If you’re parenting an ungrateful child—most of them are during some portion of their years—just be patient. I thought maybe the thanks would never come at all.
Sometimes it takes a while.
MaryMartha
Art: http:www.sxc.hu/
Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patience. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
It Takes a While
If you’re parenting an ungrateful child—most of them are during some portion of their years—just be patient. I thought maybe the thanks would never come at all.
Sometimes it takes a while.
MaryMartha
Art: http:www.sxc.hu/
Monday, February 8, 2010
Spinning Our Wheels
Fresh snow fell during the night, and I was awakened by the sound of a roaring motor on the street near my window. I could hear the whine of spinning wheels, and I knew someone was stuck in the ice and snow. There were only a few inches of snow, not enough to severely "high 
center" a vehicle, so I decided the person didn't know how to drive in snow or was just too impatient to apply what he/she knew.
Easy does it when you're trying to get unstuck from snow. You have to resist the temptation to give it the gas and try to blast your way through; the hot, spinning tires just make the snow more icy and slippery. Keeping the wheels straight and moving back and forth, back and forth, even just a few inches at a time, usually builds up enough momentum that eventually you can drive out on the snow-packed runway you've created.
How often in life, when things aren't going well, we give in to the desperate feeling that if we just try harder, try harder, try harder something will happen. But sometimes we are only spinning our wheels. We are not making headway by simply repeating what we have already been doing, except with greater intensity. Especially if our attempts to get "unstuck" involve personal encounters, the others involved are likely to feel our impatience, frustration, and anger. They might even think it is directed at them, burying us still further in the troubling situation.
Easy does it. Gently move forward a tiny bit at a time. When you meet resistance but before you start "spinning your wheels," back up just a little, then try moving forward again slowly. Whether you're snowed in by snow or snowed under by the things and people you're dealing with, spinning your wheels only makes thing worse. Getting unstuck is an exercise in wisdom and restraint.
MaryMartha
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/
center" a vehicle, so I decided the person didn't know how to drive in snow or was just too impatient to apply what he/she knew.Easy does it when you're trying to get unstuck from snow. You have to resist the temptation to give it the gas and try to blast your way through; the hot, spinning tires just make the snow more icy and slippery. Keeping the wheels straight and moving back and forth, back and forth, even just a few inches at a time, usually builds up enough momentum that eventually you can drive out on the snow-packed runway you've created.
How often in life, when things aren't going well, we give in to the desperate feeling that if we just try harder, try harder, try harder something will happen. But sometimes we are only spinning our wheels. We are not making headway by simply repeating what we have already been doing, except with greater intensity. Especially if our attempts to get "unstuck" involve personal encounters, the others involved are likely to feel our impatience, frustration, and anger. They might even think it is directed at them, burying us still further in the troubling situation.
Easy does it. Gently move forward a tiny bit at a time. When you meet resistance but before you start "spinning your wheels," back up just a little, then try moving forward again slowly. Whether you're snowed in by snow or snowed under by the things and people you're dealing with, spinning your wheels only makes thing worse. Getting unstuck is an exercise in wisdom and restraint.
MaryMartha
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Trying Again
Several days ago when I powered up my computer, I could not access the Internet. I tried and tried with no success. One computer technician advises that nine times out of ten, just turning it off and back on will solve the problem, so I re-booted the system. When that didn't work, I remembered what my service provider had told me once: turn off the power to the system, wait a few minutes, and then turn the power on again. And thankfully, this worked!Now I could have tried for the rest of the day to get online by clicking again and again on the Internet icon. Finally in sheer frustration, I might have phoned tech support—a lengthy process usually—and would have been embarrassed by their first question: "Have you tried re-booting your system?" There is something about these electronic gadgets that needs to be re-set sometimes before they will work smoothly again.
From that experience, I began thinking about Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." That might be a little harsh, but it certainly does make a point! It doesn't make sense, it's foolish and it's disregarding reality to do the thing over and over again that is not working. We learned, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." And so sometimes, we do try and we try again—but we simply repeat what didn't work in the first place. Sometimes we need to stop and re-think the situation; maybe we need to "re-boot" the system before we make another attempt!
Thomas Edison, we are told, tried over a thousand times to devise a light bulb that would work; the secret of his success was that he did not try one single way a thousand times. When it became obvious that what he had done would not work, he tried something different until at last he accomplished what he had set out to do. If you're dealing with a knotty problem right now, consider whether there may be another way to approach it. Eventually, the light is going to come on!
MaryMartha
Art from www.wpclipart.com
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Things Mama Taught Me: "It Will Turn Up"
On the Futility of Stressing
Don't you just hate it when you lose something and a helpful friend or family member asks, "Well, where did you leave it?" Duh! If I knew where I'd left it, I'd go right there and retrieve it!
My mother had an alternative to frantic searching. She would calmly say, "It will turn up." "Turning up" seems to suggest that the lost object had a will of its own, and just would keep staying hidden until it finally decided to let itself be found. The truth is, she understood that frenzied rummaging around sometimes distracts us from the thoughtful consideration that might lead us to discovery. Sure enough, usually whatever I was trying to find did eventually surface, sometimes even in a place where I had already looked.
There just are not very many things in our ordinary lives that are improved by going into panic mode. Some things do require quick action: a fire, a personal threat, a close call on the road. And some things require deliberation: an impending decision, a weighty responsibility. But in none of these is panic useful. The ability to rise to a challenge or to take advantage of an opportunity does not come from fear, but from trust. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7 King James Version) Just as agitated searching may hinder rather help, so unsteady thinking may keep us from the very understanding we desire.
Few situations—regardless of how desperate they make us feel—are improved by our "going bananas." Mama knew that.
MaryMartha
Don't you just hate it when you lose something and a helpful friend or family member asks, "Well, where did you leave it?" Duh! If I knew where I'd left it, I'd go right there and retrieve it!
My mother had an alternative to frantic searching. She would calmly say, "It will turn up." "Turning up" seems to suggest that the lost object had a will of its own, and just would keep staying hidden until it finally decided to let itself be found. The truth is, she understood that frenzied rummaging around sometimes distracts us from the thoughtful consideration that might lead us to discovery. Sure enough, usually whatever I was trying to find did eventually surface, sometimes even in a place where I had already looked.
There just are not very many things in our ordinary lives that are improved by going into panic mode. Some things do require quick action: a fire, a personal threat, a close call on the road. And some things require deliberation: an impending decision, a weighty responsibility. But in none of these is panic useful. The ability to rise to a challenge or to take advantage of an opportunity does not come from fear, but from trust. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7 King James Version) Just as agitated searching may hinder rather help, so unsteady thinking may keep us from the very understanding we desire.
Few situations—regardless of how desperate they make us feel—are improved by our "going bananas." Mama knew that.
MaryMartha
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A Glass Darkly
"What is a glass darkly?" I asked my mother once when I was a child. I knew the Bible said that "now we see through a glass darkly" (I Corinthians 13:12 KJV), and I imagined that it must be something like the isinglass windows in our wood-burning stove. Through those little openings covered with thin sheets of mica, I could see an orange glow, but the flames themselves were indistinguishable. I just needed to know for sure what a darkly was if I was expected to see through it!
The words that puzzled me as I child, I now understand, and the truth remains the same. I am still able to see only a little this life's wonderments, to say nothing of the life beyond. The things I can never perceive clearly while I have my limited, earth-bound vision will some day be plain when I see "face to face."
My mother had a favorite poem, which she quoted so often that I learned it as well.
