"A Thought For The Day"

A news story was released about a company which is forbidding the use of the name Christ or Jesus on their gift cards.  Many of those who are of the Christian faith are in an uproar.  The whole scenario has been rolling around in my mind, and this is where I landed.:

God does not live by the rule or law of man; man does live by the rule and law of God.  

This fact is not contingent upon one's belief or disbelief of it.  As is so commonly expressed, "It is what it is."

He cannot be contained; He cannot be controlled; He cannot be disallowed or eliminated.  No rule or law of man touches Him; nor will it bring about His extinction. 

Is man able to contain the wind, the sea, the shifting of the plates of the earth?  Can man control the weather, the cycle of seasons, the stars and planets in the heavens?  Can he stop the rotation of the earth or the force of gravity?  And that is only creation, not the Creator Himself. 

There is a movement underway, visible in other parts of the world and spilling over to our homeland, to eliminate faith and those of faith.  The response and reaction is often near hysteria and panic, as many try to come up with a solution to counter these atrocities. But I would suggest taking a step back and giving it some thought--This is God who is being taken on.  Who has ever done that and come out the victor?

So let the world create their bans, pass their rules of forbidden words, and make as many laws as possible to eliminate God from existence.  I seriously doubt He feels threatened.  

All He has ever asked is that we stand--just stand.   

For those who would say, "Yes, but for any of this to apply one has to believe there is a God, and I don't," you are placing me in a position where I am forced to say it:  "The fool has said in his heart 'There is no God.'" 

And there you have it--my thought for the day.  Or make that thoughts. 

"On Barry: Dignity and Grace in Hardship"

While mowing yesterday, the wheel fell off my lawnmower, and I found myself heading for the equipment place I frequent. My hope was to have the mower back in working order as quickly as possible in order to keep up with the jungle-like growth habit of lawns so prevalent in early Spring.  I’m on a first-name basis with my equipment people.  You can draw your own conclusions, and they would be accurate.

That is where I met Barry.  And that is where I was given a lesson in dignity and grace in hardship.

dignity:  a quality or state worthy of esteem and respect
grace:  a pleasing or attractive quality

I pulled into the parking lot and went inside with the wheel.  Within minutes I was returning to the truck where the mower was, along with a mechanic and his tools, a replacement wheel in hand. I noticed a van had pulled up alongside.  A gentleman had got out and, using a cane, was heading toward the back to unload a wheeled apparatus with which to navigate.  Each and every step was noticeably arduous and challenging.  The mechanic offered help in retrieving the walker, and it was graciously accepted.

The repair work was quickly completed in the parking lot, an "Urgent Care" visit of sorts and, as I went in to pay, I noted the gentleman had finished his business and was heading toward the door.  People deal with hardship in a variety of ways.  Some wear the mantle of their lot in life with flashing neon lights for all to see, drawing attention and evoking pity and sympathy.  Not so here.  It was evident there was no self-pity, no anger, no bitterness.  He plodded along, carefully calculating each step and the placement of his feet, a smile on his face as he chatted.  He said he was heading to Wal-Mart next.  I found myself admiring his resolve, as I am not a Wal-Mart shopper under the best of circumstances.

There is a fine line in offering help to people, regardless of the situation.  It needs to be real, genuine, honest, and natural rather than condescending and gratuitous.  When I asked if I could open the door for him, he smiled  and thanked me.  It’s a heavy door which needs to be pulled to open, and it seemed an obvious offer.   

As he got to his van and the walker was placed in the back, we exchanged names.  He shared that he had been frequenting this place of business since his son was a young boy and came in to buy parts for his go-cart.  “And he’s 40 years old now.”  I agreed with him--the owners are good people.

Barry—such a gentleman.  I have no idea what he is dealing with, but his attitude and demeanor made an impression on me.  What awaits me in the days to come is an unknown, but I hope I have the same dignity and grace as Barry if I am placed in a difficult set of circumstances.  He certainly presented a worthy example--and I doubt he's even aware.

"On a Movie: The Life and Death of Christ"

Last evening, at the end of an Easter day, I watched a movie on the life and death of Christ.  It was a presentation of historical facts, based on the political and religious climate of the time--no Biblical reference, no sermon or message, no preaching.     

This was not a film I have been able to walk away from.  There is something to be said about the seeing of things and not just the hearing.  It's that "One picture is worth a thousand words" thing. 

There were times I had to pause it--the scenes were intense and emotional.  A great deal of it was observed with hands over eyes, peeking through fingers--that's how I've always viewed difficult movie or television scenes, although as a small child, it was with a blanket over my head, peering through a small hole.  It was a profound, moving experience to be given a small sense of how one man lived His life.

Hoping to snuff out the life of the yet unknown infant Messiah, the horror depicted was stark as King Herod's orders were carried out, and all little boys under the age of 3 were killed. The cries of mourning mothers and fathers affected must have been as a single voice broadcast throughout the land.  This, because Herod was afraid he was going to be replaced by a new king.  He had calculated the time of His birth, coinciding with the visit from the Three Magi, who had seen signs in the sky indicating the Messiah had arrived.  What he didn't realize was the young boy had been moved out of the country to safety and was untouched. 

The childhood upbringing of Christ was very ordinary, growing up in a family with siblings and all the experiences of a boy, son, brother.  The son of a carpenter, He lived His adult life as any other man. 

He was, however, on a path that was not of His choosing, and there was that step into the final phase of His life where He served, ministered, loved, healed, taught.  Crowds followed wherever He went, trying to touch a piece of His clothing, bringing loved ones to be healed or for deliverance from demons, listening as He spoke.

He challenged the religious norm of that time, making enemies in that camp as well and ended up being feared and hated by both the religious and the political for very different yet very real reasons.

And then He died.  He had been delivered to those who feared Him by one of His own, one who had walked with Him and knew Him--for 30 pieces of silver.  The "trial," which came from both the religious and the political at that time, brought with it the sentence of death. Those whom He came to minister to turned on Him; He was mocked and tortured.  He had to have been near death before He was ever crucified.  The portrayal of the sounds and cries of agony as His limbs were nailed to wood was gut-wrenching. 

He was just a man; there was nothing magical about Him.  How could one ordinary person be so extraordinary?  That is the profound simplicity and paradox of the life and death of Christ.  He was never "just" a man, and yet that is what He became--a man, clothed in the fullness of, and every aspect of, humanity.  

In living that life He lived it in relationship with the Father.  In living that life, Christ fulfilled the will of His Father, and in His resurrection, death was defeated.  

He lived and died--so that mankind might have the gift of life as well.