It never ceases to amaze me how diverse the Holy Spirit can be in His interaction with God's people. Over the years, I have been exposed to a wide variety of worship opportunities among several cultures and various age groups and I find one thing in common, a general feeling that "the way we do it is the right way." From small intimate gatherings of believers singing songs of worship and adoration to God, to stadiums filled with men singing a 19th century hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," to an almost raucous college chapel service with students singing at the top of their lungs about "arms high and heart abandoned," I have witnessed and experienced amazing moments of worship when the presence of God was palpable in the room. And, sadly, in almost every case there were Christian brothers or sisters standing back with a critical spirit questioning the authenticity or sincerity of what they were seeing. "How can God be honored with that kind of music?" "All I see is emotionalism. Where is the substance?" "Why does it have to be so loud?" Or on the other hand, "Why does it have to be so slow and dead?"
When are we going to realize that God moves and works in a myriad of different ways to minister to the hearts and to reach into the innermost part of the vast variety of people that He calls His own.We need to be careful of how we judge the worship of others, of how hastily we disregard their actions and their adoration of God. In John 12, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, brought out a costly box of precious ointment and she poured it out upon the feet of Jesus. Then she wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the glorious fragrance of the ointment as the impact of her costly sacrifice spread to all who were in the room. Mary's humble act of worship honored Christ and displayed her deep love for Him and her gratitude for what Jesus had so recently accomplished by raising her brother from the dead. You would think that everyone who witnessed it would have been touched by what they saw, but sadly that was not the case. Judas, wondered why such a waste was made. He said, in essence, "My way would have been so much better. Sell the ointment and give the money to the poor. That makes so much more sense. How foolish!"
The text points out that Judas' motive behind his criticism was purely selfish. I believe that we need to realize that most of our criticism of others' worship is also selfish. We have our preferences and we want to believe that our preferences are God's preferences. Rather arrogant, don't you think?
When all is said and done, I believe that we need to worship God in the language of our heart, offer Him the sacrifices of our lips, praise Him in love and sincerity, and let Him be the judge. Then, regardless of what others may think, we will know that our worship is not wasted.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Judgment: For Better or Worse
Matthew 7:1 is probably the most misquoted, wrongly interpreted verse in all of the Bible. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." It is often quoted to avoid facing the impact of wrong actions or to divert the attention from an ungodly lifestyle by asserting that anyone who would point out sin, is an intolerant hypocrite. To be honest, Jesus was warning against hypocrisy and judgmentalism and a critical spirit, but He was not prohibiting all judgment or condemning loving warnings of the consequences of sin. If you continue on in the passage, you will see that what He was calling for was compassion, self-reflection, and love in our evaluation of the actions of others. The passage really warns about three kinds of judgment:
Harsh judgment - we often expect much more out of others than we ourselves are willing to give. Jesus warned that you will be judged by the same criteria that you use to judge others. One of the most important characteristics of Jesus that our lives should reflect is that of compassion for the sinner. His words on the cross are the best example of all, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
We are all a product of our generation and of our "raisin's," as the old folks used to say. I was recently reminded of a conversation that I had with my grandfather when I was about ten years old. I was raised in the late 60's and early 70's in Racine, Wisconsin, about half way between Chicago and Milwaukee. It was the era of the Civil Rights Movement and racial tensions were high. Bussing students from one part of town to another to insure racial integration in our schools was a part of my late elementary and Junior High School life. I had learned to be cautious and sensitive to the feelings of those around me, especially when it came to relating to those of a different race.
In the middle of that turmoil, I went to visit my grandparents for Christmas in 1969. They were good, kind, and loving people from East Texas, but the culture in which they had been raised was very different from the one that I was growing up in. I can never remember my grandfather saying an angry, mean or judgmental word about anyone in my entire life. But the conversation that I am thinking of reflected his upbringing. He spoke in glowing terms of a co-worker at the plywood mill who happened to be black. He said, "You'd never even know he was a n*****, he is just like a white person." It shocked me a little, growing up where I was growing up and being in the middle of the fray where the use of that term would have most certainly started a fight and maybe even a riot. To hear it come from my grandfather's mouth was startling. But through the years, I have come to realize that it was not uttered in anger, malice, or condescension, it was just part of his vocabulary that had a more benign meaning than I realized.
