Tag: A Word for Wednesday

Categories
Uncategorized

Balm or Blame

Do you remember Hank? In our September 14 post, he gave us a glimpse of life under parole—released from incarceration, yet remaining under the watchful eye of the penal system. He is grateful for his new season of life; he uses it daily “to contribute to a broken society that [I] helped break.” While Hank views his parole experience as “a positive one” overall, it is not without challenges, for there is, in his words, an implied, “We’ll let you out, but . . . we’re going to remind you of what you’ve done and who you are.” Now parole officers have the difficult job of protecting society while navigating offenders back into it, and those who do it well deserve our gratitude. Yet Hank’s experience illustrates the human tendency to blame and criticize others for their moral frailties, even though we struggle mightily with our own. In our sin nature, we scorn theirs. There must be a better way.

Jesus once asked a gathered crowd, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”1 We all sin, then sin again in judging others, and in doing so, we hold them to a standard we, through our flesh, cannot attain. The apostle Paul speaks for us all: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”2 Even we who are born into Christ struggle against our sin nature, “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other . . .”3 We cannot live a godly life by our own power, nor can anyone else, so why would we heap accusations and judgments upon the already battle-scarred among us? They need balm, not blame.

James wrote, “Don’t speak evil against each other . . . If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law [of love].”4 Instead, life in Christ looks more like this: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”5 Then do we ignore sin? No, not at all. Sin is serious. But “if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.”6 Apply balm, not blame. (It’ll feel better to you, too.)

Father, You have compassion on us, remembering that “we are dust.”7 May we be so merciful, bearing hope, not hurt, and balm, not blame. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 Matthew 7:3
2 Romans 7:18
3 Galatians 5:17
4 James 4:11 NLT
5 Colossians 3:13-15
6 Galatians 6:1
7 Psalm 103:13-14

Categories
Uncategorized

Competitive Stamina

Bill and Norma Proffitt taught me the meaning of work ethic. Owners of a drive-in restaurant, their oft-repeated mantra to their young workforce was, “There’s always something to do,” and we were expected to take initiative in noticing and addressing tasks in need of attention. Eventually entering my profession, then, I applied myself beyond the obvious, as I’d been taught. Leadership noticed; I advanced quickly and did well. There came a time, though, when I foolishly thought to myself, “From here on, advancement is political.” Predictably, my career stalled until, coming to my senses one day, I resolved to forget about all else and return to what I did best: learning, creativity and focus. My career accelerated soon afterward, and I enjoyed new challenges, opportunities and positions throughout the remainder of my work-life.

Today, we call it “competitive stamina”— maintaining unrelenting readiness and intensity through constant focus, determination and discipline. Without it in sports, teams blow 21-point leads or lose to opponents they took for granted. Without it in life, GPAs slip and careers derail or stall. And without it inside, our spiritual life becomes unfruitful. Of all the apostles, perhaps Paul best understood stamina. “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,” he said, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”1 He likewise urges us to refocus our hearts and minds: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”2


“Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit,”3 the apostle exhorted. What does this look like? “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”4 “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests,”5 and “Stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”6 Peter would remind us of our invisible opposition awaiting the opportune time to strike: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”7 And David would chime in through song, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”8

Life in Christ, walking in the Spirit, prayer, unity, wisdom, and the Word—these are God’s gifts of grace. Through them, He sustains us; we gain competitive stamina. So today, let’s run to win.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Corinthians 9:25

Father, grace us in Your strength to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.9 In His name we pray. Amen.

1 Philippians 3:13-14
2 Colossians 3:1-2
3 Galatians 5:25
4 Colossians 4:2
5 Ephesians 6:18
6 Philippians 1:28
7 1 Peter 5:8
8 Psalm 119:10-11
9 Hebrews 12:1-2

Categories
Uncategorized

Our Place in the Legacy Line

It is mind-boggling. Perhaps you’ve heard the notion that our bodies are completely new every seven to ten years, the result of cellular replication—new cells replacing dead ones. Actually, this is not entirely true, for, while many types of cells have a lifespan of only days, months or a few years, some remain pretty much the same throughout life. On the whole, however, the vast majority of these tiniest units of living matter live much shorter lives than we do, each one creating its own replacement before it dies. Though generations of cells come and go during our natural lifetime, our bodies are still our bodies; we remain who we are. We are constantly different, yet always the same.

We often think of the collection of Christ-followers as a “body,” for as Paul taught, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”1 And though we are united in Christ, each of us has our own role. Paul, again: “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”2 The more we mature in the faith, the more we realize that the Christian life is much more “we” than “me.” Yet there is another dimension to Christ’s church on earth, a generational one. We are born into Him by faith, and we pass on from this life in faith. We come and we go—each generation replicating into the next—yet the body of Christ on earth continues to be what it has always been and to do what it has always done. It is different, yet the same. So we take this courage from our forebears in these fruitful years, knowing we will soon join their ranks . . .

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.3

Then may this be our legacy, too, for the new “cells” who take our place, each in grace continuing the work of Christ. For though His body on earth is constantly changing, it remains the same, for He is its head,4 and He is the same yesterday and today and forever.5

Father, thank you for including us in the body of Christ. Inspire us through those who came before us, and through us, inspire those who follow. In Christ we live, and in Him we pray. Amen.

1 1 Corinthians 12:27-28
2 Romans 12:4-5
3 Hebrews 12:1-3
4 Colossians 1:18
5 Hebrews 13:8