Transforming the Mundane into the Marvelous

Several years ago, a high-ranking military officer gave a college commencement address and offered a bit of advice: “First thing you do in the morning, make your bed.”

 

With all the admonitions he could have made, this commanding officer chose “make your bed”? He explained his reasoning: In making your bed, simple as that seems, you’ve achieved something positive to start your day. No matter what transpires afterward, you can feel good about having done at least one thing worthwhile.

 

Have you ever thought about all the repetitive tasks we perform each day? Besides making the bed (if that’s your practice), we get cleaned up and dressed for the day, eat breakfast, travel to work (unless you work from home, as I do), go through the workday, return home, have the evening meal, relax a bit, and then go to bed – so we can start the cycle over again tomorrow.

 

This doesn’t even include periodic chores like mopping the floors, vacuuming the carpet, doing the dishes, washing and drying clothes, taking out the trash, mowing the yard, and so on. As someone has said, the problem with everyday living is it’s so…daily. 

 

We have highlights to keep us motivated – significant, hard-earned achievements along with pleasant surprises. But in essence, life amounts to moments of magnificence surrounded by masses of mundane stuff. However, with a slight attitude adjustment, we can transform the mundane into the marvelous.

 

How? It starts with recognizing why we do what we do, even seemingly inconsequential things. Because in the Scriptures, Christ’s followers are admonished, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:17,23-24).

 

Looking at the world around us, it’s clear that God doesn’t do shabby work. His creation is filled with wonders. As His children – and faithful servants – we should always strive to reflect His character and excellence in what we do and the way we do it. Even repetitious chores probably no one will notice.

 

But what if you knew a special guest were coming to your home – the Lord Almighty? Do you think you’d make an extra effort to spiff things up? Or if the nameplate on the desk in your boss’s office read, Jehovah God. Do you think that might affect your approach to your work, even the little things?

 

One time Jesus was speaking to His followers about the proper use of their material possessions; He also implied stewardship of whatever the Lord has entrusted to us: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10). 

 

Sometimes the way we handle the ordinary and the mundane is a test to determine how well we would handle greater responsibilities and more exciting challenges. On another occasion, as recounted in Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus told of a man who instructed his servants to manage his property while he was away on a journey. He gave five talents of money to one servant, two talents to another, and one talent to the third – “each according to his ability.”

 

The one receiving the five talents shrewdly put the money to work, earning an additional five. The servant given two talents did much the same, gaining two more. However, the servant entrusted with only one talent buried it. He didn’t even put it in the bank to earn a bit of interest. His reasoning? He perceived his master as “a hard man…. I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

 

To the servants who used the money put in their trust to generate more, the master said, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” 

However, for the servant who did nothing with the money given other than hide it, there was no such praise. Instead, he heard, “You wicked, lazy servant!” His talent was given to the one who had managed to double his money from five to ten.

 

Jesus used this parable to explain the importance of faithful, reliable stewardship of whatever God puts into our care – money, opportunities, skills, even our time. He concluded by saying, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

 

Maybe making the bed seems like a very small thing. Why would that matter to God? But think again about what Jesus said: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” If we would like the Lord to trust us with big, important things to do, a good place to start would be to demonstrate we can be trusted with little, “unimportant” things. 

Thankful for the Opportunity to Be Thankful

This being Thanksgiving Day, if you’ve surfaced long enough from eating turkey, watching holiday parades, or enjoying a traditional football game on TV long enough to read this, let me say I’m thankful for that. And I hope that you, like me, can identify much for which to give thanks. 

We typically voice our thankfulness for things like family, health, a home, a means for earning a livelihood, material possessions, and whatever makes us feel happy. If you or someone in your family has suffered from a serious illness or disease, you know the simple gift of another day is more than enough cause for thankfulness. 

 

The important question is, to whom are we thankful? The universe or the cosmos? Lady Luck? Our own determined efforts, or the kindness of others? We certainly are entitled to feel pleased with the fruits of our labors? Many of us wouldn’t be where we are today without the help and encouragement of key individuals in our lives. But isn’t this the time to, as the old hymn states, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow?”

 

Since you have many better things to do this day than just reading through the meanderings of a pensive blogger/columnist, let me simply cite a couple of passages from the Scriptures that remind us of where our greatest thankfulness should focus.

 

The first is Psalm 100, which in just five verses can point our expressions of thanksgiving in the right direction:

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:1-5).