I believe that we need to consider the person when we interpret the words of others. We need to seek to know them for who they are and where they have been before we judge them too harshly.
Hasty judgment - Jesus was also condemning hasty judgment. In James we are told to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." We must beware making a judgment before all of the facts are in. We should be anxious to hear the explanation of the actions of others, and we should allow our thoughts to be filtered through the principles of Scripture and the fruit of the Spirit before we speak them. Avoiding hasty judgments will protect us against having to eat our words later.
Holier-than-thou judgment - The most obvious warning in this passage is about pointing out the faults in others without dealing with our own faults first. This passage doesn't teach that if you are a sinner, you have no right to warn someone else of the consequences of their sin. It does, however, teach that if you are not willing to deal with the sin in your own life, you won't be equipped, nor qualified to deal with sin in the lives of others. It speaks of spiritual blindness when it comes to our own sin while seeking to point out the smallest infractions in the life of another.
As a Pastor, I am often called upon to confront people with the impact of their sin. Sadly, many people will not listen. Often, they become defensive and angry that anyone would "judge them." It is even sadder when a parent gets angry when their child is reprimanded and quickly comes to the defense of the child rather than dealing with the problem itself. I recently had a long conversation with a mother who told me that her daughter's personal life was none of the business of anyone else in our youth group. Another girl had spoken to her about something in her life that she saw as a danger to her spiritually. The mother railed about the hypocrisy of the one who would dare to tell her daughter that what she was doing was wrong. I told the mother that, at her request, I would instruct the other girl not to intrude any further into her daughter's life. Then I told her that what she was asking, would effectively remove the strongest safeguard available in the life of her daughter. There is no stronger deterrent to sin in the life of a teenager than the supportive admonition and exhortation of their peers. Accountability sometimes pinches, but if it didn't it wouldn't be accountability. Jesus, most certainly, was not prohibiting us from warning those that we love about the consequences of the sin in their life. He was simply asking that when we do so, we do it with love and compassion
Harsh judgment - we often expect much more out of others than we ourselves are willing to give. Jesus warned that you will be judged by the same criteria that you use to judge others. One of the most important characteristics of Jesus that our lives should reflect is that of compassion for the sinner. His words on the cross are the best example of all, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
We are all a product of our generation and of our "raisin's," as the old folks used to say. I was recently reminded of a conversation that I had with my grandfather when I was about ten years old. I was raised in the late 60's and early 70's in Racine, Wisconsin, about half way between Chicago and Milwaukee. It was the era of the Civil Rights Movement and racial tensions were high. Bussing students from one part of town to another to insure racial integration in our schools was a part of my late elementary and Junior High School life. I had learned to be cautious and sensitive to the feelings of those around me, especially when it came to relating to those of a different race.
In the middle of that turmoil, I went to visit my grandparents for Christmas in 1969. They were good, kind, and loving people from East Texas, but the culture in which they had been raised was very different from the one that I was growing up in. I can never remember my grandfather saying an angry, mean or judgmental word about anyone in my entire life. But the conversation that I am thinking of reflected his upbringing. He spoke in glowing terms of a co-worker at the plywood mill who happened to be black. He said, "You'd never even know he was a n*****, he is just like a white person." It shocked me a little, growing up where I was growing up and being in the middle of the fray where the use of that term would have most certainly started a fight and maybe even a riot. To hear it come from my grandfather's mouth was startling. But through the years, I have come to realize that it was not uttered in anger, malice, or condescension, it was just part of his vocabulary that had a more benign meaning than I realized.
I believe that we need to consider the person when we interpret the words of others. We need to seek to know them for who they are and where they have been before we judge them too harshly.
