Category: Love

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What Can We Do?

In the October 15 issue of the New York Times, David Brooks writes an opinion piece titled, How to Actually Make America Great.” In the piece, he writes about a new book, The Upswing, written by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett, which chronicles the changes in American life from about 1870 to today. The book looks at a wide range of sectors of American life as a whole rather than as separate entities.

The authors find that American social trends improved from 1870 up to the late 1960s. All of the indicators of good life improved, from civic particpation to church attendance. Income inequality fell and the greatest improvements in the lives of African Americans happened duriing this period. All of that changed and began to reverse in the late 60s. Why? Was it economic inequality or political dysfunction?

According to Putnam and Garrett, the problems began when the word “I” began to take the place of “we” in the minds of Americans. America began to turn from solidarity to individualism. The frequency of the word “I” in American books doubled between 1965 and 2008. We began to be more self-centered, whether it was those on the left who celebrated the freedom to do their own thing socially, or those on the right who celebrated the freedom to do their own thing economically. Everyone began to look after their own self interests while forgetting the interests of others.

Obviously, this was not a total change. Their were, and are, folks who spend their lives looking out and caring for others. Non-profits and other groups that help others have not disappeared. However, the culture as a whole has become much more self-centered. All you have to do is look at the advertising on television or radio. It’s geared toward those who want more for themselves. Even much of the political ads are pointed at the interests of the voter. “Candidate X will raise your taxes, while candidate Z will let you keep more of your money.” “Vote for this person, because if they are elected, the economy will soar and your stocks will increase in value.”

I see a lot of this in the wider Church in America. A gospel is preached that tells the person to ask Jesus into their heart to be their “personal Savior,” so that they can go to heaven when they die. The emphasis is on the individual. Much of what passes for “discipleship” in many churches is focused on the individual’s walk with God. I don’t see a lot about an individual walk with God in the Scriptures. although it is true that I personally am called to follow Jesus. All through the Bible, those who are called are called to be part of a family, whether it’s the family of Israel in the Old Testament, or the new family of God which includes Jew and Gentile in the New Testament. Christians are described as members of a family with God as our Father, as members of the body of Christ, and as fellow citizens of a Kingdom ruled by sacrficial love for others. It is in community that discipleship happens, as we learn and grow together.

The emphasis in the Bible is on the interconnectedness of those who follow Jesus, and the command to love others and put their interests ahead of our own. That is countercultural in a world that puts self first. But then, we are called to show a better way of being truly human. The early Christians lived in a world that was very self absorbed, much like our world today. Rather than buying the bill of goods the world was offering, they threw their lot in with the true King who gave his life for others. In doing so, they gave their lives for others and turned the world upside down.

May God grant us the desire to live as ambassadors of the Kingdom that conquers through sacrificial love and not selfish power.

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Remembering a Dog

When we brought him home from the shelter, he was a 2 month old puppy named Chester. We immediately changed the name to Charles Chaplain because he was black with white markings and reminded us of the Little Tramp. We shortened it to Charlie. Charlie was a cute little puppy, with ears that went up and out, looking like the Flying Nun. He was quite a handful at first, very active and curious. He used to follow us down the hall, nipping at our heels, and it was a job to keep him from digging under the fence to attempt to escape. When he did get out, it was play time for him. Eventually we would get him back in the yard, although there was one time when we thought he was gone and wouldn’t come back.

We finally took Charlie to a place to get him, and us, some training. Charlie picked up on things very quickly because he was a very intelligent dog. The trainer said she thought he was part border collie, because of his looks and intelligence. That explained the herding behavior and his constant need to be outside running around. We never had to take him anywhere for exercise, because our back yard is large and fenced. He was able to run to his heart’s content. Because we live on a corner at the beginning of our neighborhood, everyone got to know Charlie.

As we were in the process of becoming empty nesters, Charlie was a wonderful companion. He always greeted us at the door with his whole back end wagging. In the mornings we would go out together and get the newspaper. I would ask Charlie if he wanted to go get the paper and you could see the absolute joy course through his entire body. He was already to play and never seemed to tire. We enjoyed watching him chase squirrels in our back yard. After a while he simply chased them to the tree and let them run away, and then seemed to grow bored with even that because it was too easy.

During Charlie’s life, no one ever came to see us. They all came over to visit Charlie. At least that’s what he thought. Everyone who came to visit was an instant friend, and he greeted them with total affection. The only person he didn’t seem to like was the poor man who came to read the electric meter every month. For some reason Charlie thought he was a threat to our house.

