A Birthday Reflection: April 2

Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days aright,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

                Today I crossed a line, albeit an artificial one. Today I turned 65 years old. Today I entered the ranks of Medicare, although not yet Social Security. Today is one of those benchmarks of life.

                When I was growing up, I thought anyone who was 65 was ancient. By the age of 65 a person was heading out to pasture, life was basically over. All of the jokes about being over the hill flourished. It was time to retire, move over, and let others take your place. Today I turned 65 and I do not feel ancient or over the hill. I willingly will encourage others to take their place beside me, but I am not ready to move over and get out of the way.

                One of my favorite quotes about aging came from Satchel Page, one of the elite Negro League baseball players who broke the color barrier and entered the Major Leagues. When asked how old he was, he responded, “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?” As best as anyone can tell, Page pitched for the Cleveland Indians into his 50’s.

                Getting older is a matter of both the passage of time and our attitude. There is nothing we can do about the passage of time, but we do have a choice about our attitude. I have known people in their 50’s who were “old” and people in their 80’s who were not. The difference was their attitude toward life.

                In Psalm 90, Moses challenges us to be very careful about our life. He tells us to number our days in the right way, so that we can gain a heart of wisdom. Wisdom comes as we are able to look back over our life, determine the lessons that we have learned, and then live accordingly. It is possible for us to live our lives in the past and turn our back on the future. It is also possible for us to live each day as an isolated event, unaffected by yesterday and with no thought for tomorrow. Or we can see our life as a journey that is leading us in a particular direction. Each day is informed by the past and has an eye on where it will lead in the future.

                Paul challenged us, in his letter to the Ephesians, to take the days of our lives seriously. Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:15-20

                As I reflect upon “crossing the line”, I am determined to make this next phase of my life the very best. I have made mistakes in the past, learned a few lessons, and now it is time to live out of a heart of wisdom. I do not look forward with apprehension, but with anticipation of how God might use me. And so I resonate with the words of Paul in Philippians 3:12-14. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

   

THE FIELDS ARE ALIVE!

Psalm 42:1

As the deer pants for streams of water,

so my soul pants for you, O God.

                I have never seen anything like it before. Suanne and I were driving home from having dinner with some friends in another town. It was early evening and the sun was low on the horizon. At that time of the night, I always become very watchful for deer along the side of the road. We were following a railroad line in northern Minnesota, heading back to North Dakota, when I caught sight of a couple of deer grazing along the railroad cut. As we get closer, it turned out to be a dozen. Not much farther down the road we came on another large group of deer. This time we counted 40! We began counting in earnest and by the time we hit the North Dakota border, we had counted 115 deer. If that wasn’t enough, just on the other side of the border, we came upon a field with at least 100 deer grazing! It was an amazing sight.

                When I was a boy growing up in northeastern Ohio, seeing a deer was a rare and exciting experience. To see three or four deer together in a field was amazing. My experience yesterday blew away every other experience I have ever had of seeing deer. The experience that I have had that comes the closest is when we were in Custer State Park, in South Dakota, and saw the buffalo herd. Seeing a field covered with deer was beyond anything I have ever imagined.

                It has been a long winter here in North Dakota. Now as spring is beginning to make its presence felt, the world is coming alive again. In addition to the many deer that I observed as we drove, I also saw two Bald Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon, and a fox. The animal kingdom is coming alive, even if the snow refuses to release its grip on the countryside.

                There is something about the coming of spring that revives us as well. Through the long months of winter, we endure. We go about our lives with determination, but also a certain heaviness. But when spring arrives, it is like a weight is taken off of our shoulders. Our spirits are lifted. There is more bounce in our step. We begin to shed layers of clothes like animals shed their winter coats. We start to feel freer and our spirits rise.

                When I saw all of the deer out in the field, I thought of the opening line of Psalm 42. The deer have been living in survival mode for a long time. As the snow melts and the temperature rises, they are revived. In a similar way, the long winter can drain us emotionally and spiritually. We can slip into survival mode, putting our heads down and enduring life. We long for a spiritual spring, a renewal of our sense of God’s goodness. It is time to awaken from our winter hibernation and encounter our world again. Early spring gives us an opportunity to refresh our spirits before the busyness of summer takes over again.  

