Thought for Today
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Luke 10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I’m still thinking about that song and question from yesterday, "What's it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live? Or are we meant to be kind?" My closing words yesterday still echo in my mind; they seem so simple and easy: We are meant to be kind . . .but much more than kind. We are meant to do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God, love God, love each other, and to have faith. Our God-given life is all about believing, loving and trusting our Creator God.
As I ponder on the question and those words, two thoughts immediately come to mind. First, far too often in life, we conflate simple and easy. Those words are not synonyms. There are times and occasions when the simplest things are incredibly difficult to accomplish. Having faith is not terribly complex. “Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” That is not a complicated concept. Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is complex. Having faith is not. Quantum physics is a complex topic. Faith is not. One either has that assurance and that conviction or one does not. There is no higher mathematics involved, no algebra, trigonometry or calculus involved. Even that definition from Hebrews is not complex. There are only 2 elements involved, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Most Christians, however, would acknowledge that there are those times when it is not easy to have, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” For most of us, there are those ‘things that go bump in the night.’ I often quote from the preface to The Magic Casement: An anthology of Fairy Poetry. Edited with an introduction, by Alfred Noyes . . . ‘And if that the bowle of curds and creame were not duly set out for Robin Good-fellow, why, then, “ware of bull-beggars, spirits,” etc. From Ghoulies and Ghoosties, long-leggety Beasties, and Things that go Bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” (wordhistories.net)
Julie Andrews sang a slightly different version when she sang My Favorite Things that includes the refrain, “When the dog bites, when the bee stings/When I'm feeling sad/I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel so bad.”
We may not ever encounter bull-beggars, ghoulies, ghoostles or long-leggety beasties. We may never even be bitten by a dog or stung by a bee. But, we all have those days when thing do not go as planned, do not go as we want. During those times, it is not easy to simply have faith.
The other thing which comes to mind about how we are to live, how we are to assess our lives, is that we often measure things using the wrong metrics. Christians are called to live lives measured by the metrics of love and kindness.
Jesus never used, much less created an app. Jesus did not write any computer code. Jesus never led a startup company, never created any kind of AI. Jesus was never elected to any political office. Jesus was not a world traveler or an explorer. Jesus never had a bank account, much less a mortgage. Jesus could not present a list of university degrees or initials after his signature. Jesus never posted anything on social media . . . although, in all honesty, it should be noted that Jesus does have many more followers than any other influencer today. Jesus can still claim more friends than any of those who do post on social media.
Jesus was not a trillionaire, a billionaire or even a millionaire. All Jesus ever did do, all Jesus accomplished in his short life was to save God’s children through his incarnation, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection. Is it too much to ask of us that we have faith in Jesus, that we live lives of justice, kindness and humility? Is it too much to ask that we love God and love each other? I think not!
It is all about love, it is all about kindness, it is all about trusting God,
Pastor Ray