essays 276-

1. #282Reflecting Facets of His Image
2. #281 Black Screen
3. #280 Ever Seeking
4. #279I Appreciate the way You….
5. # 278 Worms on my Toothbrush
6. # 277 Clay-Footed Messengers
7. #276 Proud, Saddened, and Outraged

Reflecting Facets of His Image

 I was thinking this morning how God seems to reveal part of His character both to us and through us by use of our gifts and talents. To one person, God is the perfect mathematician or scientist. To another, He is an unmatched artist, musician, or poet.  He is a God of details and yet also, a God of the "big picture". We individuals can only reflect facets of His character, but what an honor that is!  Whether we love numbers, or words, or animals, or plants or dusty stones, whether we love listening to people or talking with people or healing people, whether we love company or solitude, we can reflect part of God's image.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights. Use that gift. I like to think that we will be our own unique selves (only sinless) throughout the millennial reign and in the eternal kingdom. Appreciate the insights God has given you. Neither envy or disparage others' gifts. "Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men." I love to see the way God works through His children.

 Lori Fiechter,  oct. 2002 

Here are some thoughts I had on light and darkness on this gloomy, rainy, gray November day in Indiana.

 Black Screen

 We had a conflict with a video driver on our computer. Although everything was running, the screen was black. We couldn't see to click on programs, or to type, or to do anything. We couldn't even see to fix the problem. (Had to go into safe mode to do that.) I thought of how many people live in spiritual darkness, wondering if life has any meaning at all, wondering if this world is all there is. Or perhaps, trying to stay so busy that there is no time for wondering, no time for pondering.

  I thought about the images of light and dark in the Bible. They start from the very beginning in Genesis 1
"and darkness was upon the face of the deep...And God said, Let there be light..."
all the way to Revelation 22
"And there shall be no light there.for the Lord God giveth them light..."

 The struggle for men's souls pits the power of death and darkness against the power of life and light. Thank God that we know who wins. But we each have to choose sides. Everyone has to choose sides, if only by default. (Not choosing is a choice in itself.)

 God sent out His truth and Light (Psalm 43:3) in the Old Testament and even more clearly in the person of Jesus Christ. In His light, we see light (Psalm 36:9). And yet, so many choose darkness over light, choose bitter over sweet. Why? Because (in our natural, carnal state) our deeds are evil (John 3:19)  our hearts are darkened (Romans 1:21), and our minds are blinded by the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4)

 Why is it so difficult to realize that we are sitting in the dark, in the dirt, in our own sins? Why is it so hard to call out to God for grace and mercy and light? We can't redecorate our mucky, filthy hog lots by adding pretty curtains and lighting a few scented candles. We need a new home. We need a new heart. We need to realize that life and light come from Jesus, that our hope comes in trusting in His blood to take away our sins. We cannot save ourselves.

When the light of the gospel is no longer veiled or hidden, it can shine in our hearts and then we can see. We can see "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Cor. 4:6) Think of that! We can see light in the face of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. And then, when we have turned away from darkness and turned to faith in Him, we can be called the children of light, the sons of light.  We can put on the "armor of light" (Romans 13:12) and go out and shine.  (Think of how very shiny armor is in the bright sunlight.) But we'll never shine by our own self-generated light; our own light is far too dim. We can shine only as reflections of His light. We are not suns, but moons. We can shine like Moses, shine like Stephen; we will shine as the stars do for ever and ever (see Daniel 12:3 to see for whom this promise is given).

 "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. "(John 1:5)  
There are a lot of people who are staring needlessly at black screens, when light is available. Maybe they'll see that you have light.

Shine. Shine and pray that the scales may be lifted from their eyes and they can see the truth. That is, that they may see and trust in the Truth Himself. Shine. Go ahead, shine!

 lori fiechter
11-5-02

#280 Ever Seeking

I have noticed a disturbing trend in today’s culture. It is popular today to be a “seeker” as long as you are not really trying to find anything more than a nebulous, feel-good spirituality.  Spirituality is in vogue, but it is more highbrow recreation than a discipline that can be applied to the real problems and questions of life. It is fine to be a seeker,
but it is not politically correct to find something solid, like absolute truth.