                Our world is coming alive. Soon the grass and fields will be green There will be new life all around us. Just as our physical world is coming alive, so it is time for us to come alive spiritually. It is time to let the warmth of God’s light to penetrate our hearts and melt away the hardness caused by the harshness of our world. It is time to see our world through fresh eyes, with hope and joy. It is time to revel in the goodness and the grace of our God.

2 Corinthians 4:6, 16-18

    For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

   

LEGACY

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

                This morning in our men’s Bible Study, we looked at Ecclesiastes 2. The passage outlines all of the ways that Solomon sought to find meaning and purpose in life. In the end he declared, “This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Solomon’s conclusions about life are pretty depressing and demotivating. When a person lives life only for themselves, in the end, everything is meaningless.

                We live in a world that has bought into Solomon’s philosophy, whether they recognize it as such or not. The prevailing feeling today is that life is ultimately meaningless, so live for the moment and experience as much pleasure as you can. We are only cosmic accidents that have no real purpose. Purpose is something we create for ourselves. When our life is over, it is over.

                Jesus put a very different perspective on life. He raised our collective eyes from what is temporary to what is eternal. He made it clear that we were created with both purpose and meaning. We were created in the image of God. We were created to experience and reflect His glory. And we were created to live in relationship with Him forever. Our life is not limited to 60, 70, or 80 years on earth. This life is only the prelude to eternity.

                When we begin to look at life from an eternal perspective, it changes everything. Our life has meaning and purpose because what we do now will make a difference for all of eternity. If we choose to invest all of our time, energy, and resources into the pleasures of this temporary world, we will lose everything in the end. That is what Solomon discovered. But if we choose to invest our time, energy, and resources into making a difference for eternity, we will gain everything in the end.

                Suanne and I spent this past week visiting family in North Carolina. While we were there, we celebrated my Dad’s 91^st birthday. There were four generations present at the party. Earlier in the week, my brother Paul shared information with us about our heritage, going back multiple generations. All of this reminded me of the legacy I have been given and the legacy I now have to pass on to the next generations.

                The greatest investment we can make is not in pleasure, possessions, or power. It is in people. The only thing that will last for all of eternity is people. All of our stuff will pass away. All of our accomplishments will fade away. But the investment we make in others will pay dividends for eternity. That is why Jesus said to invest in that which cannot be destroyed or taken away.

                All of us leave behind a legacy. For some that legacy is hollow and meaningless. But for those who have placed their faith in Christ and have invested their life in service for Him, their legacy continues to bare fruit. Our life is not a meaningless blip on the timeline of history. It is an opportunity to build an eternal legacy to the glory of God.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

As I walked along the snow-covered street, with the snow crunching under my feet, a flurry of shadows passed across my path. I turned to look, but I could not see them. Then I heard them, the chirp of small birds resting in the branches of a bare tree.

                At lunch, I looked out the window and there he was, a small black and white chickadee flitting from tree to tree. I had not seen any small birds in our back yard all winter. I thought, where have you been?

                It is amazing that small birds can survive in this harsh climate. I know from past experience that they need a source of food and places of shelter to get out of the wind and the cold. In our home in Mankato, we had bird-feeders in the backyard that were alive with small birds all winter. They would flit from the feeder to the shelter of the pine tree. After Christmas, we would place our Christmas tree in the snow next to the feeder to give them an extra measure of shelter. That is what surprised me the other day. We have no feeders in our yard. We have seen no signs of these courageous birds all winter. But now, there they were.

                Sometimes, in the winter times of our lives, we feel like God has disappeared from the scene. We trudge through the cold blasts of trials and challenges seemingly alone. Then, out of nowhere, we catch the glimpse of a shadow crossing our path. We hear the faint sound of God’s whisper. Then He is there again in full view.

                King David often struggled with a sense of abandonment as he faced the winter times of his life. He expressed his feelings often in the Psalms. Multiple times the cry “how long” escaped from David’s lips. David knew the joy of walking with God and so keenly felt the pain when he thought God was absent. Psalm 13 is a prime example of David’s struggle to see God in the winter of his life.

Psalm 13:1-6

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

    How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

        How long will you hide your face from me?

    How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

        and every day have sorrow in my heart?

        How long will my enemy triumph over me?

    Look on me and answer, O Lord my God.

        Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

    my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

        and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

    But I trust in your unfailing love;

        my heart rejoices in your salvation.

    I will sing to the Lord,

        for he has been good to me.