Hasty judgment - Jesus was also condemning hasty judgment. In James we are told to be "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." We must beware making a judgment before all of the facts are in. We should be anxious to hear the explanation of the actions of others, and we should allow our thoughts to be filtered through the principles of Scripture and the fruit of the Spirit before we speak them. Avoiding hasty judgments will protect us against having to eat our words later.
Holier-than-thou judgment - The most obvious warning in this passage is about pointing out the faults in others without dealing with our own faults first. This passage doesn't teach that if you are a sinner, you have no right to warn someone else of the consequences of their sin. It does, however, teach that if you are not willing to deal with the sin in your own life, you won't be equipped, nor qualified to deal with sin in the lives of others. It speaks of spiritual blindness when it comes to our own sin while seeking to point out the smallest infractions in the life of another.
As a Pastor, I am often called upon to confront people with the impact of their sin. Sadly, many people will not listen. Often, they become defensive and angry that anyone would "judge them." It is even sadder when a parent gets angry when their child is reprimanded and quickly comes to the defense of the child rather than dealing with the problem itself. I recently had a long conversation with a mother who told me that her daughter's personal life was none of the business of anyone else in our youth group. Another girl had spoken to her about something in her life that she saw as a danger to her spiritually. The mother railed about the hypocrisy of the one who would dare to tell her daughter that what she was doing was wrong. I told the mother that, at her request, I would instruct the other girl not to intrude any further into her daughter's life. Then I told her that what she was asking, would effectively remove the strongest safeguard available in the life of her daughter. There is no stronger deterrent to sin in the life of a teenager than the supportive admonition and exhortation of their peers. Accountability sometimes pinches, but if it didn't it wouldn't be accountability. Jesus, most certainly, was not prohibiting us from warning those that we love about the consequences of the sin in their life. He was simply asking that when we do so, we do it with love and compassion
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Texas!
I have lived in Oklahoma longer than I have lived anywhere else in my life. This summer it will be eighteen years since I became an Okie. When pressed, I say, " I was born in Texas, but I got to Oklahoma as fast as I could." Eleven years in Oklahoma City and almost 20 years as an Sooner football fan have built up a good-natured animosity toward Texas. I teasingly insult Texas and Texans at every opportunity, but over the past couple of days, I had the opportunity to jump in the old time machine and take a trip back to when I proudly proclaimed, "I'm from Texas, and everything is bigger and better in Texas."
Eighty years ago, a couple of the Jernigan sisters fell in love and married a couple of the Hughes brothers and between them they had nine kids. This passle of double cousins grew up as close as brothers and sisters in the piney woods and red dirt hills of east Texas. This past week, Bonnie Sue Hughes McGinnis, the oldest daughter of Arthur and Essie Hughes passed away. I took my dad and mom to the funeral in Center, Texas, the childhood home of the Hughes clan. For me, the experience was like stepping back in time. We visited the old "Baker place," the house that my grandparents lived in from my earliest recollection until my grandfather passed away in 1981. It sat on 100 acres with a place for chickens and cattle and a huge garden as well as two and a half ponds, where my grandmother taught me to fish. The house has changed a bit in the 30 years since Papaw passed on and Mamaw moved in with my aunt in Jacksonville. The Bakers, who had moved to Houston to work in the oil business, retired and moved back to the place and renovated the house, adding on to the back and building a large garage. They have since sold it to someone else and things have fallen into a state of disrepair. The chicken house and the barn are still standing as reminders of the times when I would follow my grandfather out to the barn and watch him milk the old cow. I'd gather a few eggs and we would tinker around with a few things until my grandmother would step out onto the back step and yell, "Elllllbert!," letting us both know that breakfast was on the table and it was time to come to the house. When we got to the house, washed our hands, and sat down at the table, the breakfast was always the same. Fried eggs and sausage, biscuits as big as a cat's head, home-churned butter, and strap syrup. With the left overs, Mamaw would make Papaw two fried egg sandwiches for his lunch and he would head off to the plywood mill.