For the past few months, as Charlie aged, he slowed down a fair amount. When he did go out and run, he was just as fast as ever. He had a new friend who used to run up and down the side fence with him and Charlie had no problem keeping up with him. In between running, he began to sleep a lot. He developed arthritis in his joints, and it got hard for him to get up and down. It seemed like all of a sudden, Charlie had become an old dog. He still liked to run and play at times, but those times were shorter and fewer.

Last Friday, Charlie stopped eating. We had been given some medicine for his arthritis, and we don’t know if that suppressed his appetite or not. He continued drinking water, so we thought if we stopped the medicine that would help. On Tuesday, Jan called the vet and told him what was going on. He was going to prescribe another pain medicine for Charlie. During those last few days. he threw up a few times and had very little interest in any activity. Tuesday afternoon, Charlie’s buddy came by and they ran up and down the fence a couple of times. Charlie didn’t run far and was limping. The other dog’s owner said that Charlie’s bark sounded weak.

That evening, we went to bed. Charlie was in the front hall, where he had been for a few hours. In the middle of the night I heard him throwing up in the bedroom next to ours. I cleaned up after him, told him I loved him and went back to bed. A couple hours later, Jan got up and cleaned up after him again. When I got up at 6:15, I went into the room and saw that Charlie had left us, not long before. We buried him in the back yard later that morning, and said our goodbyes. A life full of happily running and playing was over. He was no longer in pain, now it was our turn to hurt. While we are glad that Charlie is no longer suffering, there is a hole in our hearts. There will be no more walks to get the paper, no more greetings at the front door. I walk out of our bedroom in the morning and look to see where Charlie spent the night. Then I realize he is no longer there.

I don’t know if dogs go to heaven. I do believe that there will be animals in the new creation. Perhaps God will create a Charlie. Then again, maybe not. I do know that I am grateful for the thirteen years we had with a canine companion who brought a great deal of joy into our lives. We loved Charlie and we will miss him. I don’t think we could have asked for a better pet, and I know he can never be replaced.

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The Desire for Power

Back in 2016, at the beginning of his campaign for President, Donald Trump spoke to a group of evangelical Christians in Iowa. During his speech, he lamented what he called a lack of power of Christianity and told the crowd that if he was to be elected, Christianity would have plenty of power. After promising that America would be saying “Merry Christmas”, he said, …”Because if I’m there, you’re going to have plenty of power. You don’t need anybody else. You’re going to have somebody representing you very, very well. Remember that.” The rest is history. White evangelicals overwhelmingly voted for Trump and evangelical leaders have been roaming the halls of power ever since.

I see a number of problems in the statement and in the response of so many who call themselves Christians. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded, or encouraged to seek political power. In fact, the opposite is true. Jesus tells his followers to not be like the Gentile rulers, who wield power over their subjects. We are told to take the low position, to serve others. In Philippians 2, we are commanded to have the mind of Christ, the mind that laid aside the power of deity and made himself a servant and lowered himself to die the most horrible, shameful death known to man. After his resurrection, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem, where they would receive power. Not the power of a force that would destroy their enemies, but the power of the Holy Spirit that would cause them to love their enemies.

One of the characteristics of political power is the temptation to believe that the ends justify the means. I believe that is what happened in 2016, and has continued ever since. The same evangelical leaders who loudly proclaimed that character matters when Bill Clinton was in the White House, conveniently forgot that when faced with the reality of who Donald Trump was as a person. Some even began to speak of him in terms that elevated him up to a position that no man should ever be in. Trump was compared to Cyrus of ancient Persia, even King David. Excuses were made, and continue to be made, for his behavior and hateful rhetoric, all in the name of restoring Christianity to a position of power. I believe that this runs contrary to who Scripture teaches us to be.

Giving oneself wholeheartedly to a particular political candidate or position is very shortsighted. Even is Trump is successful and does everything his supporters want, what is going to happen when the political pendulum swings back the other way? Depending on political power and laws to carry out the work of the kingdom of God does not work because when those who oppose those laws come into power, those laws will be changed. For example, if abortion is outlawed during this administration, there is nothing to stop a future administration from coming to power and bringing about the legalization and even the encouragement of abortion on demand. Personally, I don’t believe Donald Trump is really interested in doing anything but keeping power. I believe his “pro-life” stance is a show, like everything else.

I believe that those of us who call ourselves followers of the King of Kings are to live our lives as his subjects, giving allegiance to him first, fulfilling the Great Commandment and Great Commission. If we did that we would do more for the pro-life cause, and other just causes, than we can do by electing certain politicians to office. Man’s power is ultimately weak and fleeting, but the power of the Holy Spirit through the gospel is world changing.