 A popular actress stated in a recent magazine that her Catholic upbringing didn’t work for her and so she became a “seeker”, stating, “I love the word seeker because it’s what it says—that I have no answers; I’m always in the questioning mode.” She goes on to talk about enlightenment and meditation.

 Now, there is nothing wrong with seeking; the Bible commends seekers; that is, those who seek after God and His kingdom, those who seek good instead of evil, those who seek peace and pursue it.  On the other hand, we are not to seek our own glory, or to seek great things for ourselves. And to seek just for the sake of seeking? It reminds me of II Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

 "Seeking just to seek" makes no sense in the natural sense of the word. If you have lost your wallet, you seek it with a purpose: to find it again. You don’t revel in the process of seeking. Do we praise someone for wandering aimlessly—for weeks--around a city instead of asking for and then following directions to a certain address?  But now, many people are seeking just to seek. They knock, without expecting or even desiring anyone to open to them. I suspect that if God would open the door, they would shut it in His face.  What are they afraid of finding?

 I read another article by a man praising a certain movie because it didn’t pretend to have any answers to life’s big questions. Questions are in, answers are out. The answer to the meaning of existence is, curiosity itself. I’m a curious sort of person (both definitions apply here) but curiosity elevated to the position of “The Meaning of Life”? I don’t think so.  Yes, we’ve been given inquisitive minds. God has put that “seeking” mechanism inside us so that we will seek Him--so that we will seek Him and find Him.  We are not to worship seeking itself; it is merely the means to an end. But we do not live in an age that really wants answers. If we know the truth, we have to either accept or reject it, along with the consequences of our choice.  How much easier to simply pretend to seek truth, and then to run in the opposite direction if it gets uncomfortably close?

 There is a thing called Truth;   it is solid and absolute. Yes, our life is a vapor, but our God is a rock. The truth that sets us free is Jesus Christ Himself.   His path is the true path; His life is the true life.  And He is not far from any of us. He is actively seeking us so that we might find Him.

 Men are seeking; that is good. Now, how can we encourage them to seek past their seeking, to seek the true God, the Creator, Savior, and coming Judge? It is not a matter of curiosity, it is a matter of eternal life or death.

	But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. --Deut. 4:29
	Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: --Matthew 7:7
	That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: --Acts 17:27

Lori Fiechter
March 27, 2002

 

I thought of this when a cashier told me the other day, "My boss gave me a compliment—it nearly bowled me over. He said I was really cheerful today. Compliments don’t come easy around here." No, encouragement is a rare commodity indeed. That is why we shouldn’t wait for encouragment to come our way. We need to spread it around ourselves.

#279 I Appreciate the way You….

We say "Thank you" quite easily as a mere formality: to the server who brings our food, or the cashier who gives us change. Those "Thank-you’s" are fine, as all good manners are, but there are thank-you’s that would really make a difference. Start a conversation by saying, "Do you know what I appreciate about you? I appreciate the way you…" (or write a note along the same lines) Believe me, you’ll have the listener’s full attention! Look for those who have been good to you or good examples to you and thank them personally. Be specific!

Thank those who listened to you without judgment or advice;
Those who smiled a welcome and made eye contact when the whole world ignored you;
Those who treated you with dignity and respect no matter how you looked.
Those who stood by you when you stumbled;
Those who freely forgave.
Those who didn’t overreact to your bad mood;
Those who always gave you the benefit of the doubt, and never, never gave up on you.
Those who encouraged you,
who lifted your spirit, falling like rain on your parched soul;
Those who bore their own crosses graciously, without complaint or bitterness.
Those who spoke the truth—lovingly—and lived it as well.
Those who willingly helped;
Those who smoothed the rough places.
Those on the front lines of the battle,
Those who bustled in the background;
Those—who were our mentors and our teachers,
whether they ever taught a class.

Lori Fiechter, November 6, 2001

No, I am not making this up; I wish that I were.