                During the winter times of our lives, we can feel like God is not present. Yet David reminds us that we can trust in God’s unfailing love. Even when we do not feel His presence, He is present. We can hold onto His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.

                As I watched the chickadee in my backyard, I was reminded that he has been here all along. Just because I didn’t see him doesn’t change the reality. When God opens my eyes to see Him, He reminds me again that He has been with me all along.     

CONTENTMENT

Philippians 4:12

 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

                We live in a society that breeds discontent. Every day we are being told that what we have is not good enough and it needs to be replaced. We are enticed by a standard of consumption that most of us will never be able to achieve. This reinforces our feelings of discontent with our life. We strive harder and harder to fill an artificial void in our lives that only expands the more we try to fill it. Solomon warned us that striving for more and more is an insatiable appetite.

Whoever loves money never has money enough;

whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.

This too is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

                I have been reading a challenging book by Dr. Richard Swenson titled, “Contentment.” It has caused me to examine my own sense of discontent. I have identified for myself three main areas where discontent can creep into my life.

                I have become aware of being discontent with my current situation. This feeling of discontentment comes from the desire to be someplace other than where I am. Let me explain. When I retired from my ministry in Mankato, my wife and my desire was to move closer to our children and grandchildren. We felt that God was calling us to transition from being the full-time pastor in a local church to being an interim pastor. So, we sought an interim position that would move us closer to our ultimate destination, which is Michigan. Instead, God called us to North Dakota, the opposite direction from where we wanted to be.

                Our time here has been a great blessing, but I realized that I was constantly thinking about what was next. Instead of being content for the present where God had placed me, I was focusing my thoughts on what I hope will be the next step. The outcome was that I was not being fully engaged. God has convicted me that He wants me to be fully engaged here for as along as He desires for me to be here.

                Many of us struggle with discontentment about our current situation. We find ourselves looking beyond where we are to some ideal place in the future. The cost of this discontent is that we miss out on the blessing God has for us in the present. We literally sacrifice the present for what might be in the future. It is not wrong for us to have hopes and dreams for the future, as long as they do not rob us of the present.

                I have become aware of being discontent with what I have. This winter has been particularly cold and snowy. There have been many evenings when I have longed for the comfort of the fireplace we had in our home in Mankato. When I think about our future home, I desire to have a wood-burning fireplace. As I read in Dr. Swenson’s book, I was convicted that I was focusing more on what I do not have, instead of what I do have. The church has provided a nice house for us. It is warm and secure, and offers us everything we need right now. I need to learn to be content with what I have and not focus on what I do not have.

                Most of us struggle with this form of discontent. In fact, our entire economy is based on this kind of discontent. We are constantly being offered something bigger, better, and more advanced than what we have. The outcome is that we are not thankful for what we do have. All that we have is a gift from God. We should sincerely give Him thanks that we have a warm place to sleep and have food on the table. In 1 Timothy, Paul challenges us to put the brakes on our discontent.

    But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)

                I have become aware of being discontent with my purpose. Having transitioned from being the full-time pastor of a medium sized church to being the interim pastor of a small church, I have struggled to embrace my new role. It is one thing to understand my role intellectually. It is something different to embrace it emotionally. So much of our sense of self-worth is wrapped up in what we do. If we do not see the value in what we do, we lose our sense of worth.

                God has been teaching me to not only be content with my current role, but to embrace it with joy. My self-worth is not determined by what I do, but by for whom I am doing it. God has called me to a life of pastoral ministry. The place or circumstances under which I fulfill that role are less important than my faithfulness to the task God has set before me.

                Paul encourages us to find our motivation and purpose in serving the Lord, not in fulfilling a certain role. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24) What we do does not define us. It is how we do what we do that does.

                Discovering true contentment is really a very freeing experience. It frees us to fully enjoy life right where we are. It frees us from the anxiety of longing for something that is just out of our reach. It awakens us to the multitude of God’s blessings, large and small, that He has for us right where we are.

Godliness with contentment is truly great gain!

A HOLE IN MY WEEK

Hebrews 10:25

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

                It was the fifth or sixth blizzard warning we had this winter. As I made my way to church, I had to plow through several drifts that were partially blocking the street. Settled in my office, I listened to the wind howling outside. At times the view from my window was completely obscured. I heard the snowblower laboring to clear the drifts from the sidewalks. Cold and partially dusted with snow, he came in to inform me that there was a no travel warning for our area. Should we cancel church?

