Bible passage: 1 Samuel 1.
In another week my daughter Shelley is coming home from spending a year at the Adventist college in Collonges, France. She'll be home for less than a week before she takes off for Big Lake Youth Camp where she'll be running the horse program.
I tried to talk her out of going to camp this summer. Karin did not want her to go. She's gone for nine months. She comes home. She's home for five days then off to camp. We'll hardly see her. We wish she would stick around. What's the allure of camp?
She's worked there for six years. Starting as a volunteer. Her second year, they hired her, even though she was too young, because of her skill with horses. Now she is the director of the corral.
Now here's a curious thing: All of my kids have worked at camp. Bonnie and Shelley became directors of the corral. Garrett worked in the corral and in maintenance and was recruited by two different camps to help with their horse pack trips. BUT my kids never went to camp as campers. They never expressed any interest in going to camp as campers.
Why?
The truth is, in general, it's more fun to work at camp than to camp at camp. It's more fun to be staff than it is to be a camper.
The staff at summer camps work hard. They put in long hours. It is a draining, taxing job. But everywhere I've observed, the people who have the most fun at camp are the staff.
Indian Creek Camp in Tennessee, Sunset Lake Camp here in Washington, Big Lake Camp in Oregon, Leoni Meadows in northern California. Camp Berkshire near New York City. Camp Cherokee in the Adirondacks. Without exception, it appeared to me staff had the most fun.
* * * * *
One more illustration.
When I first went to New York City as a student volunteer, I worked in an evangelist center in Times Square. One of my jobs was to assist with a monthly stop smoking program. One of the people who came to the program owned a restaurant in lower Manhattan. She quit smoking. To show her appreciation she invited us to come for lunch at her restaurant.
When we went to her restaurant, it was fun to watch. She was buzzing around the place, giving directions to staff, visiting people at their tables, wiping tables, checking in the kitchen. She was everywhere. And it looked to me like she was having a wonderful time.
I found myself thinking, “I'd like to have a restaurant.” I never saw Hannah actually eat. She just looked liked she was having so much fun.
I know that running a restaurant is exhausting work. The financial challenges are daunting. There are personnel issues and difficult customers. Still it looks like a lot of fun.
For me church is like a restaurant. When people come through the door, my prayer is that they will be happy. They have come seeking food from heaven. My job is to see that they are satisfied. Church is a rehearsal for the heavenly banquet.
And a secret that only a few people know is that those who have the most fun at this rehearsal are the staff. The cooks and servers, the bus boys and hostesses. Our goal is to make sure the diners enjoy their meal. We want the diners to be satisfied. The truth is those who serve get the most out of this practice for the heavenly banquet.
Once at our annual retreat at Rosario Beach, I got a plate of food and sat down to eat. One of the people at the table, Cathy Zundel, remarked, “Pastor, I've never seen you eat that much food before. I mean, I don't think I've ever actually seen you sit down and eat.”
I laughed. It was true. At potluck, I seldom sit down. I usually don't eat very much. Why? Because I'm having so much fun running around visiting. And who has more fun, the people sitting and eating or me, getting to enjoy the pleasure of a hundred people enjoying their meal. I think I have the most fun.
* * * * *
So, if you are looking for a richer spiritual life, one avenue to explore is deeper participation in the “work” of the church. Volunteer to teach in a children's class. Offer your gifts as a musician or as a mechanic. (The lawn mower needs maintenance.) Sign up to be a greeter. (Hey, if you don't know very many people, what a great way to get acquainted.)
Those who put the most into church are the ones most likely to get a lot out of church.
Church is like camp. The staff has more fun.
Church is like a restaurant.
The story of Hannah and Eli. 1 Samuel 1.
There was a man named Elkanah. He was a Zuphite from the town of Ramathaim in the hill country of Ephraim. He had two wives, Hannah and Peninah.
Elkanah was more in love with Hannah. However, Peninah was the mother of all his children so she had more status in the community.
Every year the family went to the worship center, the Holy Tent, in Shiloh to worship. At the sacred feast there, Elkanah always gave Hannah a double portion of the sacred food as a sign of his special affection for her. She could not have children. And in that society that was a very serious impediment. It was as bad as being poor and ugly in our society.
Elkanah treasured Hannah and wanted to somehow ease the pain she felt at her situation. Of course, all he did was set her up for more pain. Because Elkanah's other wife Peninah would find ways to needle Hannah until she would leave the table in tears. Elkanah would go after her, offering ineffective words of comfort.
This particular year, after leaving the banquet table, Hannah went to the Holy Tent and was praying at the entrance. She was praying silently, her lips were moving but she was making no sound. She was full of grief and desperation and hurt and hope and despair. The old priest, Eli, was sitting there watching. After awhile he scolded her. Her body language was so intense and her face so overwrought he thought she was drunk.
“Woman, how long will you keep getting drunk. Get rid of your wine!”
Hannah protested, “Not so, my lord. I have not been drinking. I have been pouring out my soul to God in prayer. Don't think I'm a wicked woman. I am eaten by grief and longing.”
The old priest responded, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.”
The Bible is not a novel. Novels revel in dialogue and detail. The Bible literature is spare. My guess is that there was substantially more conversation between the old priest and Hannah. She probably told him the whole story. At the end of her story, the old priest gives her his blessing and she leaves confident that God is going to give her a son.
She gets pregnant, gives birth to a son, and several years later fulfills the vow she had made to God by bringing her son to the Holy Tent and placing him in the old priest's service.
This is a picture of the life of the church. The reason church exists is to serve as a contact point between people and God. We bring our hurt, our hunger, our longing . . . our grief, our disappointment, our dreams and hope to encounter God. We want God's engagement with our lives.
We bring all this to church. And our job as a church is to say to one another: God has noticed. God sees. God cares. God is involved. Go in peace. Rest assured God goes with you back into the world, back to your home, your school, your romance, your marriage,
And here is a secret: As sweet as it is to encounter God for yourself here at church, there is another enjoyment, another note of pleasure and satisfaction that comes when you are the agent of God's involvement in the life of someone else.