For some reason the barn didn't look nearly as big as it used to, but seeing it reminded me that with all of the negative things that I say about Texas, some of the greatest moments of my life took place there. Just across the road from the barn was the hayfield where I first learned to drive a stick shift. I was six, and we were putting up hay. It was a cloudy day and Papaw was afraid that it was going to rain on the hay, so he and my uncle Jerry and a couple of my second cousins put me behind the wheel of the truck and I drove while they stacked the haybales. I remember that day like it was yesterday. My uncle Jerry was young and spry and when they came across an armadillo in the field, he chased it down and caught it for me. He put it is a chicken coup and set it on the front porch. After I went to bed, he found an old turtle under the front porch and he put it in the chicken coup with the armadillo. When I woke up in the morning, the tarrapin was closed up tight in its shell. Uncle Jerry told me that the armadillo had laid an egg during the night. I truly miss Jerry.
The old courthouse in Center, reminded me of the days of shopping trips with my Mamaw to Payne and Payne's and Beall's on the town square. Papaw would drop us off and we would walk from store to store and then make a stop at the barber shop where I asked the barber to give me a haircut like Bro. Cravey from the church. He was bald with tuft of hair on both sides of his head, and at six, I thought that was a pretty cool look. It must have been because I had never seen Bro. Cravey without a broad smile on his face.
The funeral home brought back a few more fond memories. I know that sounds strange, but the Watson family has been in the mortuary business in Center for over 30 years. When I was 18 years old and a student at BBC, the pastor at Central Baptist Church, Bro. Roy Wallace, thought it would be a great idea to have me come down and preach a teen revival. I'm not sure how great he thought the idea was when it was all over, but I appreciate his confidence in me at such an early age. The Watson's were members of Central Baptist at that time and Mr. Watson had a teenage daughter, Angela. I was talking with her after one of the services and she was playing with one of the little children. She asked the little boy if he knew what her father did for a living. When he said no, she said, "My daddy kills dead people." I don't know why that funny little line has stuck in my head all these years, but seeing Bro. Watson again brought it out.
The funeral home is located at another hallowed spot in my memory. The graveyard where Bonnie was buried is also the gravesite of one of my greatest heroes in the faith. In life and in death he is known simply as Missionary Bob Hughes. It is inscribed on his gravestone and it is his legacy. More than anything else in his life, he was a missionary. His legacy lives on in two daughters who serve God faithfully and a wonderful church in Cebu City, the Philippines that is still changing the world, 35 years after his passing. He is who my son is named after.
As I reflected on all of these wonderful memories, I was challenged to think of more of the wonderful things in my life that happened to me in Texas. The childhood joys were abundant, but they pale in comparison to the fact that I proposed to my wife of 28 years in Texas, I witnessed the birth of my first child in Texas, and I spent every Christmas but one until I was 35 years old there.
I have heard old-age defined as the point in life where you see the past as having more to offer you than the future. The older I get, the more it seems that my mind is drawn back to the days that have gone by. I hope that I can continue to look forward as well to what God still has for me in the days ahead. I never want to get so caught up in the past that I lose sight of the fact that God is working in me and through me right now and desires to do so for years to come. I guess the greatest lesson learned this past few days is that life is short and opportunities are fleeting. We need to live life to its fullest and build upon the foundation that has been laid in our lives by the past, and remember, "... pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God." The finish line is still ahead.
The funeral home is located at another hallowed spot in my memory. The graveyard where Bonnie was buried is also the gravesite of one of my greatest heroes in the faith. In life and in death he is known simply as Missionary Bob Hughes. It is inscribed on his gravestone and it is his legacy. More than anything else in his life, he was a missionary. His legacy lives on in two daughters who serve God faithfully and a wonderful church in Cebu City, the Philippines that is still changing the world, 35 years after his passing. He is who my son is named after.
As I reflected on all of these wonderful memories, I was challenged to think of more of the wonderful things in my life that happened to me in Texas. The childhood joys were abundant, but they pale in comparison to the fact that I proposed to my wife of 28 years in Texas, I witnessed the birth of my first child in Texas, and I spent every Christmas but one until I was 35 years old there.