The words that puzzled me as I child, I now understand, and the truth remains the same. I am still able to see only a little this life's wonderments, to say nothing of the life beyond. The things I can never perceive clearly while I have my limited, earth-bound vision will some day be plain when I see "face to face."
My mother had a favorite poem, which she quoted so often that I learned it as well.
"With patient mind thy course of duty run:
God nothing does, nor suffers to be done,
But thou wouldst do thyself, couldst thou but see
The end of all events, as well as He."--Adam Clarke's commentary on Eccl 7:8,
where he credited a Dr. Byrom
He can be trusted!
MaryMartha
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Little by Little
The children of Israel were preparing to take over Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. It was, however, inhabited by enemy nations that would have to be defeated. God gave Moses instructions for the people. "The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you." (Deuteronomy 7:22)
Many of our personal battles, too, are not won in a day. We often wish they were; we want quick action, and quick answers to our prayers. We've become accustomed to immediacy, from the microwave in the kitchen to the red telephone on the President's desk. In reality, most things take time.
A number if years ago, a cousin and I were both enrolled in a graduate program at a university located in another city. For several semesters, we commuted the ninety miles or so together. Trying to balance jobs and motherhood and church involvement along with part-time schooling was a daunting task, and many times it looked like it couldn't be done. She reminded me often, when we were both tired and facing difficulties on every front, "It will yield to steady pressure."
Steady pressure is a very powerful force. Why does a building suddenly collapse under the weight of the snow piled on its roof for several days? How can a dental appliance correct the alignment of teeth or jaws? The snow did not suddenly become heavier; the braces didn't suddenly push harder. The roof, the teeth, yielded to steady pressure. Little by little, while not anything apparent was happening, preparation was being made for change. In our personal lives too, some things just cannot be accomplished quickly. Sometimes it is a matter of praying and then waiting patiently for the right circumstances to come around. Other times, only our consistent, determined effort will bring the results we desire.
When God aided His people to conquer Canaan, it was only "little by little." How tragic it would have been to win their battles only to be overpowered by the wild animals which lived in the land. If every difficulty of ours were to be solved immediately, who knows what dangers might lay ahead of us in subtle forms we did not expect? God's timing protects us!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Many of our personal battles, too, are not won in a day. We often wish they were; we want quick action, and quick answers to our prayers. We've become accustomed to immediacy, from the microwave in the kitchen to the red telephone on the President's desk. In reality, most things take time.
A number if years ago, a cousin and I were both enrolled in a graduate program at a university located in another city. For several semesters, we commuted the ninety miles or so together. Trying to balance jobs and motherhood and church involvement along with part-time schooling was a daunting task, and many times it looked like it couldn't be done. She reminded me often, when we were both tired and facing difficulties on every front, "It will yield to steady pressure."
Steady pressure is a very powerful force. Why does a building suddenly collapse under the weight of the snow piled on its roof for several days? How can a dental appliance correct the alignment of teeth or jaws? The snow did not suddenly become heavier; the braces didn't suddenly push harder. The roof, the teeth, yielded to steady pressure. Little by little, while not anything apparent was happening, preparation was being made for change. In our personal lives too, some things just cannot be accomplished quickly. Sometimes it is a matter of praying and then waiting patiently for the right circumstances to come around. Other times, only our consistent, determined effort will bring the results we desire.
When God aided His people to conquer Canaan, it was only "little by little." How tragic it would have been to win their battles only to be overpowered by the wild animals which lived in the land. If every difficulty of ours were to be solved immediately, who knows what dangers might lay ahead of us in subtle forms we did not expect? God's timing protects us!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Working on the Inside
I don’t see as many workmen at the construction site of the new arena as I have often seen in the past. The building’s exterior is largely completed, but there is still a lot going on inside. The project manager reported last weekend that over two hundred fifty workers are engaged in mechanical, electrical and plumbing tasks, as well as brick and stone work. Only those who are supervising the project really know what is happening in there; the rest of us merely drive by and must wait to see the results until some months from now.
God too does some of His best work very quietly, often barely visible, but tended with the utmost care. Our very persons are an example. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb . . . You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” (Psalm 139:13, 15) Spiritual birth and growth are even more miraculous! The words of a beautiful Christmas hymn speak of this inside work: “How silently, how silently the wondrous Gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
Take heart! When you don’t see much happening on the outside of your personal concern, know that there is still a lot going on where God is at work on the inside.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
God too does some of His best work very quietly, often barely visible, but tended with the utmost care. Our very persons are an example. “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb . . . You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” (Psalm 139:13, 15) Spiritual birth and growth are even more miraculous! The words of a beautiful Christmas hymn speak of this inside work: “How silently, how silently the wondrous Gift is giv’n! So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of His Heav’n. No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
Take heart! When you don’t see much happening on the outside of your personal concern, know that there is still a lot going on where God is at work on the inside.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, February 23, 2009
Love Endures
Michelangelo, the great Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor, saw inside each block of rough marble a sculpture, waiting to be freed by his tools. His job, he felt, was simply chipping away all that was not part of the statue, releasing it.
Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships where we feel like that sculptor. Others do not necessarily see what we see; even the person himself/herself may not recognize their potential. We see the person that is really in there and we want them to be released—free and beautiful. Sometimes, though, even when we have invested much of ourselves in the relationship and have been a significant portion of that life, the outcome is not the strong and balanced person we had so hoped to see. It might be our child, our spouse, a parent, or a close friend—and, to be honest, we are disappointed. So what do we do?
We love anyway. “Love may make the world go ‘round,” but it cannot always change the way things are. Lack of understanding, stubbornness, or just plain arrogance may keep the person from yielding to the tools that every person’s life—and God Himself—bring to shape and train us. That is his/her choice. We cannot force the decision.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)
I carve a monument of stone;
Chips fly to free the marble form inside,
When, unexpected, a sharp blow reveals
What was not visible before:
A crevice hid within the rock.
I’ll not return the stone so deeply flawed,
Though it was given to me as whole,
But rather make a work of art none would have dreamed.
I take up molten gold, I fill the wound,
And smooth the costly flow around the scar.
When I complete the work someday,
All will acclaim the beauty of that vein
And think an artist planned it so,
And only I will ever know
That love can cover any sin. –MM
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Read the article Love Wins here
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Sometimes we find ourselves in relationships where we feel like that sculptor. Others do not necessarily see what we see; even the person himself/herself may not recognize their potential. We see the person that is really in there and we want them to be released—free and beautiful. Sometimes, though, even when we have invested much of ourselves in the relationship and have been a significant portion of that life, the outcome is not the strong and balanced person we had so hoped to see. It might be our child, our spouse, a parent, or a close friend—and, to be honest, we are disappointed. So what do we do?
We love anyway. “Love may make the world go ‘round,” but it cannot always change the way things are. Lack of understanding, stubbornness, or just plain arrogance may keep the person from yielding to the tools that every person’s life—and God Himself—bring to shape and train us. That is his/her choice. We cannot force the decision.
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” (I Corinthians 13:4-7)
I carve a monument of stone;
Chips fly to free the marble form inside,
When, unexpected, a sharp blow reveals
What was not visible before:
A crevice hid within the rock.
I’ll not return the stone so deeply flawed,
Though it was given to me as whole,
But rather make a work of art none would have dreamed.
I take up molten gold, I fill the wound,
And smooth the costly flow around the scar.
When I complete the work someday,
All will acclaim the beauty of that vein
And think an artist planned it so,
And only I will ever know
That love can cover any sin. –MM
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Read the article Love Wins here
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Puzzle of Life
Life can be a lot like putting a picture puzzle together. We have a picture, realistic or not, of what it should look like, and we also have a whole bunch of separate pieces--people, situations, feelings, ideas, things that happen, things that don't happen. Where do they all fit in?