Are you a visitor? Look around for someone who looks a little lost, someone who looks like they might be here for the first time. Go welcome them. If you are a visitor, you probably think you are the only one. The reality is that on most Sabbaths at least twenty percent of the people here are visitors. Sometimes the percentage is as high as fifty percent. Probably the person sitting next to you is like Hannah. That person came here with some deep longing hoping God would notice. You can become the face of God by greeting the person next to you. When you pay attention to another person here at church, you become a priest.
Hannah went home happy. Eli, too, went home happy that day. Who received the most out of that interaction? I don't know. I do know that serving as a priest in the temple of God, giving God's smile to another person is a highly reliable way into heavenly joy.
If you are looking for an experience with God, give God's smile to someone else here this morning.
Imagine that you staff instead of merely a camper. Imagine you are the restaurant owner, not merely a diner. Imagine you are a partner with God at this rehearsal for the heavenly banquet. You'll discover that your imagination, in fact, takes straight into another, sweeter reality.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
North Hill Cafe tonight. "Trail building" tomorrow
There will be food, music, a monologue by Greg Howell, conversation around tables in the lobby. Should be fun.
Doors open at 6:30p. Music begins at 7:00p. Conversation in the lobby until it's over.
Tomorrow's sermon explores several metaphors for the role of activists in church.
Who enjoys camp more, staff or campers? In my experience, it's the staff.
How do you compare the respect pleasures and satisfactions of a happy restaurant owner and happy diner? Two very different pleasures happening at the same time in the same place.
Those who volunteer to do trail maintenance and trail construction, experience a satisfaction and pleasure that cannot be attained through any amount of hiking on those same trails.
An invitation to add to ones enjoyment of church by becoming part of the "staff."
Doors open at 6:30p. Music begins at 7:00p. Conversation in the lobby until it's over.
Tomorrow's sermon explores several metaphors for the role of activists in church.
Who enjoys camp more, staff or campers? In my experience, it's the staff.
How do you compare the respect pleasures and satisfactions of a happy restaurant owner and happy diner? Two very different pleasures happening at the same time in the same place.
Those who volunteer to do trail maintenance and trail construction, experience a satisfaction and pleasure that cannot be attained through any amount of hiking on those same trails.
An invitation to add to ones enjoyment of church by becoming part of the "staff."
Friday, May 21, 2010
Hot Springs, Parks and Church
Ideas and texts that were in my mind as I wrote this sermon:
The universal function of the temple. 1 Kgs 8:41-43; Isa 56:1-8; Matt 21:12-17.
The cities of refuge. Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 4:41; 19; Joshua 20.
Jacob's well. John 4.
The light of the world. Matthew 5:14
Hot Springs, Parks and Church
Bible passages that lie behind this sermon:
The universal function of the temple: 1 Kings 8:41-43; Isaiah 56:1-8; Matthew 21:12-17.
The cities of refuge. Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 4:41; 19; Joshua 20.
Jacob's well. John 4.
In March, Karin and I went on a road trip. We headed south on I-5. We stopped at the rest area just north of Vancouver, WA, then continued south through Portland to Salem. From there we headed east. Up over the mountains and out into the remote back country of southeast Oregon and Nevada.
Following the directions in a guide book, we left the highway in Nevada and followed gravel roads to an amazing spot, Spencer Hot Springs. There were patches of snow on the ground. The surrounding mountains were snow-covered but the temperature of the soaking pool was about 102 degrees. Karin and I settled down into the warm water and spent an hour soaking, talking, admiring the grand scenery all around.
It was perfect.
It was a gift.
A gift from God, from nature. Imagine warm water pouring out of the ground in the middle of a cold, wilderness valley!
A gift from anonymous strangers. The water in the source pool at Spencer is 165 degrees. Far too hot to soak in. However, anonymous volunteers have built a soaking pool and deck a few feet away from the source where the inflow is regulated so the temperature in the pool is just the right.
No one pays these people. There is no organization that directs them. No one gives them recognition. No one knows who they are. We just enjoy the fruit of their work.
Church is like a hot spring. Most of the people who come to church to encounter God are like Karin and me visiting Spencer Hot Springs. Most people at church are visitors. They enjoy what church offers and pretty much take it for granted. They count on the faithfulness and generosity of the relatively few people who do the actual work of making church available.
The life of the church is the life of God. God's life and power and presence are everywhere and ever flowing. While God is everywhere, for many people, church is the specific place and time when they are able to most fully let themselves go into the grace and wisdom of God.
The encounter with God that happens at church is available because a handful of people devote major amounts of time, money, creativity and energy to making church what it is.
Another metaphor. Church is like a park.
Imagine the fantastic beauty to be found in Olympic National Park. The park service did not create the beauty of the place, but without the work of the park employees who built the roads and trails, who staff the visitor's center and patrol the backcountry, most people would never get to experience the grandeur and beauty of that place.
The park makes available a wonderful, inspiring experience.
Again, church is like that. It makes more readily available the glory and wisdom of God. People come to church expecting an encounter with God. They have that encounter because of the work of a select few.
We often think about church in terms of what it provides for us. Do the sermons feed us spiritually? Does the music help us lift our hearts to heaven? Does the church provide meaningful fellowship for us? These are relevant questions.
There is another set of equally relevant questions for Christians to ask. These questions have to do with how well we are serving the people passing through. The visitors that stop by for a single soak. The travelers who are here once, just once, on their way somewhere else.
The Bible makes it clear that the people of God have a responsibility to “outsiders,” to “strangers” and “foreigners.” We can't just take care of ourselves.
Church, our church, is for these passers by as well as for us.
This is dramatically illustrated in what the Bible has to say about the temple.
In 1 Kings, we read the story of the construction and dedication of Solomon's temple. It was a grand project, fabulously ornate. When Solomon offered his prayer of dedication, he talked about God being specially available to people there in the temple because God had promised just that. He talked about the prayers of Jews who needed forgiveness and the prayers of Jews who needed deliverance from calamities of various sorts. The Solomon spoke about the foreigner who does not belong to Israel but has come from a distant land because he has heard about the God of Israel. When that foreigner prays toward the temple, seeking God's ear, then, Solomon said, Let God be sure to hear and act on the foreigner's prayer.
