It Takes a Lifetime

It takes a life time of living to get where we are.  This is true whether we are young or old.  It is the many experiences of life that bring us to the place we have arrived.  We may have arrived where we are with some bruises and scars and, perhaps, a few blemishes, but from each moment there has been a lesson taught and hopefully learned.  Life is never about arriving, but going.  It is never about the destination, but the journey.  

The Biblical patriarch, Abraham, is really the prototype for the journey God calls us to embrace.  The Abraham narrative makes it clear that Abraham was called to a journey with no destination.  The question he faced was not about choosing a place God wanted him to go, or a task God wanted him to accomplish, but choosing to go with God into the land of "know not where."  This is the context of the original summons on our lives as we choose the way of obedience to the One who brought us into being.  When we respond to that call, it might seem to us the way forward is clear and it may be for a time, but never should it surprise us when obedience takes us down a road not seen in the beginning.  

Perhaps, it is our moments of faithful going that God gives us experiences that will enable us to move into places, situations, and relationships not seen in the beginning.  The experiences which become a part of our journey can be a part of the equipping He does as He readies us for the more that is before us.  Whether the road brings us to joy or sorrow, He can as His Word declares use all things to bring about good, or to bring us into the new which He had planned for us from the beginning.

A New Word

Looking for something to read, I pulled from the shelf a book with the strange title, "The Soul's Slow Ripening"  by Christine Valters Paintner.  In the introduction she wrote about visiting some of the sacred Celtic shrines and ruins in Ireland.  She also introduced me to a new word and a concept for which I had searched in my own trips to some of the sacred places of my past.  It actually came in a quote she used from John O' Donohue who wrote, "ruins are not empty.  They are sacred places full of presence...The life and passion of a person leaves an imprint on the ether of a place."  

By definition "ether" refers to the invisible, spiritual domain which connects the four physical elements of wind, water, earth and fire.  "Ether" is that word which speaks to why some physical places seems so full of the spiritual.  It is something I have sensed in years of standing to preach in a pulpit filled with the shadows of preachers of other generations. It is the overwhelming awareness of God's presence when I return to places where His mighty works are remembered.  "Ether" refers to the holy places of our past which call us to take off our shoes before walking once again the holy ground.  

While I am more firmly convinced than ever that all the Creation is holy because it bears the imprint of the Holy Creator, it also seems true that entering into some places is like becoming immersed in an invisible spiritual air that is seen and experienced by some, but not by all.  It brings to mind the often quoted lines of a poem learned in high school literature class, "Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes, the rest sit round and pick blackberries."  The Creation is holy, but they are places made special because of the way they are for us filled with "ether."

The Small Church

I recently read a report that the mega church had grown and the small church had declined in these post pandemic years.  I was surprised.  I remember a quiet personal prediction that that the small church would begin to grow again.  It appears that I was wrong which is not the first time.  My experience with the mega church is slim.  I have been the pastor of  some small congregations, have watched them suffer through decades of decline, and was hopeful that the post pandemic years would bring about a re-emergence.  

The small church has suffered as rural communities have watched its young rush toward higher paying jobs in urban areas.  This has resulted in the disappearance of the family farm, the loss of inter-generational communities, and small churches counting funerals instead of new members.  Though I never served a large mega church, I did pastor a few larger congregations before retirement came.  The larger church can offer whatever money can buy, but the small church provides things money could never buy.  

Community is the most obvious.  The small church is filled with people who have lived with one another through thick and thin, from birth to death, and whose definition of family is not just biological.  It is the village which rears all the children.  Most of all it is a community grounded in a faith in God which will not quit.  It is a breeding ground for sinners who are beginning to look like the saints we are all called to be.  Anyone who wonders if there is more to church than being just a spectator on Sunday morning should visit a nearby small church.  It is a place where people know your name and will share your joys and woes.  It is also a place where the pastor is more knowable than the face seen from a distance on the big screen.

A Sunday Morning Question

The preacher this morning finished up a month long series on Paul's letters to the Church at Corinth. Unfortunately, life has taken me elsewhere during the month of the sermons so today was a moment for hearing the final sermon of the many preached.  Somewhere in the midst of the sermon, the preacher verbally considered the possibility of Paul writing a letter to the church of today.  It sent me scurrying to find an offering envelope with white space on the back so I could write my own question. "If Paul were to write a letter to the church today as he did to Corinth, who would want to read it?"  

