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Green Blackberries

8/31/2021

“Mommy, those green blackberries burnt my mouth.”
            We were picking peas in a field behind a member’s farmhouse late one afternoon. We had just moved to the area and had not had time to plant our own garden, so we were happy to do all the free U-picks our brethren offered. Nathan, who was only 13 months old, was playing up at the house under the watchful care of the grandmotherly farmwife. Three year old Lucas wanted to come “help,” so he trailed along behind us, picking a pea pod every so often, but usually exploring.
            It took a minute for what he had said to register. Then, with a knot of fear growing in my stomach, I calmly asked, “What blackberries? Show me.”
            He led us back about twenty feet, to a place in the fencerow. Instead of blackberry vines, we saw a four foot high green plant, with spade-shaped leaves and round green berries—nightshade. We dropped our buckets, pulled the plant, scooped him up, and headed for the nearest emergency room, thirty miles east. As soon as we arrived, Keith dropped me at the door. I ran in and practically threw both Lucas and the plant on the registration desk.
            “My baby ate this,” I managed between gasps.
            I had found the trick to immediate action in an emergency room. They ran both him and the plant back behind the swinging doors. I, of course, was taken to Paperwork Central—they never forget the documentation so they will be paid. It probably did not help that I had come straight from the field, sweat, dirt, and all, and so did not look particularly solvent.
            Two hours later we left with a completely sobered three- year-old, promising us he would never eat green blackberries again. As far as I know, he hasn’t!
            So why are we so much less careful about the poison that sickens our souls? Spiritual nightshade surrounds us every day of our lives. Somehow we think we are immune to its effects. We go places we should not, associate with people we should not, dally with things that are as dangerous as a poisonous snake, and pooh-pooh anyone who dares tell us to be careful.
            I am not just talking about things like alcohol and sexual immorality. Do you realize that wealth in the scriptures is never pictured as anything but dangerous to our souls? But what do we wish for when the subject of wishes comes up? And what do we always say? “I could handle it. I would never use it the wrong way. It would never get the best of me.” What do we tell our young people when they say the same things about drugs and alcohol?
            Arrogance will always get the best of us in all these cases. Might as well handle a cobra. Might as well drink some cyanide.
            Might as well eat a pie made of green blackberries.

For [the] rock [of the wicked] is not as our Rock...For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps, Deut 32:31-33.

Dene Ward

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Spit-Shined Glory

8/30/2021

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Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Although I made sergeant, I never learned to spit shine my shoes. I tried repeatedly. I had some of those who were best show me at different times and in diverse ways, tried to imitate their methods, and even got them to coach me. NO GO! Marines must look sharp and squared away at all times. So I paid one of those who could and kept the spit-shined shoes in my locker for inspections and other formal occasions. The ones that I “spit-shined” were the ones I wore to the office daily. (I was, incredibly given my current ineptness, a computer programmer 1967-1971). One morning as I arrived two minutes before the bell, as usual, my captain said, “Sgt. Ward, the Colonel wants to see you now!” There were lots of Colonels in Headquarters FMFPAC, but this one was the full bird battalion commander. My only question was, “May I go change to my dress shoes?” Two words, “No! Go!” If the Colonel noticed my less than glorious shoes, he never commented. We discussed the business which was all positive, I did my about face and left.

A man must earn the right to be called a Marine. Thereafter, he is proud and generally keeps himself in a way to show the importance he attaches to the title he wears. He inherits a glory from all those marines who went before and feels responsible to not only bring no shame to it but to add to it by his manner, dress, and devotion to duty.

We read about God’s glory and though we have sung about it and used the expression for years, few of us understand exactly what glory means. The basic meaning is "shining." God’s glory is God’s shining, his character and power shining like a billion watt bulb. Paul says the people could not look at Moses’ face when he came down from Mt Sinai “because of its glory,” which had been defined as, “his face shone” (2Cor3:7; Ex 34:29ff).

Since we call ourselves children of God, we should want to shine for him (Mt5:14-16, another passage that connects shining and glory). God called us "Christians," a title we should endeavor to wear with honor ("were called" in Acts 11:26 is also used in Mt 2:12, 22; Acts 10:22; Heb 8:5; et al.).