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1 Corinthians 13 for the Election

I first posted this in 2008, and unfortunately it is relevant just as much this year. We who call ourselves Christians don’t seem to have learned the lessons of the past.

If I speak with a silver tongue and can sway hundreds, but have not love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all polls,
and if I have a faith that can move political mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the national committee
and surrender my time to run a phone bank, but have not love,
I gain nothing.

Love is patient with those of the other party.
It is not jealous of opponent’s fund raising,
it does not boast of its candidate, it is not proud.

It does not rudely argue political points, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered when others disagree, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in negative campaigns
but rejoices in the truth.

It always protects the reputation of Christ, always trusts God is in control,
always hopes for the best, always perseveres in living as a disciple of Jesus.

Love never fails. But where there are campaign promises,
they will be broken;
where there are silver tongued orators,
they will be stilled;
where there is knowledge of how to govern,
it will pass away.

For we have partial knowledge and we govern with that knowledge,
but when the True King comes, imperfect government will disappear.

When I was a partisan, I talked like a partisan,
I thought like a partisan,I reasoned like a partisan.

When I recognized who the True King is,
I put partisan ways behind me.

Now we see but a poor reflection;
then we shall see face to face.

Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love.

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Blast From the Past: Another Political Post (Sort Of)

This post first was published in 2009. It has been edited somewhat to bring it more up to date.

here’s a lot of words flying around the airwaves, the internet, and in public. Some of them are good words, some of them are not good. Some of the good words are spoken by Christians and, unfortunately, some of the not good words are spoken by Christians.

I’m not going to get into the debate over all the ideas and policies that are being argued over. I do have my ideas, but this is not the forum for that. I have friends and relatives on both sides of the debate, and my relationship with them is far more important than which side is right.

What I do feel strongly about is the way folks who claim to follow the King of Kings have forgotten that we are citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that has an agenda that is far different than that of any kingdom of this world, including this one. Christians on the right and on the left have invested far too much emotion in ensuring that their side is in power and their agenda is pushed. There is nothing wrong with folks supporting and working for whatever party fits their political views, but when that causes them to call opponents names, to angrily shout down those on the other side, or to even bring into question their spiritual life, then there is something wrong.

We are Christians before we are Republicans or Democrats. We are God’s children before we are conservative or liberal. We are citizens of Christ’s kingdom before we are citizens of any country on this earth. We are part of the same Body. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, would the eye scream at the foot across a barricade? Would the ear call the elbow a racial slur? Would the nose tell the knee that it’s not part of the body? This little toe has a hard time hearing parts of the Body belittle and disparage other parts because of their view of what this part of the kingdoms of this world should look like. Didn’t Jesus say that the world would know that we are his because of our love for one another?

I believe that whatever happens in the coming years should ultimately make little difference in how followers of Jesus conduct their lives as citizens of heaven. We are called to spread the Gospel and make disciples who will follow King Jesus and in turn make more disciples. Christians through the centuries have done that regardless of the government in power, whether the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union, China, or an Islamic dictatorship. If they can do that, surely we can do what we are called to do whether a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican is in charge.

Follow your political persuasions. Be passionate about your ideas. Just remember that your first allegiance is to the One who told Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world. The agenda of the kingdom of God is not the agenda of earthly governments.

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Forty Years and Counting

It was a different time. The nation had experienced some healing from Vietnam and Watergate. The economy was not in very good shape. Iran held Americans hostage. The Reagan Revolution was just a soon to be realized dream for the Republican Party. The Miracle on Ice was a recent memory and the Summer Olympics would take place without the United States, as well as a number of other countries.

We were different as well. We both were much younger and both of us had more hair. Jan’s hair is simply shorter, while mine is simply gone and my beard is now white. We were both teachers then, and while Jan has kept her hand in, I have bounced around among a variety of jobs.

During these last forty years, we have lived in a number of different homes in three cities. We began life as a couple in the Washington, DC area, spent some time in the Cincinnati area, where our family grew from two to four. For the last twenty five years we have called the small city of Rock Hill home. Our son and daughter grew up here, and left the nest to pursue their own path. In the ensuing years, we buried our parents, moved on to new jobs, and found a community of faith that has become a family.

Through the years, much has changed. We have been on the heights, and we have been through the valleys. This journey together has not always been an easy one, and the road has always been winding. There have been times of plenty, and times when we struggled financially. We have never been “wealthy” in the usual sense, but God has always provided. We have argued and been angry with one another, and made up and moved on.