In Isaiah 56, the prophet goes to some length to assure both foreigners and “disqualified” Jews—that is Jews who were by law excluded from the temple because they were not fully functioning males—that God would welcome them in his house of prayer, because, God said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
“All nations” were not responsible for building and maintaining the temple. It was a Jewish project. Still, God declared that the Jewish temple was not for Jews only.
Just so, the building and maintaining of our church is not the responsibility of the general population. It is our calling. Still, even though it is “our church,” “our responsibility” it is also to be a house of prayer for all nations, for all peoples. By caring for this church, we are serving far more than merely the members of our congregation. We are serving the world.
So, to all of you who support the church with your time and money, thank you. Thank you for creating this place of heavenly welcome.
And to those who come and benefit from what church offers, I invite you to be part of the community of volunteers that actually keep this place up.
Whenever I visit one of these hot springs, I pick up litter. It's my way of showing respect and appreciation for the people who build and maintain the pools. It's my way of showing respect and appreciation for the gift of hot water, God has bestowed on these places. At some hotsprings, there is hardly any litter at all. At others, there are beer bottles, soda cans, cigarette butts. I pick up anything I find and take it with me.
If you value the experience of God and community church makes available, I invite you to begin taking responsibility for the upkeep of this church.
Our monthly budget is about 8000 dollars. If we have 80 households in the church, that would $100 per month per family. For some of us $100 is a lot of money. For others, $100 is cost of two times eating out.
Our aim is not equal giving. Instead we aim at equal sacrifice. My dream would be that everyone would give something significant.
To go back to our metaphor of the church as a hot spring. Not everyone can spend several days building or repairing a soaking pool. But everyone can help take trash home. Everyone can do something that makes the place a little better than it was when they arrived.
So here in the life of the church. Everyone can do something. Volunteer to mow the lawn or clean the bathrooms. Give money, a little or a lot. Help with the greeting or the clean up after potluck. Help bring food for the North Hill Cafe. Join a worship team to help provide music for yourself and others.
There is almost always something you can do. Look around the church and see if you can spot someone you don't know. Then welcome that person. They may have been longer than you have. Or they may be here for the first time, wondering they are really wanted around here. You greeting, your hand shake, your smile, may be the critical connection between that person and God. This is something you can do, even if this is your first time here.
Some of you might be thinking, there are several different areas of need listed on the envelope or the on-line giving form. Where is the greatest need?
The first answer to that question is always church budget. Money that is given to the church budget can be used to take care of any need in the church.
If you want something more specific than that, you can give to the building fund. This goes to reduce our mortgage.
You can give to our needy fund or welfare fund. This is the fund we have the most fun with. Almost always the people this fund helps are members of North Hill. These are people who have done their part to participate in the financial needs of the church, then an emergency happens. They find themselves in a dire emergency and sometimes, when the funds are available the church is able to help out. And when I say “the church” that means you and me. We get to help.
Two other funds I will mention: Tuition assistance fund. The money in this fund helps young people who wish to attend Adventist schools.
The Young Adult Pastor fund. We have voted to hire a young adult pastor. She will be here beginning in July. This is a bold step of faith. We do not presently have the money in the bank to pay this person. However, we are so committed to reaching out to young people that we have voted to move ahead, praying that God will motivate people to support this work of the church generously.
Most of us get something precious and valuable out of participating in church. That's why we come. If you do receive a blessing from coming to church, I encourage you to deepen your blessing by being part of the community that actually makes church happen.
Make sure you give money to the church every month or every two weeks. And offer your time and strength, your mind and your heart. Volunteer.
As you do this, you will help this congregation fulfill our divinely-given mission—to be a house of prayer for all nations. And your own soul will be enriched.
In Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: You are the light of the world. This is true of our lives in our homes, at work and at school, at the gym where we work out. It is especially true of our life together as a church. This church is called to be a light to the world. A warm place in a cold world. A free place in an expensive world. A welcoming place in a hostile world.
I invite you to join us in maintaining this light house, this sanctuary, this park, this glorious hot spring, this church.
The universal function of the temple. 1 Kgs 8:41-43; Isa 56:1-8; Matt 21:12-17.
The cities of refuge. Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 4:41; 19; Joshua 20.
Jacob's well. John 4.
The light of the world. Matthew 5:14
Hot Springs, Parks and Church
Bible passages that lie behind this sermon:
The universal function of the temple: 1 Kings 8:41-43; Isaiah 56:1-8; Matthew 21:12-17.
The cities of refuge. Numbers 35; Deuteronomy 4:41; 19; Joshua 20.
Jacob's well. John 4.
In March, Karin and I went on a road trip. We headed south on I-5. We stopped at the rest area just north of Vancouver, WA, then continued south through Portland to Salem. From there we headed east. Up over the mountains and out into the remote back country of southeast Oregon and Nevada.
Following the directions in a guide book, we left the highway in Nevada and followed gravel roads to an amazing spot, Spencer Hot Springs. There were patches of snow on the ground. The surrounding mountains were snow-covered but the temperature of the soaking pool was about 102 degrees. Karin and I settled down into the warm water and spent an hour soaking, talking, admiring the grand scenery all around.
It was perfect.
It was a gift.
A gift from God, from nature. Imagine warm water pouring out of the ground in the middle of a cold, wilderness valley!
A gift from anonymous strangers. The water in the source pool at Spencer is 165 degrees. Far too hot to soak in. However, anonymous volunteers have built a soaking pool and deck a few feet away from the source where the inflow is regulated so the temperature in the pool is just the right.
No one pays these people. There is no organization that directs them. No one gives them recognition. No one knows who they are. We just enjoy the fruit of their work.
Church is like a hot spring. Most of the people who come to church to encounter God are like Karin and me visiting Spencer Hot Springs. Most people at church are visitors. They enjoy what church offers and pretty much take it for granted. They count on the faithfulness and generosity of the relatively few people who do the actual work of making church available.
The life of the church is the life of God. God's life and power and presence are everywhere and ever flowing. While God is everywhere, for many people, church is the specific place and time when they are able to most fully let themselves go into the grace and wisdom of God.
