Matthew 25:23
“His lord said unto him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
None of this goes unnoticed. These words came out of the blue this morning, along with the reminder of the story that precedes the above scripture, about the master who gave his servants the responsibility while he went on a journey. The servants who were faithful with his goods while he was gone were rewarded upon his return. Jesus used the story as a picture of how each of us have been given different gifts, and His pleasure at our faithfulness.
All our weariness, all the times we put aside what we want to do what we should, all the things we bear for the love of others and for the sake of His kingdom, He notices.
My great-great-aunt and -uncle, Clinton and Maybelle Ferster, lived a life of putting aside their own comfort and desires, for the sake of His kingdom. Uncle served a short time as pastor of Richfield Mennonite Church back in the 1920’s, until he and Aunt Maybelle left Richfield for many years of service in what was then Tanganyika Territory in Africa. Their lives and testimonies deserve an entire book to do them justice, but what i will always think of when i think of them, is a small embroidered picture that my mother found among their things while we were cleaning their house and getting ready “to make sale” (local colloquial way of saying “preparing for an estate auction”). This picture was simply black thread on a plain background and it said, “As Unto Christ, Not Unto Men.” It was saved with things valued and special, and Mom was sure that Aunt Maybelle had made it for Uncle Clinton. It now sits on a dresser in my parents’ home, a simple but powerful tribute to two lives well lived. That Aunt Maybelle would have chosen that verse when making that gift for Uncle, and that he would have saved it among his treasured things.
But we don’t have to go to Africa to be faithful. We all have different callings, different gifts. No matter where we are, no matter what the job He has called us to, what we do for Him never goes unnoticed.
Blackwood Bros "That's What Heaven Will Be"
And the above link goes to yet another beautiful quartet number that i like...some day we will live "forever in the sweet by and by..."
Friday, May 23, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
...rain...
It’s a rainy day here at our house. I am trying to keep my head above water, but sinking again. The trigger seems to be the chaos of spring baseball season and trying to keep my youngest happy during his brother‘s and sister‘s baseball games (or, if not to keep him happy, at least to avoid major meltdowns). But, if the trigger were not the busyness of baseball season, it may be something else. It isn’t going away...so, i learn to live with it. Is it possible to embrace it?
I love a rainy day in spring. This world of cool green mist is probably one of my favorite parts of spring. I love to hear the rain; I love to see it against the leaves and grass; I love looking through the drops to the tops of the trees in the woods behind the house. For lack of a description that does it justice, suffice it to say it is nothing short of a glimpse into fairyland.
Without rain, there would be no growth. The green would give way to parched barren brown. There would be little shade. A tall tree needs deep roots. Could the same be true for a soul?
Back when I was a kid, one of my favorite songs was Keith Whitley’s “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.” At the time, I didn’t know the story behind the song--the story of the man who fought his own demons throughout his life and died of an alcohol overdose in 1989. I just knew it was a beautiful song; and even back then, the sadness in the song, and in the voice that sang it, struck a chord with me.
I'm No Stranger to the Rain--Keith Whitley
There is depth and beauty in rain itself--in the rain outside, and the rain that falls “in the soul.” And if it were not for the rain, much depth and beauty in the world would be lost.
So, how now shall we live? For those of us who are not strangers to the rain--what can we do but beg, steal or borrow a little sunshine? And learn to embrace the rain?
I love a rainy day in spring. This world of cool green mist is probably one of my favorite parts of spring. I love to hear the rain; I love to see it against the leaves and grass; I love looking through the drops to the tops of the trees in the woods behind the house. For lack of a description that does it justice, suffice it to say it is nothing short of a glimpse into fairyland.
Without rain, there would be no growth. The green would give way to parched barren brown. There would be little shade. A tall tree needs deep roots. Could the same be true for a soul?
Back when I was a kid, one of my favorite songs was Keith Whitley’s “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.” At the time, I didn’t know the story behind the song--the story of the man who fought his own demons throughout his life and died of an alcohol overdose in 1989. I just knew it was a beautiful song; and even back then, the sadness in the song, and in the voice that sang it, struck a chord with me.
I'm No Stranger to the Rain--Keith Whitley
There is depth and beauty in rain itself--in the rain outside, and the rain that falls “in the soul.” And if it were not for the rain, much depth and beauty in the world would be lost.
So, how now shall we live? For those of us who are not strangers to the rain--what can we do but beg, steal or borrow a little sunshine? And learn to embrace the rain?
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
...an anchor in the storm...
There is a storm raging in my mind, exhausting me. Part of me wants to embrace the busy-ness of springtime--distractions sometimes keep the blackness at bay. The other part of me wants solitude--sometimes it seems that the storm in my mind cannot be tolerated amidst any other activity. But the problem with solitude is that, then, the mind can run in its own direction. But whether in solitude or company, there is no stopping it; there is only masking the noise of the storm with “doing the next thing,” the daily activities that need to be accomplished. And sometimes one just holds onto the side of the boat for dear life, so as not to get swept away.