We tend to be absolutists. All pride is sinful; all boasting is wrong. (Some are so proud of their attitude in this that they will not even tell their children they are proud of them). But the word for glory is often translated boasting, which is glorying. Paul will boast in nothing but the cross of Christ, the Corinthians are his glory, and he has boasted of their readiness to give to the Macedonians; he commands them to glory (boast) in the Lord (Gal 6:14; 2Cor 1:14, 7:4, 9:2-4, 10:17). My shoes were not supposed to shine for their own glory, but to show mine as a Marine.

When the early church "suffered as a Christian," they caused the world that had no hope beyond this life to come to Christ to see what this was that men were willing to die for. They truly glorified the King of kings.

Christians wear a title that makes “Marine” insignificant; we wear the name of Christ and shine for him, i.e., bring him glory. Today, Christians must take pride in who they are, not to have glory, but to give glory to God. We must conduct ourselves so that others will say, “There goes a real Christian.” We should be so focused on the cross that we light the way for others. And, finally, we should shine so that God can say to Satan, “Have you considered my servant ___________________?” (Job 1:8).

Keith Ward

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Chore Lists

8/27/2021

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Chore lists must be a ritual of childhood. My mother had to go back to work for a year or so when I was 8.   In those days it was safe to allow your child to walk or ride a bike home from school, and I did that while my little sister stayed with a sitter. My aunt lived just down the street from us and she would check to make sure I had gotten home all right and see if I needed anything. Then I set to work. I cleaned the house every afternoon, one or two items a day like dusting, vacuuming, mopping, or cleaning the bathrooms. Washing dishes and making beds were everyday chores. Then I did my homework and was ready to be with my family in the evenings. I made a chart of what I would do each day and faithfully checked things off. It was a tiny house, but for doing that I got the then-exorbitant allowance of $2.00 a week, but my mother said I had certainly earned it, and she certainly appreciated it.
            I am sure my boys remember their chore lists, especially the summer chore list which always included this item: "Weed a row." If they were going to eat out of the garden, they needed to share in the work, even if that was probably their least favorite chore on the list. Most of their chores were like that—things that the family actually needed in order to survive, like helping their Dad haul wood, because we heated our home with wood, as well as working in a garden that kept our grocery bill down, and mowing about a half acre with a push mower. I do hope they remember that one of the chores was "Play a game with Mom."
            Chore lists can be very good things. They teach a child responsibility. They teach him that he is part of a team—his family—and he must do his part just like his parents do. They also teach him the things he will need to be able to do for himself and his own family in the future. We hope they also teach him appreciation and gratitude for all the things that have been done for him when he sees how much trouble they are to do himself.
            Some people view the Bible as a chore list. They faithfully check off what they have done and what they have not done. …God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get (Luke 18:11-12). You know how you can tell? These are the people who, when things go wrong in their lives, shake their fists at God and say, "How can you let this happen after all I've done for you?"
            God does not give His children chore lists. He simply says, "Love me with everything you have within you." And the one who truly understands doesn't need a chore list to do so.

Even so you also, when you shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do (Luke 17:10).