"Who would want to read it?"  I fear not the church.  I fear the church would dismiss someone like Paul as one had been hiding from reality too long.  I fear the church has no real interest in hearing the prophetic voices which would call it to repentance.  Regardless whether we are liberal or conservative, we are sure we have it right and everyone else has it wrong.  The church is like the altar worker who kneels beside someone confessing their sins to tell them they are not so bad.  Maybe there was a time in the life of the church when sin was seen lurking behind every bush, but nowadays, it is doubtful the always right among us would recognize sin if it stared them in the face.  

I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church which is more about self-preservation than sacrifice.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church more interested in making "me" the center of its proclamation instead of Christ.  I cannot help but believe that Paul would have something to say to a church too interested in tickling ears instead of stepping on toes.  I cannot help but believe that the letter would end up in the trash instead of the heart.   

Lay Him There

"Lay him there, " He said.

And I said, "Are You sure?

He's a good boy, You know,

Gathered all the wood below.

When asked, he always does.

How 'bout we talk this over

Like reasonable folks do?"

"Once more, lay him there."

"But, Lord, he's all I got.

You promised him long ago

to me and a barren woman.

If's he gone, how will she 

live without him, and with me.

I'll have no heir,  and no hope." 

I said, "Lay him there!

What can't you understand?

Who do you think I am?

A liar and  deceiver,

A breaker of promises?

I promised You blessings.

Why can you not believe?"

"Once again, lay him there!"

So loud He spoke, I awoke,

A shaking body by Sarah.

Freed now to breathe again,

Still afraid, but now I know

Who has spoken in the dream

and so I will lay him there.

(Genesis 22:1-19)

A Morning for Pondering

While I am not one prone to climbing a hill and flying a kite during a thunderstorm, or even walking across the farm during those stormy moments when thunder and lightning come in the same second, I must confess to enjoying the rain.  When I was a student at Young Harris College, I would often take walks across the campus on rainy nights.  Later in my middle years when running was a part of my routine, rain never kept me away from lacing up the running shoes.  At the farm the front porch is a favorite place to sit and be a part of the rain that is falling.  

As anyone who has ever dabbled in the dirt knows, rain is a blessed gift.  The story of Elijah reminds us what happens to the earth when the rain ceases to fall.  The creek, or wadi, from which the prophet drank his water dried up and worse than hard times came upon the land.  And even as too little can be a serious problem, we know, too, that too much of it at one time can bring flooding, destruction, and even death.  Jesus spoke of the rain falling one the wise and the foolish.  Indiscriminately, the rain falls.  Sometimes it comes and sometimes it does not.  Sometimes it rains buckets and sometimes a thimble is enough.

From my window there seems to be much to ponder as the rain falls.  This morning it seems to be speaking about the nature of life itself.  We have no real control over our life.  It unfolds bringing seasons of tears and laughter.  It is unpredictable.  It is full of things not understood.  Some speak of it as mystery.  Perhaps, life can only be rightly understood and lived when we see it as a gift.  Though we live through the dark stormy days, the sunshine comes.  There is no darkness which can overcome the Eternal Light.  There is no power, not even death, which will keep us from finally reaching the glorious light of Home.  

Rainy Morning Musings

The first rain of the morning was gentle.  It would have been good walking weather.  Such is not the case now. The rain is pounding the ground.  Walking would put the walker at risk of drowning!  It is also the kind of rain which sets the mind going off in directions not anticipated.  One of my thoughts as I look out the window is to wonder why there is no mention of rain in the Genesis account of creation.  A little head scratching and page turning revealed the first word about rain in Genesis 2:5 which said, "the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth."  How strange that the first mention of rain is a report that it exist only in the mind of God.   

The first record of rain comes in Genesis 7:2 where we hear the Lord saying to Noah, "There's going to be a floody, floody, get them children out of the muddy, muddy, children of the Lord."  Forgive me for getting carried away with a memory of a childhood song.  The Scripture actually says. "For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights."  Another big and memorable rain came of Mt. Carmel at the end of Elijah's battle with the prophets of Baal. (I Kings 18:45).  And, of course, there a few good storms described in the gospels, one of which is famous for the moment Jesus walked on stormy seas.  

