Glitter Glisten Glimmer

In January 2013, my friend Cindie Pike saw her Savior's smiling face. See my post here  The following is her husband, Mel's, reflections on his journey since Cindie died.

Glisten, Glitter, Glimmer     

We awoke today and winter was gone!

Ice exiled to Boreas’ house by a solstice Sun.

Once gray cityscapes glistened in the low beamed light.

And under cerulean expanse we walked.

Comfortable closeness,

Familiar friendship,

Optimistic gaze into a shrinking future but with joy in togetherness.

Comfortable

I awoke in the night and sought the sun.

Darkness enclosed me in suffocating grip.

I cried for light – my voice inaudible – swallowed by the black hole that was my new world.

I walked alone but was not alone. 

All faces near me reflecting – what? Shock, grief, sympathy? 

I couldn’t see; couldn’t speak,

I was able only to do as I was advised.

Compliant.

I awoke in light glaring and hot.

An insistent sterile sun demanded I sample his products.

Brilliant unabated light pounded my retinas; searing heat my head.

I walked on feldspar sand returning illumination to the source.

Not depleting but enhancing.

I walked without shadows.

On my knees the generous heat gave me a stick in swap for my tongue.

I worshiped with unutterable groans and then I listened.

“You should have…”

“I wish I could have…”

“If only you had done…”

“I am sorry.”

An angry interrogator the light delivered body blows unending;

Naked, exposed.

Accused.

I awoke in a darkened forest.

Overhead a shiny silver dollar and some scattered change illuminated giant trees.

I hummed a long dormant tune from my comfortable times.

My gaze pursued the contours of an old monarch and discerned a faint eastern glimmer.

Dawn.

Strange this mixture of thoughts –

Unanswered “why” and settled promise

Lonely but loved.

Pain and purpose.

I moved toward the Dawn.

Quietly;

Hopeful.

Small Group

Can you imagine a small group of young families who meet a couple of times a month?  Often such groups meet to encourage the parents on practical topics like parenting, marriage or finances.  This is all good, and it is mostly directed at the adults.  The adults need to find some way to keep the kids busy so the parents can learn.

What if the children were the goal?  Imagine an informal gathering with fun and food lasting for ninety minutes or so.  Then the families gather together to sing some fun children’s songs for five minutes.  This could be followed by reciting the children’s catechism, reading a short section of a children’s Bible, or a children’s biography of a person of faith.  After a short time of prayer, in which the kids are encouraged to pray, the group can gather up their stuff and head home.

Would this teach parents how to have family worship?  Would this help young parents better understand their own faith?  Would this help dads more closely engage in their children’s lives?  Would this show kids that they are important?  Would it helps everyone know that worship is very pleasant?

What if...

Love is Kind

Last week my son Michael had surgery on his jaws.  In watching his recovery, I learned something about kindness.  When he was asked to rate his pain on a scale of one to ten, the lowest number he gave it was an eight--and that was while he was taking morphine.  If ever there is a time when we feel we have a right to be a little short with people, it is when we face adversity and pain.  Even so, I witnessed the strength of a man who spoke gently to everyone—no I really mean everyone—who came into his room.  He went out of his way to thank those who brought him medicine or food, those who cleaned the room, and his family and friends who visited him.  I thought to myself, “That is what kindness looks like.”  Several months ago, I wrote a blog about love, which is patient.  I started a second blog looking at love as kind, but I could not get very far with it until I saw Michael in the hospital.

                1 Corinthians 13:4 says that “…love is kind.”  Most Christians know this and, of course, affirm it’s truth.  What is kindness?  The Greek word that is translated kindness is “Chrestos.”  “Chrestos” is rooted in the idea of usefulness.  “Chrestos” seeks to be beneficial to it’s recipient.  Jesus uses this word in Matthew 11:30 as he describes His yoke as “easy.”  That is to say, it is kind, or beneficial.  It is also used of God’s dealings with all mankind in Luke 6:35.  Maybe the clearest use is in Romans 2:4 where it is used multiple times reminding us that it is the very kindness of God, not his wrath but his beneficence, that brings repentance to our lives.

                The supreme example of the kindness of love, is Jesus.  I think of Jesus on the cross.  Again, we could easily excuse Him for being focused on what He was dealing with at that time.  And yet, we read an enigmatic exchange between Jesus, His mother, and the only apostle who remained with Him at the cross, John.  In John 19:26-27 we read, “When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’  Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.”

                I see two elements of Jesus’ kindness that can also define our love.  First, I see a deep gratitude in Jesus.  He was aware that neither Mary, nor John had to be there with Him.  Both were present and could face scorn for their support of Jesus.  Peter, out of fear of being connected with Jesus, denied he even knew him.  The mother of the blind man whom Jesus healed was unwilling to stand up for her son, see John 9:20-23.  But John and Mary honored Jesus by facing potential personal loss by being with Him at this crucial moment.  Jesus thanked them by speaking directly to them.

