miles from Canada, along the west side of the Continental Divide, to winter at various locations in Northern California. Several generations have passed along the way, yet the following generations somehow remember the exact location of their destination.

Those Monarchs that fly east of the Rocky Mountains travel as far as three thousand miles to various arrival points in Central Mexico. Research has shown that the magnificent Monarch is even capable of transatlantic migrations. How could such delicate wings carry them such great distances? It’s another of nature’s mysteries.

One year, I found myself at Natural Bridges state beach in Santa Cruz, California around Thanksgiving, when the Monarchs, with their distinctive orange and black colors, arrived on schedule. They clung to the drooping branches of Eucalyptus trees to feed and recover their strength.

What fascinated me the most was the way their overlapping wings, like shingles, could shed the moisture and lock each one into place. When a stray butterfly would approach, they would hold their wings up in unison as though they were saying: “there is room here for you,come, join us.” Then, when the stranger slipped into place, they would lower their wings as one. They had traveled over a thousand miles to form such interlocking clusters that would give birth to the next generation.

A sense of community is all important. We need not cling to life in our own strength. We may have to travel far, but we can find fellowship with others of faith. There is a welcoming community out there that is willing to lift their hearts in acceptance and receive you into the fold.

Breaking Down Barriers

At the Ronald Reagan Library there is an authentic slab from the infamous Berlin Wall. Hundreds of people were shot to death trying to scale that barrier and escape into the freedom of western democracy. Perhaps President Reagan’s most shinning and prophetic moment came in 1988 when, at the Brandenburg Gate, he hurled this challenge into the face of tyranny: “Mr. Gorbachev take down this wall!” At that moment, the president was standing on the right side of history and facilitating the work of God.

The work of Jesus is summarized in this biblical phrase: “he has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility … thus making peace” (Ephesians 3:14-15). We humans have a long history of building walls of hostility. The God revealed in Jesus is forever working to break down barriers and build bridges that span the gap between warring factions, ethnic origins and ideologies.

My wife and I happened to be living in Heidelberg in November of 1989 when the wall finally came down. People were literally dancing in the streets as a delicious whirlwind of euphoria swept over the land so long divided and now united. For the first time in 40 years, German people could flow freely back and forth to embrace family and friends.

For me, this has become a historical paradigm, which illustrates what Christ is doing in our modern world. He is chipping away at those man-made barriers that divide people, churches and nations. The important thing is not that he be on our side but that we are on his.

A View From The Top

What if you stood at the top of the earth near the North Pole? You could be amazed by a vista so different from anything you had ever seen before. From that vantage point, you might see the sun shining at mid-night, appearing to hang beneath a greatly enlarged, partially illuminated moon. At any other position on the planet such a view would not be possible. It illustrates the importance of perspective.

I have a memory trace as a child, playing around my mother’s knees. I looked up as she was embroidering. I remember her saying “pretty.” Looking up at it from the bottom, I saw only knots and threads going off in all directions without apparent rhyme or reason. When she turned it around, so I could see it from the top, a colorful design greeted my eyes. I repeated back to her, “pretty.” It was one of the first words I learned to say after dada, mama, no, and mine.

By faith, I believe, we can rise above circumstances and view them from the top. What was confused and chaotic can now be discerned as having plan and purpose. Our angle of observation is all important.

I am told that in India rugs are hung vertically and woven from the backside. Only the master craftsman can see the pattern developing. He instructs the workmen how to weave. What if they make a mistake and sow the wrong color or stitch? Does he have the mistake pulled out of the pattern? I am told that if he is truly a master craftsman he can leave in the error and direct the workers to weave around it so that the finished beauty of the carpet will be enhanced by the mistake.

This does not give us an excuse to mess up. But it does comfort us to realize that when we make serious errors in judgment and behavior our God is great enough to use them to beautify our lives with his grace and mercy. Let’s try to see this from the top.

TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS

I can’t help believing that if we could only look at others through the eyes of Jesus, we could penetrate the crumbling clay of mortality and catch a glimpse of the immortal spirit hidden therein just waiting to escape. A psychology professor once confessed to me that he was a psycho-ceramic, meaning a crack pot. But then he added, with a twinkle in his eye, there is a lot of light shining through the cracks. The brightest light of our inner beauty shines through the cracks in our humanity. Oh that we had eyes to see it. Those who first discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls hidden in a Palestinian cave, at first, had no idea of the priceless ancient manuscripts contained within the pottery jars.

In like manner we are often blind to the inner beauty which is contained in every life. The following anonymous poem touched my heart with a new awareness of that. It was found in the personal effects of an elderly man who died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in North Platte, Nebraska. It was believed that he had nothing left of any value. Later, however, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

Now this little old man, with nothing left to give, has these simple but profound words winging across the Internet and touching the hearts of thousands.

CRABBY OLD MAN

What do you see nurses? What do you see?
What are you thinking when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice; 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And forever is losing a sock or a shoe?

Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding the long day to fill.
Is that what you’re thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another.

A young boy of sixteen with wings on his feet,
Dreaming that soon now a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at twenty my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five now, I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide, and a secure happy home.
A man of thirty My young now grown fast.
Bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my woman's beside me to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee.
Again, we know children my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my wife is now dead.
I look at the future and shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing young of their own.
And I think of the years and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man and nature is cruel.
Tries to make old age look like a fool.
The body it crumbles, grace and vigor depart.
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass a young guy still dwells.
And now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years, all too few gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people open and see.
Not a crabby old man; look closer see ME!!

The Therapy of Laughter

There is nothing better for the health of soul and body than a good belly laugh. The ancient proverb has it right: “A merry heart does good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). When we take ourselves too seriously and fail to see the humor of our situation, our life becomes as dry as dust. Holy hilarity is a lubricant that makes everything work better.

I have only two tools in my box: duck tape and WD-4. If it moves and shouldn’t I tape it; if it doesn’t move and should, I squirt it. Duck tape is like the laws of God. They hold everything together lest they fly apart. Laughter is like a lubricant, it keeps everything running smoothly with less friction.

If I were to take a peek in your medicine cabinet, I might find all sorts of over the counter and prescription drugs. When taken in the right dose and for the right ailment, they can be very therapeutic. When taken in the right dose, the medicine of a merry heart can be a powerful potion.

Sometimes we get all wrapped up around the axel and so close to our struggles; we can no longer see the forest for the trees. We need something to help us unwind; we need a buffer zone to put some space between ourselves and our situation. The great comedians knew that quite well; so many of them came out of tragic childhoods. Many have told us, they turned to comedy to cope with the pain of the past. They found that the exhilarating effect of making people laugh was just what the doctor ordered for their own remedy.

In my view, Jesus was no frowning saint. Children were drawn to him like iron to a magnet. They delighted in his joyful spirit. He often exhorted his followers: “Be of good cheer.” They were so prone to becoming glum and grouchy. He who was “anointed with the oil of gladness” could put a smile on the direst of circumstances. Hopefully just a fraction of his positive personality will rub off on us.