The encounter with God that happens at church is available because a handful of people devote major amounts of time, money, creativity and energy to making church what it is.
Another metaphor. Church is like a park.
Imagine the fantastic beauty to be found in Olympic National Park. The park service did not create the beauty of the place, but without the work of the park employees who built the roads and trails, who staff the visitor's center and patrol the backcountry, most people would never get to experience the grandeur and beauty of that place.
The park makes available a wonderful, inspiring experience.
Again, church is like that. It makes more readily available the glory and wisdom of God. People come to church expecting an encounter with God. They have that encounter because of the work of a select few.
We often think about church in terms of what it provides for us. Do the sermons feed us spiritually? Does the music help us lift our hearts to heaven? Does the church provide meaningful fellowship for us? These are relevant questions.
There is another set of equally relevant questions for Christians to ask. These questions have to do with how well we are serving the people passing through. The visitors that stop by for a single soak. The travelers who are here once, just once, on their way somewhere else.
The Bible makes it clear that the people of God have a responsibility to “outsiders,” to “strangers” and “foreigners.” We can't just take care of ourselves.
Church, our church, is for these passers by as well as for us.
This is dramatically illustrated in what the Bible has to say about the temple.
In 1 Kings, we read the story of the construction and dedication of Solomon's temple. It was a grand project, fabulously ornate. When Solomon offered his prayer of dedication, he talked about God being specially available to people there in the temple because God had promised just that. He talked about the prayers of Jews who needed forgiveness and the prayers of Jews who needed deliverance from calamities of various sorts. The Solomon spoke about the foreigner who does not belong to Israel but has come from a distant land because he has heard about the God of Israel. When that foreigner prays toward the temple, seeking God's ear, then, Solomon said, Let God be sure to hear and act on the foreigner's prayer.
In Isaiah 56, the prophet goes to some length to assure both foreigners and “disqualified” Jews—that is Jews who were by law excluded from the temple because they were not fully functioning males—that God would welcome them in his house of prayer, because, God said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
“All nations” were not responsible for building and maintaining the temple. It was a Jewish project. Still, God declared that the Jewish temple was not for Jews only.
Just so, the building and maintaining of our church is not the responsibility of the general population. It is our calling. Still, even though it is “our church,” “our responsibility” it is also to be a house of prayer for all nations, for all peoples. By caring for this church, we are serving far more than merely the members of our congregation. We are serving the world.
So, to all of you who support the church with your time and money, thank you. Thank you for creating this place of heavenly welcome.
And to those who come and benefit from what church offers, I invite you to be part of the community of volunteers that actually keep this place up.
Whenever I visit one of these hot springs, I pick up litter. It's my way of showing respect and appreciation for the people who build and maintain the pools. It's my way of showing respect and appreciation for the gift of hot water, God has bestowed on these places. At some hotsprings, there is hardly any litter at all. At others, there are beer bottles, soda cans, cigarette butts. I pick up anything I find and take it with me.
If you value the experience of God and community church makes available, I invite you to begin taking responsibility for the upkeep of this church.
Our monthly budget is about 8000 dollars. If we have 80 households in the church, that would $100 per month per family. For some of us $100 is a lot of money. For others, $100 is cost of two times eating out.
Our aim is not equal giving. Instead we aim at equal sacrifice. My dream would be that everyone would give something significant.
To go back to our metaphor of the church as a hot spring. Not everyone can spend several days building or repairing a soaking pool. But everyone can help take trash home. Everyone can do something that makes the place a little better than it was when they arrived.
So here in the life of the church. Everyone can do something. Volunteer to mow the lawn or clean the bathrooms. Give money, a little or a lot. Help with the greeting or the clean up after potluck. Help bring food for the North Hill Cafe. Join a worship team to help provide music for yourself and others.
There is almost always something you can do. Look around the church and see if you can spot someone you don't know. Then welcome that person. They may have been longer than you have. Or they may be here for the first time, wondering they are really wanted around here. You greeting, your hand shake, your smile, may be the critical connection between that person and God. This is something you can do, even if this is your first time here.
Some of you might be thinking, there are several different areas of need listed on the envelope or the on-line giving form. Where is the greatest need?
The first answer to that question is always church budget. Money that is given to the church budget can be used to take care of any need in the church.
If you want something more specific than that, you can give to the building fund. This goes to reduce our mortgage.
You can give to our needy fund or welfare fund. This is the fund we have the most fun with. Almost always the people this fund helps are members of North Hill. These are people who have done their part to participate in the financial needs of the church, then an emergency happens. They find themselves in a dire emergency and sometimes, when the funds are available the church is able to help out. And when I say “the church” that means you and me. We get to help.
Two other funds I will mention: Tuition assistance fund. The money in this fund helps young people who wish to attend Adventist schools.
The Young Adult Pastor fund. We have voted to hire a young adult pastor. She will be here beginning in July. This is a bold step of faith. We do not presently have the money in the bank to pay this person. However, we are so committed to reaching out to young people that we have voted to move ahead, praying that God will motivate people to support this work of the church generously.
Most of us get something precious and valuable out of participating in church. That's why we come. If you do receive a blessing from coming to church, I encourage you to deepen your blessing by being part of the community that actually makes church happen.
Make sure you give money to the church every month or every two weeks. And offer your time and strength, your mind and your heart. Volunteer.
As you do this, you will help this congregation fulfill our divinely-given mission—to be a house of prayer for all nations. And your own soul will be enriched.
In Matthew 5, Jesus said to his disciples: You are the light of the world. This is true of our lives in our homes, at work and at school, at the gym where we work out. It is especially true of our life together as a church. This church is called to be a light to the world. A warm place in a cold world. A free place in an expensive world. A welcoming place in a hostile world.
I invite you to join us in maintaining this light house, this sanctuary, this park, this glorious hot spring, this church.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Like Mother, Like God
Sermon for North Hill Adventist Fellowship, May 15, 2010
1 Kings 3:16-28.
One day two prostitutes came before King Solomon. The Bible does not record their names, so I've made up names for them—Miriam and Tamar.