# 278 Worms on my Toothbrush

Don’t read this at breakfast. And I do hope you’ve already brushed your teeth. You may want to throw your toothbrush in the dishwasher (as I did) or the wastebasket afterwards.

I was brushing my teeth last night before bed. I wiped off a bit of toothpaste from my thumb when the "bit of toothpaste" started to crawl. From my experience, toothpaste does not usually crawl down one’s thumb on its own power. I put my glasses back on and took a closer look. Not toothpaste. It was a minute maggot-colored caterpillar. Small and thin and creepy crawly. Then I picked up my toothbrush again and inspected the "piece of chicken" I’d brushed out. Not chicken. Another tiny wormy thing. I’m not prone to nausea, but I am prone to bad dreams. I cleaned up around my sink, threw away the olive oil I used on my face, and wiped all around the faucet but I never found another worm. I was afraid to look in my bathroom this morning, imagining that I missed one of the creatures (hiding in my hairbrush, perhaps, or under the lid of my cold cream jar) and that they had multiplied to the point of infestation. I still cannot find any more worms, but I am decidedly uneasy about the whole situation. This is my bathroom, after all!

Then I started wondering if God was trying to tell me something in this. A situation so bizarre screams out "analogy" to me. There seemed to be some irony in the fact that I would clean my teeth with the symbols of death and decay clinging to the bristles. I checked out the Blue-letter Bible concordance on the Internet. Worms get pretty bad press in the Bible: manna breeding worms in Exodus, Job lamenting that his flesh was clothed with worms, Jonah complaining of the worm that ate his shade-giving vine, Herod eaten of worms in Acts, and that oft repeated phrase describing hell: where the worm dieth not.

There are worse things than brushing my teeth with worms. I could be trying to clean up my own soul with the filthy rags of my own righteousness. More nasty imagery. What makes us clean—Jesus’blood—is the same thing that keeps us clean. I couldn’t clean up my life before I was converted and I can’t straighten it up on my own now. My human nature has not changed; it is only to the extent that I permit the Holy Spirit to have control of my life that I can be clean in any sense of the word. The Spirit gives life; the flesh is full of death and corruption. When I listen to my flesh instead of the Spirit, it is just like brushing my teeth with worms. Think about that the next time you explain to God why you want "my own way" just this time.

Lori Fiechter
October 29, 2001
p.s. I disinfected my sink and counter with rubbing alcohol. A fly must have laid eggs in that spilled olive oil.

# 277 Clay-Footed Messengers

What would you think of an author on long-term marriage who had been divorced--twice? An exercise guru who was a veritable couch potato himself? A best-selling cookbook author who could barely boil milk (no, you shouldn't boil milk; only scald it)? An author who claims to know the secret of a happy Christian life whose own life seemed anything but victorious? Would you avoid those books from now on and think, "Physician, heal thyself"?

I recently read and re-read a book by Hannah Whitall Smith entitled, A Christian's Secret of a Happy Christian Life. The title intrigued me. Is there a veritable secret to happiness, some neat formula to follow? I heavily underlined the book, especially the chapters on temptation and service. I still think the book has much good in it but I am, if not disillusioned, at least more realistic about what any book, any author other than God Himself can deliver. "Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar".

I picked up Philip Yancey's newest book at the library this week: Reaching for the Invisible God. In one of the first chapters, called "Born Again Breech" I read this paragraph:

"Hannah Whitall Smith, whose book The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life (note: actual title is "A Christian's", not "The Christian's", which sounds more definitive) beckoned millions of Victorian-era readers upward to a higher plane of living, never found much happiness herself. Her husband, a famous evangelist, concocted a new formula for ecstasy that satisfied spiritual longings with sexual thrills. Later, he drifted into a pattern of serial adultery and denied the faith. Hannah stayed with him, growing disillusioned and embittered. None of her children kept the faith. One daughter married the philosopher Bertrand Russell and became an atheist like her husband. Russell's own depictions of his mother-in-law describe anything but a victorious woman."