 

Other fitting passages to consider for our Thanksgiving Day musings are found in Psalm 107. It starts with these words: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this – those He has redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east to west, from north and south” (Psalm 107:1-3).

 

After recounting some of God’s acts of mercy and provision for the Israelites, the psalmist continues, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men. Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of His works with songs of joy” (Psalm 107:21-22).

While we are pausing to reflect on and give thanks for our blessings – loved ones, our “stuff,” and another day of life as another year winds to a close – it would be wise to also offer thanks to God whom Revelation 4:8 describes as, “the Lord God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” Happy Thanksgiving! 

A Homecoming Unlike Any Other

What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving? The turkey, dressing and “all the fixin’s”? Holiday parades on TV? Football games? How about the gatherings of family around the festive dinner table – happenings that rarely occur at any other time of the year?

 

While not always the most congenial of events, especially if family members sit on separate political and ideological fence posts, Thanksgiving celebrations often serve as homecomings. Times when parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, in-laws and outlaws can convene at someone’s home and catch up on what’s been transpiring in their lives since last Thanksgiving, or the last time they all got together.

 

High schools and colleges across the country have pretty much wrapped up their own homecoming events for the year, complete with king and queen (or whatever). Typically, each school designates one football game per season for homecoming, although at the first college I attended, homecoming was linked to a basketball game since the institution lacked a football team.

 

Akin to school homecomings are class reunions for former classmates after years of being out of school. These are designed for several purposes: rekindle old relationships, brag about their respective families, show off accomplishments and acquisitions since leaving dear old alma mater and, with the passage of time, see who’s showing their years more than others. They stir old memories, but since many have relocated to other areas since graduation, may not seem like coming home.

 

But have you ever stopped to think about what the ultimate homecoming will be like? The day when we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and, if we’re His followers, not only hear His “well done, good and faithful servant,” but also start getting reacquainted with old friends and loved ones who arrived at the “pearly gates” before we did?

 

This comes to mind because recently several longtime friends and family members have passed away, including a sister-in-law and a friend I had from my early newspaper days. Both believers in Jesus, they’ve gone to their eternal home.

 

The Lord addressed where we truly belong shortly before His crucifixion. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus uttered what some refer to as His “high priestly prayer,” offering prayer for Himself looking ahead to the events of the next days and also for His followers. 

 

He stated, “…they are not of the world any more than I am of the world…. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it…. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (John 17:14-24).

 

Since we live in this world but not of it, we really can’t call this home. As the old gospel hymn puts it, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” Ultimately, we’re not made for this world but one we’ve yet to experience.

 

Perhaps this is why we find a statement in Psalm 116:15 that initially sounds strange: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Picture a child returning from college, or after taking a job in a distant city, and the delight a parent feels upon their arrival at home. Multiply that perhaps a million times and we can understand why one of God’s children leaves this life through death, He regards that as precious – because they’ve finally come home.

 

The Bible often speaks of Heaven, but no one knows precisely what it will be like. Even though that hasn’t stopped many from writing speculative books about it. However, we can trust we’ll be able to join good friends and loved. The Scriptures hint at this after compiling an impressive list of faithful men and women in ages past in Hebrews 11: “All these people were still living by faith when they died…. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth …they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16)

 

The writer begins the next chapter by declaring, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw of everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). Does this mean heroes of faith who’ve passed on sometimes get a glimpse of how we’re doing here on earth?

 

Maybe, maybe not. But can you imagine being welcomed into Heaven by such faithful individuals as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samson, David, prophets like Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah and Jeremiah, not to mention the apostles? Then there will be the godly folks we loved and rubbed shoulders with over the years. 

 

What we know for certain is Jesus’ promise that, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you…. I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-2).

Thinking about our heavenly homecoming, our imaginations can run wild with anticipation. We do have this assurance from the apostle John: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). As another old hymn says, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.” 

Drowning in Information, Starving for Wisdom

Sometimes it doesn’t require many words to say something profound. Recently someone posted on social media a photo of a business marquee that read, “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom.” What a concise, nine-word appraisal of our society today!

 

Consider how communication – and access to it – has changed through the years. At the birth of our nation, communications were extremely slow. It took days, sometimes even weeks, for news of even important events to spread. 

 

The speed for communicating gradually increased from that point, but even in the early 1900s, the process of passing along information moved at a snail’s pace. News was delivered either “hot off the presses” in newspapers just lifted off printing presses, or by radio, with individuals or families huddling around their audio devices trying to discern through the static what was going on in the world.