Miriam was the one who initiated the case. She presented her complaint first. “Your majesty, this woman, Tamar, and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there. Two days later she gave birth to her son. There were just the two of us in the house. No one else lived there.
One night Tamar accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it. She got up while I was sleeping and switched babies. When I woke up the next morning and went to nurse my baby I realized it was not my baby.”
Tamar adamantly denied Miriam's claims. “That is a lie. I did no such thing. The living child is mine. The dead one is yours.”
Miriam shouted back. “No, the dead baby is yours. The baby you're holding is my son.”
The women screamed charges back and forth for several minutes until finally the king interrupted them.
“What am I to do?” Pointing at Miram, he said, “You say the living child is yours.” Then pointing at Miriam, “And you say the living baby is yours. No one else was in the house. There are no witnesses. It's your word against each other.” He paused, then ordered an attendant to fetch a sword.
The woman glared at each other, waiting for the king to give a decision.
When the man returned with the sword, King Solomon ordered him. “Cut the living baby in half. Give half to each woman. Then every thing will be even.”
Tamar, the second woman, nodded her head. It was okay.
Miriam, however, fell on her knees almost hysterical. “Please, sir, no! Don't hurt the baby. Give him to her. Whatever you do, don't hurt the child.”
Solomon ordered his officers, “Give the child to the first woman. She is his mother.”
And all the nation when they heard his verdict, applauded.
The mark of a true mother: The life of my child is supreme. Break my heart, if you must. Give me life-long grief, if need be. But whatever you do, don't do anything to harm my child.
Of course, this mother wanted her child. That is why she pressed her claims in the royal court. But when she saw her child at risk, she immediately renounced all claim . . . thus establishing beyond question in that court, the truthfulness of her claim to be his mother.
And God says, “This is a picture of me.”
While the Bible writers far more frequently use the metaphor of Father to picture God, from the very beginning the role of Father was linked with the role of Mother. And there are a number of Bible passages that explicitly use maternal imagery to help us make sense of God.
Deuteronomy 32:11
[God is] like an eagle that stirs up her nest and hovers over her young,
That spreads her wings to catch them and carries them on her pinions.
Isaiah 49:15
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Even if she could forget [which, of course, is highly unlikely],
I will not forget you.
See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings . . .
Isa. 66:13. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
John 3:3-3. Jesus declared, “No one can see the kingdom of God (KOG) unless he is born again.” Nicodemus countered, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!” Jesus responded, “No one can enter the KOG unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
The ultimate effect of spiritual life is to give us a new parentage. Being born again means having a new parentage. We move from understanding God as a mirror of our earthly parents to understanding God as he/she really is and embracing that divine reality as the primary foundation for our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.
When we are born again, we have a new mother—God!
For those whose mothers were generous, devoted, nurturing, consistent, reliable, disciplined and fair, it is fairly easy to use our imaginations to work directly from our experience as daughters and sons of our mothers to understand our privileges and responsibilities as daughters and sons of God.
For others, the frailties and failings of our mothers make it more difficult embrace the truth about God's maternal regard for us. For some, the failings of their mothers were so profound, no amount of imaginative reworking of your memories can turn your mother into a helpful metaphor for God. If that is you, I suggest the following strategy:
If you are a mother or an aunt or even if you have a cat or dog or bird that depends on you for their well-being you can look into your own heart for insight into the motherhood of God. In spite of your failures and imperfections, you are aware of a deep, ineradicable regard for the little people in your life, for the little ones that depend on you. Your own “mother's heart” is outraged when you read of mothers who fail their children. No matter how your own mother treated you, no matter where you are in relation to having children of your own, a mother's awareness is already written in your heart. That sensibility is planted there by God. Pay attention to it.
Do you think it's right to abuse or neglect a child? No, of course not. Neither does God. Do you think all children should be given affection, affirmation and warmth? So does God. Do you think children should be given discipline, structure and consistency? So does God. Your mother's heart is telling you something about what God desires for you. Trust your mother's heart. God created it within you.
I began with the story of two prostitutes in court fighting over a baby they both claimed. If we can find a picture of divine maternal love in the story of prostitutes fighting for custody of a baby, then surely you can find a picture of God's maternal affection in your own heart.
God is at least as good a mother as you can imagine.
Will you allow God to be your real mother? The one that gives you an unshakeable foundation of affection, affirmation and love?
Women, all of you who have mother's hearts, God wants to touch the world through you. God wants to love your children, your nieces and nephews, the children of your neighbors and friends through you. God is counting on you to provide a model of nurture, care, affection, thoughtfulness, generosity and warmth for the little people in your world. Will you join God in mothering the world. As you do so, you will find your own heart warmed. You will find rest and security in God as you extend his maternal affection to those within your reach.
Men, open your hearts to receive God's assurance that more than anything he desires your well-being. God biggest ambition is your success, your effectiveness in life. Nothing can shake this. Not calamity or injustice that happens to you. Not failure or stupidity on your part.
All of us, men and women, children and teens, own God's heart the way that infant owned the heart of his prostitute mother. We are loved.
1 Kings 3:16-28.
One day two prostitutes came before King Solomon. The Bible does not record their names, so I've made up names for them—Miriam and Tamar.
Miriam was the one who initiated the case. She presented her complaint first. “Your majesty, this woman, Tamar, and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there. Two days later she gave birth to her son. There were just the two of us in the house. No one else lived there.
One night Tamar accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it. She got up while I was sleeping and switched babies. When I woke up the next morning and went to nurse my baby I realized it was not my baby.”
Tamar adamantly denied Miriam's claims. “That is a lie. I did no such thing. The living child is mine. The dead one is yours.”
Miriam shouted back. “No, the dead baby is yours. The baby you're holding is my son.”
The women screamed charges back and forth for several minutes until finally the king interrupted them.
“What am I to do?” Pointing at Miram, he said, “You say the living child is yours.” Then pointing at Miriam, “And you say the living baby is yours. No one else was in the house. There are no witnesses. It's your word against each other.” He paused, then ordered an attendant to fetch a sword.
The woman glared at each other, waiting for the king to give a decision.
When the man returned with the sword, King Solomon ordered him. “Cut the living baby in half. Give half to each woman. Then every thing will be even.”