Picture puzzle fans have different motives guiding their approach to a puzzle. Some are determined to accomplish the task; it's all about getting it done. Others mostly just enjoy the process; if the picture isn't finished today or not for weeks, that's quite all right. And that mirrors the attitudes people have about living.
In real life, some people are driven to accomplish with perfection all they possibly can, to the exclusion of savoring life's experiences. "Drive" is a very good thing, but sometimes these folks get caught up in the urgency of what has their attention and forget about the importance of things they may be neglecting: family, health, spiritual refreshing, helping others. They will no doubt achieve what they have set out to do, but they may not have much fun!
Others who regard life differently have goals too, but they see life not only as a challenge and responsibility but as a privilege. They want to feel the joys of their experiences and relationships without being desperate for them to "mean" something. They endeavor to find the balance in the various areas of their lives.
Puzzle fans also use different methods for assembling the puzzle. When my grandchildren were younger and wanted to help, they might pick up an interesting piece and ask, "Where does this one go, Grandma?" Then I would have to disappoint them by replying, "I can't tell yet, honey." The other family members--a little older--with whom I enjoy this activity do some sorting before they try to put things together. Maybe all the edge pieces are placed in a pile, all the pieces with this shade of green, all the pieces of the brick house, all the pieces that seem to be a furry animal, etc. Then using both color and shape to guide us, we begin to fit those pieces together. Again, this resembles different approaches to life.
Some people look at an incident or a set of circumstances and ask, "What is this? It doesn't make sense and, furthermore, I don't like it at all." They focus on just one thing in isolation and fail to see "the big picture." They may even become discouraged when that one situation or experience or relationship doesn't seem to "fit" and begin to believe that all this is just too hard.
In contrast, others take a long view. They don't expect everything to fall into place all at once. They ask, "What do I have or what do I know that will help me with this? What of God's grace do I need to apply in this situation?" They believe that if what they are experiencing doesn't "fit" now, the chances are good that it will become clearer farther along in the journey. They are willing to tune their ears to wisdom and apply their hearts to understanding (See Proverbs 2:2).
Eventually everything fits. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NASB)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible; used by permission of the Lockman Foundation.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Picture puzzle fans have different motives guiding their approach to a puzzle. Some are determined to accomplish the task; it's all about getting it done. Others mostly just enjoy the process; if the picture isn't finished today or not for weeks, that's quite all right. And that mirrors the attitudes people have about living.
In real life, some people are driven to accomplish with perfection all they possibly can, to the exclusion of savoring life's experiences. "Drive" is a very good thing, but sometimes these folks get caught up in the urgency of what has their attention and forget about the importance of things they may be neglecting: family, health, spiritual refreshing, helping others. They will no doubt achieve what they have set out to do, but they may not have much fun!
Others who regard life differently have goals too, but they see life not only as a challenge and responsibility but as a privilege. They want to feel the joys of their experiences and relationships without being desperate for them to "mean" something. They endeavor to find the balance in the various areas of their lives.
Puzzle fans also use different methods for assembling the puzzle. When my grandchildren were younger and wanted to help, they might pick up an interesting piece and ask, "Where does this one go, Grandma?" Then I would have to disappoint them by replying, "I can't tell yet, honey." The other family members--a little older--with whom I enjoy this activity do some sorting before they try to put things together. Maybe all the edge pieces are placed in a pile, all the pieces with this shade of green, all the pieces of the brick house, all the pieces that seem to be a furry animal, etc. Then using both color and shape to guide us, we begin to fit those pieces together. Again, this resembles different approaches to life.
Some people look at an incident or a set of circumstances and ask, "What is this? It doesn't make sense and, furthermore, I don't like it at all." They focus on just one thing in isolation and fail to see "the big picture." They may even become discouraged when that one situation or experience or relationship doesn't seem to "fit" and begin to believe that all this is just too hard.
In contrast, others take a long view. They don't expect everything to fall into place all at once. They ask, "What do I have or what do I know that will help me with this? What of God's grace do I need to apply in this situation?" They believe that if what they are experiencing doesn't "fit" now, the chances are good that it will become clearer farther along in the journey. They are willing to tune their ears to wisdom and apply their hearts to understanding (See Proverbs 2:2).
Eventually everything fits. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NASB)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible; used by permission of the Lockman Foundation.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Caterpillars to Butterflies
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) The Greek word rendered here as “transform” is transliterated as “metamorphose.” We are familiar with the sluggish, and perhaps ugly, caterpillar changing into a beautiful butterfly. That is metamorphosis, and that’s what God wants to do for us spiritually.
♦ Being transformed is mostly a hidden process. Although it isn’t visible to us, metamorphosis turns the brains and bodies of caterpillars to “soup” which is totally reorganized in order to become the creature capable of flight. When the Apostle Paul urges us to let God transform us, he is inviting us to a process that means deep inner change. Many people around us will not even be aware of what is transpiring in secret. Even we ourselves may not understand what we are becoming; we only know that we are preparing to be different than we once were!
♦ Being transformed is a continual process. The word “process” itself implies that transformation is ongoing; we build on what we have learned. Amazingly, this is true in nature as well. Back to the butterflies—a study done earlier this year at Georgetown University finds that moths can remember the avoidance tactics they learned when they were caterpillars. Becoming a new person doesn’t mean trashing everything up to this point. In transformation, we don’t kill that earlier, less-experienced self; we simply outgrow him/her.
Perhaps this is what the Paul meant when he said, “Let God transform you.” He was writing to a group who were, in his words, “called to be saints.” He was not speaking of salvation, but of growth as Christian believers. In order for us to be spiritually mature, we have to yield ourselves to God’s Spirit who moves us toward holiness and wholeness. We do need to forget those things behind us which prevent us from pressing onward to what is ahead, but a healthy memory of who we once were actually helps us stay on the task of thinking in a new way.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What Esau Learned about Consequences
I don’t think of Esau in the Bible as a bad man. But on the occasion of losing his birthright to his twin, Jacob, I cannot really see him as a wholly good man either. He was impulsive, ruled by his appetites, and careless about the future. Although God had made it clear to the boys’ mother before their birth that it was His plan to give the younger son the greater heritage, Esau was apparently not aware of this. His actions indicate that he felt the special inheritance was his right, and indeed it was his “birth-right.” He considered that he could do with it as he chose. When he came in, hungry and tired from hunting, he smelled the red lentil stew Jacob was preparing, and asked for some.
Jacob was prepared to bargain. Because Jacob was her favorite, Rebekah may have told him about God’s intention to honor him. If he, rather than Esau, were Isaac’s successor, the future possession of the land of Canaan would be by his children's children. The continuing covenant made with Abraham about Christ the promised Seed would be to his heirs, not Esau’s. Perhaps she had already advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his right if the opportunity were presented. When Esau came in famished, Jacob saw a convenient way to “make God’s will happen.” He would share the stew in exchange for Esau’s rights as the older son, the “birthright” and its inherent blessing of God.