What are the takeaways from this morning of musing about the rain?  Not everything visible to us was mentioned in the Genesis story of Creation.  It took seven chapters before we are able to see a decent rain.  How many years did the wheel lurk in the realm of the invisible before it became a means of transportation?  How long did the technology of airplanes and computers exist in the realm of the invisible before we were able to see it?  The creation is not yet done. There are things out there unseen which will one day be revealed.  The cure for diseases like cancer is surely one of those things.

A Heritage Lost

Although contemporary Methodism seldom gives cause to think of holiness, holiness was a dominant theme in John Wesley's theology.  It could be said with some justification that Wesley would, as some folks in this neck of the woods say,, "roll over in his grave" at the disappearance of holiness in the church that speaks of him as its theological father.  He spoke of Methodists as "people who profess to pursue holiness of heart and life, inward and outward conformity...to the revealed will of God."  

The holiness of which Wesley spoke was an inward matter of the heart and also something outwardly expressed through a life which reflected the heart of Christ.  Theological words which show up in Wesley's theology are Christian perfection, sanctification (both gradual and entire), and purity of heart.  When I was ordained back in 1971, we were asked by the Bishop at our ordination, "Are you going on to perfection?" In these words of covenant, the Wesleyan heritage was verbally and visibly affirmed.  

Like many denominational groups, there seems to be an abandonment of the inward part of Wesley's theology of sanctification as the outward aspect of it becomes more and more dominant.  Holiness must always include the work of the Holy Spirit on the believer's heart in order to be true to its meaning.   Holiness is about that work of the Spirit which shapes and transforms our hearts so that they more clearly reflect the heart of Christ.  It can never be one or the other, but both if our holiness heritage is remembered correctly.

A Second Work

In many holiness circles where sanctification was preached, it was often described as "baptism of the Spirit" or "a second work of grace."  The preaching was more focused on sanctification being an event to be experienced through an intense time of seeking this gift from God than it was preached as a moment in a believers life which began a process of living in submission to the will of God.  One of the common elements of the different approaches to the Spirit filled life was the desire in the heart of the believer for something more in their spiritual life.    

Those who disliked the image of a second work of grace affirmed, and rightly so, that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit came to abide in the heart.  There was no need to talk about Him coming a second time.  The Spirit did not come on the installment plan.  When we said "yes" to Jesus we received all of the Holy Spirit and not just a part of Him.  The problem experienced by many of us is that while we received all of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit did not receive all of us.  

Beginning faith can often be filled with enthusiasm, but also filled with the conditional.  This results in the kind of life the Apostle Paul described in a moment of confession, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me." (Romans 7:19-20).  It is when we grow weary of such a life and when we long for something more that we find that our heart is receptive to the Spirit calling us to surrender not a part of ourselves but all of ourselves so that the emptiness cannot only be filled, but also controlled by the Holy Spirit.

"Them Holiness Folks"

Not far from the small town Methodist Church that licensed me to preach was an empty lot that stayed vacant except for one week out of the year.  On that exceptional week a big brown tent would suddenly appear along with at least a hundred wooden folding chairs and several hundred funeral homes fans.  The people who showed up in the evening to sit in those chairs and wave those fans were not like the orderly dignified Methodist folks who drove by this tent revival after dark to see what all the singing and shouting was about. 

When asked, the keepers of righteous order would say, "It was them holiness folks!"   Never did it occur those of us being shaped by the Methodist Church on the corner that "them holiness folks" was really us.  Holiness was not mentioned much on Sunday morning.  When the words, "baptism of the Holy Spirit" sounded across town from that turned wide open speaker system at the tent, we were mystified.  Sanctification might have been a part of the spiritual heritage of those Methodists on the corner, but it was mostly kept a secret.  

It was years later when I went to a college that had, "Holiness Unto the Lord" written in large bold letters across the front wall of the auditorium that I began to see and understand a different understanding of holiness.  It was true that the Scripture called believers to holy living (I Peter 1:15-16) and a familiar and much quoted word said, "Blessed are the pure in heart..." (Matthew 5:8), but it required a season of soaking before such words settled in my heart.  In a world in which the church seems to have lost its spiritual identity, maybe it needs to have a season of soaking in the words of Peter, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people..." (I Peter 2:9).

A Surrendered Heart

It has been over 56 years since that day I knelt at an altar during the Asbury Revival of 1970.  I had been a believer about four years, but the fervent faith of the beginning had turned into confusion and cynicism.  In my heart I knew there had to be something more to following Jesus than I was experiencing.  I also knew that if what I was experiencing was as good as it could be, it really was not worth having.  When I went to the altar that Tuesday afternoon, I went with a desperate spirit, a hungry heart, and a frail faith that led me to search for something more.   