Tamar, the second woman, nodded her head. It was okay.
Miriam, however, fell on her knees almost hysterical. “Please, sir, no! Don't hurt the baby. Give him to her. Whatever you do, don't hurt the child.”
Solomon ordered his officers, “Give the child to the first woman. She is his mother.”
And all the nation when they heard his verdict, applauded.
The mark of a true mother: The life of my child is supreme. Break my heart, if you must. Give me life-long grief, if need be. But whatever you do, don't do anything to harm my child.
Of course, this mother wanted her child. That is why she pressed her claims in the royal court. But when she saw her child at risk, she immediately renounced all claim . . . thus establishing beyond question in that court, the truthfulness of her claim to be his mother.
And God says, “This is a picture of me.”
While the Bible writers far more frequently use the metaphor of Father to picture God, from the very beginning the role of Father was linked with the role of Mother. And there are a number of Bible passages that explicitly use maternal imagery to help us make sense of God.
Deuteronomy 32:11
[God is] like an eagle that stirs up her nest and hovers over her young,
That spreads her wings to catch them and carries them on her pinions.
Isaiah 49:15
Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Even if she could forget [which, of course, is highly unlikely],
I will not forget you.
See I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.
Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! . . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings . . .
Isa. 66:13. As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you.
John 3:3-3. Jesus declared, “No one can see the kingdom of God (KOG) unless he is born again.” Nicodemus countered, “How can a man be born when he is old? Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!” Jesus responded, “No one can enter the KOG unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
The ultimate effect of spiritual life is to give us a new parentage. Being born again means having a new parentage. We move from understanding God as a mirror of our earthly parents to understanding God as he/she really is and embracing that divine reality as the primary foundation for our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.
When we are born again, we have a new mother—God!
For those whose mothers were generous, devoted, nurturing, consistent, reliable, disciplined and fair, it is fairly easy to use our imaginations to work directly from our experience as daughters and sons of our mothers to understand our privileges and responsibilities as daughters and sons of God.
For others, the frailties and failings of our mothers make it more difficult embrace the truth about God's maternal regard for us. For some, the failings of their mothers were so profound, no amount of imaginative reworking of your memories can turn your mother into a helpful metaphor for God. If that is you, I suggest the following strategy:
If you are a mother or an aunt or even if you have a cat or dog or bird that depends on you for their well-being you can look into your own heart for insight into the motherhood of God. In spite of your failures and imperfections, you are aware of a deep, ineradicable regard for the little people in your life, for the little ones that depend on you. Your own “mother's heart” is outraged when you read of mothers who fail their children. No matter how your own mother treated you, no matter where you are in relation to having children of your own, a mother's awareness is already written in your heart. That sensibility is planted there by God. Pay attention to it.
Do you think it's right to abuse or neglect a child? No, of course not. Neither does God. Do you think all children should be given affection, affirmation and warmth? So does God. Do you think children should be given discipline, structure and consistency? So does God. Your mother's heart is telling you something about what God desires for you. Trust your mother's heart. God created it within you.
I began with the story of two prostitutes in court fighting over a baby they both claimed. If we can find a picture of divine maternal love in the story of prostitutes fighting for custody of a baby, then surely you can find a picture of God's maternal affection in your own heart.
God is at least as good a mother as you can imagine.
Will you allow God to be your real mother? The one that gives you an unshakeable foundation of affection, affirmation and love?
Women, all of you who have mother's hearts, God wants to touch the world through you. God wants to love your children, your nieces and nephews, the children of your neighbors and friends through you. God is counting on you to provide a model of nurture, care, affection, thoughtfulness, generosity and warmth for the little people in your world. Will you join God in mothering the world. As you do so, you will find your own heart warmed. You will find rest and security in God as you extend his maternal affection to those within your reach.
Men, open your hearts to receive God's assurance that more than anything he desires your well-being. God biggest ambition is your success, your effectiveness in life. Nothing can shake this. Not calamity or injustice that happens to you. Not failure or stupidity on your part.
All of us, men and women, children and teens, own God's heart the way that infant owned the heart of his prostitute mother. We are loved.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Fathers and Kids
Mother's Day sermon next week. This week's sermon theme was determined by the kid's drama group.
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11
Links to the videos about Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick Hoyt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM&feature=related. In this video the emphasis is on the son being carried by Dad. Moral of story: God carries us. The magnificence of God for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVGdZOhlL0. In this video we see more of the pleasure and satisfaction the father receives from participating with his son. Moral of the story. We give great pleasure to God by being his children and participating in his life.
* * * * * * *
“What were you thinking?” the prime minister asked. “Surely you realized someone in my position would have access to magical powers. No one could steal my ceremonial cup and get away with it. What were you thinking?”
What could the prisoners say? They had traveled from Palestine to Egypt to buy grain because there was a severe drought in Palestine and food was scarce. After purchasing bags of grain, they had loaded their donkeys and were an hour or two out of the city on their way home when the royal police overtook them and accused them of stealing the prime minister's gold cup. The brothers—there were eleven of them—knew the accusation was false. They also dreaded what was coming next. Something fishy was going on. And they were in the middle of it.
When the royal officer accused them of stealing the prime minister's cup, they protested. “Last time we came,” they said, “the money we paid for our grain ended up back in our bags. We brought that money back with us and gave it to the treasurer and we brought more money to pay for this grain. We have been honorable men. How could you think we would steal your master's cup. Listen, if one of us has taken your cup, you can execute him and sell the rest of us on the slave market.”
“Oh, no, no, no.” The official said. “We'll keep only the one who stole the cup. The rest of you may go on home and take care of your families and your father.” Then the officer searched their bags. Their money was in the top of each bag. And in Benjamin's bag was the cup.
The brothers knew they hadn't taken it. They knew the evidence had been planted. But what was the point of arguing. Obviously the Egyptians were out to get them. The brothers loaded their bags back on their donkeys and headed back into town to face the music.
Now they were standing in the prime minister's palace being interrogated.
There wasn't any use trying to argue their innocence, so they didn't try. Finally, Judah, spoke up. “Sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don't be angry with me. You are like the king himself.