                We develop gratitude--from which we can be kind--when we recognize the real beneficence of people around us.  In our cynical age, we are tempted to doubt the intentions of other people.  We may want to ask, “What’s in it for them?”  Sometimes the only thing they receive is the pleasure of loving us.  It is possible that many of our actions are tainted by self-centeredness and other sins.  And yet, God seems to indicate that some of our works are actually good, Ephesians 2:10.  Rich Mullins puts it this way, “We have a love that’s not as patient as your was…but we do love now and then.”  Sometimes, the Christian is filled with the Spirit of God and is enable to actually, genuinely care for someone else.  The ability to see this genuine care produces deep gratitude in our hearts.

                The second element of kindness is respect.  Look at the respect Jesus showed to John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  In saying “Behold your mother…” Jesus tells John, “I know that you can take care of her.  She is precious to me, and I have faith that you can and will love her.  I trust you John.”  Jesus knows John, whose name used to be ‘son of thunder’ but who would henceforth be called, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved.’  Jesus ignores John’s flaws and honors him by asking him to accomplish a significant task.  Respect is a beautiful element of kindness.

                What if we could see the purity of the people of God?  What if we could ignore their failures and see the goodness that God has produced in their lives?  What if we treated each other with the respect commensurate with the saints of God?  Our world and our churches would  be much kinder.

                I pray that God will grant me a deeper, purer kindness.  I want to develop the gratitude and respect for others which will invariably produce love, which is kind.

Belize

“Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”

Dear friends,

     From 2003-2007, God provided nine opportunities for me to visit Belize, leading short term teams and training leaders of such teams.  These trips brought rich fruit to the participants as well as the friends we found in Belize.  This summer I will again lead a team to Belize.

     The youth group of Providence Presbyterian Church is called the CREW (Caring, Relationships, Evangelism, Worship).  The CREW’s mission strategy involves a three year cycle.  The first year, they minister in York.  The following year, they serve somewhere in the US—last year they did relief work following super storm Sandy.  On the third year, the CREW serves internationally.  As they were choosing a site, I suggested Belize because the youth are interested in a Spanish speaking culture.  Darryl, our youth leader, asked if would help lead the team…so I get to go back to Belize.

     Darryl and I will go to Belize in mid-February so I can introduce him to the area, the missionaries, and the local Presbyterian Church.  Then, on June 28 we will leave with a team of twenty or so people to serve for a week.  My son, Patrick, and his wife Britney are helping with the CREW, so they are coming too. 

     The Presbyterian Church in Patchican has been unable to call a pastor because they cannot provide a house for him.  Our team will help with building a manse.  Once it is completed, this congregation may be able to call a man to labor full time.  A recent evangelism team made 70 contacts in Patchican and a neighbor village.  Having a pastor would enable these believers to reach their community.

     You have prayed for me and my family for years.  Will you please pray for this trip? I will keep you updated.  If you would like to donate for Patrick or Britney, you can send checks to me, made out to Providence Presbyterian.

Thanks again…

Vince 

I am not a victim of the past

Recently I read a book Raised in Fear by Lee Cox.  It is a story of a man facing the impact of his abusive childhood.  As an adult he finds himself repeating the abuse he had received.  It was a personally moving story.  As I finished the book, I was compelled to write these few lines.  These thoughts reflect my very real hope.

I am not a victim of the past

I am not enslaved to the failures of others

Since the Lord God almighty is now my Father

I am free by the blood of Christ

Empowered by the Spirit of Christ

Guided by the Word of Christ

That I might honor the God and Father of Jesus the Christ

I am not a victim of the past

Obey...then know

John 7:17

"If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching,

whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.”

                Jesus indicates that obedience precedes knowing the veracity of His teaching.  The first step to true understanding is obedience to God.  If we will not first bow the knee before the King, we cannot really know the truth.  This obedience rests upon the faith that He is, in fact, the King.  Our sinful inclination is to know before we obey.  The simple obedience from faith exhibited by a child is lost in our sophistication of arguments, and so is our knowledge of truth.

                Frederick Robertson put it this way in his sermon on this passage, “”Surely then, by removing self-will, and so only, can the hindrance to right opinions be removed.”  “It is more true to say that our opinions depend upon our lives and habits, than to say that our lives depend upon our opinions, which is only now and then true.  The fact is, men think in a certain mode on these matters because their life is a certain character, and their opinions are only invented afterward as a defense for their life.”

                How true it is.  I am convinced that we consider an interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 that allows for an old earth not because the passage allows such an interpretation, surely it doesn’t, but because we suspect scientific assertion may be true.  Some have adopted a perspective on women as elders or deacons which leads them to place an unnatural interpretation on the clear scriptural teaching.  Others want warrant for their various vices, so they fabricate an argument to show biblical allowance of their sin.  Each of these errors is removed by following Jesus words, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know…”  Obedience must come first.  May God give us the grace to obey and believe what the Bible teaches instead of trying to use it to justify the lifestyle we have chosen.

Mornings

The morning is peaceful.

Blues and grays streak across the sky.

A hint of pink and of orange lies on the horizon as a foundation for the heavens to rise above my head.

The snow covers the variegated earth accentuating the subtle sloping hills.

God is here.

His presence is not noisy.

And yet it is more than a whisper.

He is more than His shadow seen in the clouds.

He is here, directing my heart, speaking in His word, hearing my prayers, 

Even the prayers I am too afraid to share.

In the midst of all the busyness, the bustle of the coming day,

I give myself to Thee,

The one who died for me.