I could not read much when I opened my Bible. The words seemed to jump around the page when I tried to concentrate. A normal day of life stretched ahead of me, looking pretty daunting. I needed strength from somewhere, from Someone. I put my Bible down and instead asked for “just a word” from Him for the day. Jesus, please? A verse? A song? Something to anchor my mind to, in the storm?
“Peace, be still.”
It is a line of an old song we sing from time to time, here at our house. The song is titled, “Master, the Tempest is Raging.” It comes from the story of Jesus calming the storm; the account of it is in the 8th chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
“And when He was entered into a ship, his disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep. And his disciples came to Him, and awoke him, saying, “Lord, save us; we perish.” And He saith unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
Matthew 8:23-27
The tempest is raging, and it is beyond tiring. A weariness of the mind and heart, for lack of a better description. But what manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? He alone can calm this storm.
“Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’er-shadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?
The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be,
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace be still! Peace be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!”
-Mary A. Baker
No storm, no waves, can swallow this ship, where lies the Master of ocean, and earth, and skies. And I realize that, sometimes, when the wind and the waves are high, I don’t ask Him to calm my storm. In the back of my mind, something says I deserve it...by virtue of the weakness that causes me to suffer it, maybe. There is something about the blackness of depression that envelops the soul and whispers that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there should be no relief of pain, no calming of the storm. That the one who suffers it is so innately flawed that whatever he or she may suffer at the hands of this, is only a bit of what is deserved.
And...when we try to wrap our minds around what our Lord has redeemed us from--an eternity without God--the reality is that the blackest depression, the blackest night of the soul, is not even the tip of the iceberg compared to the suffering we would endure for an eternity without Him. So, yes, for my sin, all my suffering is deserved, and so much more.
But, thank God, He endured the cross and paid the price. So, while suffering here on earth is inevitable, I do not have to pay the price for my sin. No matter how I suffered here on earth, I could still never atone for all my sin. I do not need to try. Just as I asked Him to redeem me from sin, I can freely ask Him to calm the storm.
And, whatever the storms i endure here on earth, whether He sends calm sooner, or later...i can know that no waves can swallow my ship.
I could not read much when I opened my Bible. The words seemed to jump around the page when I tried to concentrate. A normal day of life stretched ahead of me, looking pretty daunting. I needed strength from somewhere, from Someone. I put my Bible down and instead asked for “just a word” from Him for the day. Jesus, please? A verse? A song? Something to anchor my mind to, in the storm?
“Peace, be still.”
It is a line of an old song we sing from time to time, here at our house. The song is titled, “Master, the Tempest is Raging.” It comes from the story of Jesus calming the storm; the account of it is in the 8th chapters of the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
“And when He was entered into a ship, his disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep. And his disciples came to Him, and awoke him, saying, “Lord, save us; we perish.” And He saith unto them, “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
Matthew 8:23-27
The tempest is raging, and it is beyond tiring. A weariness of the mind and heart, for lack of a better description. But what manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him? He alone can calm this storm.
“Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o’er-shadowed with blackness,
No shelter or help is nigh;
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep,
When each moment so madly is threat’ning
A grave in the angry deep?
The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will,
Peace, be still! Peace, be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be,
No water can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace be still! Peace be still!
They all shall sweetly obey Thy will,
Peace, peace, be still!”
-Mary A. Baker
No storm, no waves, can swallow this ship, where lies the Master of ocean, and earth, and skies. And I realize that, sometimes, when the wind and the waves are high, I don’t ask Him to calm my storm. In the back of my mind, something says I deserve it...by virtue of the weakness that causes me to suffer it, maybe. There is something about the blackness of depression that envelops the soul and whispers that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there should be no relief of pain, no calming of the storm. That the one who suffers it is so innately flawed that whatever he or she may suffer at the hands of this, is only a bit of what is deserved.
And...when we try to wrap our minds around what our Lord has redeemed us from--an eternity without God--the reality is that the blackest depression, the blackest night of the soul, is not even the tip of the iceberg compared to the suffering we would endure for an eternity without Him. So, yes, for my sin, all my suffering is deserved, and so much more.
But, thank God, He endured the cross and paid the price. So, while suffering here on earth is inevitable, I do not have to pay the price for my sin. No matter how I suffered here on earth, I could still never atone for all my sin. I do not need to try. Just as I asked Him to redeem me from sin, I can freely ask Him to calm the storm.
And, whatever the storms i endure here on earth, whether He sends calm sooner, or later...i can know that no waves can swallow my ship.
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