“I am about to die,” Esau exclaimed. “What good would the birthright do me then?” and with oaths of promise he sold it. Did he mean, as any young man might, “I’m starving to death!” Or was he saying, “I’m in danger every day I go out in the field to hunt wild animals. I’m probably not going to live all that much longer.” Or did he think, “The promises made to Abraham are almost certainly a long way off. I will undoubtedly never live to enjoy them. It’s probably wiser to have something in hand today than to trust in what will likely not happen in my lifetime.” Whatever his thoughts were, they led to the irrevocable loss of a place of honor in the family line for hundreds of years afterward. Although it may puzzle us why God would use Esau’s intemperance and Jacob’s scheming (and later his outright deceit) to further the eternal plan, we must learn something from Esau’s experience.
What Esau learned from this experience was that you can make choices—but you cannot choose the consequences that follow. The Scripture says Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with bitter tears; in other words, there was no way to turn around, no way to change the consequences. “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.” (Hebrews 12:16, 17)
A young woman driving at high speed chose to evade the police; she did not choose to crash and end up dead, but she is. A man chose a romantic attachment outside marriage; he did not choose to be disgraced, estranged from his family, but he is. Men and women have chosen unwholesome habits for years and years; they did not choose to be broken in health, but they are. We want happy outcomes, but our choices preclude them. We make bad bargains, purchasing a little present ease or pleasure at the expense of greater, long-term benefits.
Watch out for the Esau syndrome!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Jacob was prepared to bargain. Because Jacob was her favorite, Rebekah may have told him about God’s intention to honor him. If he, rather than Esau, were Isaac’s successor, the future possession of the land of Canaan would be by his children's children. The continuing covenant made with Abraham about Christ the promised Seed would be to his heirs, not Esau’s. Perhaps she had already advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his right if the opportunity were presented. When Esau came in famished, Jacob saw a convenient way to “make God’s will happen.” He would share the stew in exchange for Esau’s rights as the older son, the “birthright” and its inherent blessing of God.
“I am about to die,” Esau exclaimed. “What good would the birthright do me then?” and with oaths of promise he sold it. Did he mean, as any young man might, “I’m starving to death!” Or was he saying, “I’m in danger every day I go out in the field to hunt wild animals. I’m probably not going to live all that much longer.” Or did he think, “The promises made to Abraham are almost certainly a long way off. I will undoubtedly never live to enjoy them. It’s probably wiser to have something in hand today than to trust in what will likely not happen in my lifetime.” Whatever his thoughts were, they led to the irrevocable loss of a place of honor in the family line for hundreds of years afterward. Although it may puzzle us why God would use Esau’s intemperance and Jacob’s scheming (and later his outright deceit) to further the eternal plan, we must learn something from Esau’s experience.
What Esau learned from this experience was that you can make choices—but you cannot choose the consequences that follow. The Scripture says Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with bitter tears; in other words, there was no way to turn around, no way to change the consequences. “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God's lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God's blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.” (Hebrews 12:16, 17)
A young woman driving at high speed chose to evade the police; she did not choose to crash and end up dead, but she is. A man chose a romantic attachment outside marriage; he did not choose to be disgraced, estranged from his family, but he is. Men and women have chosen unwholesome habits for years and years; they did not choose to be broken in health, but they are. We want happy outcomes, but our choices preclude them. We make bad bargains, purchasing a little present ease or pleasure at the expense of greater, long-term benefits.
Watch out for the Esau syndrome!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
I Didn't Know
I was in training, once, for a new position which was extremely detailed. It would have been impossible for my supervisor to outline for me every possible variation of the tasks I was to perform. We covered the basics, and then I was entrusted with the responsibility of carrying through on the job. Much of the work, though dissimilar from one hour to the next, soon became an enjoyable routine and only occasionally did I encounter anything that was very different from what I had previously handled.
One day I was given one of those “variations on the theme.” It’s pretty much like what I’ve done before, I said to myself. A little different, but not too much. It’s almost, not quite, like yesterday’s assignment, or last week’s. I think I can do this. And so I didn’t ask. Using my best judgment seemed to have worked—for awhile. It was about two weeks before the job came back to my desk. Without being unkind at all, the supervisor simply explained, “This is how we want it. Please do it over.”
Well, I thought, I just didn’t know. But then, why didn’t I see that this particular job was different? I didn’t know . . . Well, you should have known. Or at least you should have asked . . . I didn’t ask because I didn’t even know that I didn’t know! Now realize, no one had scolded me, reproved me, or even criticized the job. Here I was, arguing with myself!
I have called myself lots of unflattering things for some of the serious mistakes I’ve made in my lifetime. “Stupid.” “Ignorant.” “Dumb.” “Blind.”
And only slightly less maligning: “Gullible.” 'Deceivable.” “Unsophisticated.” “Naïve.” The day I corrected my mistake on the job, I realized that I had often had the same argument with myself about these major issues. “I didn’t know. Maybe I could have known, should have known, but the fact remains, I didn’t. And I didn’t even know that I didn’t know!
Unfortunately, there are no “do-overs” in life as there are on the job. Still, it is empowering to realize that now we see light where before there was darkness. Over two thousand years ago, a Roman statesman-philosopher and great orator said, “I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, “Tusculan Disputations”) It’s as simple as that. We don’t know everything. Some things that we learn, we learn too late. Sometimes we even make the same mistake more than once because we cruise along life’s highway unaware of the danger in our “blind spot.”
We are often quick to condemn error, our own or others’, on the basis of “Ignorance is no excuse,” which is, in fact, a misquote. "Ignorance of the law does not excuse," is a principle in jurisprudence that one is bound by the public law of the jurisdiction in which he conducts himself, even if he has not made himself aware of it. (So that’s why I got a speeding ticket the other day!) Should we take this old Roman legal concept and apply it to our daily lives, particularly if we are making sincere efforts to live righteously? I think not. I am suggesting that we be a little more forgiving of ourselves and of others for the things we simply didn’t know at the crucial time.
Related article:
What If I Make a Mistake? here
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
One day I was given one of those “variations on the theme.” It’s pretty much like what I’ve done before, I said to myself. A little different, but not too much. It’s almost, not quite, like yesterday’s assignment, or last week’s. I think I can do this. And so I didn’t ask. Using my best judgment seemed to have worked—for awhile. It was about two weeks before the job came back to my desk. Without being unkind at all, the supervisor simply explained, “This is how we want it. Please do it over.”
Well, I thought, I just didn’t know. But then, why didn’t I see that this particular job was different? I didn’t know . . . Well, you should have known. Or at least you should have asked . . . I didn’t ask because I didn’t even know that I didn’t know! Now realize, no one had scolded me, reproved me, or even criticized the job. Here I was, arguing with myself!
I have called myself lots of unflattering things for some of the serious mistakes I’ve made in my lifetime. “Stupid.” “Ignorant.” “Dumb.” “Blind.”
And only slightly less maligning: “Gullible.” 'Deceivable.” “Unsophisticated.” “Naïve.” The day I corrected my mistake on the job, I realized that I had often had the same argument with myself about these major issues. “I didn’t know. Maybe I could have known, should have known, but the fact remains, I didn’t. And I didn’t even know that I didn’t know!
Unfortunately, there are no “do-overs” in life as there are on the job. Still, it is empowering to realize that now we see light where before there was darkness. Over two thousand years ago, a Roman statesman-philosopher and great orator said, “I am not ashamed to confess that I am ignorant of what I do not know.” (Marcus Tullius Cicero, “Tusculan Disputations”) It’s as simple as that. We don’t know everything. Some things that we learn, we learn too late. Sometimes we even make the same mistake more than once because we cruise along life’s highway unaware of the danger in our “blind spot.”