“When we were here last time, you asked us, 'Do you a father? Do you have another brother?' We answered, 'Yes. We have an aged father and a younger brother who was born to our father in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive. His father loves him very much.'
“Sir, when we were here last time, you told us to bring our younger brother with us the next time we came to buy grain, so you could see him. We told you the young man could not leave his father or his father would die. You said we would not be admitted to your presence unless we brought him.
“Back home we told our father what you said. When, some time later, he told us to come here to Egypt again to buy grain because we are starving in Palestine, we told him, “We cannot go unless our youngest brother goes with us. The man told us plainly that we would not be granted access without our brother.
“Our father responded, “My wife Rachel bore me only two sons. One has already left me. He must have been killed by wild animals. Now, if you take Benjamin from me and something happens to him, the sorrow will kill me. I cannot let him go.
“My father finally relinquished only when we were literally facing death from starvation. Now, if I go back to my father without my brother, as soon as he sees that Benjamin is not with me he will die. His life is bound up with the life of this young man. My father is so feeble that the sorrow would just kill him. In addition, I promised myself as surety for my brother. I told my father that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life.
“So, please sir, allow me to stay here in prison or as your slave instead of my brother. How can I return home to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see this disaster come upon my father.”
The prime minister's reaction was bewildering. Without warning he signaled to the court officers to leave the room. As they scurried out in a panic the prime minister hid his face in his robe and began sobbing. Then raising his head, he choked out the words, “I am your brother Joseph. Is my father still alive?”
The brothers stared at each other in disbelief. Joseph? Their dead brother? This was unbelievable. Then it was terrifying. JOSEPH? The brother they had sold into slavery? The brother who had begged and pleaded for mercy before he was handed over to the traders back in Dothan, twenty years earlier?
Joseph saw the terror in their faces. He reassured them. “Don't blame yourselves. It was really God who sent me here to Egypt ahead of you to save people's lives. It was not really you. It was God. Now hurry back to my father and tell him that his son Joseph is ruler over all Egypt. Hurry home and tell my father my story. Then hurry and bring him here.”
When the brothers got back home and told Jacob their story, he nearly went into shock. It was not possible. But when he saw the wagons they had brought back from Egypt to handle the move and after hearing the story several times through, he said, “My son Joseph is alive! This is all I could ask for! I must go and see him before I die.”
Joseph and his brother Benjamin are so genuinely, deeply precious to their father, their death would render life itself worthless to their father. News that Joseph is alive breathes new life and vitality into the old man.
This is a picture of God. He loves us. His desire for life with us is so intense, he would rather die than live without us.
You are valuable. Your struggles are significant to God. He aches when life throws curves at you. He cheers when you struggle back to your feet after some miserable failure or defeat. God takes great pleasure in our achievements and successes. Like any good father would.
In the absence of achievements and success, God takes real pleasure in the fact that you are alive. There is another day. There is a future. There is hope. And God is a stubborn hoper. Like all good fathers. God believes we will triumph, even when we cannot feel it or see it ourselves.
The most frequent metaphor in the Bible for God is Father.
As a son bears his father's image, so we bear the image of our father in heaven. (Genesis 5:3, 1:26; Luke 3:38)
“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” Ps. 103:13.
“Love your enemies and do good to them . . . then you will be sons of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35-36.
“Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11
For some of us the metaphor is natural and easy. Our father is or was gentle, compassionate, courteous, strong, resourceful. So it is easy to imagine God being like that. For others of us, our own fathers were not good men. For some, reclaiming the word “father” requires a major work of re-imagination. The Bible does not picture God as just any father, certainly necessarily as “my dad.” Rather, God is the best Father, the sum of all the very best attributes of the very best fathers in the world.
Use your imagination. Picture the very best father in the world. God is like that, only better.
Jacob's words: “My son Joseph is alive. This is all I could ask for.” tell us something about God. God looks at you and says, “You are alive. I am thrilled.”
There is more to this metaphor.
We are called to be Fathers. Like God. Just as every good father dreams of his sons and daughters becoming strong, capable partners, so God envisions us as strong, capable partners.
In the Adventist Church we have given considerable emphasis to education and healthy living. We strongly encourage our young people to pursue an education. Get all the education you can. Do well in school. Do not settle for “C's” if you can get “A's.” God values intellectual prowess and so do we. We join God in desiring that our young people become wise, knowledgeable, fit, good human beings. We unabashedly promote their development.
As a church we strongly encourage people to exercise, to eat wisely, to floss, to drink more water and less colored beverages. Why? Because God wants us to be strong. He has jobs for us to do, ministries to perform, ministries that call for physical strength and stamina. God has little people who need the strength of big people. And God wants us to be those Big People.
(I would say to you who are no longer “young people,” the most powerful way to promote the development of our young people is to tend to our own development. Take care of your health. Cultivate your mind. Feed your spirit.)
God is our Father. We are his children. That offers powerful reassurance that God is deeply involved with us. It also offers a powerful call to honor our Father by cultivating strength and wisdom and courage and goodness. Bask in God's love. Aim to make him proud.
Scripture: Matthew 7:7-11
Links to the videos about Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick Hoyt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDnrLv6z-mM&feature=related. In this video the emphasis is on the son being carried by Dad. Moral of story: God carries us. The magnificence of God for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVGdZOhlL0. In this video we see more of the pleasure and satisfaction the father receives from participating with his son. Moral of the story. We give great pleasure to God by being his children and participating in his life.
* * * * * * *
“What were you thinking?” the prime minister asked. “Surely you realized someone in my position would have access to magical powers. No one could steal my ceremonial cup and get away with it. What were you thinking?”
What could the prisoners say? They had traveled from Palestine to Egypt to buy grain because there was a severe drought in Palestine and food was scarce. After purchasing bags of grain, they had loaded their donkeys and were an hour or two out of the city on their way home when the royal police overtook them and accused them of stealing the prime minister's gold cup. The brothers—there were eleven of them—knew the accusation was false. They also dreaded what was coming next. Something fishy was going on. And they were in the middle of it.