For the two years I had been at Asbury College, I had heard sermon after sermon that called for holiness of heart.  Frankly, the word holiness scared me to death.  As preachers through those two years droned on and on about sanctification and the work of the Holy Spirit, I turned a deaf ear.  I wanted no part of what they were "selling" as my cynical spirit called it.  For some reason which can only be accounted to the grace of God, the Holy Spirit broke through the hard shell I had built around my heart.  In a moment of clarity, I understood that the Spirit was calling me to the life of a surrendered heart.  

There at the altar on my knees, it became clear that what God wanted was not a pledge to change the world, but a heart surrendered to His will.  He did not want a heart filled with what I wanted, but a heart that desired to be filled with what He desired for my life.  I knew He was calling me to a faith that was unconditional.  I knew that the day I accepted Christ and said "yes" to a call to preach had brought me to this moment of spiritual preparation.  A heart and will surrendered completely to Him was what He wanted from me in order to be the servant He had called me to be.  I have always been amazed that He saw me as being useful to His Kingdom's work and I have also always been amazed that a moment of entering into the surrendered life made all the difference in the life I have lived and the ministry He entrusted to me.

Dead to Sin

Death is not dying.  Romans 6:10-11 says, "The death He (Jesus) died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.  So you must also consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."   Getting better at not sinning is not what the Scripture has in mind when it speaks of considering ourselves dead to sin.  Dying is more of a process; whereas, death is an event that speaks of something having happened with finality.  

Those of us who are believers are tempted to do a dance with the reality of sin.  We learn to live with it.  We rationalize our sin by declaring we are only human.   The Apostle Paul takes us in a totally different direction.  Unless we die suddenly it is usually a process of letting go.  We let go of things we hold in our hands.  We let go of our bank accounts and our titles.  We let go of one thing after another until there is nothing left but family.  Finally, there comes a moment when even family is let go and all we have is ourself and then we let that go as well.  Death comes as a result of dying, but there finally comes a moment when nothing is left for we have let go of everything.   

When we consider ourselves dead to sin, it is a moment of letting go of ambitions, the self serving seeking ego, and the gratifying desires of self.  We let go of all those things which have been hindrances to being at one with Christ and come alive to the reality that our life is now being lived to serve Him and to please Him.  Being dead to sin is knowing that the life we now live is not about us, but it is about Him.  No longer is it about our will, our wants, and our wishes.  Life in Christ is about living so that "thy will be done on earth (and in me) as it is in heaven. 

Help in Praying

There are time when we know not how to pray.  In such times we are reminded of something Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words...the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."  (Romans 8:26-27).  We can also find some encouragement as we remember that Jesus has prayed for us. "I ask not only on behalf of these (the disciples), but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word..." (John 17:21).  

The praying of Jesus is not just in the past.  "Consequently, He (Jesus) is able to save those who approach God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."  (Hebrews 7:25).  Still another thing to remember is the way the Psalms can guide us in our praying.  When we are praying for our nation, we might find ourselves at a loss to know how we should pray.  The 85th Psalm offers us several words that provide help.  Verse 6 says to the Lord, "Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?"  As we continue in the Psalm we can according to the Scripture pray that "Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet, righteousness and peace will kiss each other, and righteousness will look down from the sky." (Psalm 85:10-11).  

One thing which happens as we pray the Scripture is that we find our praying moves into a different realm.  We are no longer using the same words.  We are no longer praying prayers that reflect what we want, but what God desires to do.  Psalm 85 serves us well as it leads us to ask God to forgive our iniquity, (vs. 2) and to a prayer of asking God to bless us with what is good so that our land will yield its increase. (vs. 12).  These are the prayers that reflect the heart of God, the will of God, and we can pray such prayers with boldness and confidence.

Getting Older

When Old Man Age comes creepin' in,

calling me "old as dirt" or "the ancient one,"

touching my aching legs with rheumitis,

my swollen joints with "arthur-ritus," 

I could sign myself in at the old folks home,

and join the gray hairs in a rocking chair,

making everyone happy 'cept for me.

 

Somewhere between old and getting older

the also old children start their planning

as they figure out what's best for me.

