Suffering

      ^{I come from a generation with different expectations. In 1965, I broke my arm and was taken to the hospital. Without being told, I expected the doctor to touch my wounded arm and for the arm to be moved for an xray. I expected healing to require some pain. Things have changed in the last fifty years. There have been great strides made in healthcare. Expectations are higher; cures are available that were once unimagined. Yet, even at this advanced stage, if you go to the Emergency Room with a broken arm, the doctor will still want to touch it and the x-ray tech will still want to position it on the table to get a clear xray. The truth is, healing has always required touching where it hurts and painful manipulations. Healing hurts---it has always hurt.}

      ^{The difference is that people have come expect a different truth. I'm not sure where or when this change in expectations came about, but it is alive and well in the new century. People now imagine being whole without pain. People expect life without pain and do not realize that their expectations are unrealistic. In our imperfect world, pain is unavoidable.}

      ^{Pain is a cry for healing. Whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual, pain is a symptom that all is not well. There is no greater truth about man than that all is not well with him. This truth is at the core of Christianity. The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” The transition from sinner to saint is a healing, and so, painful process. Christian maturity without suffering is unrealistic.}

      ^{“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God...Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you...”}

      ^{Simply wearing flesh caused Christ suffering. He bore this suffering in order to identify with us. The natural inclinations of the flesh are contrary to the spirit. Separating ourselves from the desires of the flesh in order to please God is a healing process worked out in every Christian by the Holy Ghost. It's what Christianity does. We are translated from darkness to light by the blood of Christ, but it is not a painless experience. The act of coming to Christ, in and of itself, requires suffering the humiliation of repentance. Men don't refuse Christ because Christianity does not make sense. They refuse because it calls for a painful new birth. Christ suffered to make a new birth possible. His disciples suffer to appropriate it to themselves and carry it to maturity.}

      ^{“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. “}

Giving Away Success

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Serious musicians know how to get to Carnegie Hall---practice, practice, practice. There are rewards in life that come about only by application of personal effort. While it's true that you can become a millionaire by winning the lottery, the odds are far greater that you will reach that goal by hard work and ingenuity. Hard work and dedication to achieving one's goals was the heart of the old “American Dream.”

To become wealthy, one must pursue riches. To be a master craftsman, one must combine training, experience and education. Personal integrity is achieved by practicing honesty and sound ethics. Knowledge comes by education and experience. Everyone in America is entitled to a free, public education, but one glance at Facebook and you know that not everyone received one. This is because curriculum, class size, and all the other modern techniques are a far distant second to personal effort on the part of each student.

Nevertheless, life's greatest rewards can not be earned nor achieved by force of will. It is equally true that these successes will not simply be handed out for free. Love, respect, mercy and understanding are not entitlements handed out by the government; neither can you earn them by pursuing them.

Love, respect and understanding come to you when you consistently give them away. We “earn” the respect of others only when we give due respect to others. The Bible actually goes even further. It says to really gain love, respect and understanding, you must give them away to those who are unable or unwilling to repay.

“ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God is love because He gives love without measure—even to His enemies.

As in Christ's case, the return on our investment in love, respect and understanding will not come quickly or easily. But, God is faithful who promised that the reward will indeed come our way. Our cruse of oil will not run dry. God will be merciful to those who show mercy. He will demonstrate His love to those who love their neighbor. He will bless those that bless and have compassion on those who show compassion and grant eternal life to those who give their life unselfishly.