We are often quick to condemn error, our own or others’, on the basis of “Ignorance is no excuse,” which is, in fact, a misquote. "Ignorance of the law does not excuse," is a principle in jurisprudence that one is bound by the public law of the jurisdiction in which he conducts himself, even if he has not made himself aware of it. (So that’s why I got a speeding ticket the other day!) Should we take this old Roman legal concept and apply it to our daily lives, particularly if we are making sincere efforts to live righteously? I think not. I am suggesting that we be a little more forgiving of ourselves and of others for the things we simply didn’t know at the crucial time.
Related article:
What If I Make a Mistake? here
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, October 25, 2008
"Be Still and Know That I Am God"
I am the God of the storm.
I created thunder and lightning, wind and rain.
My feet are planted on the dark clouds
I created thunder and lightning, wind and rain.
My feet are planted on the dark clouds
that are rolling into your life,
threatening to engulf you.
Even though your grasp slips from the guide wheel
and you find the anchor about to come loose and set you adrift,
I am there, controlling the height of the waves
Even though your grasp slips from the guide wheel
and you find the anchor about to come loose and set you adrift,
I am there, controlling the height of the waves
and the fierceness of the wind.
I will not permit them to dash you upon the rocks.
I am the God of the darkness.
I created night and day; they are alike to Me.
My eyes pierce through the inky blackness
I will not permit them to dash you upon the rocks.
I am the God of the darkness.
I created night and day; they are alike to Me.
My eyes pierce through the inky blackness
that surrounds you so thickly you can feel it press
the very breath from you.
In that darkness, be still—
The heartbeat that you hear is Mine.
I am the God of emptiness.
I created the vast reach of space out beyond
the little planet that is familiar to you,
And I know that it is far from empty.
I inhabit the aching emptiness of your longings,
your unfulfilled dreams,
the rising and falling of your hopes.
Your emptiness is pregnant with what is yet to be,
For I spoke, and out of the emptiness
there came into being all that is.
One day again, I will speak.
—MM
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
In that darkness, be still—
The heartbeat that you hear is Mine.
I am the God of emptiness.
I created the vast reach of space out beyond
the little planet that is familiar to you,
And I know that it is far from empty.
I inhabit the aching emptiness of your longings,
your unfulfilled dreams,
the rising and falling of your hopes.
Your emptiness is pregnant with what is yet to be,
For I spoke, and out of the emptiness
there came into being all that is.
One day again, I will speak.
—MM
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Take Time to Wait
Time is a precious, limited personal resource. There is no substitute for it, and it is non-renewable commodity. Although we talk about “saving time,” we cannot accumulate it in an account somewhere to be withdrawn later. We speak of “losing time” or “killing time,” but we can’t really do that either, because it regularly just keeps appearing and disappearing. We are urged to “make time,” but that is clearly impossible.
What we are able to do is arrange it, utilize it, profit from it, enjoy it—or we can fail to prioritize its use, idle it away, not recognize its value, consider it a liability. The Bible urges us to redeem the time. “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside [not part of the Church], redeeming the time.” (Colossians 4:5 NKJV) Sadly, many of the modern translations render this as making the most of opportunities, but the use of “redeem” is significant. The Greek word means to buy up something out of the market so as to make a profit from it. When we buy something, we have to give up something—money, labor, whatever meets the seller’s price. Redeeming time, then, implies that we have to determine what is worth giving up in order to release the time for something we consider more valuable.
Because we place such importance on time, we often feel that waiting is a useless waste of it. I’m not talking about waiting for a slow-moving freight train to clear the intersection, or waiting for our turn in the doctor’s office—although those occasions do not have to be spent aimlessly either. I am thinking of waiting for the time to be right for our taking a certain action, waiting for circumstances to be readied for the opportunity we need, waiting for God to do something! We get frustrated and impatient, because according to our schedule, things should have been done yesterday!
Perhaps we need to re-think waiting, not as a waste of time, but as an investment. Jesus was trying to explain the Kingdom to His listeners in the synagogue. "How can I picture God's kingdom? It's like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises." (Luke 13:20, 21 The Message) Quietly, slowly, but very dependably, the “starter” that the homemaker mixes with the other ingredients works its way throughout the dough. She does not try to hurry it by beating it; she does not give up and throw the mess out. She waits while something happens inwardly.
Much of our waiting for help, for opportunities, or for answers can be experienced as inner growing time. It is not to be ignored or scorned or hurried. We can redeem (buy back) the waiting time by giving in exchange our anxieties, our preconceived ideas, and our desperate haste. Then we will see Kingdom values permeate the whole of our lives, a result well worth the wait!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked The Message taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
What we are able to do is arrange it, utilize it, profit from it, enjoy it—or we can fail to prioritize its use, idle it away, not recognize its value, consider it a liability. The Bible urges us to redeem the time. “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside [not part of the Church], redeeming the time.” (Colossians 4:5 NKJV) Sadly, many of the modern translations render this as making the most of opportunities, but the use of “redeem” is significant. The Greek word means to buy up something out of the market so as to make a profit from it. When we buy something, we have to give up something—money, labor, whatever meets the seller’s price. Redeeming time, then, implies that we have to determine what is worth giving up in order to release the time for something we consider more valuable.
Because we place such importance on time, we often feel that waiting is a useless waste of it. I’m not talking about waiting for a slow-moving freight train to clear the intersection, or waiting for our turn in the doctor’s office—although those occasions do not have to be spent aimlessly either. I am thinking of waiting for the time to be right for our taking a certain action, waiting for circumstances to be readied for the opportunity we need, waiting for God to do something! We get frustrated and impatient, because according to our schedule, things should have been done yesterday!
Perhaps we need to re-think waiting, not as a waste of time, but as an investment. Jesus was trying to explain the Kingdom to His listeners in the synagogue. "How can I picture God's kingdom? It's like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises." (Luke 13:20, 21 The Message) Quietly, slowly, but very dependably, the “starter” that the homemaker mixes with the other ingredients works its way throughout the dough. She does not try to hurry it by beating it; she does not give up and throw the mess out. She waits while something happens inwardly.
Much of our waiting for help, for opportunities, or for answers can be experienced as inner growing time. It is not to be ignored or scorned or hurried. We can redeem (buy back) the waiting time by giving in exchange our anxieties, our preconceived ideas, and our desperate haste. Then we will see Kingdom values permeate the whole of our lives, a result well worth the wait!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked The Message taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, August 25, 2008
Mrs. Noah and the Ark
Most mothers get to share their living space with various members of the animal kingdom as they see their children through the nurturing years: a fish tank of guppies, a stray mongrel, a surprise litter of kittens. And the extraordinary as well: a fledgling hawk or a baby skunk, a pocketful of roly-poly bugs or a lizard. Yes, many mothers put up with pets, but surely Mrs. Noah was the champion of them all! She is another of the little-known Bible women that evoke my interest.
Noah and his family had maintained their integrity even while all around them wickedness increased beyond description. One day God spoke to Noah. “I am sorry that I gave the earth to man to care for. Every intent of their hearts is only evil continually. I am going to destroy what I so recently created by a great flood of waters on the earth, but I will establish my covenant with you—you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives.”
“I want you to make an ark,” God continued, and He described with exact dimensions the vessel that He wanted Noah to build. As well as the eight in Noah’s family, God instructed him to keep alive in the ark two of every sort of living thing—all birds, all animals, all creeping things. And there would have to be provisions for the family and for all the animals. Talk about the care and feeding of pets! Noah and his sons went to work. As it took shape, the ark must have looked like an apartment complex, its stalls and roosts being prepared for occupancy. Storerooms took shape too, some for provisions, some for waste. Ewww! Poor Mrs. Noah.