What has never changed is our love and commitment to each other. As our lives took the twists and turns, we knew that the other one was with us and we were on this journey together, come hell or high water. We learned to communicate and that has been a major factor in our marriage. We still face the challenges of life. Both of us are growing older and dealing with those issues. Jan’s HD is a big challenge. But we are facing these things together, as we have always faced life. We are trusting our heavenly Father to take care of us, as he always has.

Forty years. It seems like a long time, over half of our lives, yet it somehow feels like a blip on the screen of time. We may celebrate another forty years, we may not. No matter how many more years God gives us, I know that I am truly blessed to be married to a beautiful woman who is a wonderful partner.

Jan, I am so thankful to the Father for bringing us together and allowing us to spend these years together as one, and I pray he gives us many more years to journey through this life.

I love you more than yesterday, and less than tomorrow.

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Father’s Day 2020

Thirty seven years ago, our son was born and I became a father. Even though thirty seven years seems like a long time (it is over half my life), as I look back it really doesn’t feel like all that long ago. Because there are so many memories, they crowd together and make the time seem somehow compressed, as if the years have joined together and decreased their number.

There have been a lot of changes over those years. We added a daughter three years later. There have been different jobs, as I went back and forth between working as a teacher and coach and various other jobs. Some times were tough financially, and I felt sorry that we couldn’t do everything we wanted as a family, or for our children. God has always provided for us, but there were times when there wasn’t any extra. What I value most about the teaching/coaching gigs are the opportunities provided when it came to Josh and Jennie. We all had the same vacation schedule, and went to the same place every morning during the school year. I had the opportunity to coach both of them, something I will always cherish.

It has been an absolute joy to see both of them grow up into responsible, caring people. I have always been proud of them, no more so than now. I see Jesus in them in the way they interact with others, and in the way they care for those around them. When they were growing up, I was always known as “Josh’s and Jennie’s dad,” and I am still proud to wear that title.

Now I am blessed to have another title: “Granddaddy.” That makes this day even more special. I get to participate in some way in the raising up of the next generation, and for that I am grateful. I have no worries because I know that my grandchildren are in good hands.

Josh and Jennie, I am so proud and thankful for the privilege of being your father. I thank God for you and pray that you will know his love in increasing measure in the days and years ahead. I love you.

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Blast From the Past: Thoughts on Les Miserables

This was first posted in March of 2013.

A little while back, Jan and I went with some of our church family to see the movie, Les Miserables. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s one of those movies you want to see on the big screen and then want to see again on DVD because the story is so good. A lot has been said and written about the theme of grace vs. law and the triumph of grace. The movie was saturated with grace, and the embodiment of grace in Jean Valjean and law in Javert was thought provoking and emotion producing.There were a lot of tissues used, and hopefully a lot of thinking about God’s grace. My thoughts after the film, while still including grace, were a bit different than others that I heard.

There were many scenes in the film that made folks cry, and I choked up many of those times myself. However, what brought me to tears was the scene near the end when Javert dove off the bridge, finally holding on to law all the way to death and rejecting the grace that was offered. Now, keep in mind that I had not read the novel or seen any of the stage or film productions. In my wild-eyed optimism, I hoped that Javert would see the light and be transformed by grace as Jean Valjean was. It broke my heart.

My heart still breaks when I think about the many people who reject a grace that gives life and cling to law which brings death. Some don’t know any better, having been raised in religions that are all about human effort. I would include the American religion of pull yourself up by your own bootstraps self-sufficiency. Many however, should know better. There are multitudes of churches and organizations that will say they are all about grace but then proclaim rules to follow to be “right with God,” or any number of steps to be a better whatever. This includes those “ministries” who proclaim grace but then tell you what to do to have any number of “blessings” in your life.

If those things worked, churches would be full of perfect, completely fulfilled and whole people. Do you know any of those? I don’t. Law doesn’t work to bring life, whether it’s religious commands or simple human effort to get better. Our effort, whether it’s obeying regulations, following steps, or trying to have more faith, will not change us. It is only God’s grace that transforms us, making us into people who show love to others, who trust God, and who sometimes do the right thing. This comes about because the Spirit of the living God dwells in us and changes us from the inside out. We no longer live by law, but we live by grace, out of a heart consumed with love for our Father because he loves us with an unchangeable, everlasting love.

Let us reject law, with its striving and death. Let us embrace God’s grace, which does what we could never do and transforms us into the new creation God means for us to be.