Dene Ward

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August 26, 1346 Ammunition

8/26/2021

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Although gunpowder was accidentally discovered by the Chinese in 850, the first recorded use of a cannon in battle was the battle of Crecy, August 26, 1346 during the Hundred Years War. That is disputed by the Arabs who claim that the Mamluks used one against the Mongols in 1260. Then there are the French who claim they used the first cannon in 1339. But usually the English get the credit, Edward III to be specific, for the 1346 date. In any case, cannons were here to stay after the 14th century.
            Keith was having a religious discussion with someone once, a brother as I remember, but one he disagreed with. I had come upon a pertinent scripture in my own study a few days earlier and gave him the passage. “Here’s some more ammunition,” I said.
            That word came naturally to me. Keith was a certified firearms instructor for the state. He taught probation officers, and prison guards how to shoot. As a probation officer he carried his own weapon, having to qualify every year. He taught me how to shoot well enough to dispose of a dozen poisonous snakes over the years and he taught the boys, too. So the word “ammunition” just came out.
            However, it nagged at me enough that over the next few days I began wondering if we don’t have that mindset much too often, Yes, we are in a battle. Yes, the scriptures talk about our “weapons,” weapons God Himself supplied for our warfare. And yes, our fight is not just with Satan, but with his ministers as well. But look at this passage:
            As for me, I have not hastened from being a shepherd after you; neither have I desired the woeful day; you know: that which came out of my lips was before your face, Jer 17:16
            Jeremiah was NOT happy about Judah’s coming destruction—he did not “desire” the evil day.
            There’s an old story about a man who was converted after thirty years of different preachers telling him he was lost.
            “Why now?” someone asked him. “Why listen to this preacher?”
            “Because,” the old man said, “he really sounded like he was sad about it.”
            Is that our problem? Do we get too much pleasure out of the fight? Are we just a bunch of gung-ho cowboys in our zeal? Are we more interested in winning arguments than in winning souls?
            God gave Jeremiah plenty of ammunition, and he used it well enough that he was thrown into prison for it. But he never enjoyed the job. In fact, a good many of the prophets disliked their mission. “I went in the bitterness of soul,” Ezekiel said. In his confrontation with the priest of Bethel, Amos as much as said, “This wasn’t my idea.”
            That’s a far different attitude than I have seen in some brethren, who delight in slinging bandoliers over their shoulders and spraying automatic fire in a drive-by.
            We’re supposed to be saving souls, not murdering them with spiritual handguns and especially not with cannons. Let’s take stock of our attitudes when we go out to battle today.

Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light he turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness. But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock has been taken captive, Jer 13:16-17.

Dene Ward

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Gum in Your Hair

8/25/2021

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Chloe has nearly shed all her thick winter coat now. It has taken three months of active shedding, clumps falling out whenever she shakes or filling our hands whenever we pat her. Poor thing, it takes about over half the summer and then it is almost time for her to start growing it back before the first cool nights of fall. This year, though, she has several odd mats of fur sticking out in three or four places. I am not really certain what has gotten into her fur, but it looks a whole lot like my little friends used to look when they got bubble gum in their hair.
            I seemed to be the only one with short, curly hair when I was growing up. Everyone else had long, thin hair, straight as a board which, as teenagers, made them a whole lot more in style than I was, but as children gave them far more trouble when they got gum in their hair. It created exactly the same matted clumps I see on Chloe. How it happened was always a mystery to me, but I think it was because they kept taking it out of their mouths and playing with it. I remember their mothers going to the freezer for ice, trying to freeze the gum to make it less sticky so they could gradually untangle the chewed mass and pull it out, leaving as much hair as possible. You can also use peanut butter, vegetable oil, or vinegar, but none of my friends thought those worth it. Getting the messy peanut butter or oil out of one's hair would take several washings and who wants to end us smelling like vinegar all day? So ice it was.
            Unfortunately, nothing worked for some of them. Eventually their mothers had to get the scissors and cut the gum out, leaving what looked like a hole in their hair, and that usually meant getting a haircut forthwith, just so it wouldn't look so bad. Chloe is lucky—she won't stand still long enough for me to use the scissors on her.
            Some of us do worse than getting gum stuck in our hair. The Bible constantly warns us about becoming entangled or snared. A snare in Biblical times often involved a noose, so "entanglement" is an apt word for them as well. Notice these passages:
The graven images of their gods you shall burn with fire: you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto yourself, lest you be snared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah your God (Deut 7:25).
You have been snared with the words of your mouth, caught with the words of your mouth (Prov 6:2).
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1Tim 6:9-10).
And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature (Luke 8:14).
            Do you see how easy it is to get yourself stuck, tangled, snared, or choked? All your "stuff" can do it—even if you don't think you are rich. All the things that keep you too busy to spend time with the Word. All the things you put before such spiritual obligations as raising your children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Even your own words can trip you up and catch you like an animal in a trap. A "web of lies" comes to mind. We can easily add a "web of excuses."
            And getting yourself untangled can be just as messy in a figurative way as getting gum out of your hair. You may have to apply some self-discipline. You may need to humble yourself and make a few apologies. And you may have to get out the scissors and simply cut some things out of your life—or some people, if necessary. When anything becomes more important than service to God, it has snared you and "become an abomination."
            Far better to keep things in their proper place, and never let them get hold of your heart. Far better to keep the gum in your mouth and out of your hair.

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first (2Pet 2:20).