I have heard old-age defined as the point in life where you see the past as having more to offer you than the future. The older I get, the more it seems that my mind is drawn back to the days that have gone by. I hope that I can continue to look forward as well to what God still has for me in the days ahead. I never want to get so caught up in the past that I lose sight of the fact that God is working in me and through me right now and desires to do so for years to come. I guess the greatest lesson learned this past few days is that life is short and opportunities are fleeting. We need to live life to its fullest and build upon the foundation that has been laid in our lives by the past, and remember, "... pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God." The finish line is still ahead.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Thank God for Technology!
Almost a year ago, I went with my daughter, Chelsea, to a conference in Denver to check out a missions opportunity for her called the World Race. I really didn't know what to expect from the conference, but the one thing that I came away with after spending the day with Lanny Richardson and a few of the leaders of Adventures in Missions, was that I didn't want to miss what God would be teaching me through Chelsea's experience. The nine months of preparation and fund-raising were a series of incredible realizations as I saw my daughter's walk with God and dependence upon Him blossum into something rare and amazing. Now as she enters her third month on the World Race, I am not only seeing God do some exciting things in and through her, but I am recognizing little messages that He is sending me on a regular basis as well. Today's message was about the value of communication.
Chelsea spent last month in a very remote and somewhat primitive environment in Cambodia. As a result, our communication with her was infrequent and difficult at best. As a father, I really missed hearing about what she was doing and how God was working, but I tried to be patient because I knew that she was where God wanted her to be. A few days ago, Chelsea arrived in Darwin, Australia, where she will be staying for the next month, ministering in a place called Bagot, a few miles outside of Darwin. She is staying in a YWAM(Youth With A Mission) Base in Darwin and will have access to all of the modern technology and as a result, we have been able to hear a lot more about what God has been doing over the last month. One of Chelsea's teammates even posted a 9 min video with pictures and video from their work there. I will include that video at the end of this blog.
The thing that God has been speaking to my heart about this morning is the strong desire that He has to hear from me. He is my Father and I am just a visitor in a strange place far from home. I have a job to do, but He wants to be a part of it and wants me to keep the lines of communication open. I sometimes allow prayer to become a task or duty, and forget that it is the opportunity for intimate communication with the One who loves me more than anyone in the world. It is so easy to get so busy doing things FOR Him that I neglect my time WITH Him, and I know that grieves His heart.
With my daughter living and serving fifteen and a half time zones away, I am thankful for Facebook, Skype, email, text messaging, and cell phone service. I check these different outlets several times a day, just in case she might have posted something. I need to be aware that God is just as anxious to hear from me and to be a part of my day as well.
Chelsea spent last month in a very remote and somewhat primitive environment in Cambodia. As a result, our communication with her was infrequent and difficult at best. As a father, I really missed hearing about what she was doing and how God was working, but I tried to be patient because I knew that she was where God wanted her to be. A few days ago, Chelsea arrived in Darwin, Australia, where she will be staying for the next month, ministering in a place called Bagot, a few miles outside of Darwin. She is staying in a YWAM(Youth With A Mission) Base in Darwin and will have access to all of the modern technology and as a result, we have been able to hear a lot more about what God has been doing over the last month. One of Chelsea's teammates even posted a 9 min video with pictures and video from their work there. I will include that video at the end of this blog.
The thing that God has been speaking to my heart about this morning is the strong desire that He has to hear from me. He is my Father and I am just a visitor in a strange place far from home. I have a job to do, but He wants to be a part of it and wants me to keep the lines of communication open. I sometimes allow prayer to become a task or duty, and forget that it is the opportunity for intimate communication with the One who loves me more than anyone in the world. It is so easy to get so busy doing things FOR Him that I neglect my time WITH Him, and I know that grieves His heart.