The day finally came when the work was finished. Then God told Noah, “Come, you and all your family, here to the ark. Then every sort of breathing animal will come to you. Take a pair of each, a male and a female to ensure that every kind of creature will survive the flood. Of the beasts and birds that are approved for eating and for sacrifice, take seven pairs. One week from today, I will begin forty days and forty nights of rain. I will wash the earth clean by destroying all the living things I have created.” That procession of animals lasted for seven days, then Noah’s family followed them into the ark, and God secured the door.
And it began to rain. Like a waterfall suddenly loosed over the sill of heaven’s window, the rain poured down, and underground waters gushed forth. Inside, the family was safe and dry—and busy too, feeding and watering the animals and cleaning out their stalls (although all the creatures may have been in a state of semi-hibernation—eating and drinking little and excreting little, their predatory natures suspended along with their territorial and mate selection habits).
After the fortieth night, there was an unnerving silence—no rain pounding on the roof. But even though it had stopped raining, those inside would have to wait until the waters receded before they could leave their boat. How long, how long? After 150 days afloat—maybe Mrs. Noah made marks beside the door?—there was a jolt and the motion of the boat ceased. They had landed! Another two and a half months of waiting, and they were able to see the very tops of mountains. Finally, a full year and ten days after they entered the ark, God told Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you. Release the animals and birds so they can reproduce in great numbers.”
As the animals crept and ran and hopped and flew by on their way to freedom, Noah caught some of those that were approved for offering to the Lord. Before he ever dug a well or built a fire pit, he erected an altar of gratitude to God for escape from the floodwaters and release from the clutches of the evil society that had so completely surrounded them. No doubt they knew that the human race would become wicked again, but they had the promise of God’s mercy, “I will never again curse the earth, bringing a flood to destroy all living things. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” They looked up and there, from horizon to horizon, was an arch in the heavens, glowing with brilliant colors.
God is making a covenant with us,” Noah explained, “and with our descendants, and with all these birds and livestock and wild animals. He solemnly promises that He will never send another flood that destroys the earth. God has said, ‘I am giving you evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I will send rain clouds over the earth, but I will place my there also. When I see the rainbow in the clouds I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives.’ ”
So does the Eternal One need something to cause His remembrance? Hardly. But because we are the ones who need reminding, He gives a sign testifying to His faithfulness. While we are remembering, He is with us, also remembering. He will always be aware of His covenant, and when we see the rainbow, we will be aware too of His covenant loyalty.
Mrs. Noah couldn’t have known then what we know now. From heaven’s perspective, the rainbow, seen on earth as an arc, is a perfect, unbroken circle. God’s love and God’s faithfulness and God’s provision, viewed from His eternal perspective, are complete and perfect. That would have been hard to see when Noah was mocked during the long years of boatbuilding. It would not be easy to keep that in mind when seasickness and animal smells and sleeping in the dormitory made the voyage seem long. It would be especially hard to believe it when later the family structure was torn by Ham’s impudent pleasure at seeing his father drunken and naked. But God always remembers.
When we wonder, sometimes, why things turn out as they do, we can look at the rainbow and have our hope restored. God does all things well. All earth has a promise; all creation groans for redemption. If we wait long enough, we will see it. He will without fail cause the “ark” of our lives to ride high during the turbulent storm. He will eventually open wide the closed door. He will bring us out of a closed-up circumstance to a new and fruitful place. And then He will fling the rainbow into the sky to tell us, “See, I told you!”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Noah and his family had maintained their integrity even while all around them wickedness increased beyond description. One day God spoke to Noah. “I am sorry that I gave the earth to man to care for. Every intent of their hearts is only evil continually. I am going to destroy what I so recently created by a great flood of waters on the earth, but I will establish my covenant with you—you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives.”
“I want you to make an ark,” God continued, and He described with exact dimensions the vessel that He wanted Noah to build. As well as the eight in Noah’s family, God instructed him to keep alive in the ark two of every sort of living thing—all birds, all animals, all creeping things. And there would have to be provisions for the family and for all the animals. Talk about the care and feeding of pets! Noah and his sons went to work. As it took shape, the ark must have looked like an apartment complex, its stalls and roosts being prepared for occupancy. Storerooms took shape too, some for provisions, some for waste. Ewww! Poor Mrs. Noah.
The day finally came when the work was finished. Then God told Noah, “Come, you and all your family, here to the ark. Then every sort of breathing animal will come to you. Take a pair of each, a male and a female to ensure that every kind of creature will survive the flood. Of the beasts and birds that are approved for eating and for sacrifice, take seven pairs. One week from today, I will begin forty days and forty nights of rain. I will wash the earth clean by destroying all the living things I have created.” That procession of animals lasted for seven days, then Noah’s family followed them into the ark, and God secured the door.
And it began to rain. Like a waterfall suddenly loosed over the sill of heaven’s window, the rain poured down, and underground waters gushed forth. Inside, the family was safe and dry—and busy too, feeding and watering the animals and cleaning out their stalls (although all the creatures may have been in a state of semi-hibernation—eating and drinking little and excreting little, their predatory natures suspended along with their territorial and mate selection habits).
After the fortieth night, there was an unnerving silence—no rain pounding on the roof. But even though it had stopped raining, those inside would have to wait until the waters receded before they could leave their boat. How long, how long? After 150 days afloat—maybe Mrs. Noah made marks beside the door?—there was a jolt and the motion of the boat ceased. They had landed! Another two and a half months of waiting, and they were able to see the very tops of mountains. Finally, a full year and ten days after they entered the ark, God told Noah, “Leave the boat, all of you. Release the animals and birds so they can reproduce in great numbers.”
As the animals crept and ran and hopped and flew by on their way to freedom, Noah caught some of those that were approved for offering to the Lord. Before he ever dug a well or built a fire pit, he erected an altar of gratitude to God for escape from the floodwaters and release from the clutches of the evil society that had so completely surrounded them. No doubt they knew that the human race would become wicked again, but they had the promise of God’s mercy, “I will never again curse the earth, bringing a flood to destroy all living things. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” They looked up and there, from horizon to horizon, was an arch in the heavens, glowing with brilliant colors.
God is making a covenant with us,” Noah explained, “and with our descendants, and with all these birds and livestock and wild animals. He solemnly promises that He will never send another flood that destroys the earth. God has said, ‘I am giving you evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I will send rain clouds over the earth, but I will place my there also. When I see the rainbow in the clouds I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives.’ ”
So does the Eternal One need something to cause His remembrance? Hardly. But because we are the ones who need reminding, He gives a sign testifying to His faithfulness. While we are remembering, He is with us, also remembering. He will always be aware of His covenant, and when we see the rainbow, we will be aware too of His covenant loyalty.
Mrs. Noah couldn’t have known then what we know now. From heaven’s perspective, the rainbow, seen on earth as an arc, is a perfect, unbroken circle. God’s love and God’s faithfulness and God’s provision, viewed from His eternal perspective, are complete and perfect. That would have been hard to see when Noah was mocked during the long years of boatbuilding. It would not be easy to keep that in mind when seasickness and animal smells and sleeping in the dormitory made the voyage seem long. It would be especially hard to believe it when later the family structure was torn by Ham’s impudent pleasure at seeing his father drunken and naked. But God always remembers.
