Tag Archives: responsibility

My Servant

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I could not sleep because of the news.  I did not want to sleep because of the urgency.  A tumult in my house has robbed me of peace.  An occasional plundering of my goods has reached my ears. So I pondered with these questions:

Is the hope of God among men, locked away in some distant future place?  Is it God’s will that we be tossed about my temptation?  Is there no repair for the wayward heart of man?  Truly, must we wait for heaven to do the will of the Living God in Christ Jesus?

These questions come to me as one.  How is it possible that my love for God can lack at all?

And then the singular question branches quickly into a myriad of uncountable answers.

As bountiful are the temptations of this wicked place, each one wickedly stands to give an answer.  But one suspect stands much closer than the temptations of every day and night.

By force of truth, I have called him to give account. 

“You are my servant.  To you all things of mine are given.   You are set, by proclamation of the Most High God, to be in control of the things that are mine.  There is lack in my house!  How can this be so?  Give account of yourself, I demand it!”

The truth of reply is given: “My lord I cannot give answer for the moment.”

What can I say to this?  He has been commanded to appear in truth.  And with truth he has answered me.

“Sit here before me.  You have allowed lack, as I gave you free reign to do the work you are commanded to accomplish.  Now sit here before me, so I can inspect your ways. I will know your diligence.”

Who is this servant who has been given so much?  Who is this servant who is under such heavy rebuke?  What kind of servant can be given the responsibility for the health of my entire house?

With barely audible whisper I will tell you.  It is my will.

By His Grace

Dedication

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Now is my day.

My chance to obey.

And not just to say,

“He is my lord”.

             ~

Were I to die now,

Temptations abound!

Though I be nowhere

To be found.

             ~

To the work then go I.

Using care what I spy.

To keep my soul’s eye

Fixed firmly on Him.

By His Grace

Suck it up

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Bob got a ticket for speeding.  He didn’t say anything to the trooper when he was pulled over, but for the next hour of driving, he was consumed with the thought that the fault lay in his parents.

He reasoned that he learned how to speed by watching what his parents did when he was a child.  Somehow his brain got stuck on fast.  Oh yeah, that’ll take the ticket away.

There may be some truth to what he thinks.  But in the end, he was the one driving when he got pulled over.

And there’s another issue about Bob that everybody ought to know.  See, Bob’s a Christian.  And by that fact he ought to be an exemplary driver.  And by that fact he ought to take immediate responsibility for his own mistakes.

But Bob is not unique in this problem of blaming others.  A whole lot of his brothers and sisters in Christ do the same thing 24 /7.  Give Bob some time, he’ll remember that, and blame them too. 

But Bob has no reason to point his finger at anyone.  Especially because of something so avoidable as a traffic ticket.

I mean, I can understand why somebody would blame the rapists for the fear they have as they walk down the street.  Or maybe they can put some blame on their mistakes at work because they didn’t sleep well, do to nightmares.  But there’s a difference between emotion and action.  There’s a difference between involuntary fear due to trauma, and embracing bad habits.

There are two reasons why Bob can’t blame his parents.  The first is obvious.  His body is his own, and he can make choices with his own mind.  In that case, it’s absolutely ridiculous to blame someone else for bad habits.

The other part of about a christian blaming others, that shows a red flag of fault, is that the Christian is the one who can receive forgiveness for his sins.  Sure, you’ll take your lumps now and then, while you’re here.  We all get stupid now and then.  But in the end, you walk away unscathed.

Why would anyone with those two vast riches, look to blame someone else for their problems? 

There is one more article of consideration in regard to all this.  There is glory to give to the Lord when we simply endure without complaining, grumbling or blame.  We take it on the chin for the glory of Christ.

I heard that a man said in his prayers regularly, “Heavenly Father please hold no one accountable for any sins against me.  It is impossible that anyone should sin against me.  I am not the standard of holiness.”

What kind of people would we be if we just take our lumps on the head and move on?  The word “holy” comes to mind.

Enduring Consistency

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“Raw raw sis boom ba!
I belong! I belong!”

The proper exaltation for one who formerly was cast out.  It is not proper that this one should hate the inclusion.  But does that joy last?

The beaming smile of a young man as he gets his first car.  “I’m free!  I can go where I please!  Finally, I am a man!”  Not really, but don’t tell him yet.