No one asks what I think since thinking

is not what they see me doing anymore.

Though I be of sound mind and breathing body

what I think is not a thing to consider.

 

The plans I have are those of taking the risk,

for failure is no longer a frightening thing.

Having lived with that companion all my life

it scares me less now than ever before.

There are still things to do, trips to take,

fields where being fruitful is still possible

and people who can learn from a slower one. 

 

Retiring is living on less, not, not living.

The poet said, "The best is yet to be"

and the longer the years, the more I believe

letting go and finding new is the better place

for those who may be slower, but not through

with all those things God had in mind

when He said, "I have plans for you."  

 

The Prophetic Voice

Democracy has its own unique way of silencing the prophetic voices which would speak to those in authority in the church.  One of the things which has happened in my denomination, the United Methodist Church, is a multi decade process of agitation and conflict that finally resulted in the departure of those who are considered to be the conservative traditional members of the body. Two large groups, one liberal and the other conservative, finally came to a place where finding a way forward together was deemed impossible.  

The end result of such a division is multi faceted, but one of the things which has happened is that those who continue with the name United Methodist no longer have anyone to speak a dissenting voice.  Any votes now taken concerning direction of the church are nearly unanimous since there is no one to say "No."  There is no such voice now being spoken to those in authority as that voice as has been voted into extinction. It is dangerous ground for any person in spiritual authority to walk.  It is a dangerous place for a church to place itself.

The prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos may not have been heeded, but their voices continued to be spoken to those in authority.  They might have been thrown into prison, or been ridiculed, or ignored, but their voices remained. Those in authority are better able to serve when there are those around them who are given permission to be naysayers instead of yes people.  This is true in political circles and it is true in the church.  There are no prophetic voices in the church which ordained me long years ago and it is the source of much anguish and grief.  

Biblical Trivia

While I hesitate to use the word "trivia" to speak of some things written in the Bible, it is a word which seems appropriate when we run into surprising little details which are a part of the major story being told in unfolding story of the Word of God.  In recent readings in Jeremiah, I came across a record of the Lord saying to the prophet, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters." (Jeremiah 16:1)  Of course, this personal aspect of Jeremiah's life was a part of God's prophetic message through him.  As is often the case, one things leads to another.  

I wondered about the personal life of other prophets.  Isaiah 7:3 speaks of the prophet's son accompanying him and Isaiah 8:3 says of Isaiah, "I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son."  Hosea's marital situation is a major part of what God was saying through him.  "...the Lord said to Hosea, 'Go take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom.'"  (Hosea 1:2). When she left him, Hosea found her and bought her back from a life of prostitution. (Hosea 3:1-2).  Ezekiel's marriage story is the strangest.  "The Word of the Lord came to me: 'Mortal, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes; yet, you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down...' So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died." (Ezekiel 24:15-18.  

As we read the personal details of these prophets, we do so in the context of the the ministry and the message of the prophet.  God had a word He wanted to say to His people and He used not only the prophets voice, but often used the personal lives of the prophets as well as visible enactments to speak that word and message.  It is not always easy to understand.  When we read, we can only shake our heads in wonder at why God did what He did.  What we often discover is that what we might call Biblical trivia is an integral part of what God was doing through Israel's prophets.

The Hard Way

Jeremiah was a faithful prophet, but it was not easy,  He was told by God, "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons and daughters in this place."  (Jeremiah 16:1). He was put in stocks and thrown in prison.  He was told by God to speak His word, but no one listened.  He said of himself, " I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me..." (Jeremiah 20:7).  He wanted to give it up.  He spoke of the conflict within which centered around his desire to be liked by his peers and being faithful to God, "If I say, 'I will not mention Him, or speak anymore in His name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in and I cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9).   

Being a faithful speaker of God's word did not earn him any popularity award.  All of us want to be liked by others and Jeremiah was no exception, but it was not the reward he received.  His reward came from God for being a bold prophet who stood to speak the uncomfortable word no one one wanted to hear.  Because of his trust in the Lord, he was blessed.  "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream...it does not cease to bear fruit."  (Jeremiah 17:7-8).  