 

Even in the 1980s, after I had wrapped up my 10-year career as a newspaper editor, the communications realm could not have anticipated the barrage of information we have now. USA Today was setting the newspaper world on its ear, using satellite technology to send digital files to printing plants across the country to produce and distribute the newspaper from coast to coast.

 

Cable TV was just on the verge of exploding; few people anticipated one day having hundreds of networks and stations available at the click of a remote. Email was a closely kept secret then, a luxury enjoyed by a relative few, and the Internet was little more than a rumor.

 

Fast forward to the present. We’ve arrived at what the late sports commentator Howard Cosell would have called “a virtual plethora” of communications options. (If you don’t know what “plethora” means, or who Howard Cosell was, you can Google it.) Want to communicate with someone, or seek information on virtually any topic? Pick your poison – and it sometimes seems that way.

 

Go to the library? Who needs to do that when you can consult one of many search engines from the comfort of your in-home computer? Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the ever-expanding social media options give us all the information we need, along with opinions to align with our personal biases. Want to be more personal? Send an email or a text.

 

The Internet seems as vast as the universe. Cable TV’s myriad channels are supplemented and even supplanted by streaming services. While print newspapers seem destined to go the way of dodos and dinosaurs, there’s no lack of choices for news, opinion – and propaganda.

 

So, we are overwhelmed with information – or as the marquee declares, “drowning” in it. But where, oh where can we find wisdom?

 

Wisdom has lagged terribly despite the explosion of information and knowledge because wisdom and information are as closely related as horses and cockroaches. What’s the difference? One definition puts it this way: Wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge and good judgment. That is, wisdom takes information and knowledge, processes them to arrive at understanding, then puts that to work through appropriate application. 

However, wisdom is not opinions and biases buttressed only by information that supports one’s suppositions. In an age when folks proudly declare “my truth,” where can we turn for true wisdom instead of boundless confusion? There’s no greater source or authority than the Word of God, the Bible.

 

Years ago, I wrote a book titled, Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace. While the content was aimed at the business and professional world, I’ve found the wisdom from Proverbs useful and applicable for every area of life and endeavor. Consider one of its first statements: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). 

 

That’s not intended as an insult, but as a declaration that if we’re looking for true wisdom, we’re foolish not to make God and His teachings integral to our pursuit. Because as a verse that follows asserts, “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).

 

What’s the value of godly wisdom? How about “priceless”? “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the main who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her” (Proverbs 3:13-15).

 

In Proverbs, called “the Book of Wisdom” by many, hundreds of passages speak about wisdom directly and indirectly. But throughout the Scriptures we find encouragement to seek and embrace godly wisdom. For instance, The Psalms start by stating, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2)

We could cite many other passages, but one seems particularly fitting for our current state of drowning in information but starving for wisdom: “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?... For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). Why do we lack wisdom? Could it be because we refuse to look to God for it? 

Do We Worship a ‘Build-a-Bear God’?

When our daughters were young, a few times we visited a retail store that amounted to a do-it-yourself enterprise. It was called “Build-A-Bear,” where children could select their specific furry animal, its little clothes and other features, then put it into the magic stuffing machine. Voila, instant favorite toy!

 

Pastor and author J.D. Greear referred to this recently when he stated some believers seem to be worshipping a “build-a-bear god,” one that meets their whims and desires, perhaps even one they’ve “created” in their own image. We’ve seen this in some who follow prosperity theology adherents, the “God wants you to be rich” preachers. “If God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, as it says in Psalm 50:10, just ask Him to sell one of the cows for you.”

 

Similar to this is the “name it and claim it” crowd, folks who believe that since they’re children of God, as the Bible teaches, they can ask for anything they want and God will do it for them. They might even cite John 15:7, when Jesus said, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, as whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

 

Then there’s the “build-a-bear god” who loves everybody to the extent that they all will be welcomed into God’s eternal family, no matter what they’ve done – even if they didn’t believe in Him or flat-out rebelled against Him during their time on Earth.

 

There are many other variations on this same theme, but basically a God who answers our prayers and does whatever we want, however we want it done. I find this troubling on a number of levels. 

First of all, if God is who He says He is in the Scriptures, He’s clearly the one in control, not us. Like it or not, the Bible recounts many times the Lord exacted harsh judgment and punishment of people who defied Him and His teachings. Perhaps we resist this image of God because deep down we realize, apart from His grace and mercy, we deserve the same treatment. 