Discipleship Training 2

“ My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

^{Last week I wrote about the life lessons my dog, HyDee, is sharing with me. Her example is helping me grow as a Christian by providing a daily look at how a devoted follower behaves in the presence of his master. Much to HyDee's chagrin, there is more to our fellowship than lap sitting and petting. There are treats, of course, but there are also less pleasing aspects of discipleship.}

^{To be healthy and live a full life, HyDee must do her duty. To remain in good standing with her master she cannot do her duty anywhere or in any way she pleases. There are rules and responsibilities connected with doing one's duty. These rules come from above—from the master—and not subject to her private interpretation. So when the inevitable accidents happen and she fails to do her duty as she should; the master is displeased. He never fails to voice his displeasure.}

^{At the voice of reproach, HyDee shrinks with guilt and runs to curl up in her bed or hides under a chair. There she stays, unable to exercise the joy her master's presence usually brings. She stays where she is until the master corrects the situation; offers forgiveness and restores their fellowship.}

^{Likewise, our sins do not escape God's eye, neither does He laugh them off as youthful indiscretion. God is displeased when we fail. If we love Him, we feel that displeasure as a sense of guilt which we are powerless to overcome on our own. We are ashamed of our failure and seek to hide it. But, God does not leave us in this state. If we are willing to come out from under our chair, He corrects the situation, forgives, and restores us to fellowship. He does this because He loves us. We react the way we do because we love Him and want His fellowship.}

^{At our house, even the master's lap is not all petting and comfort. Schnauzers need grooming or they become matted, tangled and dirty. There are times the master's lap becomes a place of brushing and combing. This is not a pleasurable experience and HyDee doesn't care for it all. She will pull away or run and hide, especially if a bath is involved. Unfortunately for HyDee's sensibilities, the master pursues and persists in grooming her to suit his will. There is no escape from bathing and brushing. The strange thing is, though she resists, HyDee is a bit vain and, once groomed, tends to prance and show off. She feels better or at least happy to be through the trial.}

^{God chastens everyone He receives as His own. Everyday living can leave us tangled, matted and dirty. God will not leave us in this state. Sons of God must be groomed to suit their position in His grace. That grooming is not always pleasant. Some take it better than others, but it's uncomfortable no matter who you are. It isn't particularly pleasant for the master either, but it must be done. However, it does feel great when the trial's done and we can shout, “God is good.”}

^{“ If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons...Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”}

Discipleship Training

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”

The workings of God surround us. From the inconceivable expanse of the universe to the wondrous workings of sub-atomic particles, the entire creation speaks of His glory and teaches us His ways. To discover the kingdom of God, we need eyes to see; ears to hear, and a heart to consider the matter. There is one other commodity of the will we need and to which we seldom give thought. The lack of this commodity renders the others impotent. That commodity is time.

Though we have no control over the march of time, time is still a function of our will. Just as we choose to see, hear and consider; we choose how we will use the measure of time allotted for this life. How we spend time is an indisputable indicator of what we treasure. This matters, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We can be so caught up in a career; pursuing riches and fame, or simply living every day that we neglect to see and hear the still, small things of God. Once we let time flee away, that opportunity for a glimpse of the Divine is gone.

The writer of Hebrews warned his readers “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God...” There is a time to teach and a time to learn. A good teacher must first be a good student. Teaching requires a teachable spirit. That kind of spirit looks everywhere for lessons knowing “the truth is out there”.

Lately, I've been taught by an unexpected teacher. The lessons are simple and taught without words. They are reviews really; reminders of knowledge neglected by misspent time. These lessons are of love, devotion and time management I desperately need. These lessons are being taught to me by a little dog. HyDee, my Schnauzer, is teaching me what it means to be a true servant of the Master.

Each morning this little dog greets me with unbounded and undisguised joy. She has no desire greater than to sit on my lap, comforted and content, for as long as I allow. She has hunting skills, but relies on her master for food and drink. She doesn't need a master to survive and, yet, she places her well being in the hands of her master. Where her master goes, she wishes to go. She is heartbroken when she cannot go with him and thrilled when she is invited to follow. She wants to spend her life, her earthly time, with her master and no other will really do.

Oh, to be so devoted a servant to my Master. Lord, let me cherish the moments I am taught to see You in the smallest things. Grant me also to spend my time gathering the true treasure of Your presence.