                I have always found cancelling worship as a very difficult decision. There are always those who would make the effort to come, but there are many more who would not and should not. After conversing with one of our leaders, we made the choice, we would cancel the services for the day.

                I climbed into my car for the short drive back home. Looking to the north all I could see was a solid cloud of white. The main roads in town were fairly clear, but as I entered my neighborhood it was different. The drifts that I had pushed through on my way to church had grown. Twice the car labored to get through, sliding as I turned a slight corner. The wind howled clear into the afternoon.

                As I begin a new week of preparation, I feel that there is something missing. There is a hole in my week, a vacant spot that should have been filled with praise and worship. I believe we made the correct decision to cancel the services, but I am left with a hollow feeling.

                The writer to the Hebrews strongly encourages us to not take our corporate times of worship for granted. Yet, too often, we do exactly that. Sunday worship becomes just a part of our routine. Or it becomes an optional activity to fill an hour on Sunday morning, if we don’t have something more interesting to do.

                When I miss Sunday worship, I feel a sense of loss. Something is missing in my life. It is like missing a meal. I will survive, but I definitely feel it. Spending time daily in the study of God’s Word is a regular part of my life. Being faithful to a daily time of personal devotion is an essential part of my walk with Christ. But there is something different about meeting with others in a time of corporate worship. There is a power and energy present that is different from my “alone times” with God. It reminds me that I am a part of something bigger than myself. It reinforces the reality that I am but one part of the larger body of Christ. It is a source of both encouragement and challenge. It reminds me that the Christian life is not a solo affair, that I need others in my life.

                God understands the realities of a North Dakota blizzard. He is not upset that we cancelled worship on Sunday. But for me, there is still a hole in my week, and I look forward, with even greater anticipation, to next Sunday.

Hebrews 10:19-25

    Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

SNOWMEN IN THE SUN

           This morning, in our weekly, men’s Bible study, the topic of Universalism came up. There is a growing number of people who are embracing the idea that at the end of time all people will be saved and welcomed into heaven. In some ways, the population in general has believed this for a long time. It is a common belief that all good people will go to heaven and only the really bad people will go to hell. More recently there have been those within the Church who has declared that, because of God’s love, all people will eventually be welcomed into His presence.

                As I thought about this, an image came into my mine. It was the image of a snowman in the sun. During these long winter months, a snowman can seem very substantial. Once created, it can occupy its place for a very long time. But as the days get longer and the sun becomes more intense, the snowman begins to fade. No snowman can withstand the heat of the sun in August, or even April for that matter. It is only a matter of time before the sun will win and the snowman will melt away.

                The fallacy of Universalism is that unholiness cannot survive in the presence of holiness. Paul makes it clear that a day is coming when all the works of our life will be evaluated and judged by God. No one will get a free pass. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10) At that moment we will not be judged by our standards, but by God’s perfect standard. In 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, Paul describes, in graphic turns, what that will be like. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

                Paul talks about building upon the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. But what if a person never built their life on the foundation. All of their works, no matter how good they look on the outside, will turn out to be wood, hay, and straw. When their life is tested as by fire there will be nothing left. They will be like snowmen in the sun.

                Let me put it a different way. Many people want to live their life with no regard for God, yet expect to be welcomed into His presence after they die. That is like living in rebellion against one’s parents all your life and then expecting them to leave you an inheritance. If a person lives their entire life in rebellion against God, why would God welcome them into His presence. If a person lives their entire life in rebellion against God, why would they even want to be in His presence for eternity? Would living in the presence of the one you rejected all of your life be heaven or hell? It would be like distancing yourself from someone that you really want nothing to do with and then, at some point, being forced to spend the rest of your life with them.

                Universalism is not extreme love, it is a cruel joke. It convinces people that they can live their lives anyway that they desire, without consequences. A person can be as rebellious and ungodly as they want to be, because in the end all will be forgiven. Universalism makes a mockery of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The whole point of the cross was to show us the enormous cost of our sins. We have amassed a debt far beyond anything we could ever repay. Jesus took our place to cover our debt. It is only as we turn to Him in faith that we can receive the benefit of what He has done for us. Otherwise, we remain lost in our sin. And when the day of judgement comes, we will be snowmen in the sun.