 

We have straight-forward passages such as Psalm 100:3, where it declares, “Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who made us, and not we ourselves.” As our Creator, Provider and Sustainer, God is the one rightfully calling the shots, not us.

 

In terms of the “God wants you to be rich”-type sentiments, it’s true that in many places the Lord expresses His eagerness to bestow wonderful things on His people. In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” But He never promised that every one of His followers would enjoy an earthly mansion, a luxury car (or cars) with the latest high-tech gizmos, or a bottomless bank account.

 

The apostle Paul offered a very different perspective in recounting his life before and after encountering Christ. After writing about the lofty status that he had been accorded as “a Hebrew of Hebrews [and] a Pharisee,” Paul then asserted, “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:5-10). Doesn’t quite mesh with the promises of boundless health and material wealth sometimes promoted.

 

When Moses met the Lord at the burning bush and God told him to serve as His messenger to the Israelites, Moses was reluctant. “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” (Exodus 3:13). In other words, “Who shall I say is this God who sent me?”

 

The next verse gives the response, which was quick and direct: “God said to Moses, ‘I AM who I AM.’ This is what you are to say to the Israelites. ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God didn’t say, “Well, who would you like Me to be? How can I meet your expectations?” He just said, “I AM.”

So rather than trying to determine the God we want, why not simply accept, glorify and worship “the God Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” (Revelation 4:8). And if we’re unclear about who exactly that is, He has given us 65 other books of the Bible that tell us all we need to know about Him. Certainly not all there is to know about Him, but all we need to know – to love, honor and serve Him. 

Legacy: Much More Than an Inheritance

Recently I engaged in a discussion with a group of friends about what it means to leave a legacy. One person asked about the difference between a legacy and an inheritance. This prompted me to do a bit of research, uncovering four words that have related but distinctly different meanings.

The first is heredity, which is the passing on genetically of physical and/or mental traits or characteristics from one generation to the next. We have virtually no control over this, other than perhaps choosing the mate with whom we will have children. In terms of our genes, we’re a product of what our parents pass along to us physiologically.

 

The second is heritage, the unique culture, traditions, language and other social attributes shared by a particular society or group of people. This might include nationality, but it also relates to the specific environment in which we live and grow up. The folks I was speaking with all were Korean-Americans, so in some respects their heritage was very different from my Hungarian-American background.

 

Third on the list is inheritance, sometimes used interchangeably with legacy, but the terms definitely don’t mean the same thing. An inheritance is something you give or leave to an individual or group of people, something of material value, usually money or tangible possessions. It can be invested and increase in value over time, but it also can be squandered and easily lost.

 

Lastly, we have Legacy. An inheritance might be part of one’s legacy, but there’s much more to leaving a positive, enduring legacy than bestowing one’s earthly possessions to heirs. I would compare one’s legacy to the impact of a pebble or rock into a pond, creating outward-radiating ripples. Some rocks cause greater ripples than others – and it’s the same with legacies. Some radiate farther and for a longer time.

 

Years ago, I worked with a non-profit called Leaders Legacy which followed the motto, “Developing Great Leaders That Develop Great Leaders.” Our conviction was that the mark of a truly effective leader is not what happens while he or she is present, but what remains after they’re gone, whether that’s due to changing jobs, retirement or death.

 

If an enterprise or its mission continues to thrive and even grow after the founder leaves, that individual has left a meaningful, enduring legacy. However, if the company and its work collapse like a house of cards once the leader is gone, that’s not much of a legacy.

 

In looking for an example of a positive, enduring legacy, Chick-fil-A would be a good place to start. Years ago, I had the opportunity to interview the company’s founder, Truett Cathy. I remember him saying that when he started the business in Hapeville, Georgia, they regularly closed on Sundays. He quipped, “It’s not that we were all that religious, but that we were all that tired.”

 

Cathy passed away in 2014, but Chick-fil-A continues to be one of the most popular, well-respected food service businesses in the world. Their reputation for quality food, concern for customers, treatment of employees and overall philosophy and values remains strong. This is what leaving a positive, lasting legacy is all about.

 

But we don’t have to be a Truett Cathy, a wealthy philanthropist, inventor or groundbreaking scientist to establish an enduring, even eternal legacy. If we’re parents, we can endeavor to raise children of good character, who are hard-working, responsible, grow to love the Lord and use their gifts and talents to serve Him and others. We also can invest in the lives of others in a number of different ways, always seeking to represent Christ and point them to Him.

