The Unforgettable Tree

On a recent journey from the mountains to the sea and back home again, many things stand out.  Watching the landscape unfold through the window of an automobile is like opening a great big coffee table book full of wonderful pictures.  Nothing is like the way mountains rise up to touch the white fluffy clouds and neither is there anything quite like the place where sand, rolling waters, and horizon all seem to be a part of each other.  There were mom and pop eateries, shops full of stuff not really needed, and so many people with stories to tell.  

Even though all these things are very memorable, a tree on the edge of the Flint River in Bainbridge, Ga. receives the award for the being most outstanding.  I first saw it in the early morning sun from the deck of a motel that provided a place for breakfast.  I do not know the species of the tree except to say it was a survivor.  It was the only tree standing in the area and its trunk sent huge gnarled twisted limbs into the sky.  Everything about it spoke of being of the ancient of days.  It was a tree that had survived flood and storm. When I first saw it, I thought of the first Psalm.  "They (the righteous) are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither, in all that they do, they prosper." (Psalm 1:4).  

Perhaps, part of the appeal was that it looked like a kinsman.  So many of us bear the scars and other evidences of making it through the storms and floods that have often seemed overwhelming, but somehow by the grace of God, we still stand as survivors.  Certainly another part of the attraction of the tree was the way it found its home by the river.  So many of us have planted our lives in the stream of living waters.  It has become our home, the place of our roots and life.  Our home is by that stream which "flow from the throne of God and of the Lamb..." (Revelation 22:1). Seeing that tree by the river was like being home and all I wanted to do was sit with gratitude flowing from within.

The Source of Silence

I have read the Creation story many times and only this morning was I caused to see an aspect of the created act that I had never before seen.  I had read about the creation of the earth and sky and sea.  I had read about the birds of the air, the animals of the earth, and the fish of the sea.  I had read about men and women being created in the likeness of God and with the imprint of the holy.  After listening to a friend's devotional this morning, I saw what I had been missing.  As surely as God created all the things we see around us in creation, He created the silence.   

What seems obvious in this moment is that God not only created the silence, but that He also created in the silence.  What we have been doing since the beginning is adding layers of noise.  While there was certainly noise before the Tower of Babel, that moment causes us to hear the confusion that noise can generate.  We live in an increasingly loud and confusing world.  The noise around comes at us like powerful race cars roaring around the track.  It not only fills our senses, it overwhelms them.  

Anyone who hears the silence and senses the stillness must develop an inner discipline which not only tunes out what is around us, but also enables us to hear what or Who is inside of us.  The Scipture tells us that the Spirit of God desires to dwell in us.  What His presence brings to us is a bit of the stillness and silence that was breathed into the very fabric of creation.  It is surely one of those things we have lost, but at least we know where to find it.  The silence is not found in turning down the volume controls on the external, but in turning the volume controls up on what enables us to hear what God has put within us. 

 

The Blessing of the Gull

The sun was still meandering around the eastern horizon when he came.  I was sitting quietly on the porch with a freshly peeled orange when he arrived.  I was not expecting him.  I looked up from my orange and he was perched on the handrail of the steps.  We were about six feet apart when I looked up and found myself looking eye to eye with a mostly white seagull.  For at least a minute or so ours eyes were locked on each other.  I stirred not, nor did he.   

Here is what is probably viewed by some as the strange part.  I spoke to him, "Good morning, friend," I said, "I hope you have a blessed day flying around the water today."  He said not a word.  He just seemed to be looking at me as intently as anything could look at another thing.  Suddenly he was gone as quickly and as quietly as he had come.  Perhaps, he stopped by for a visit because on other such visits he had found some easy food.  I do not know.  What I do know is that I may have verbally blessed that bird, but without saying a single word, he blessed me as surely as I did him.   

Like you I cannot count the times, God has provided a blessing through the Creation. Some call it earth or nature, but I am one of those who believe it is a living thing brought into being and sustained by God and is, therefore, a means by which He can bless each one of us.  I was blessed by a sunrise this morning.  I have been blessed by thoughts of how heaven and earth are so close they sometimes seem to mingle as I walk in this place where water and sand end and begin.  I am thankful, too, for the morning blessing from a visiting seagull.

Where We Live

We walk the spiritual journey in a world where there is ever present evil, far more than just three temptations, and enough stress to sink a ship.  Faithful living cannot be done in a spiritual cocoon.  Neither can we pull up our robes of righteousness and bury our head in the sand.  When we read the accounts of the Desert Fathers, we see that not even a life of solitude and silence kept the world away.  The truth is that as long as we carry our own heart within us, we will face those things which can turn our eyes from the direction we want to go.   

