essays 77-85

1. #85 Why not later?
2. #84 The Black Sheep's Brother
3. #83  If I only had a brain....like Adam!
4. #82 Half or Whole?
5. #81 Behind the Mask
6. #80 Keeping your balance
7. #79 Where the carpets never fade
8. #78 What think ye of Christ?
9. #77 Hard as...fingernails?

"...behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." --II Cor. 6:2 (quoted from Isaiah 49:8)

#84 The Black Sheep's Brother

Do you know any "black sheep"? Do you know their brothers?

"A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation...and might even be more difficult to save" (from "Mere Christianity")

I was thinking about the parable of the Prodigal Son. Both brothers were in need of salvation; both needed to repent. Which one first noticed his need?

When someone really messes up his life; when he is sunk so low that the very bottom is above him, then it is perhaps not too hard for him to realize his spiritual sickness. He might even have the sense to see a "doctor". But what of those who sense no personal need for the Great Physician? They feel OK and look healthy enough. How can "nice people" be made to see that they are just as lost as the prodigals? How can we help busy, comfortable people to stop and think about their souls? It is disturbing to read Jesus's words: "...Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and harlots go into the Kingdom of God before you" (Matt. 21:31)

I know far too many nice, but unsaved persons. I'm sure you can think of some yourself.

Pray for one of them today!

#83  If I only had a brain....like Adam!

How much more would you be capable of if your brain was fresh from the Creator's hand--and you had 930 years in which to accumulate knowledge? Think of what a breeze those finals could be if you had a photographic memory. (And how much more easily you could memorize Scripture!) I get really irritated when I read nonsense about how man is little more than a glorified ape; how we evolved from grunts to intelligent speech, from primitive cave-dwellers to modern man. No, man was created perfect; he degenerated after the fall!

I was thinking about this when I read a story to my boys about Wolfgang Mozart. He was a child prodigy; a musical genius. But...what if that was how man was originally created? What if every time you see true genius, you are looking at something closer to what Adam and Eve must have been like?

But brains are not enough. Those wicked people that filled the earth with violence in Noah's time probably had brains closer to the original than we do. But the earth was no Utopia! Sin ruled their lives; "every imagination of [their] heart[s] was only evil continually." That is what happens when knowledge is not used according to God's purposes. You've heard the saying "the bigger they are, the harder they fall"?

C.S. Lewis wrote something similar:

So maybe I ought to be content with my post-Eden brain.

Ah, but if only I had....
a heart like David,
patience like Job,
humility like Moses,
faith like Abraham,
fortitude like Daniel,
boldness like Paul......(sigh)

"be content with such things as ye have" (Heb. 13:5)
Lori Fiechter, fall of '97

#82 Half or Whole?

Half of some things is not worth anything at all: of what value is half a shirt, half a car, half a baby (remember Solomon) or half a haircut? (Although I've seen some young boys sporting such a style; it looks like the barber ran off before he could finish the job.)

I was thinking about the verse "and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col 3:23) Do we really, truly give our "best" to the Lord? Do we really "do" our best for Him? When the Israelites brought gifts and sacrifices to the priests, they were to offer the very best that they had. (See Leviticus 22:18-24) No imperfect animal was to be offered; nothing with any sort of blemish or spot (since they were types of the Unspotted Lamb to come!) Look at how upset God was when the people forgot this--in Malachi chapter 1. "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person?" Are we any better than they? What kind of sacrifices do we offer?

As ambassadors and representatives of the King, we need to strive for excellence in whatever He has given us to do--and not only in things we consider religious service, but in our daily life as well. I remember the story I heard as a child about a famous sculptor whose work was to sit in a niche in the wall. The back of his sculpture would never be seen--once placed there--but this sculptor labored just as hard on it as he did the front. When an observer noticed this and asked why, the sculptor replied, "no, no one else will see it but I will know--and so will God".

How diligent, how dependable, how honest do we have to be? (Notice, I'm not giving any excuse here to workaholism!) Remember who your real Employer is! Let's not cut corners on any work done for Him.

Let there be no half-hearted efforts for the One Who gave His all!

