The suffering of love.

It's a couple of years now since my younger daughter informed my wife and me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Even if you have never been in such a situation, I am sure that most folk can at least begin to imagine the emotional turmoil that followed that announcement!  Then there were many months of tests, an operation, chemo-therapy, and radium therapy.

We managed to be with our daughter for all but one of the chemo-therapy sessions. They were the ones that she found most distressing (not, I believe, an uncommon reaction!).  How often I wanted to be able to take her place - to suffer what she was suffering, on her behalf (with her healing as the eventual outcome!).

This, of course, is the very nature of love.  But if God is love (I John 4:8, 16), and if it is the nature of love to take upon itself the burdens and sorrows of the ones it loves, then we would expect that His love would become suffering as it came into contact with the sins, and sinfulness, of the ones it loves. This is precisely what happened at the moment of creation.  As Almighty God, the Creator, prepared to create a universe, with a humanity that He knew would tear itself away from His loving grip, a Cross appeared.  It simply had to be!  If that had not taken place, then the universe would have been one giant disappointment!  

In my teaching career, I endeavoured to abide by the rules that I applied to my pupils. I dressed appropriately; I didn't leave the classroom in the middle of a class in order to go to the toilet; I ensured that I was in my classroom to welcome every class that came to me.  It is an amazing thought, but God obeys every rule that He has set for us!  This applies, especially, to the law of self-giving; of self-sacrifice; of self-surrender.  In Rev.7:17, John records: "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water; ..."  The Lamb - that same Lamb that was "... slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev.13:8) - will be their Shepherd!  That means that God rules, not only with absolute power, but also in absolute goodness.  He rules, not only from a heavenly throne, but also from a Cross!

All that He asks of us is, therefore, founded on what He does, more than on what He commands.  He not only demands love - He demonstrates it.  What He asks of us is not founded on some divine whim, but on His very character.  He not only shows me what I should do; He also shows me how to do it!

What an amazing God!  He is truly worthy of all of the love, and devotion of which feeble human hearts are capable.  And this is really just the preparation time!  John Newton got it absolutely correct:

"Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought."

Maran'atha.  Come, Lord Jesus.

So, I realise that I am a sinner!

Having completed the mini-series on The Ten Words (Commandments) - which, by the way, may well provide the basis for my next book! - I want to add one additional thought.  It begins with a question: "What is the purpose of the Ten Words?"   There are those who seem to assume that that purpose is to make life difficult for we poor human beings!   So many 'You shall not .."s  Why can't I just be allowed to live my life without having all of those restrictions placed upon me?  

Well, of course, we know that rules are actually necessary in everyday life.  In the UK, where one drives on the left-hand-side of the road, it would be a very foolish person who insisted on the freedom to drive along one of the motorways on the right-hand-side!  Likewise, in a game of, e.g., hockey, there are rules.  If 22 people went on to the pitch, and just started hitting a ball (and one another?!) around with wooden sticks, that would not be a game, it would be a disaster!  In something less 'physical', such as music, each note - minim, crotchet, quaver, etc. - has a specified length, as do the 'rests'.  There are also different keys that use specific notes for the piece of music being played.  However, if every musician in an orchestra was allowed to decide for him/herself the length of the notes, and the pitch of each note, what ensued would not be harmonious music, but a terrible, discordant, mess!

So with life.  We need rules!   These Ten Words are among the most basic that we know, and most law-codes are based upon them, or on something very similar.  They make perfectly clear that, as the apostle Paul wrote to some fellow-disciples of Jesus: "... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Rom 3:23).  A modern evangelist, Ray Comfort, makes this clear by the simple questions that he asks people with whom he speaks - and he speaks with a lot of people!  He makes it perfectly clear that each and every one of us (that includes you - and me!) has sinned against Almighty God.

"Have you ever lied (even once)? Ever stolen (anything)? Jesus said, "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery already with her in his heart." Ever looked with lust? If you have said "Yes" to these three questions, by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart; and we've only looked at three of the Ten Commandments. How will you do on Judgment Day? Will you be innocent or guilty? You know that you will be guilty, and end up in Hell. That's not God's will. He provided a way for you to be forgiven. He sent His Son to take your punishment: 'God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.' Jesus then rose from the dead and defeated death. God promises everlasting life to all those who confess and forsake their sins, and trust in Jesus Christ." (from "101 of the World's Funniest One Liners").

So the purpose of The Ten Words is, as Paul further explains, to be our pedagogue unto the Lord, Jesus the Christ. In Roman society, the 'paidagoogos' (pedagogue) was not the schoolmaster, but the servant who had the care of the children to lead them to and bring them back from school, and had the care of them out of school hours. Thus the whole of the Jewish Law did not lead to a living, saving knowledge of Almighty God.  Rather, it showed us up for what we are - sinners who deserve nothing other than His wrath, judgement, and eternal punishment! (see Gal. 3:24).

That, of course, as Ray Comfort explains, is why we need Jesus.  Not that our lives may be, somehow, 'happier'.  Not that we may have better health; more wealth; an easier time.  We need Him because we are sinners, and He is our only hope - the only way of salvation.  "... there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

Have you confessed your sins, and your sinfulness?   Have you come to Him for salvation?  His arms were outstretched on the cross that He might embrace all of humankind.  Will you allow Him to embrace you?  Will you?

If you think that I may be of any assistance, in a more personal way, then please feel free to contact me via the e-mail address at the top of the page.  Alternatively, you may wish to check out some of the relevant links, further down, on the right-hand-side.  Whatever you do, please do not leave the question of your salvation hanging.  Your eternal destiny depends upon it!

Rules!

Earlier, I came across some 'rules', allegedly given by Bill Gates (of Microsoft fame) to a class of school pupils. However, a check on Snopes.com, suggested that this is untrue - and also provides an additional three.  The full fourteen are here reproduced.   They make interesting reading! (I have edited the 'Americanisms'!)

Rule No. 1:   Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teenager uses the phrase "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realised Rule No. 1. 

Rule No. 2:   The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1) 

Rule No. 3:   Sorry, you won't make £40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label. 

Rule No. 4:   If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it. 

Rule No. 5:   Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend. 

Rule No. 6:   It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your penny. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer. 

Rule No. 7:   Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the wardrobe in your bedroom. 

Rule No. 8:   Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and Dux has been scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4.) 

Rule No. 9:   Life is not divided into terms, and you don't get summers off. Not even an Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realisation. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.) 

Rule No. 10:   Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston. 

Rule No. 11:   Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12:   Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts. 

Rule No. 13:   You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately. 

Rule No. 14:   Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realise how wonderful it was to be a child. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.

10 Rules for a Happy Day

TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK:
If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind... I will not respond in the same way.

TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY":
If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbour, co-worker, or stranger.

TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY:
I will carefully choose and guard my words, being certain that I do not spread gossip.

TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE:
I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

TODAY I WILL FORGIVE:
I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way.

TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT SECRETLY:
I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED:
I will practice the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as I would have them do unto me" (see Luke 6:31) - with everyone I encounter.

TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE WHO IS DISCOURAGED:
My smile, my words, my expression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling with life.

TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY:
I will eat less; I will eat only healthy food. I will thank God for my body.

TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY:
I will spend a little more time in prayer today: I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational today; I will find a quiet place (at some point during this day) and listen to God's voice!!!

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and hope of salvation as a helmet."
(I Thessalonians 5:8)