Which is stronger, inclusion or the responsibilities that will surely come?

The joy of a child is dear, and held in high esteem by all who are mature.  If this is not so, then someone needs to explain to me why grandmas talk about babies incessantly.

The beaming smile of a middle aged woman; her face constantly glowing.  Though trials, terrors and difficulties have strewn across her path, she endures with excellent consistency. 

Such things are even marketable among men.  “There’s a lot of money in that there attitude.”   (properly voiced with cigar in mouth and scowl on face)

But wrongful pride in a young girl, who has been granted inclusion, is ugly.  And the rebellion of a young man stacks up in the courts of the land.  Our joy in them is dashed. 

And the beaming face of a middle aged woman, which is only apparent by means of cosmetic surgery, is no beauty at all; the cheap imitation of truth.  Kinda like some knock off version of Kool Aid; sour to the taste and despised by all.  “Back to the real stuff we go!”

If Christian joy is not sincere, it cannot be joy at all.  that special kind of hypocrisy that non-believers post prominently in neon signs.

We read the accounts of those who sang with boldness at the prospect torture and death.  No fictitious apparel can produce that kind of joy.  No provisional joy will endure in those circumstances.  “Ya either got it or you don’t.”

How do the exceptional remain exceptional?  How is it that they have kept their joy pure; unadulterated by pride and difficulty?

We find the answer in their perception.  The answer lay squarely in their expectations.  Those who endure to the end do not consider themselves as belonging because of any special trait they own.  They keep first in mind that they are included in something vastly larger and more desirable than themselves.

The young girl becomes the appealing woman mentioned above.  And the young man contributes greatly to the society that granted him his beloved freedom.  And the division between beauty and ridiculously ugly glares brilliantly.

With this answer something astounding appears.  Correction in our attitude is simply a matter of changing perspective.  “Becoming” is only a matter of being willing to understand the value of our place.  And never to allow that understanding to dissipate, or to become poluted with pride.

The engine of truth is relentless.  It drives through humanity without respect to the desires of any.  A man will either jump on board or get squished.

But if we embrace truth we retain the things that are beautiful.  We “become”.  We desire.  We learn to “do” with excellent consistency.

___________

Please don’t allow stupidity to interpret this message.  This is not a “how to” message.  It is not the preface to an impossibly thick manual on “becoming”.  It is more like a directional sign.  “Caution detour ahead”.

The true answer for any man is within him.  It is God Himself who directs.  If we don’t point to him, then we join with liars. 

“If the Lord does not build the house the builder builds in vain.”  If you want to be excellent, you have to go get it from him.  Therefore this message is far more a description than a “How to”.

If that disappoints you, then you’re the very reason I wrote this.

Awareness

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They call me a man, and among them, yes I am.

But that is not the sum of my name.

For there are those who were, long before I was,

and they have been faithful to remain.

God is first and God is last,

all else falls to and fro.

Among the throng I do belong;

But a child, and from below.

——–

Ancient ages past have seen

The Faithful do His will.

Though in your sight maturity’s mine,

A child I was, and still.

The pride of man: “I’ve grown enough;

I’ve conquered all I have.

Respect me now for I’ve become.

Yes, I’ve become a man!”

——

And He said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Eating Worms

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“The early bird gets the worm.”

Perhaps you have heard this saying.  If you have, it is likely your mother who has told you this.  She was trying to get you to take responsibility.

But as I watched the Robins this morning, I took note that they began to sing long before there was full light.  Just how early do they need to be to get the worm?

Is it that the Robins are the ones to search for worms while the other birds search for bugs or seeds?  In this case the saying is another name for Robins and their kind.  So much for a process of productivity.

My mother could just as easily have told me to become a Robin.  Though I do not give praise to myself in that I might have understood.

What strikes me more about the saying is that we use the vagaries to inspire one another.  By the nature of man’s limit we reach for things that are untrue to teach what is true.  It is not this way in heaven.

Here we must teach a child or an immature adult by using stories and half truths.  They are not capable of consuming the fullness of truth.  And even those who teach in the ways of the world are not fit to teach the fullness of truth.

I am simply struck by the vast chasm of difference between the ways of Man and the ways of God.