 

In 2 Timothy 2:2, the apostle Paul described what an eternal, multi-generational legacy can look like. He exhorted his young protégé, Timothy, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” That’s four generations of people – Paul, Timothy, “reliable men” and “others” – following Jesus and endeavoring to introduce Him to others. You think that would make a difference?

 

One of my favorite people in the Bible is Barnabas. After the conversion of Saul, the zealous Pharisee who had devoted his life to persecuting Jesus’ followers, we’re told, “When [Paul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles…” (Acts 9:26-27). 

 

Everyone else wanted nothing to do with the one-time enemy of the faith. Barnabas risked his reputation, getting to know Saul and learning the story of his life-altering encounter with Christ enroute to Damascus, and stood up for him. This “Saul,” of course, became the apostle Paul, who not only became an early Church leader but also penned much of the New Testament.

 

Barnabas’ story doesn’t end there. After accompanying Paul on several missionary journeys, serving as his spiritual mentor, the two had a serious disagreement about John Mark, who had abandoned Paul and Barnabas during one of their earlier journeys. Because of this, Paul had written him off as unfaithful, unworthy of being part of their company. 

 

When they resolved to return to towns where they had preached, Barnabas wanted to bring Mark back into the fold, “but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work” (Acts 15:37-38). We don’t know why Mark left them, but Paul didn’t want to waste his time with people he perceived as slackers.

 

Then we read, “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left” (Acts 15:39-40). This seemingly tragic schism between the two stalwarts of the faith has a happy ending, however. In 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul writes – with no mention of Barnabas – “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.” This same Mark became the writer of one of the four gospels, the Gospel of Mark.

 

While Barnabas didn’t enjoy the celebrity status of other New Testament leaders, he nevertheless established a legacy we’re still benefiting from today through two fellows named Paul and Mark.

 

This raises the question: What kind of legacy are we creating? What will remain after we’re gone from the scene? How wide a ripple in the pond will we have made? Whether we’re young or old, it’s never too early or too late to start forging a lasting – even eternal – legacy.

The Cross – Just an Accessory, Or a Declaration?

Picture an aristocratic woman during the French Revolution accenting her attire for the day with a necklace on which hangs a miniature guillotine. A lovely damsel in the Old West wearing a chain around her neck bearing a replica of a hangman’s gallows. Or a politician campaigning with a tiny electric chair pinned to his lapel.

 

Hideous, right? Gruesome? Even sadistic? But in a sense, that’s what happens whenever someone decides, purely as a fashion accessory, to don a chain from which hangs a cross. These days, wearing a cross too often is merely a stylistic garnish giving little or no consideration of what the cross meant 2,000 years ago – and what it has come to signify over the centuries since.

 

A cross was utilized for capital punishment, a cruel, torturous method of execution employed by the ancient Persians, Carthaginians and Romans. People living in those times could not have imagined that image as garish ornamentation.

 

This was the form of the cross
favored by St. Francis of Assisi.

Before anyone misunderstands what I’m about to say, I’m not being critical in any way of the many folks who wear a cross as a symbol of their faith in Jesus Christ. Like the Star of David for Jews, the cross has deep meaning for Christians, a declaration of devotion to Jesus.

I have a cross on a small chain myself I received a gift, but other than my wedding ring, I’m not much for wearing jewelry. That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate its significance. Were it not for the cross and Jesus’ surrender to be crucified, followed by His resurrection, we would not have forgiveness of sin. We'd not have been redeemed and made right with God. We would have no hope of eternal life. And we wouldn’t be able to experience spiritual rebirth in this life, which Jesus talked about in John 3:3, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

 

So, when I see someone displaying a cross, I wonder whether they’re a follower of Christ, too. Because the cross – that instrument of death utilized on a hill in Jerusalem called Golgotha – is no trivial matter, not an icon for meaningless personal adornment.

 

Writing to the church in Galatia, the apostle Paul expressed well the overwhelming import of the cross. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

 

Jesus Himself declared, “anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:38-39). In perhaps another setting Jesus expressed similar words: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

 

That doesn’t mean we also must be nailed to a cross literally. But following Christ does involve dying to self, setting aside our personal agendas and interests to make His will our top priority. This is why Paul could write, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer life, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). When we become reborn in Christ, our “death” to self allows Him to live in us.

