I usually spend the two or three weeks immediately preceding my birthday to: reminiscence and romanticize the past; cautiously assess the present, and prayerfully plan for the future.
This year’s birthday reflections are a little different. So far, I have spent most of the time wondering how this stage of my life will differ significantly (other than being affected by those things that come naturally with age) from the first two stages.
The musings about my future evoked the following questions.
My response to the last reflection question is noted below, and that question is the impetus for the next six posts.
1. A nurturing and loving relationship with the Creator
2. Forgiven and free to forgive
3. Peace that surpasses understanding
4. Experiencing a reasonable portion of good health and strength
5. Living life on my terms: still creating and moving forward and up
6. Doing things that make me happy, without hurting others
7. Thankful for finding pleasure in little things
Look for God to open locked door. With God, all things are possible.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. Genesis 1: 1-5
Look for God in the unexpected! God chooses to work through some of the most unlikely people ( God makes a somebody out of a nobody).
Rehab, a prostitute, is remembered more for her selfless, kindness, and helpfulness than for prostitution. Her good deed is highlighted wherever the Gospel is proclaimed.
King David, son of Jesse and a shepherd, is remembered more for his bravery and unabashed love of God than for his murder of Uriah the Hittite.
The Apostle Peter – Before his encounter with Christ, Peter was a common Galilean fisherman. After studying faithfully with Christ and pledging his allegiance to Jesus; on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter publicly denied his association with Christ. His impetuous nature and shortcomings highlight the grace of God and the love of God that forgives sin and restores wholeness to that which breaks. Peter’s missionary work permeates the New Testament and is lauded throughout the Christian Church.
Look for God to transform and redeem that which seems unredeemable.
The Apostle Paul (His name was changed from Saul of Tarsus) murdered thinking he was doing God’s work. Saul’s conversion to “The Way” highlights the power of God to transform any life from doing evil into doing good.
The life of every person who stopped doing evil and now practices doing good, testifies to the power of God to transform lives.
Look for God to: instill hope, demand justice for all, and to work through people to effect positive change.
A change is coming because God cares about the oppressed!
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you too were once foreigners…” Leviticus 19: 33-34
At times, mere words seem insufficient to address the depths of my emotions. Such is the case with me struggling to frame an appropriate written response to Trump’s ban on people entering the country based solely upon their religious affiliation, and the discussion circulating about the administration’s thoughts on resurrecting the discriminatory “stop and frisk” policy.
Allowing discrimination against some, is an invitation to permit it against any.
God help us and God bless America!!
As a young girl I didn’t think much about senior citizens
Although they were present everywhere
I assumed they would always be close by me
Sitting on porches, saying: “please” and “thank you”
Peering out of windows, exchanging greetings and pleasantries
Patiently teaching, correcting, sharing advice and warnings
Encouraging, hugging and kissing
Giving small, but much appreciated treats
Clapping hands, and tapping feet and snapping fingers to rhymes and beats
Speaking in parables, offering brutally frank and often unsolicited; but much needed criticism
Observing, and understanding
Constantly playing the radio or television
Relaxing, napping, yet keenly aware
Bowed and hunch-back
Slow moving
Hard of hearing
Straining to see
In contrast, today’s seniors are
Biking, jogging and walking
Mingling, serving and networking
Driving, riding and flying
Today’s seniors look back reminiscently
They look forward anxiously and expectedly
They create, dream and influence
They are engaging, enjoying, erasing and expanding
They face the future fearlessly
They reconcile with their past
They reflect on the past and refresh themselves
They revive old careers or begin new ones
They are seemingly always in some kind of recovery
They are tireless, restless and constantly moving
The seniors I see now include me!
A person who shares with others what he or she has seen, heard or experienced is a witness. The sharing of that information is a person’s testimony. Christian witnesses testify about what they know to be true about Jesus.
In the New Testament, as is true now, Jesus alone is the subject of Christian witness (John 1: 29, 32, 36; 41-42, and 44-45). Jesus’ followers proclaim boldly and often that the love of God for humanity was made manifest in and through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. To them, Jesus is not one of several ways to God. No! He is the only way to God.
Christian witnesses – Jesus’ disciples – are anxious to share the good news of the gospel because they truly believe Jesus is the answer for the ills of the world. To them, He is not a type of Santa Clause bringing material gifts, nor a good luck charm used to acquire those things that satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. To his disciples, Jesus is not a weapon used to brow beat others into submission, or to kill steal or destroy God’s creation by using the written word of God or church doctrine to bully others. They don’t mock other people’s religious beliefs.
Instead, Christian witnesses focus on telling all who will listen that Jesus is the hope for the world. They cite Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection as evidence that to God every person has inherent value because Jesus died for all.
Like John in the referenced Scriptural text, the disciples point to Christ as the only one capable of reconciling humanity to the only true, wise, and living God – Creator. John boldly proclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29 and 36).” Ever since that day, the followers of Jesus have made the same declaration.
That is why in John 1: 41-45, after meeting Jesus and listening to his teachings, Andrew and Phillip went back to those closest to them and encouraged them to come with them to meet Jesus. They had met the long awaited and prophesied about Liberator and they wanted the people they cared about to meet him as well.
That is how it is with Christian witnesses – disciples. They love to spread the good news. They have come to know Christ intimately and they want others to know the joy of fellowshipping with Him.