Dene Ward

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One Size Fits All

8/24/2021

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Could there be a more obvious lie in all of retail sales? “One size fits all.” Of course it does, if you call fitting one person like a circus tent around a beanpole and another like a sausage in a casing a couple of perfect fits. There is a reason that a custom tailored suit costs about 200 times more than a one size fits all tee shirt, and it’s not just the material.
            Yet there is one instance where the phrase is as apt as can be. Sin is a “one size fits all” commodity. For we before laid charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom 3:9,23. And we do not get that sin from some mystical contagion. Therefore as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death passed unto all men for that all sinned, Rom 5:12. We are under the charge of sin, because we sin, every one of us, no matter how good we think we are.
            And sin is sin is sin: For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all. For He who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. Now if you do not commit adultery, but kill, you have become a transgressor of the law, James 2:10, 11. And in that context, James was talking to people who discriminate against others. Bigotry, he meant them to understand, is as bad as adultery and murder.
            Even righteous men in the Old Testament understood that the Law could not save them. As sinners, they counted on the grace of God. David wrote a Psalm about it, the fourteenth. Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who did understand. They were all gone aside; they are together become filthy; there is none that does good, no, not one, v2,3. We are all in the same boat—none of us deserve salvation.
            But Christ came to offer us a salvation that would fit all of us, too, no matter how many times we have sinned, no matter the heinousness of our sins, as men would categorize them. Christ does indeed fit all, and not only that, His one size is available to all as well, no matter who we are or what our stations in life. All we have to do is put it on. The grace of God will always be a perfect fit.

For the love of Christ constrains us because we thus judge that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again, 2 Cor 5:14,15.

Dene Ward

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Book Review: The Problem of God—Answering a Skeptic's Challenges to Christianity by Mark Clark

8/23/2021

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A former atheist, Mark Clark had the gumption and fairness to diligently search out the accusations frequently made against Christianity. In his search he managed, as many before him have, to become a believer instead. He then wrote this book, a compilation of the lessons he regularly teaches other skeptics, and almost as regularly, manages to convert them with.

            In this study he answers nearly every question your friends and neighbors might ask and objection they might raise. Science proves the Bible wrong. Christ is just another pagan myth. Christians are hypocrites. The Bible is against sex. Hell is a repulsive doctrine. A benevolent God would not allow all the evil in the world. Plus several others, all of which we often find difficult to answer. Clark gives us persuasive, rational reasons to believe, all derived from copious research, Biblical passages, and pure logic. He does not avoid the difficult, but seems to revel in finding his way out of it.
            In all this information he does on only a few occasions (less than you can count on one hand) misuse or take out of context a passage of scripture. It becomes evident in a couple of places which doctrines he firmly believes. But even those are obvious to the well-taught and studied child of God. This is also a good layman's study of evidences.
            I recommend The Problem of God for any young Christian especially. You have heard these charges from your friends and teachers. Now you can answer them.
            The Problem of God is published by Zondervan.