When the royal officer accused them of stealing the prime minister's cup, they protested. “Last time we came,” they said, “the money we paid for our grain ended up back in our bags. We brought that money back with us and gave it to the treasurer and we brought more money to pay for this grain. We have been honorable men. How could you think we would steal your master's cup. Listen, if one of us has taken your cup, you can execute him and sell the rest of us on the slave market.”
“Oh, no, no, no.” The official said. “We'll keep only the one who stole the cup. The rest of you may go on home and take care of your families and your father.” Then the officer searched their bags. Their money was in the top of each bag. And in Benjamin's bag was the cup.
The brothers knew they hadn't taken it. They knew the evidence had been planted. But what was the point of arguing. Obviously the Egyptians were out to get them. The brothers loaded their bags back on their donkeys and headed back into town to face the music.
Now they were standing in the prime minister's palace being interrogated.
There wasn't any use trying to argue their innocence, so they didn't try. Finally, Judah, spoke up. “Sir, allow me to speak with you freely. Don't be angry with me. You are like the king himself.
“When we were here last time, you asked us, 'Do you a father? Do you have another brother?' We answered, 'Yes. We have an aged father and a younger brother who was born to our father in his old age. The boy's brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's children still alive. His father loves him very much.'
“Sir, when we were here last time, you told us to bring our younger brother with us the next time we came to buy grain, so you could see him. We told you the young man could not leave his father or his father would die. You said we would not be admitted to your presence unless we brought him.
“Back home we told our father what you said. When, some time later, he told us to come here to Egypt again to buy grain because we are starving in Palestine, we told him, “We cannot go unless our youngest brother goes with us. The man told us plainly that we would not be granted access without our brother.
“Our father responded, “My wife Rachel bore me only two sons. One has already left me. He must have been killed by wild animals. Now, if you take Benjamin from me and something happens to him, the sorrow will kill me. I cannot let him go.
“My father finally relinquished only when we were literally facing death from starvation. Now, if I go back to my father without my brother, as soon as he sees that Benjamin is not with me he will die. His life is bound up with the life of this young man. My father is so feeble that the sorrow would just kill him. In addition, I promised myself as surety for my brother. I told my father that if I did not bring the boy back to him, I would bear the blame all my life.
“So, please sir, allow me to stay here in prison or as your slave instead of my brother. How can I return home to my father if the boy is not with me? I cannot bear to see this disaster come upon my father.”
The prime minister's reaction was bewildering. Without warning he signaled to the court officers to leave the room. As they scurried out in a panic the prime minister hid his face in his robe and began sobbing. Then raising his head, he choked out the words, “I am your brother Joseph. Is my father still alive?”
The brothers stared at each other in disbelief. Joseph? Their dead brother? This was unbelievable. Then it was terrifying. JOSEPH? The brother they had sold into slavery? The brother who had begged and pleaded for mercy before he was handed over to the traders back in Dothan, twenty years earlier?
Joseph saw the terror in their faces. He reassured them. “Don't blame yourselves. It was really God who sent me here to Egypt ahead of you to save people's lives. It was not really you. It was God. Now hurry back to my father and tell him that his son Joseph is ruler over all Egypt. Hurry home and tell my father my story. Then hurry and bring him here.”
When the brothers got back home and told Jacob their story, he nearly went into shock. It was not possible. But when he saw the wagons they had brought back from Egypt to handle the move and after hearing the story several times through, he said, “My son Joseph is alive! This is all I could ask for! I must go and see him before I die.”
Joseph and his brother Benjamin are so genuinely, deeply precious to their father, their death would render life itself worthless to their father. News that Joseph is alive breathes new life and vitality into the old man.
This is a picture of God. He loves us. His desire for life with us is so intense, he would rather die than live without us.
You are valuable. Your struggles are significant to God. He aches when life throws curves at you. He cheers when you struggle back to your feet after some miserable failure or defeat. God takes great pleasure in our achievements and successes. Like any good father would.
In the absence of achievements and success, God takes real pleasure in the fact that you are alive. There is another day. There is a future. There is hope. And God is a stubborn hoper. Like all good fathers. God believes we will triumph, even when we cannot feel it or see it ourselves.
The most frequent metaphor in the Bible for God is Father.
As a son bears his father's image, so we bear the image of our father in heaven. (Genesis 5:3, 1:26; Luke 3:38)
“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” Ps. 103:13.
“Love your enemies and do good to them . . . then you will be sons of the Most High God. For he is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:35-36.
“Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11
For some of us the metaphor is natural and easy. Our father is or was gentle, compassionate, courteous, strong, resourceful. So it is easy to imagine God being like that. For others of us, our own fathers were not good men. For some, reclaiming the word “father” requires a major work of re-imagination. The Bible does not picture God as just any father, certainly necessarily as “my dad.” Rather, God is the best Father, the sum of all the very best attributes of the very best fathers in the world.
Use your imagination. Picture the very best father in the world. God is like that, only better.
Jacob's words: “My son Joseph is alive. This is all I could ask for.” tell us something about God. God looks at you and says, “You are alive. I am thrilled.”
There is more to this metaphor.
We are called to be Fathers. Like God. Just as every good father dreams of his sons and daughters becoming strong, capable partners, so God envisions us as strong, capable partners.
In the Adventist Church we have given considerable emphasis to education and healthy living. We strongly encourage our young people to pursue an education. Get all the education you can. Do well in school. Do not settle for “C's” if you can get “A's.” God values intellectual prowess and so do we. We join God in desiring that our young people become wise, knowledgeable, fit, good human beings. We unabashedly promote their development.
As a church we strongly encourage people to exercise, to eat wisely, to floss, to drink more water and less colored beverages. Why? Because God wants us to be strong. He has jobs for us to do, ministries to perform, ministries that call for physical strength and stamina. God has little people who need the strength of big people. And God wants us to be those Big People.
(I would say to you who are no longer “young people,” the most powerful way to promote the development of our young people is to tend to our own development. Take care of your health. Cultivate your mind. Feed your spirit.)
God is our Father. We are his children. That offers powerful reassurance that God is deeply involved with us. It also offers a powerful call to honor our Father by cultivating strength and wisdom and courage and goodness. Bask in God's love. Aim to make him proud.
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