With my daughter living and serving fifteen and a half time zones away, I am thankful for Facebook, Skype, email, text messaging, and cell phone service. I check these different outlets several times a day, just in case she might have posted something. I need to be aware that God is just as anxious to hear from me and to be a part of my day as well.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
God's Ovation
I found this devotional on Christian artist, Laura Story’s blog site, while searching for her song, “Blessings.” Blessings is getting radio play now but is not available until April 12th. It is an amazing song that finds its inspiration in the year-long struggle with a brain tumor by Laura’s husband, Martin. The words to the chorus are moving.
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
The song is a tremendous challenge to my heart when I want to take control and tell God how things ought to be. As I’ve said before, I have nothing to complain about. God blesses me far beyond what I deserve. And yet, sometimes, my heart starts to grumble. Martin and Laura’s experiences over the last year are deeply convicting to me. The sweetness of spirit that her trials have produced in Laura Story are evident in the following devotional blog. I hope it is as much of a blessing to you as it was to me.
“Performing. It’s a subject I think about more often than most, since I make my living as a performing artist. As my husband and I were packing this morning, preparing for an event in Long View, TX, I was reminded of a performance I witnessed a few years back. The evening began with the MC giving some announcements, then introducing the band. In his kind and gracious introduction, he explained that this band was a fairly new band and had never played for a crowd quite this large before. And then he did the coolest thing: He asked the audience to give the band a standing ovation as soon as they took the stage. So that’s what happened. The moment those young, timid, terrified musicians stepped foot on that platform, the audience erupted in applause! At first, the band members were so shocked that they could barely remember who played what instrument, but after a few seconds, they began to smile and laugh a bit. What followed was the best music that band had ever played. There’s just something to be said for receiving our ovation before we even start performing.
As I start my day today, it is good for my soul to remember that God has given me a standing ovation before I even begin to perform. The verdict is in: not guilty, loved, valued, forgiven, restored, adopted, friend. I do not have to perform in order to gain His approval, yet His overwhelming love and approval is exactly what compels me to perform for Him. I long for the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart to be acceptable in His sight (Ps. 19:14) because He has already accepted me as His own. Whether I succeed or fail at my task, His love is unconditional and was earned by another’s merit, not my own. So as you step out today, whatever deeds you are called to perform, as a mom, an employee, a friend, know that you begin your day with His standing ovation and let that compel you towards love and good deeds.”
Isn't it great to know that loves and accepts us and cheers us on.
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
The song is a tremendous challenge to my heart when I want to take control and tell God how things ought to be. As I’ve said before, I have nothing to complain about. God blesses me far beyond what I deserve. And yet, sometimes, my heart starts to grumble. Martin and Laura’s experiences over the last year are deeply convicting to me. The sweetness of spirit that her trials have produced in Laura Story are evident in the following devotional blog. I hope it is as much of a blessing to you as it was to me.
“Performing. It’s a subject I think about more often than most, since I make my living as a performing artist. As my husband and I were packing this morning, preparing for an event in Long View, TX, I was reminded of a performance I witnessed a few years back. The evening began with the MC giving some announcements, then introducing the band. In his kind and gracious introduction, he explained that this band was a fairly new band and had never played for a crowd quite this large before. And then he did the coolest thing: He asked the audience to give the band a standing ovation as soon as they took the stage. So that’s what happened. The moment those young, timid, terrified musicians stepped foot on that platform, the audience erupted in applause! At first, the band members were so shocked that they could barely remember who played what instrument, but after a few seconds, they began to smile and laugh a bit. What followed was the best music that band had ever played. There’s just something to be said for receiving our ovation before we even start performing.
As I start my day today, it is good for my soul to remember that God has given me a standing ovation before I even begin to perform. The verdict is in: not guilty, loved, valued, forgiven, restored, adopted, friend. I do not have to perform in order to gain His approval, yet His overwhelming love and approval is exactly what compels me to perform for Him. I long for the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart to be acceptable in His sight (Ps. 19:14) because He has already accepted me as His own. Whether I succeed or fail at my task, His love is unconditional and was earned by another’s merit, not my own. So as you step out today, whatever deeds you are called to perform, as a mom, an employee, a friend, know that you begin your day with His standing ovation and let that compel you towards love and good deeds.”