Dene Ward

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Living on Concrete

8/20/2021

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I grew up in the city. We walked on concrete roads and sidewalks, pulled in on a concrete driveway, and parked on a concrete carport. When we swept and vacuumed the floors we only had to do it once or twice a week and hardly accumulated more than a tablespoon of sand (we're in Florida, remember) in the dustpan each time, and only had to change vacuum cleaner bags a couple times a year.
            But I have lived most of my married life in the country. For half that time we had no driveway or carport. Now we have a carport, but still no driveway. We do a considerable amount of living and working outdoors, taking care of a large garden and five acres. Our road is nearly a half mile long, private, and unpaved. When Keith walks that half mile to the mailbox down by the highway, he treads on dirt, sand, and limerock, not a sidewalk. Even though we have a mat by the door and a runner just inside it, we still track a considerable amount into the house. I could sweep every day but don't have the time. Even every other day will yield twice as much as a week's worth when I lived in the city. Every time I hear that passage, "Shake the dust off your feet," I wish we could do it just that easily.
            The inescapable conclusion is that living on concrete will keep more of the dirt out of your house. Too many Christians, and churches, want to keep the dirt out, to live on concrete spiritually. I am not talking about keeping sin out of our lives. I am talking about being such a clean freak that the only people we want to offer the gospel to are nice nuclear families with no marriage problems, no addictions, and no ongoing issues that might "cause problems." Many years ago I caught myself saying, "I should invite them to church. But wait, they are in second and third marriages. That's just asking for trouble." I don't remember how long it took for me to remember a certain woman at a well in Samaria whom Jesus went out of his way to speak to and offer a chance at salvation. She had one whale of a marriage issue, but Jesus didn't stay on the concrete.
            Long ago and far away a men's business meeting actually told Keith he was bringing "the wrong class of people" to church. Never mind that he was the only one bringing people from the community. What he had found out in his door knocking was that those were the people more likely to listen—the ones who had problems and didn't think they were just fine and dandy. It was in one of those nice upper middle class neighborhoods where those brothers wanted him to pass out invitations that the man outside watering his well-manicured flowerbeds turned his hose on Keith, his Bible, and all his fliers.
            Who listened to Jesus? Few of the middle class Pharisees and upper class Sadducees. Usually it was the blue collar workers and those in less than reputable occupations—fishermen, harlots, and publicans. If we want to reach people, we need to step off the concrete and walk around in the mud where they live like he did. We need to be willing to track in a little sand and then sweep it up. Yes, it's a lot more work dealing with those kinds of people, but that is what our lives are supposed to be about—sharing the good news and helping the babes grow. You offer the gospel to everyone. It is their decision whether they are devoted enough to the Lord to clean up their lives, not ours.
            Don't be satisfied with living on concrete—going about your life with your family, going to church on Sunday, and staying away from the big bad sins as we define them, while ignoring the opportunities to reach out that God sends your way. You might stay out of the dirt, but there will still be sand in your house—and it all came from you.
And it came to pass, that he was sitting at meat in his house, and many publicans and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, How is it that he eats and drinks with publicans and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said unto them, They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners (Mark 2:15-17).

Dene Ward

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Nursery Tales

8/19/2021

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I was a lucky young mother. When my babies were small, I worshipped with church families that had no nurseries. I did not realize at the time what a blessing it was.
            When Lucas was a baby, we met with a small congregation that rented a union hall. The union must not have been very popular. At the end of a narrow hall was the only room big enough for meeting together, and thirty of us filled it up. Five of us were nursing mothers, and since that was over half the families in the congregation, the men agreed that we should be able to simply step out of the room to get ourselves situated, then come back in to sit and listen to the sermons or Bible classes while we nursed our babies. New babies have a tendency to nurse for long periods of time. We might have missed a full hour if these men had not been so mature-minded, and we ladies gratefully learned early how to stay modest while nursing. I doubt anyone walking in would have even known what we were doing.
            When Nathan was a toddler we had moved to a place with an actual meetinghouse. It was an old building way out in the country with absolutely no modern conveniences except electric lights, and certainly no nursery. You walked in the door and there you stood in the open auditorium. That meant when you had to deal with unruly children, you dealt with them and then came right back into the assembly.
            So why do I think I was lucky? Because I did not have the source of temptation that so many young mothers must deal with today. When you have no choice, there is no temptation. Young mothers today must be much stronger than I ever had to be.
            I gleaned advice from several older women during those years. My mother, for instance, was happy to tell me about how she foiled my attempts to ruin her worship services. I always acted up and she would take me to the nursery—she lived in the city. Finally, when I was 18 months old, she realized that she had not trained me, I had trained her—all I had to do was wiggle and squeal a little and I got to go play! The next Sunday, she took me, not to the nursery, but outside, and applied her hand to my bottom in a less than comforting way. Then she marched me right back into the auditorium. She said I looked at her with outrage, as if to say, “This is NOT how it works! You broke the rules!” But I was not a stupid child; I learned the new rule quickly: being taken out of the assembly is not a pleasant experience.
            I went to visit her once at this same meetinghouse. Suddenly, my baby needed a diaper change and needed it then. To have stayed sitting there any longer would have broken the commandment to “Love thy neighbor.”
            So I got up and took my twenty-month-old to the nursery. I was stunned when I walked in. Several young mothers, and a few who looked like grandmothers, were sitting in there chatting away. A playpen had been placed in the middle of the room, full of toys. The side of the playpen was lowered and each baby was sitting around it, reaching in and playing with both the toys and each other. Could the women see the preacher? Yes, there was a large picture window in front of them. Could they hear the preacher? Well, there was a speaker on the wall, but their talking and laughing drowned it out.
            After the diaper change, I got out of there as quickly as I could. I recognized the siren call immediately. I had dealt with two babies at once, while their father preached. We never lived close to family so I never had a grandparent to help out either. It was often tiring, frustrating and embarrassing to try to train my children to behave in the assembly. To have a place to go where I would no longer have to wrestle with them, where they could play and squeal to their heart’s content, would have been wonderful. But it would not have taught them how important the group worship of God is, how precious the rituals we follow, how much it meant to me and therefore how much it should mean to them.
            Being a parent is not for the weak of heart, mind, or body. You are on duty 24/7 and you must do what you must do no matter what else is going on in your life. Children will not wait. You cannot easily “unteach” what you later wish you had not taught. I would give anything to undo a lot of the mistakes I made, but it just won’t happen. In the end you hope you did more right than wrong, and that those right things were more lasting and impressive.
            Think about what you do, when you do it, and how. Think about what those little eyes see and those little ears hear. Think the most about what those little minds infer from what they see and hear you doing. Your children aren’t stupid either. Whatever it is you do, when you do it, it stays with them the longest.
And [Hannah] said, "Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have given him to the Lord.   As long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there, 1 Sam 1:26-28.