That paragraph stunned me. I realized that I had, once again, put another human on too high a pedestal. I wondered if Mrs. Smith would have written an entirely different book at the end of her life, or if she still believed the principles even if they did not seem to work in her life. On the other hand, we know that God can and does use imperfect people to carry out His perfect will. He is limited to using imperfect people; the other sort does not exist this side of heaven.

Yancey clarifies, "I mention these failures not to dampen anyone's faith but to add a dose of realism to spiritual propaganda that promises more than it can deliver...Grace, like water, flows to the lowest part. We in the church have humility and contrition to offer the world, not a formula for success. Almost alone in our success-oriented society, we admit that we have failed, are failing, and always will fail...That is why we turn to God so desperately."

"C.S. Lewis wrote, 'The Christian has a great advantage over other men, not by being less fallen than they, nor less doomed to live in a fallen world, but by knowing that he is a fallen man in a fallen world."

I heard once that it is not a Christian's failings that turn off non-Christians, but rather his dishonesty. We heard last night in church about Ananias’s and Sapphira's dishonesty in lying to the Holy Spirit. As the minister put it, "They kept back part but acted as if they were giving all...Are we honest before God or do we play games with Him?"

God desires truth in our inward parts (Psalm 51:6) May our desire be always to live in truth and walk honestly before God and man. When others fail, may our first impulse be to help pick them up, not to judge or criticize. (Galatians 6:1,2) And if we fail, to recognize that perhaps we were starting to think that we were something, when we were not. (Galatians 6:3)

Humility and contrition, not a formula for success.
Honesty, not putting on a happy face.
I think I'm back at square one again, but at least I'm on the right road.

lori fiechter
July 12, 2001

#276 Proud, Saddened, and Outraged

"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:19

My sister recently returned to college after twenty years. Her goal is to become a Spanish teacher. I had the same goal twenty-two years ago, but never finished school. When she told me of her experience with her Spanish Lit teacher, I felt very old and outdated indeed.

My sister is at a local branch campus of Purdue University. I took Spanish Lit at the main Purdue campus. I had a great teacher and an interesting textbook, mostly on classic Spanish Literature and poetry. There was much positive Biblical symbolism; the Spanish, after all, were known for being devout Catholics. Now, it seems to be popular to depict nuns as immoral, to speak blasphemous things of Christ, to denigrate the sacred. I hope that my sister’s experience is more exception than rule. This is what happened:

Instead of a term paper, the Spanish professor required the class to work in pairs and act out a play in Spanish. There were several to chose from. My sister glanced through the plays and chose one. Later, she realized that the play had the Spanish equivalent of some common vile English profanities, besides taking God’s name in vain. There wasn’t time to pick another play, so when she and her Christian friend acted out the play, they just beeped a bicycle horn in place of the offending words, explaining first that to say these words went against their Christian principles.

The professor was livid. He screamed, "Censorship!" and verbally berated the two for five minutes, until my sister finally said, "We get your point, that’s enough already". Two other students tried to stick up for the women. It did no good. The professor said, "You’re acting—just say the words!" Then he picked apart their presentation. I have no idea how bad a grade they will get. My sister talked to her advisor at college, who told her that the professor was in the right, they should have agreed to say the Spanish profanities, although he shouldn’t have yelled at them. My sister wrote a letter to the professor and to the head of the department. Pray that those letters might do some good. She has to have this same professor again next fall.

I am proud of my sister and her friend for taking a stand for Christ. I am saddened that Spanish lit is not what it was when I took the course. And I am outraged that a school that yells "tolerance" as a blanket for every immoral piece of art or literature has so little tolerance for the religious principles of its own students. Censorship because one refuses to take the name of her Lord in vain? Censorship? It seems that nothing, no matter how immoral or vile, is to be censored. Except, of course, for Christian ideas and ideals.

Today is the National day of prayer in the United States. Perhaps this would be a good day to remember all the Christian students at godless universities. Pray that their faith will stand firm; that they will be good witnesses and examples to others. Pray that God can change the hearts of these professors who scoff at purity, holiness, and godliness. Pray that religious freedom might still be a reality, even in the strongholds of Satan.