This morning provided a comfortable chair on a porch overlooking a river.  Birds were flying overhead.  Ducks were meandering around the water's edge.  The sun was working magic as it brought shadows and light on the landscape. In this midst of all these things which invited spiritual reflection there was the sound of hurrying automobiles on the nearby bridge.  Before that noise was tuned out, someone turned on a leaf blower.  Finally, a young woman sat down not far from my place of reflection and shared a cell phone conversation via speaker phone.   

Life is always full of distractions.  The quiet moments we anticipate with God are often hijacked by some unexpected intrusion.  The intrusion or distraction may be some unnaturally generated noise, or it may be our mind wondering off to worry about a problem.  It does not take a loud noisemaker beside us to take us away from where we intended to be to where we are.  This morning's message from God through His Creation reminded me that we live as His disciples not outside the world, but in it. 

A Personal Encounter

What seems lost in the church of today is the urgency or the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus. It is more likely that we will hear Jesus preached as someone after whom we can model our life, or someone whose example as a servant calls us to serve others.  Jesus is certainly both model and servant, but he is first of all Son of God, the Incarnate One of God, and the Savior who died on the cross.  To read the gospels is to hear His teachings and to see the signs and miracles which were a part of His ministry, but it is also a holy word which enables us to see people like us encountering Him in a personal life changing relationship.   

What led me to give my life to Jesus was not a social agenda, or theological teachings.  What led me to surrender myself to Him was the cross where I saw both divine love and forgiveness.  I said "Yes" to Jesus because someone invited me to know Him in a personal relationship.  This past weekend at a gathering of college friends, I listened to two men whom I have known a long time talk about the moment long ago when they had an encounter with Jesus which changed their life and the direction it took.  I love that story John told in his gospel of Jesus when two of the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus wondering what He was all about and Jesus said, "Come and see."  The very next day, Philip, went to a skeptical friend named Nathaniel and finally said to him, "Come and see." (John 1:39, 46).  

Before inviting people to become foot washers, the church needs to invite them to "Come and see"  this Jesus for themselves.  Before people set out to save the world, they need to have a first hand encounter with the loving forgiveness and the abundant grace given on the cross.  Without that personal encounter, those who start out for other reasons will grow weary and give up.

The Place of Blessing

It is not often that I attend a worship service and hear myself saying over and over, "Wow!"  It happened this morning.  From the first notes of the pre-service music to the moment when the sound of music faded into an echo, my heart was stirred.  I sang louder than I should have and sometimes sang in a whisper when I probably should have kept silent,  Seldom does worship begin with "Victory in Jesus," only to get better, but it did today.  The choir anthem was powerful.  When it ended most people clapped.  I restrained myself from standing and shouting!   

When the theme of the sermon was announced using the language of the ball diamond, I expected trivial and an attempt at being entertaining.  Again, I was wrong as I heard a sermon that was inspired, passionately delivered, and heart engaging.  The church was one far enough away from home that I was among the visitors, but I left wondering how soon I could return.  Tomorrow would not be soon enough!   

There are times when powerful worship takes place without any planning and without much prayer.  I have had too many moments in the past when I have experienced such to be true.  I have also learned over the years that God expects us be to serious enough about worship and preaching to give careful and prayerful attention to the details. We owe Him our best in preparation.  Today was a day when the Holy Spirit brought great blessing to a gathering of His people and I am so grateful that I was in the pews when the blessing was happening.  I left looking forward to the next Sunday I can be in this place of blessing!  

The Second Book

I cannot remember the exact year, but I know it was sometime between going to the farm and entering this month which contains my 78th birthday.  To reflect on what I have learned and what I carry with me as I go forward is to remember something which at first seemed to be un-Wesleyan.  John Wesley declared himself to be a man of one book.  Always I have agreed with him when I think about the authority for my life.  However, when I think about the way God reveals Himself to us, I have come to a place of adding another book.   

It is the book of Creation.  The ancient Celtic saints had the utmost regard for the written Word, but they also maintained that God had left another source of divine revelation.  At first it seemed to be a heretical thought, but as I lived immersed in the creation on the farm, I began to understand.  I began to read that second book.  It was not read with the eyes which read the written word, but the eyes of the spirit.  It turned out to be not just a written word, but a spoken one as well.  Those early Celtic saints called themselves people of two books as they declared that God revealed Himself through the sacred Word and the Creation,  One was a little book and the other was a big one.  

What I have learned and carry with me in this season of my life is that God does speak and reveal Himself through the Word I have read all my life, but He also reveals Himself in the Creation.  It is a book which when read is not seen and a word which when spoken makes no sound.  As I approach the 78th birthday still not seen on the horizon, I am learning to value this second book which has provided many a blessings.