Dene Ward

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August 18, 1999 Bread and Circuses

8/18/2021

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The people who once bestowed commands, consulships, legions, and all else, now meddle no more and longs eagerly for just two things—bread and circuses. Decimus Junius Juvenalis.
             I could not find any dates for that writing, which came from Juvenal's Satire X, nor even for Juvenal himself beyond "first century." However, the phrase he uses there has become famous in politics. Google it and you will find pages of citations. The most interesting site I found was the August 18, 1999 edition of The Onion, a satirical online publication that regularly publishes witty and biting pieces. If you want to read it, and it is still online at this point, here is a link: https://politics.theonion.com/congress-approves-4-billion-for-bread-circuses-1819565262
            As for the original writing, Juvenal used that phrase to describe how the Roman rulers kept the masses content, while gradually stealing away all their power. What had once been a Republic had become an empire ruled by selfish, immoral, greedy men, more interested in retaining power and wealth than caring for the people under their rule. And the people themselves deteriorated into a populace addicted to free distribution of food and violent gladiatorial contests. They were so distracted by mindless self-gratification that they had become unable to think, unable to recognize any greater good beyond their own desires.
            I can think of ways this might apply to America today, as I am sure you can, but it is nothing new. Jesus dealt with the same mindset. In John 6:26, he reproached the masses who followed him like this: You seek me…because you ate of the loaves and were filled. When he began to talk about the True Bread, they left.
            The Pharisees came on more than one occasion, and to test him they asked him to show a sign from Heaven, Matt 16:1. Herod on the night before he was crucified had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and was hoping to see some sign done by him, Luke 23:8. They wanted a show, a “circus,” not a sign that would produce faith. John tells us that for many of these people though he had done many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, 12:27. Bread and circuses do not work in the spiritual world any more than they do in the physical. It may bring in more initially, but how many stay when they find out what is really required of a disciple?
            None of this is to say that we should not reach out to the world in as many ways as possible. After all, Jesus did feed them, and he did do signs. But sooner or later we must get past the superficial and reach the heart. If my neighbor is in need, why not help him? When I take a meal to the sick, perhaps he will be more willing to realize that his sick soul needs food too, and maybe he will come to me to feed it. If I am part of an assembly that is open and friendly, that worships whole-heartedly and obviously instead of sitting like bumps on a log, perhaps he will sooner understand that the heart is not all that matters because he will more often visit and hear the word of God spoken clearly and forcefully. But we must sooner or later do as Jesus did and force the choice upon them:
Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever, John 6:54-58.
And when they refuse to exist on nothing but Christ, then we must also do as he did—let them go and not bother chasing them down. They have shown what they really wanted—bread and circuses--spirituality was not part of it. God does not want people who are so distracted by mindless self-gratification that they become unable to think, unable to recognize any greater good beyond their own lusts. He wants people who live on him and his word, even when it is uncomfortable and inconvenient, even if it costs more than they had ever imagined. He wants a people for his own possession, who will give him the glory and honor he deserves.
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, will you also go away? Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:66-69

Dene Ward

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