Ice Storms

Being part of the greater St. Louis area, Godfrey is still thawing out from the Rain/Ice/Snow storm that hit the vertical mid-section of the United States this past Wednesday and Thursday. My family has been very fortunate that we haven't lost electrical power as millions initially and hundreds of thousands who are still without electricity even today.

Even as our schools are back to business and the driving challenges are limited to ice patches here and there mostly in parking lots, I have noticed that no one is labeling this storm the "Storm of the Century." The last storm I remember having not only the quantity of ice, but also the staying power that comes with the lingering frigid temperatures happened in the mid to late '70's down in West Tennessee.

Now I wonder how long it will be until I can again see the inspiring ice coating of the barren trees as the sun lights them up. Even as awesome as the sights are and were over the past few days I do not wish for this "pleasure" again any time soon. The pain and suffering endured by some because of the brutality of the ice makes any desire on my part to see the beauty of the ice in nature seem, at the mildest, cruel.

It makes me wonder how many of my own desires, if they were fulfilled, would by default, cause pain and suffering to those around me known and unknown. I have regularly and sarcastically suggested that a sign of growing old is hoping that it will not snow. No one ever hears a child say, "I hope it doesn't snow," or "I sure am glad it didn't snow." I now think that rather than being a sign of aging, these statements are born out of a certain maturity that may or may not be accompanied by age.

I am sure that as I enjoyed my days out of school, sledding and leisure back in the '70's as a result of that ice storm, I was completely ignorant of the pain and suffering taking place all around me due to the same event that was the origin of my delight. I remember my disappointment as time went by without another storm of that caliber showing up to rescue me from..., to rescue me from..., to rescue me from..., nothing terribly bad, only the routine. Memories are harder to create for me when I am in the routine. Time passes faster for me when I am in the routine, but I am not nearly as appreciative of the blessings God has placed in my life.

What is it about the peaks and the valleys of life that help us gain insight and wisdom into areas of our life that we would never uncover during the routine? How much realization comes during the peaks when compared to the education imparted during the valleys? I think this is why Paul writes to the Christians in Rome, "...we rejoice in our sufferings." I don't believe Paul is saying he enjoys suffering, but rather the fruit of suffering listed in verse 4 and 5 of Romans chapter 5. I want the hope that doesn't disappoint. I want the character and perseverance. I just don't want the suffering that produces those things. I want humility without the humiliation. I want the ability and discipline to focus on the truly important things in this life without the suffering and loss that immediately produces that desired focus. Can I gain the maturity to look past the struggles that are inevitably coming my way and see the opportunity, the honor or the glory in doing the good works that God has prepared in advance for me to do? Eph. 2.10

"That's going on your permanent...

record." Whenever we hear those words directed at ourselves or someone else, usually it is in the negative sense. Whatever the event, action, behavior or lack thereof we all have parts of our lives that we wish could simply be erased from existence. I don't have time to chronicle all of my bad decisions or mistakes that I have made, am making and will make, but rest assured I have made my share or more of these foolish choices in my life. Some of you will need less convincing than others. :-)

One of the greatest things about the message of Jesus Christ is the opportunity to let us not just start over with a clean slate, but that God focuses on only our positives through His grace and mercy and the path to forgiveness that He has blessed us with in the sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus Christ on the cross. Negative has a way of completely overpowering any positives a person may have in their lives. With all the media attention atrocious acts are given, any one of those acts could be used against that person to not only outweigh any good that person has done, but easily erase from anyone's memory any positive attributes the person may still possess. Notice how society wants to erase any good accomplished by a person, corporation or country and how successful society is to that end. When people start talking about legacies and the like, many successful and even historic figures are cut down to nothingness with just the accusation of negative, not to mention those who are totally destroyed by the truth of a particularly dreadful, as society judges it, character flaw.

I think the Kingdom of God came to turn the tables not only on the hierarchy of society, (Mark 10.43, "...whoever want to become great among you must be your servant.") but also in even how we present ourselves to others. Most of us are familiar with "putting our best foot forward." This strategy is the worldly way. We do this when meeting new people, interviewing for jobs, dating etc. Is my "best foot" really just a lie or will I actually become the person I want those who I am trying to impress to believe that I am? In 2 Cor. 11.30 and 12.5-6, God through Paul shows us the example of how the Kingdom of God turns us upside down when it comes even to presenting our strengths and weaknesses.

Will I have or can I develop the discipline and the wisdom to actually boast about my weaknesses as Paul does? If I don't or if I am not, then I need to. God reveals the truth behind this strategy in 2 Cor. 12.9, when He told Paul that His power is made perfect in weakness. Because of this Paul determines to all the more gladly boast of his weaknesses. Shouldn't that be my attitude as well? Adopting that attitude will not only take lots of courage, wisdom and discipline, but I think it may be one of the greatest leaps of faith a person will ever take.

To Vote or Not To Vote...

that is a question. Usually around election time this topic will show up in the pulpits across America. An even more pointed question is, how should a Christian vote? Someone against voting might quote Philippians 3.20 about our citizenship being in heaven. I think that is an accurate application and it certainly applies to voting. Another good scripture would be 2 Timothy 2.4 about a soldier not getting involved in civilian affairs, but concentrating on pleasing his commanding officer. I would hope that I would have the discipline to abandon considerably more of my worldly attitude than just giving up my right to vote if I lean on these particular passages of scripture to explain my position on not voting.

Paul in Acts 22.25 invokes his rights as a Roman citizen to save himself from a sure flogging at the hands of local authorities. Why does Paul speak up and not just take the beating that he had already endured on other occasions? I think Paul is using his rights as a Roman citizen to further the Kingdom of God. Paul's Roman citizenship is simply a tool in his arsenal provided by God. Many of us are blessed with tools at our disposal to further the Kingdom of God. I believe we will have to give an account of how we used those tools just as the servants in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 are called to account for themselves.

If I honestly believe that not voting will further the Kingdom of God, I think it would be a sin to vote. If I honestly believe that voting will further the Kingdom of God, I think it would be a sin not to vote. Who I should vote for should fall under this same test. My vote or decision not to vote should be used like all of my other tools that God has blessed each of us with. All things in all ways should be used for the glory of God. Live Godly, speak Godly, and vote Godly. I believe people can be right on both sides of this argument.

Another Wise Saying That Isn't True

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

This saying is close to "don't mess with success."

In John 15.1 Jesus says that He is the vine and God is the gardener. In verse 2, Jesus says that God cuts off every branch in Jesus that bears no fruit...

The next sentence addresses those branches in Christ that do produce fruit. It stands to reason that if the wise saying above were true then the productive branches would be left alone. However, we find out that this is not the case for the productive branches. Instead as Jesus continues in at the end of verse 2, "...while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

Pruning or cleansing, as some versions say, not only does not sound like leaving things alone as long as they are working, but it also does not sound pain free. Those who are fruitful in Christ are given attention by God so that their lives will become even MORE productive. I am reminded of the trees I have seen in orchards. Those trees do not look normal and they aren't because they are specially and specifically pruned to be as productive as they can possibly be.

"If it ain't broke, maintain it or enhance it." is what I believe God's attitude is toward our lives and is what our own attitudes need to be toward our own service in the kingdom.