Anyone who seriously studies the prophets comes to the conclusion that faithfulness to God will likely result in persecution.  Persecution today may not take the form of being hung on a cross, or burned at the stake.  It may be something as simple as not being taken seriously, being dismissed as being old fashioned and irrelevant, or speaking but not being heard.  To be traditional in this progressive society often results in becoming a laughingstock.  Faithfulness to God has always been the life of swimming upstream, of being different, and of being tolerated but not really accepted in the circles of the powerful and all knowing ones.  It is good to count the cost at the beginning for it is certain that the life of faithfulness to God will be costly.

Where Are the Prophets?

Preachers and prophets may have in common a call from God, but the role to which they are called is different.  When I say that preachers are " a dime a dozen," I mean no disrespect.  I have and still do regard myself as one of them.  Instead, it is to say there are a multitude of preachers, but very few prophets.  A preacher may speak prophetically from time to time, but the preacher is the "general practitioner" of the church while the prophet has a more specific function.   Prophets are hard to find because it is a tough calling to embrace.  

The life of Jeremiah certainly illustrates this reality.  Jeremiah is often called the reluctant prophet.  His calling came at a young age and when he heard it, he said, "Ah, Lord God!  Truly, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."  (Jeremiah 1:6).  Immediately, he heard the Lord telling him he was to speak to authority, to rulers, and priests as well as those under their authority.  He was told his message was a message of judgment and destruction against Jerusalem and Judah.  Imagine the fear in young Jeremiah's heart when he heard the Lord saying to him, "...gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I have commanded you.  Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them." (Jeremiah 1:17)  

Anyone interested in being a prophet?  It is no wonder that there few among us.  Prophets speak to authority.  They are easily dismissed as fanatics, or fringe dwellers, or one issue people.  They find themselves ignored because their message is so uncomfortable to hear.  They are told to find the compromising way but they cannot because of their faithfulness to God and His calling.  Again, who among us wants the prophet to live among us?  Who wants to live and speak prophetically?

An Unpopular Word

Sin is not such a popular word in our culture.  Many modern day Christians view it more as an anachronism than a present danger.  The defining word about sin now belongs not to the Holy Word of God, but to society's interpretation of that Word once regarded as holy and inspired by God.  Contemporary Christian thinkers would have us delegate sin to the counselor's couch instead of the altar of repentance.  The one thing to be avoided in the contemporary church is to make people feel bad.  Folks should always feel good when they leave worship is the mandate given to today's preachers and worship leaders.  

It is, therefore, no wonder the church of our day is more comfortable with the New Testament message about God's love than some of those disturbing thundering words of the prophets who speak from the pages of the Old Testament.  To read a prophet like Jeremiah is to understand that sin is a serious issue when it comes to being in a faithful relationship. Sin is a breech of trust, a breech of a covenant relationship, and God does not just turn His head and say, "Maybe you can do better next time."  

Jeremiah 16:17-18 speak of a side of God we would rather not acknowledge, "For my eyes are on their ways; they are not hidden from My presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from My sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin..."  Perhaps, some do not take sin seriously, but God does.  It is no trifling matter with Him.  To view sin from any perspective other than the cross where Jesus died is a mistake.  The cross may speak of God's love, but it also speaks of the cost of our sin.  For God our sin is no inconsequential matter, but an issue which breaks His heart.

The Gift of Completion

As the years accumulate they bring us to a season of life that is lived slower, a season that is marked by limitations, and a season of letting go.  They also bring us to a season of abundant gifting.  The gifts that come are not like the gifts of the past known as accumulation, recognition, and unending possibilities.  The gifts that come in the season of accumulating years come like precious treasures.  Gifts of grace is what they are and as we slowly unwrap them, we do so with amazement that we never knew they were out there to be given.   

Completion is one of those gifts that never comes earlier, but always later.  It is not the gift of seeing and reaping the fruits of our labor secured by the sweat of our brow, but the gift of sensing that the important, lasting, even eternal things of life are finally becoming visible to our longing heart.  Completion is about coming to terms with who we are, why we have been given more life than we ever really considered possible, and the difference our living has made.  Completion is not about retiring to the rocker on the front porch, but accepting the ending of the past and the unfolding of a new season of usefulness.  

This season of abundant giving gives us time to laugh over things past and present.  It gives us time to cherish the love of those who have shared and are sharing love with us.  It is a season of overflowing gratitude.  It is the season of knowing and celebrating "'tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home,"  Completion is truly experienced as we embrace the realization that life has always been about grace.  Too much of life we have been too busy to notice.  This season of abundant gifting brings us to an awareness that even in the beginning, as it is now, life is all about God's unending grace.