Friday, June 19, 2015
Huh?
This month millions of Americans will celebrate the men in
their lives who have been fathers and father figures. These men are worthy of celebration. One of the few things that most theologians,
scientists, sociologists, psychiatrists, judges, psychologists and many others
agree on, is that societies thrive in direct proportion to the amount of good
fathering that takes place.
We celebrate our fathers because they teach us to be
responsible, to respect authority, and to respect others -- these are
world-changing values. We thank our
fathers for providing security, discipline and love -- these are foundational
to our personal stability and to the stability of our communities. We value our fathers for teaching us to swim,
play football, fish, cook or whatever other skills they can pass on to us. Often it is a father figure that teaches us a
craft or points us in the right direction as we pursue a career -- their wisdom
and encouragement can make all the difference.
The influence a father can provide is so important that
courts mandate their involvement in the lives of their children whenever
possible. We expect fathers to influence
their children in areas of money management, hygiene, hunting, driving, and
social interactions. We ask them to teach,
to offer opinions and to hold us accountable - and this is an immense benefit
to those they influence. Thank you
fathers for teaching... for influencing... for holding us accountable.
Often fathers make a lasting impression on our political
opinions, on the way we bait our hooks and on the way we treat the women in our
lives. If they are good fathers, they
help to propagate a good society by these influences. We expect them to
influence and we are disappointed when they don't. But when it comes to God and religion our
culture often warns, "Don't force your religion on your kids. Let them make their own minds." Huh?
Teach them how to brush their teeth, care for their lawn, and get a job,
but don't teach them about the things that will affect every relationship in
this life and their entire eternity? Are
we saying we want some of the most important influencers in the world to major
on the minors? Do we want fathers to
suppress their best advice and their greatest wisdom? Huh?
Statistically, strong argument can be made that
much of the violence, disrespect and chaos we are experiencing in our society
is the result of fathers taking the advice of social engineers to take the
politically-correct approach and to not speak the most important lessons into
the lives of those in their care? With
that in mind, maybe this month would be
a good time to approach your father or father figure and ask them, "What
do you think about God... about morals... about respect... about the eternal
principles of life, huh?" 
Friday, June 12, 2015
Immovable
In my imagination I took a most
enlightening journey. The gorge I
traveled was absolutely breath-taking.
To the East an immense, sheer face of rock rose to towering heights and
stretched as far as the eye could see.
To the West lay gentle cliffs and rolling hills. The path was a joy to traverse. But my eyes
were continually drawn to gaze back at the gorgeous, mammoth mass of sparkling
granite. It was un-scalable; a magnificent monument to its creator.
Then my ears detected an unsettling commotion. The cursing and moaning was so out of
place. After a few, hastened steps my
eyes fell upon a curious sight; before me on the path stood a young man who was
banging his fists and his head against the wall. He was angry and bloodied, and disoriented.
"What are you doing?" I
queried.
"I'm trying to go East," he
muttered.
"But you are in a canyon, and
that is a granite wall you are assaulting," I explained. "It is
impossible for you to move the mountain with your head and your fists. You will
just have to take the path up and over."
"I don't believe that," he
retorted. "This wall is just a
figment of my imagination. In fact, I had a dream that there is no
mountain. Besides that, my grandpa told
me it is not real. Furthermore, I earned
a degree from a school that said the mountain does not exist, and, I wrote my
thesis on the subject. All of the
brightest people I know.. all of the most famous people in my country... all
the lawmakers in our capital city have concluded that there is no mountain here,"
he continued as he took another run at the wall.
It was saddening and brutal to watch,
so I continued to plead with him, "Obviously you ae operating on
theories. Those people you have referred
to all have reasons to explain the wall away, but your bloodied head proves this mountain is a reality. Don't do this to yourself! There is actually a way up the mountain, and
I can show it to you."
With a shove and a glare he yelled,
"Get out my way you fool!"
Then he backed up and lunged toward the wall.
The journey, the gorge, and the wall
were not physical -- they were spiritual. The young man represents many people I have
known. God is real; He is that immovable wall. People can explain him away, manipulate data,
and concoct hypotheses that deny his existence, but He does not go away. Arrogant
critics can make movies that belittle Him and mock Him, but, there He stands --
immovable. Immovable, but oh so
loveable, forgiving and graceful. He
cannot change to be who we want Him to be. But, for those who are willing to
acknowledge Him, He is the breathtakingly, beautiful, solid rock of the
universe.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
80 Degrees and Shivering
It was a
cloudless blue day with dazzling, bright sunshine. Birds chirped, children splashed in wading
pools, dogs scrambled for shade. All of
this accented the strangeness of a troubled seven year old boy who is crouched
in his tree house, pressing his ear buds into his ears with the palms of his
hands. His eyes are tightly closed, a look of terror on his face, and he is
shivering. What would make a young boy shiver
so on such a beautiful day? He is completely
absorbed in Jack London's short story, "To Build a Fire." His
audible book has successfully transported him to the Yukon. Thanks to a great narrator and realistic
sound effects, this young boy is completely immersed in the story. He feels the freezing cold water. The driving
snow pelts his face. He can't enjoy the
sunshine for the thoughts of cold.
The mind and
imagination are powerful. People's mood
and emotions can be drastically affected simply by injecting ideas, sights and sounds into their thinking.
We have all known people in dire straits who are brimming with life
while others whose circumstances are wonderful are crying in their milk. Many live in blessed circumstances but can't
enjoy the blessings for thoughts of bad things that are happening in the
world. For example, one may struggle
to enjoy the benefits of living in a
free nation because they are aware of some of its shortcomings. Live is too short to miss all the goodness
that God and life have to offer by becoming obsessed with the evil that life
may include.
Consider
this advice from St. Paul, a man whose life was marked by much trouble, but who
managed to live with great joy: "Fix your thoughts on what is true,
and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about
things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (Philippians 4:8 NLT)
The fact is,
life is comprised of hot and cold, good and bad, joy and sorrow. At the writing of this article it is a cozy
80 degrees in New England. Meanwhile it
is flooding in Texas and 50 degrees in Melbourne, Australia. Should I moan about the flooding and the cold
in spite of the fair weather I have the
opportunity to live in here... today?
In all
honesty, most people tend to naturally focus on the negative. Newscasts focus on the bad news. Movies usually focus on greed, murder and
injustice. A great many popular songs focus on being hurt or abandoned. It is
no wonder we are sad. Grace, on the other hand, empowers us to embrace the good and entrust
God with the bad. Believers can be optimistic, not because their heads are in
the sand, but because they understand that although the world is full of hurt
and hate, it is also full of healing and love.
One must not be so preoccupied with the bad that they miss the
good.
Perhaps
the 23rd Psalm has become so beloved because it represents a very balanced
view. It acknowledges that life includes
thirst, sickness and enemies, but it celebrates the fact that there is a good
shepherd. Maybe one could say, "The
Lord is my Shepherd, I will not shiver."
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