Words of Truth

I used to work at Brenton Bank. Non-Iowans have probably never heard of it, especially because it doesn’t exist anymore (it was bought by Wells Fargo back in 2001). My manager there used to say, “Change: you can bank on it.” Well my current workplace is making changes again. Without going into details, suffice it to say that starting next week I will be making $300 less per month. That’s a hefty chunk of change. There are other changes coming down the pike, and rumors abound.

I was upset when I heard these things. But then I realized there’s not really much I can do about it. And then I remembered something else: God is still in charge. He knew I would be taking a pay cut next month. He knew, and He is still Yahweh Yireh, The Lord who Provides. We really need to stop allowing our financial situation to determine our level of felt security. Do you feel financially secure? If you lost your job would you feel less secure? If you lost your job, would God not care about you anymore?

Matthew 6:25 and following talks directly to people who worry. Verse 27 asks which of us can get taller just by worrying. The obvious answer is none of us. Verse 34 says, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (NASB). The last line sounds better to me in the King James, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

People have asked me, “Why do you go to church three times a week?” After years of questioning by people who don’t go that much, I have finally come up with a good answer: Spiritual fitness. I know people that go to the gym three, four, or even five times a week to keep up their physical fitness. Their bodies are important to them, and so they take care of them. Well, my spirit is important to me. Why? Think about this: How long did Methuselah live? 969 years. How long has he been a spirit? About 5000 years.

You see? We only live on earth for a short period of time, and this is the only time that we have. I realized three things recently:

1. Jesus Christ could return at any moment.
2. I could die at any moment.
3. I expect to live for another 30 years or so.

There’s a difference between our expectation and reality. Nobody expects to die soon. Except for those who have been told by a doctor that they are about to die, every single one of us thinks we are going to live for years after today. But you know what: not all of us will. My mother has three brothers. Her youngest brother died in 1996 at the age of 34. Her next youngest brother died this month at the age of 57. And her older brother is still going strong in his late twenties (ha ha).  Who would have thought that these three brothers would die in reverse order of their birth?  Thinking about this should affect how I live my life here on earth. I don’t even know if these changes are going to affect me, because I might die between now and my next paycheck.  I need to stop getting upset by the changes that happen in my life. I need to stop worrying when things happen that I did not expect and don’t understand. I trust God, and that is enough.

C.T Studd said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Does it bother me that my workplace is cutting my pay? Sure, but not as much when I take an eternal perspective.

I am a Star Trek fan. I have seen every episode of the original series, The Next Generation, and all of the movies (from the horror that was “The Motion Picture” up to and including “Into Darkness”). I watched most of the episodes of DS9 and Voyager. I saw a few episodes of Enterprise, but it was broadcast at a very busy time in my life so I couldn’t watch it consistently (plus, I kept waiting for Captain Archer to say “Oh Boy” and “leap out”). I don’t own a uniform, but I have come very close to purchasing an “Expendable” t-shirt several times (and will someday). Suffice it to say I’m a fan.

I also like to look at funny pictures on the internet. There’s some good stuff out there, but it’s mixed in with a bunch of garbage, so you have to be careful. When I saw that a lot of the funny stuff was coming from a Facebook page for George Takei (the actor who played Hikaru Sulu in the original series), I thought: Funny stuff….Star Trek….win/win! So I liked his page.

In 2005 Mr. Takei “came out” and announced that he is a homosexual. I do not agree with this lifestyle choice, but as I have said before, that is between him and God. It is not my place to judge him for his sin any more than it is his place to judge me for mine. I have no qualms about enjoying the cultural contributions of gay people no more than I would any other sinner. For instance, I laugh uproariously at Robin Williams even though he committed adultery with his children’s nanny. And so I “liked” Takei’s facebook page so I would get his funny pictures delivered to me regularly on my Facebook wall.

However.

In recent months his page has slowly morphed into a “half funny, half LGBT advocacy page.” I obviously am not happy with the latter, since it goes against my core beliefs in the teachings of the Bible. He has always had that kind of stuff on his page, but it used to be rare. Now it’s about every other post: buy my t-shirt that shows you support gay rights. Boycott the Sochi olympics because of Russia’s treatment of gay people. It seems like every day he is shoving his homosexuality in my face. And I don’t appreciate it.

It is for this reason I have decided to “unlike” his page. His funny posts have brought me laughter, but his posts glorifying something that God says is wrong have pained me. I do not hate gay people any more than I hate people who lie or cheat on their taxes. I believe God wants me to love all people. The word “love” however is not a synonym for “accept.” If I love George Takei, then it is my responsibility not to support his self-destructive behavior in choosing against God. Did he notice when I dropped him? Almost certainly not. Just like the boy throwing starfish into the ocean though, it mattered to me.

My Uncle Danny (holding Pepi), Grandpa Don, and Uncle David.

My Uncle David’s Obituary:

In John chapter 3, Jesus says that we must be born again. I’ve never really thought about comparing salvation to the birth process until today. As I type this, my Uncle David is lying in bed struggling to breathe. We don’t know how much time he has left, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be long.

I got to thinking about this. When a woman is very pregnant, as in, the baby is due anytime, people are excited. People are waiting in happy expectation for the baby to be born, to join the rest of the family here in the real world. But in order for the baby to join the rest of us here, the baby has to go through an uncomfortable and painful experience. But at the end of that tunnel there is a bright light and people that love you, who have been waiting for you to arrive. And then everybody is happy that the baby is finally here.

Compare that to the death of a loved one. When someone you love is dying, friends and family sit around wondering when he or she is going to die. They know that this person they love, who is a part of their life, is about to leave, and they will be subtracted from our lives. We aren’t able to talk to them or do things with them. They aren’t a part of our lives anymore. People who aren’t at the person’s bedside spend their time doing other things, but a part of them is always wondering: has he died yet and I just haven’t found out?

We are focused on how this person’s death will affect US. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. God knows we hurt. God understands that we are in pain because of this. That is why the only recorded time in Scripture that God cried was in John 11 when He saw the pain His friends felt when their brother Lazarus died. Every Sunday school kid knows the verse, because it’s the shortest verse in the Bible: John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” Such a simple statement, and so easy to memorize, but what does it really mean? Jesus, as God, KNEW for a fact that Lazarus was merely temporarily separated from his body. Jesus KNEW that Lazarus would be alive again in just a little while. Lazarus was only dead for four days. One time I took a trip that lasted about ten days, and I was over 2000 miles away from my wife the whole time. But not once did I cry about it. But Jesus wept. Why? Because He loved Mary and Martha, and He knew they were in pain. What is my point? God knows our pain, and it hurts Him too.

I love the song “Does Jesus Care?” The first verse asks the question “Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song, as the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long? The fourth verse asks these questions, and the chorus answers back:

Does Jesus care when I’ve said “goodbye”
To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—
Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

But let’s look at death from the other side. We focus on our pain, but what is the dying person going through? Really, if they know Christ, what they are going through is only labor pains. They are about to be born again into a new world of light and life, surrounded by their loved ones who have been “born” in the same way before them. My Uncle David, since he knows Christ, is right now going through the pain of being born into Heaven. When the final contraction happens and he steps into heaven, he will be welcomed by his brother Danny, his father Don, and all the people he has loved who have died in Christ before him. But he will also be met by Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior, who will greet him with open arms and dry his tears forever. My hope is that, as ornery as my Uncle David is, someone will smack him on the bottom just like a newborn baby.

I envy him. One day I will join him there. But this is his moment. His “second birth.” I’ll see you soon, Dave. Save me a seat.