Jesus offers hope to those marginalized by the social constructs erected in every society to separate and categorize people. His witnesses, or disciples, spend their lives highlighting the err of those constructs and they work to eradicate barriers designed to minimize the value of some while elevating the worth of others.
They accomplish this by proclaiming the truth that God cares about every individual and no person is too far submerged in sin to find forgiveness from God. They actively work to effect justice tempered with mercy and grace. They also strive for peace – when bringing about peace is within their power.
Jesus’ disciples, or witnesses, are saturated in Jesus’ teachings – they meditate on them day and night and they trust the Holy Spirit to help them practice those teachings.
Like John, the disciples become living epistles boldly proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Hallelujah and thanks to God for His marvelous amazing grace as expressed in the person and through the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus Christ!!
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.(NIV)
The world is full of problems and some people seem to get more than their fair share. Some children enter the world far more disadvantaged than others. Many are born with life threatening and disfiguring illnesses – that adversely affect them for life. Others are born into war-torn countries; others into abject poverty. Some are raised in abusive homes and are neglected by their parents. Even children of the wealthy and powerful are not immune to suffering.
It never fails to amaze me how well adjusted some of the most afflicted and, often, marginalized people appear. They are acutely aware of their disadvantages and the challenges of their lives. Yet, somehow they learn to appreciate and enjoy the simple things in life. They are happy to earn a living and to live in peace. They rejoice over the smallest accomplishments.
Those with the most to complain about seem to complain the least. They are often criticized, ostracized, and treated unfairly in other ways because of things over which they have no control. But the most afflicted tend not to see themselves as victims to whom the world owes a great debt. They don’t wear their disadvantages on their sleeves demanding attention from others. To the contrary, they don’t want to stand out or be noticed. Therefore, they try to blend in. They want the freedom to live like everyone else.
Such people seem to take the burdens that life has handed them into stride. For them, each accomplishment is appreciated and none are taken for granted. Every kind act and word is cherished and they take advantage of every opportunity they are granted. They don’t wallow in self-pity, perhaps they simply don’t have the time to do so because they are busy living instead of complaining. They tend not to be easily offended. They are quick to forgive, laugh easily and heartily and they possess an almost enviable appreciation for the deeper things of life.
No, life isn’t fair! But some, despite their sometimes, seemingly insurmountable challenges, appear to have figured out how to love themselves and to be at peace with the burdens cast upon them. Somehow they learn how to ride life instead of letting life ride them. They tend to view life as an adventure with a definite beginning and end (even though they don’t know where or how the end will come).
Anticipation, contentment, focus, perseverance, and possessing the discipline needed to overcome personal challenges are some of the rewards those most afflicted seem to experience more often than others.
The most disadvantaged among us often illustrate through their accomplishments and attitudes the truism: despite inequities life offers many rewards and overcoming means putting mind over matter.
Late Thursday evening, July 7, 2016, I returned home and learned about the police shooting deaths of two African American men- Philando Castile, (killed in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb) and Alton Sterling (killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana). For the five days leading up to Thursday I had not listened to radio, or television, nor had I accessed the Internet. So on Thursday evening I was saddened and shocked after turning on my television and learning about the tragic killings of Castile and Sterling.
Reeling from the news of the two men’s deaths I searched for information about the killings. I wanted to understand the circumstances that led up to the tragic loss of their lives. I was particularly burdened by the fact that Castile’s four-year-old daughter had witnessed her father being shot and subsequently watched him die. That fact alone, was mind boggling and shocking. I wondered how in the world a 4-year-old is supposed to process and recover from such a life altering experience, something that would be difficult for most adults to do.
When I awakened Friday morning, I was confronted with the awful news reports that Dallas police officers had been ambushed in a coordinated attack by at least two snipers using high-powered rifles. (That part of the report was later proven incorrect.) The reports went on to say that five of the 12 officers shot by the snipers had died. I was stunned and saddened by the news.
Upon hearing the news, I wanted to stay in bed and entertain myself by watching a good movie or engaging in deep theological though by preparing for an upcoming sermon. I wanted the privilege of incubating myself by denying and ignoring the awful reality that had invaded my world. But I didn’t do any of those things. Instead, I pondered questions about the events to which I didn’t know the answers.
Later in the day, sometime before the identity of the lone sniper was revealed, I listened to a news conference during which Dallas Police Chief David Brown spoke. Two things about the police chief’s remarks struck a chord with me. First, he seemed genuine. He didn’t seem at all like a Black person white people put out in front to calm and oversee other blacks. His words, “We’re [police officers] hurting,” rang true. His tone was measured and calm. Chief Brown spoke with authority when he described how the sniper was killed by a robot. He seemed respectful of and sensitive to the great task he had been given, to speak on behalf of the police force while respecting the citizens’ rights the police are paid to protect. Chief Brown reminded us that ALL LIVES, including those of police officers, MATTER. The chief did not call for peaceful protests to stop nor did he denigrate or taunt the innocent protesters calling for justice.
Chief Brown was the voice of reason at the appropriate time. His comments reminded me of the biblical principle emphasized by Reuben P. Job, “…Do good and do no harm.” Chief Brown is the right person for the position he is in at this time in history. His response to the tragedy proves that.
My hope is Chief Brown will not bow to pressure to change his tactics. He is on the right road headed in the right direction.
God help America and God help Chief David Brown!
Reflections 