When we wonder, sometimes, why things turn out as they do, we can look at the rainbow and have our hope restored. God does all things well. All earth has a promise; all creation groans for redemption. If we wait long enough, we will see it. He will without fail cause the “ark” of our lives to ride high during the turbulent storm. He will eventually open wide the closed door. He will bring us out of a closed-up circumstance to a new and fruitful place. And then He will fling the rainbow into the sky to tell us, “See, I told you!”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, August 22, 2008
Line by Line
A few mornings ago I was listening to music by a choral group and heard the director change from the planned program into an extemporaneous number. As he led the group, he “lined” the hymn for them. He spoke the beginning phrase of each line, and the singers followed without the benefit of books or printed cue cards.
I knew this practice of "lining" hymns was old, but I did not realize what a long history it had. In America, the tradition goes back as far as the 1640s when few hymnals were available, and many worshippers were unable to read. A church elder or minister would recite the text of a hymn line by line, and the congregation would respond by singing the words to a tune that was either suggested in the hymn book or agreed upon beforehand. The “Great Awakening,” the first large-scale religious revival in North America beginning about 1734, had a profound impact on New England and the South. The religious fervor of the movement demanded new, livelier hymns than those being used at the time. (If you want to see what “lively” music consisted of, get a hymnal and look up the hymns of Isaac Watts, John and Charles Wesley, and other 18th century writers! Some of these were sung to familiar tunes, but probably not, as we often suppose, tavern songs.) Hymn-singing became an expected part of “true” Christian experience, and leaders continued to "line out" or "raise a hymn."
Listening to the director lining out the hymn for his singers reminded me that there is much in the Christian life that is “lined out” for us. It doesn’t come all at once; there’s just too much! “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10 NKJV)
Guidance comes “line by line.” We do not receive a road map at the beginning of the journey, clearly marked and without detours. Instead, we depend on God to help us; we search out the wisdom of those who have gone before us; we learn by our own experiences. Step by step, we find our way.
Provision comes “line by line.” Much of the time, our resources—both spiritual and physical—are given to us as we require them, not notably in advance of the need. After all, Jesus did not teach His followers to pray, “Give us this day our annual supply of bread”!
Christian virtues come “line by line.” Growth takes time. While the fruit of the Spirit is not defective at any stage, yet many times it takes awhile to “ripen”! The Apostle Peter writes, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:5-8 NIV)
Learn to walk and wait and work “line by line.”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NIV taken from the New International Bible; used by permission.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
I knew this practice of "lining" hymns was old, but I did not realize what a long history it had. In America, the tradition goes back as far as the 1640s when few hymnals were available, and many worshippers were unable to read. A church elder or minister would recite the text of a hymn line by line, and the congregation would respond by singing the words to a tune that was either suggested in the hymn book or agreed upon beforehand. The “Great Awakening,” the first large-scale religious revival in North America beginning about 1734, had a profound impact on New England and the South. The religious fervor of the movement demanded new, livelier hymns than those being used at the time. (If you want to see what “lively” music consisted of, get a hymnal and look up the hymns of Isaac Watts, John and Charles Wesley, and other 18th century writers! Some of these were sung to familiar tunes, but probably not, as we often suppose, tavern songs.) Hymn-singing became an expected part of “true” Christian experience, and leaders continued to "line out" or "raise a hymn."
Listening to the director lining out the hymn for his singers reminded me that there is much in the Christian life that is “lined out” for us. It doesn’t come all at once; there’s just too much! “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” (Isaiah 28:10 NKJV)
Guidance comes “line by line.” We do not receive a road map at the beginning of the journey, clearly marked and without detours. Instead, we depend on God to help us; we search out the wisdom of those who have gone before us; we learn by our own experiences. Step by step, we find our way.
Provision comes “line by line.” Much of the time, our resources—both spiritual and physical—are given to us as we require them, not notably in advance of the need. After all, Jesus did not teach His followers to pray, “Give us this day our annual supply of bread”!
Christian virtues come “line by line.” Growth takes time. While the fruit of the Spirit is not defective at any stage, yet many times it takes awhile to “ripen”! The Apostle Peter writes, “Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:5-8 NIV)
Learn to walk and wait and work “line by line.”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NIV taken from the New International Bible; used by permission.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
The Patience of Mrs. Job
I am intrigued by the lives of women in the Bible about whom we know very little. I like to imagine what it must have been like for these women who are our foremothers in faith. Job’s wife is one of them. Many of us are familiar with the story of Job himself, for his patience is legendary. But mostly what we remember about Mrs. Job is that in his terrible time of suffering, she told him, “Why don’t you just give up—curse God and die?” I think there is more to the story than that, for she too must have learned patience.
Job had it all: huge flocks and herds, a great many servants, a family of seven sons and three daughters. And he was a good man too, truly fearing God. He had no early warning when trouble came. It was just a normal day, but in a matter of minutes, one messenger interrupting another, Job learned that he had lost everything: livestock driven away by raiding bands, servants killed, sheepfolds and flocks burned, all his children crushed in a terrible windstorm. Mrs. Job must have heard her husband’s loud wails as he prayed with his face to the ground, “You gave me all I had, O Lord, and, all of a sudden, You have taken it away. I don’t understand, but still I bless Your name. You do all things well.”
And what about Mrs. Job? Calamity had emptied her life too of everything that was dear to her. Probably, since she would be pretty much like us, she was suffocating with heartache and desperately hoping that what Job believed was true. But the trouble wasn’t over. Job was struck with fever and a terrible, festering disease of the skin. He sat in the ashes of the fire pit, scraping the oozing sores with a piece of broken pottery. Seeing this suffering was intolerable for Mrs. Job.
We know, all these centuries later, why all of this was happening because we have the whole story of Satan’s attempt to make Job forsake his faith in God. But Mrs. Job did not know. There seemed to be no reason at all for this suffering other than a capricious, uncaring God. It is then that she decided her husband would be better off to give up on God and die, and so we have her famous discouraging words. I can imagine that Mrs. Job stormed away, angry with God that He should so afflict an undeserving man, angry at Job that he so patiently submitted to the suffering.
Word spread of the sorry spectacle to be seen at the home of Job in Uz. Several acquaintances came from a distance to see him. At first, they sat quietly with Job, sharing his grief. (A wonderful idea!) But one by one, and with a great many words, they began to criticize and rebuke him. Job defended himself, knowing that he was not deserving of God’s wrath. On and on the arguing went with many accusations and denials, long speeches and equally long rebuttals. In his anguish, Job even had words with God! The final insult thrown at Job was, “Don’t expect that the majestic Creator of all the earth is going to respond to your pitiful whimpering, Job. Your pleas are in vain.”
Just then a furious whirlwind descended on them, and at last God spoke to Job. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” He asked. He questioned Job thoroughly. “Did you lay the boundaries of the seas? Can you tell where daylight dwells and where is the place of darkness? Who do you think you are?”
“Oh Lord God,” Job answered humbly, “I was wrong to question you, insisting that You had to explain everything to me, that You had to give me reasons for all that has happened in my life. You are God! God! Who did I think I was, calling on you to justify your purposes?”
That wind-tossed night was the turning point in their experience of loss and restoration. Job’s family members gathered around him, and his acquaintances came to visit, bringing words of encouragement and sharing their prosperity. With wise management, Job rebuilt his flocks and herds, and God blessed the latter days more than the beginning, giving Job twice as much as he had before! But it seems that while they lived, God never did give them an explanation for the losses they had suffered, nor could they see why, suddenly, He began answering every prayer. The reasons were not nearly as important as their surrender of the need to have a reason for everything. They waited patiently for the Lord, without knowing.
