If I Had It To Do Over . . .

If I had it to do over, I would still say, "I do!"

It's been twenty-four years this week

since we stood before family, friends, and our LORD

and promised to love each other faithfully for life.

Our pastor prayed that day

that our home would be a "Kingdom home".

God has been faithful these twenty-four years.

It is our prayer that we walk worthy of our calling

with every moment we are given.

" . . . so that you would walk

in a manner worthy of the God who calls you

into His own kingdom and glory."

I Thessalonians 2:12

" . . . walk in a manner worthy of the calling

with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

showing tolerance for one another in love,

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit

in the bond of peace."

Ephesians 4:1-3

Rejoicing together at our reception

Do Not Attempt This At Home?

It stopped me in my tracks.  Surely this couldn’t be for real.  But there it was, right there on the shelf, no figment of my imagination.

What was the puzzle?  Well, I had been walking that curiously crooked way that I usually walk when I’m in the library, in a forward direction, generally, but with my head turned left and tipped over on its side so I can read the book titles as I walk.  But this one was so big I’d have had no problem reading it standing right side up.  At nearly two inches thick, it had a title that arrested me; it was of the irony of it.  This massive book was titled An Introduction to the Gospel of John.

You can’t be serious, I silently remarked to the author, who, of course, couldn’t hear me.  An introduction?  Okay, just how many pages are there in this book?  I hoisted it off the shelf because I just had to know.  There were over three hundred.

It’s no wonder so many people don’t read the Bible.  It’s no wonder they’re intimidated out of even cracking it open.  Someone’s writing books they’re supposed to read first that are bigger than the Bible itself.

In my Bible, the Gospel of John spans merely 29 pages.  You could read the whole Gospel of John ten times before you’d finish that Introduction book, and, with the Holy Spirit’s help, you’d have a better understanding of what the book’s all about than you would by the time you slogged through the Introduction.

The Bible is meant to be accessible, user friendly.  John actually limited the size of his book.  He ends the book by saying, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written.”  John 21:25

But what was included was enough.  John explains,

“Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  John 20:30-31

If there were more that we absolutely had to have, God would have given it to us.

That’s not to say there isn’t a place for commentaries or study notes, but don’t be afraid to jump right in and start with God’s Word.  And don’t be afraid to turn your children loose on the raw Word of God either.

Your Bible carries no warning label, no “Special knowledge required; do not attempt to read this at home!”  Yes, there’s mystery, but He means for us to know Him.  Yes, God’s ways are masterfully and intricately orchestrated, but His message is no less masterfully communicated.  

In Earnest

". . . Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men . . .

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ,

as though God were making an appeal through us;

we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

II Corinthians 5:11a, 20

I was convicted and inspired all at once.  This taking it to heart*  business is contagious.  Read on, and I'll explain.

Our son, Ben, had written a short story that he was excited for me to read.  A few nights ago, I was sitting on the bean bag in his room, reading his story aloud, as he put clean sheets on his bed.

In this story, the life of one Charles Wrangler, a rather bitter, disillusioned older man, Providentially crosses with that of a polite, young, Christian man, named Justin, as they find themselves on the same cross-country Amtrak train.  As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into the ensuing discussions between the two very unlikely friends.  Justin looks beyond Mr. Wrangler's cynical attitude and obvious hurts to good-naturedly inquire about Wrangler's future, not just the retirement he's saving for and is hoping will be more fulfilling that his exhausting executive job, but the future after that--his eternal future.  Part way though the story I paused, and Ben wanted to know what I thought of his characters.  How did they come across?

I said I thought the older man seemed grumpy and gruff.  I sat for a moment in silence, wondering if perhaps he was gruff because Justin wouldn't let him maneuver around his questions.  "Justin's been pretty persistent," I observed aloud, thinking that maybe Justin's character should be mellowed a bit.

"But Mama, wouldn't you be?!"  At this point Ben had emphatically flopped himself across the bed and was hanging partly off, facing me and in earnest.  "If you knew you had only a day and a half with someone on a train, wouldn't you be trying to talk about eternity?  Wouldn't you want to see his life changed?  You might never see him again!  We need to live every day like we don't know how much time we have left!"

He had me.  And I had been willing to consider mellowing Justin. And for what?  So Justin could avoid an awkward moment?  To make Mr. Wrangler more comfortable while his life careened recklessly toward hell?  What was I thinking?

Justin hadn't been unkind or rude; in fact, he'd been compassionate and helpful even as Wrangler bordered on a being a bully to everyone.  Justin had been persistent, yes, and in earnest, like Ben was, because he understood that the stakes were incredibly high.

So I sat there convicted.  Convicted and inspired at the same time.  Convicted because I wondered if I'd have been as earnest as Justin.  But inspired by the call to make the most of every opportunity.

*"It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,

    Because that [death] is the end of every man,

    and the living takes it to heart."

    Ecclesiastes 7:2

To read the previous Taking It To Heart posts, click here.

That They May Know Him

(Shared with the IAHE, too)

This time of year, as I look back on the year's learning and look ahead to all that is left to accomplish, I find in the words of Jesus, recorded in John 17:3, an important perspective.

"And this is eternal life,

that they may know You, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

While we, of course, still value the responsible completion of our assignments, when I consider Jesus' words, I am challenged to actively avoid being simply on auto-pilot, to avoid being so caught up in the routine of daily tasks that we would somehow overlook His call to relationship.  Our call, above all others, is to abide in Him, so that we would know him.  Do our children truly understand that eternal life, according to Jesus, is to know Him?

Oh, that each day would be rightly arranged to reflect this, both for us and for our children. . .  

Because, in the end, whether we know Him is all that will matter.

"More than that, I count all things to be loss

in view of the surpassing value

of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. . ."

Philippians 3:8