#81 Behind the Mask

Mahatma Gandi was once asked what the greatest obstacle was to Christianity in India. His one word reply? "Christians." You've heard it as well; the #1 excuse unbelievers use for not attending church is "it is full of hypocrites". Hypocrites were actors in the ancient Greek world. They held up masks to their faces to show different emotions. What do people see when they look at you--a mask, or the real thing?

Hypocrites, deep down, think themselves better than they really are. They are also fond of "judging other men's servants" (see Romans 14:4) so that they can look better in their own eyes. They are quick to pounce on the mistakes and foibles of others but oblivious to their own shortcomings.

So what is the antidote to hypocrisy? Perhaps a healthy realization of the extent of God's Grace in your own life. ("What hast thou that thou didst not receive?..." I Cor 5:7) All that you have you owe to His beneficence; His grace and mercy. That should humble you. But if that is not enough, try comparing yourself--not to other fallen human beings but to the perfect example of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do you measure up against that standard?

What does it matter if "So & So" sinned here or sinned there? What is that to you? Serve God! The sins that are not readily apparent to others are probably the most insidious and deadly--and hateful to God; namely those of Pride. You think you are standing but you are on the edge of a dangerous precipice! (I Cor. 10:12)

If we eradicate all hypocrisy in the church overnight we may not see an immediate swelling in the ranks of Christianity-- but at least we will have knocked out the unbelievers' "best excuse" from under them. And perhaps they'll look at us and think "I'd like to have that kind of hope and joy in my own life." It is worth a try anyway, right?

Lori Fiechter, fall of '97

#80 Keeping your balance

There is a school playground nearby which has a low sort of balance beam to walk across. It consists of a round rod, about 3" in diameter, maybe 10 ft. long and raised off the ground about 4". Because the rod is round instead of flat on top, it is very difficult to walk across without losing one's balance. My sons (6, 9 and 9) often tried and kept falling off. The last time we went there, my youngest son asked his daddy to hold his hand for balance. Of course, he walked across easily then. His brothers tried the same thing and succeeded as well. By simply holding on to their father's hand, they could keep from falling.

Sometimes we are shown a path to walk on that seems much too difficult for us. We balk, sulk, protest and make excuses ( I'm speaking primarily for myself here.) What we are forgetting is that our Lord offers His hand to steady us and guide us. If we but ask, He will help us to keep our balance; He will keep us from stumbling.

Other times, it is our lives that are out of kilter and out of balance. We have a lopsided feeling; the feeling that something is definitely wrong! Here again, our Lord can set our feet on a straight path once more. It is only when we are trying to "go it alone" or to do things our own way (and in our time, not His) that we get into trouble. Don't refuse or shake free His guiding hand!

stay in the center of His will and you will be in the center of the path!

#79 Where the carpets never fade

I was brought up short by a verse that I read this morning:

"Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue forever, and their dwelling places to all generations..."-- Psalm 49:11

My Dad sold his house and much of his personal property at auction this past Saturday. It was depressing for me to walk through those empty rooms with their faded carpets; to see the bare walls--still studded with nails where pictures once were hanging. It was not longer a home but just an empty shell. I remember when the house was newly built; how much it had faded in less than 30 years!

"This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through..." I had to think of that new home being prepared for me right now (by the Master Builder and decorator and landscaper Himself!) This is a home where the carpets never fade, the wallpaper never peels, and the color scheme never becomes outdated. The windows will never leak, the floors won't squeak or sag, and the walls will not get mildewed. This is my real home.

I wonder if that is not one reason that God put the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics into place after the Fall of Adam: as an ever-present reminder that this world is fading away; that things here will continue to rust and fade? --So that we do not set our hearts too much on the "here and now" but that we realize that we have here "no continuing city but we seek one to come" "a city whose builder and maker is God". (Hebrews 13:14 and 11:10)

I guess it does not hurt to be reminded of that!

Looking for that city...while still here among the shadows
Lori fiechter, fall of '97

#78 What think ye of Christ?