Isn't it great to know that loves and accepts us and cheers us on.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Sometimes You Just Have To Complain
Mark Twain said, "A man learns some things by picking a cat up by the tail that he can learn in no other way." I've found that adversity is a great teacher. The last few days have been a little tumultuous in our lives. I rarely, if ever, get sick, but Sunday I was under the weather. I preached the morning service but let my dad take care of the afternoon service and I went home and went to bed. Monday was worse, I was weak and congested and hurting all over, but I didn't get to rest much because my dad had a spell where he had no strength, he was short of breath, and even fell in the floor a couple of times. We took him to the doctor and eventually he was admitted to the hospital. They found out that he had a severe urinary tract infection that had gotten into his blood causing sepsis. He is doing much better now, but the process of finding out what the problem was taught me an important lesson about why the Lord allows pain in our lives. My dad has been dealing with some health problems for a while and has learned to live with the difficulties and inconveniences that they bring. He doesn't complain about anything. he just deals with it and goes on about his business. The problem is that apparently, some of his pain recepters are not functioning, so the symptoms that would normally warn you about a developing problem go unnoticed. Most people with the type of infection that he had would have been experiencing terrible pain days ago, but because there was no pain, he had no idea that he had a problem. The situation had to get bad enough to knock him down before anyone realized that there was a problem.
Sometimes we wonder why, if God truly loves us, He allows us to suffer pain, sorrow, and disappointment. The truth is, pain is usually the indicator that there is a problem somewhere. If you place your hand on a hot stove, the pain tells you that you should move it before real, lasting damage is done. If you had no pain, your hand would be seriously burned before you even noticed the problem. God is a loving Father, who doesn't wish pain on any of His children, but He knows that sometimes it is necessary to get us to change course. Whenever we start to experience pain, sorrow, or difficulty, maybe it is time to look at our lives and see if God is trying to get our attention. Maybe He is just trying to get us to take a step back and consider Him.
The doctors told my dad that diagnosing his problem was difficult because he didn't complain about anything. Now, I'm not recommending complaining about our problems, but sometimes our problems go unsolved because we aren't willing to tell anyone about them. God intended for us to live in community with other believers and for us to bear one anothers' burdens. If we don't share our feelings and our needs with someone, they can escalate into major catastrophes before they are even noticed.
My dad is going to be fine. He will have to make a couple of changes to his daily routine, but none of his problems are life-threatening. But from now on, he is going to have to make others more aware when he suspects a problem. It wouldn't be a bad idea for all of us to get a little more involved in the lives of those around us--to genuinely care about their needs--so that little irritations don't become major problems.
Sometimes we wonder why, if God truly loves us, He allows us to suffer pain, sorrow, and disappointment. The truth is, pain is usually the indicator that there is a problem somewhere. If you place your hand on a hot stove, the pain tells you that you should move it before real, lasting damage is done. If you had no pain, your hand would be seriously burned before you even noticed the problem. God is a loving Father, who doesn't wish pain on any of His children, but He knows that sometimes it is necessary to get us to change course. Whenever we start to experience pain, sorrow, or difficulty, maybe it is time to look at our lives and see if God is trying to get our attention. Maybe He is just trying to get us to take a step back and consider Him.
The doctors told my dad that diagnosing his problem was difficult because he didn't complain about anything. Now, I'm not recommending complaining about our problems, but sometimes our problems go unsolved because we aren't willing to tell anyone about them. God intended for us to live in community with other believers and for us to bear one anothers' burdens. If we don't share our feelings and our needs with someone, they can escalate into major catastrophes before they are even noticed.
My dad is going to be fine. He will have to make a couple of changes to his daily routine, but none of his problems are life-threatening. But from now on, he is going to have to make others more aware when he suspects a problem. It wouldn't be a bad idea for all of us to get a little more involved in the lives of those around us--to genuinely care about their needs--so that little irritations don't become major problems.
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