But the greatest loss was the children. “You are still young,” the other women may have told Mrs. Job. (That’s what unknowing people sometimes say.) “You can have more babies.” They could, of course, and they did. Job did not put his wife away for her unbelieving words, even though he could have as many a man did when his wife displeased him in some way. Seven sons and three daughters were born to them, just as they’d had in the first family. But even with the restoration of their wealth and with the new family, I believe Mrs. Job always felt the loss of the children that were gone.
“How wonderful that God gave you these seven beautiful children after—well, you know, losing the others,” the neighbor women may have said. Yes, it was wonderful, and yes, no doubt they were beautiful. What those well-meaning friends could not see was the awful chasm in Mrs. Job’s heart where the other family had been.
So then, you need never be ashamed of the still-tender places in your life where once there were cruel gashes, just now barely healed. To be sure, God brings wonderful new blessings into our lives after tragedy has taken its toll. Others see the evidence of God’s outpoured love, and they marvel at how especially good He is to you. You don’t need to tell them that your heart still aches. Tell God, and let Him kiss the scars.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Job had it all: huge flocks and herds, a great many servants, a family of seven sons and three daughters. And he was a good man too, truly fearing God. He had no early warning when trouble came. It was just a normal day, but in a matter of minutes, one messenger interrupting another, Job learned that he had lost everything: livestock driven away by raiding bands, servants killed, sheepfolds and flocks burned, all his children crushed in a terrible windstorm. Mrs. Job must have heard her husband’s loud wails as he prayed with his face to the ground, “You gave me all I had, O Lord, and, all of a sudden, You have taken it away. I don’t understand, but still I bless Your name. You do all things well.”
And what about Mrs. Job? Calamity had emptied her life too of everything that was dear to her. Probably, since she would be pretty much like us, she was suffocating with heartache and desperately hoping that what Job believed was true. But the trouble wasn’t over. Job was struck with fever and a terrible, festering disease of the skin. He sat in the ashes of the fire pit, scraping the oozing sores with a piece of broken pottery. Seeing this suffering was intolerable for Mrs. Job.
We know, all these centuries later, why all of this was happening because we have the whole story of Satan’s attempt to make Job forsake his faith in God. But Mrs. Job did not know. There seemed to be no reason at all for this suffering other than a capricious, uncaring God. It is then that she decided her husband would be better off to give up on God and die, and so we have her famous discouraging words. I can imagine that Mrs. Job stormed away, angry with God that He should so afflict an undeserving man, angry at Job that he so patiently submitted to the suffering.
Word spread of the sorry spectacle to be seen at the home of Job in Uz. Several acquaintances came from a distance to see him. At first, they sat quietly with Job, sharing his grief. (A wonderful idea!) But one by one, and with a great many words, they began to criticize and rebuke him. Job defended himself, knowing that he was not deserving of God’s wrath. On and on the arguing went with many accusations and denials, long speeches and equally long rebuttals. In his anguish, Job even had words with God! The final insult thrown at Job was, “Don’t expect that the majestic Creator of all the earth is going to respond to your pitiful whimpering, Job. Your pleas are in vain.”
Just then a furious whirlwind descended on them, and at last God spoke to Job. “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” He asked. He questioned Job thoroughly. “Did you lay the boundaries of the seas? Can you tell where daylight dwells and where is the place of darkness? Who do you think you are?”
“Oh Lord God,” Job answered humbly, “I was wrong to question you, insisting that You had to explain everything to me, that You had to give me reasons for all that has happened in my life. You are God! God! Who did I think I was, calling on you to justify your purposes?”
That wind-tossed night was the turning point in their experience of loss and restoration. Job’s family members gathered around him, and his acquaintances came to visit, bringing words of encouragement and sharing their prosperity. With wise management, Job rebuilt his flocks and herds, and God blessed the latter days more than the beginning, giving Job twice as much as he had before! But it seems that while they lived, God never did give them an explanation for the losses they had suffered, nor could they see why, suddenly, He began answering every prayer. The reasons were not nearly as important as their surrender of the need to have a reason for everything. They waited patiently for the Lord, without knowing.
But the greatest loss was the children. “You are still young,” the other women may have told Mrs. Job. (That’s what unknowing people sometimes say.) “You can have more babies.” They could, of course, and they did. Job did not put his wife away for her unbelieving words, even though he could have as many a man did when his wife displeased him in some way. Seven sons and three daughters were born to them, just as they’d had in the first family. But even with the restoration of their wealth and with the new family, I believe Mrs. Job always felt the loss of the children that were gone.
“How wonderful that God gave you these seven beautiful children after—well, you know, losing the others,” the neighbor women may have said. Yes, it was wonderful, and yes, no doubt they were beautiful. What those well-meaning friends could not see was the awful chasm in Mrs. Job’s heart where the other family had been.
So then, you need never be ashamed of the still-tender places in your life where once there were cruel gashes, just now barely healed. To be sure, God brings wonderful new blessings into our lives after tragedy has taken its toll. Others see the evidence of God’s outpoured love, and they marvel at how especially good He is to you. You don’t need to tell them that your heart still aches. Tell God, and let Him kiss the scars.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Why the Dark?
Most living things require light. (There are a few nasty things that do best in the dark, like the green stuff that grows in the back of the refrigerator—and some others as well!) For the most part, however, we think of light as contributing to life. It aids growth and productivity.
Even though light is essential to many living things, life is actually conceived in darkness, in the secret places of the womb and the earth. The Psalmist speaks of this darkness. “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” (Psalm 139:15 NLT) And long before that, there was the Spirit of God brooding, mother-hen-like, over the waiting creation at the beginning of time. This creative darkness came even before the light.
Jesus taught, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.” (John 12:24 The Message) Again, the darkness comes before light and new life.
We are often uncertain about one thing or another in our lives. We are sometimes confused by the very fact that we are confused! Isn’t Jesus the Light of the world, and isn’t the Word of God light to our pathway? Well, then why the dark?
The Darkness Is for You
Darkness first, before the light,
And heavy with portent of life,
The Spirit hovered o’er the deep.
Why dark when God Himself is light
And both are quite alike to Him?
Why night when day is all the same?
“The darkness is for you,” He said,
“Divided into spans by light
Created by My spoken Word.
The day which always follows night—
Not day then night, as you suppose—
Is but a part of my design.
“My Spirit needs His brooding time
Before the hidden plan breaks forth
From darkness where it is conceived.
Be patient then, and never doubt
The goodness that I have in store
If you will wait for Light to come!”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Even though light is essential to many living things, life is actually conceived in darkness, in the secret places of the womb and the earth. The Psalmist speaks of this darkness. “You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.” (Psalm 139:15 NLT) And long before that, there was the Spirit of God brooding, mother-hen-like, over the waiting creation at the beginning of time. This creative darkness came even before the light.
Jesus taught, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.” (John 12:24 The Message) Again, the darkness comes before light and new life.
We are often uncertain about one thing or another in our lives. We are sometimes confused by the very fact that we are confused! Isn’t Jesus the Light of the world, and isn’t the Word of God light to our pathway? Well, then why the dark?
The Darkness Is for You
Darkness first, before the light,
And heavy with portent of life,
The Spirit hovered o’er the deep.
Why dark when God Himself is light
And both are quite alike to Him?
Why night when day is all the same?
“The darkness is for you,” He said,
“Divided into spans by light
Created by My spoken Word.
The day which always follows night—
Not day then night, as you suppose—
Is but a part of my design.
“My Spirit needs His brooding time
Before the hidden plan breaks forth
From darkness where it is conceived.
Be patient then, and never doubt
The goodness that I have in store
If you will wait for Light to come!”
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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