Jesus asked the question first. The Pharisees were trying to trap Him once last time (they were certainly persistent). After He had answered all of their trick questions, He asked His own question of them: "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?" The Pharisees envisioned a solely human Messiah and so responded automatically, "the son of David" but Jesus made it plain that He was more than that: "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" I like the editorial insert after that: "And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions." (Matthew 22:46)

So, who is Jesus? "Who do men say that I am?" He is not a religious leader or a philosopher although some consider Him that. Who is He, indeed? That reminds me of C. S. Lewis' response to those who would call Jesus Christ a "great teacher". This is the quote: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic...or else he would be the Devil of Hell." He has not left us the option of merely considering Him a "great teacher". He made it clear as well that He is the only way (John 14:6), not merely one way of many.

But before you start feeling smug because you believe the right thing about who Christ is, consider the next question. Jesus was also asked in Matthew 22:36 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus quoted from Deut. 6:4,5 (what the Jews call the "Sh'ma")

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

How do we measure up to that? Our daily walk demonstrates what we really "think of Christ" in that respect. It shows in what sort of esteem we really hold Him. For example, do you relate to Christ as an adult child might who says he loves his parents but has as little contact with them as possible (and that contact is mechanical and perfunctory)?

Or perhaps your relationship with Christ is more like that of an all too typical American teenager who is ashamed to be seen with his parents in front of his peers. "Uh, don't embarrass me Lord--would you mind walking a few steps behind me and pretending you don't know me?" That same teenager will not hesitate to go to his father to get him out of a scrape--or perhaps to ask for the car keys. Jesus Christ is not for "emergency use only"!

I heard a speaker put it this way: If you were in a crowded restaurant, sitting with your friends or business associates, and Jesus Christ walked in , what would you do? Would you turn your back to Him and hope that He didn't notice you--like someone you are ashamed of, or perhaps a creditor to whom you haven't been paying your bills on time? Or would you run up to Him and say, "Lord, I am so glad to see you! Would you join us at our table?"

"What think ye of Christ?" One of our ministers said that when he hears someone use the Lord's name in vain, he responds "What did you just say? That is my friend." Would you stick up for your "friend that sticketh closer than a brother"--even if it meant ridicule?

"What think ye of Christ?" And what does He think of you? Now that can be a frightening thought! Has your fellowship with Him lately been strained or neglected? Listen to that knock on your Laodicean door--Let Him back inside! Jesus Christ is not to be an occasional guest in your heart but a permanent resident.

"don't be a stranger" to Him!

Lori fiechter, fall of '97

#77 Hard as...fingernails?

I always warn my sons to not touch hot pans when I take them out of the oven. Yesterday, my 6-year-old used his fingernail to touch the side of a hot sheet cake pan. "Why doesn't it hurt, mommy?" he asked. I explained that there are no nerve endings in fingernails; that is why it doesn't hurt to trim them. Fingernails are hard and can't feel anything themselves. Hmmm...I wonder if that is what God had in mind when He warned against being hardened?

Being hard and calloused is one way to escape feeling pain--your own pain or that of others. But the side effects are not worth it. Is there a worse feeling than that of being dead and cold on the inside? My heart was like that once....before I became a believer. I never want to feel like that again! Even believers can become hardened, though. Hardened to the Spirit (grieving Him) by repeatedly not listening to His still small voice; hardened to the pain of others. That is not how we are called to be! Is there an area of your life that is growing calloused? Ask God to send His Holy Spirit to soften you now! There is grave danger in being "past feeling".(Eph. 4:19)

Think of those in the Bible with hard hearts:

Pharoah (but his daughter had a soft compassionate heart toward the baby Moses!)

Nebuchadnezzar (just before he had that "beastly" experience in Daniel 4)

the Israelites in the wilderness (time and time again)

And then, think of the father of the Prodigal Son--how he saw his son afar off and was moved with compassion toward him. That is what our heavenly Father is like. And exactly

what Jesus is like as well. He was often moved with compassion toward the crowds that came to him for healing. And he was "touched with the feeling of our infirmities". He is our perfect example.

As good soldiers, endure hardness--but keep a tender heart.