 

Clearly, displaying the cross on our person shouldn't be taken lightly. The writer of Hebrews said it well: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

 

Here’s what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Paul the apostle summed it up this way: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Think on that for a while. 

 

What about those who don’t value the cross any more than they do the trinkets stashed in their jewelry boxes? There have always been the skeptics, and there always will. As Paul observed, “For, as I have often told you before and now say even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18).

 

He also soberly stated, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). And why is that? The apostle offered this honest appraisal: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins…. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 5:17-20).

 

Embracing the truth about the cross – and Jesus Christ – enables us to have an eternal relationship with God, along with access to freedom and an abundant life the non-believing world around us can’t comprehend. Consider these words: 

    “When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of our sinful nature, God made you alive in Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulation, that was against us and stood opposed to us; he took it away nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:13-15). 

Mid-Term Elections: Will They Really Change Anything?

Less than a week from now, if they haven’t taken advantage of early voting, citizens around the country will stream to the polls to cast votes for a variety of races and issues. At stake are governorships, U.S. Congressional races, state and local contests, amendments and referendums. The mid-term elections are under way. How could we forget, with the bombardment of political ads we’ve been enduring for months?

Much has been expressed about the ramifications of the election, of this or that party keeping or losing control of the House and the Senate, along with who will lead key states in the coming years. But in the end, will we discover that when all has been said and done, much more will have been said than done?

 

Whenever an ad for a candidate comes on – virtually any candidate – I’m reminded of the old perfume commercial that advised, “Promise her anything – but give her Arpege.” Because politicians are notorious for making campaign promises, for pretty much anything, only to promptly forget those vows and assurances once they’re sworn into office.

 

But let’s suspend our disbelief. Let’s set aside the ample evidence that while all politicians promise, few truly keep those promises. Let’s suppose that through some civic miracles, those elected will decide to abide by what they’ve said they would do. Will things really change all that much?

 

I’m all in favor of the political process, subscribing to Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address notion in 1863 that ours is a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Unlike monarchies, dictatorships, and tyrannical forms of government that give citizens little or no voice in how their countries and communities are run, we get to vote. The people and parties we favor don’t always win, but at least we’ve had the opportunity to cast our ballots and indicate our preferences.

 

To ensure I would not fail to vote on Election Day due to illness or some emergency, I took advantage of the opportunity to go to a local polling place a couple weeks ago. My votes have been cast and recorded. Exercising my civic duty and Constitutional right, I’m hoping the “right” candidates are elected.

 

However, I return to my earlier question: Will things really change all that much? The reason I ask is because of a simple truth stated and reaffirmed in the Scriptures: “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). No matter how well-intended they are, in electing people to represent us in any level of government, we are choosing flawed, sinful individuals to serve on our behalf.

 

Romans 3:10-12 expresses it even more emphatically: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God…there is no one who does good, not even one.” I don’t think God could not have made it more clear. Sometimes in reading this passage, I wonder whether politicians were the first collection of folks the Lord had in mind.

 

This was why, when the people of Israel asked the prophet Samuel for a king, it was an affront to God. “But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel…. And the Lord told him, ‘Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king’” (1 Samuel 8:6-7).

 

Then God admonished Samuel, “Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do” (1 Samuel 8:9). The prophet obeyed, giving the warning and then concluding, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day” (1 Samuel 8:18).

 

The Israelites did not listen, insisting that they have a king just like the nations around them. And indeed, starting with King Saul and a parade of kings that followed him, they were ruled by imperfect, sometimes very corrupt kings. The parade of leaders with feet of clay (or worse) commences in 1 Samuel, continuing through 2 Chronicles and beyond.

 

Does this imply the Scriptures are opposed to the democratic process, including the right to vote and elect our governmental leaders? Definitely not. But after reading the biblical narratives in which even the best kings sometimes wallowed in sin, our voting should take a “buyer beware” approach. No candidate or party is going to become the panacea for the ills of our nation – or the world.

 

As Jesus taught, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). While the context of this statement concerns material wealth and possessions, the point is clear: We cannot give our allegiance both to God and to worldly matters.

 

When we vote, our responsibility is to choose candidates and issues that we believe align best with biblical teachings, and then trust in the assurance of Romans 13:1, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” He alone is the true King.

 

If we don’t ask Him to give us the leaders we need, He’ll give us the leaders we deserve. Lord have mercy!