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Everyday People

10/31/2014

Today's post is by guest writer Keith Ward.

Before I retired, often on a cool morning I built a fire of twigs before I left for work to have a few moments, “Just God and me”. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the ordinary things in Jesus’ life. How many times did he sit around a fire in the evening with the apostles? What did they talk about? It was not all religion, I bet: “Did you see the size of that viper under the bush this afternoon?”

Those desert nights get cold. They might have built more than one fire so that when they bedded down, there would be enough for all of them to be near one. Even when they were near a town, there would be difficulty finding enough rooms for all. Jesus, twelve apostles, up to half a dozen women who ministered to him (probably not all there all the time, but maybe there were others occasionally who were not listed as they were not there often); from the 120 in Acts 1, they selected two that had been with him all the way, and once he sent out seventy in pairs of two, so they had to have journeyed with him some of the time. It was a small army -- never less than thirteen; often more than a hundred. Firewood would be a problem, as would food. Jesus might wake up in the morning to the sound of the women getting the fires re-started and breakfast on. (NO BACON!! No sausage gravy. What would be the point of even having breakfast? )

If Jesus came to me, at my morning fire, what would he say? I have imagined several conversations centered around my perception of my problems and needs. I do wonder, though, if I have faced myself well enough to even be in the ballpark.

Then, I was working in the garden one day and wondered, “Did Jesus garden?” Surely, he must have. Most homes had what our parents called “kitchen gardens.” The wife cared for those, and the young children helped. Think about Jesus pulling weeds, planting seeds, watering. “Mom, I finished, can I go play now?”

He was a carpenter taught by his father. Joseph demonstrated, corrected, helped. Or do you think he formed furniture and houses by fiat?

That first century generation had great difficult seeing that this everyday man was in fact, God. For many generations, we have over-taught deity so that we have difficulty seeing him as a real man.

The reality of this overemphasis is that many dismiss his example and do not try very hard to measure up—after all, he was deity, I cannot do that. The truth is that no one, especially they of Nazareth who knew him best, saw him as being any different than any other child, teen, adult. Obviously, after he was 30, he did miracles, but in no other way was distinguished from any other man in anyone’s eyes.

So, when we read Peter and others urging us to follow his example, to be what he was, to let him live in us, it is possible. He was tempted like we are, He “in like manner” partook of flesh and blood that he might deliver us. We can live like he did because he lived “in like manner” as we do (Heb 2:12). Take hold of the power of that example.

Keith Ward

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Prayers Not Prayed

10/30/2014

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A couple of weeks ago Keith had an appointment with the audiologist at the VA hospital. This meant he was late arriving to work, heading up highway 231 about 9:30 that Friday morning. It takes awhile to park, go through the search checkpoints and all the gates. He arrived at his office in time to hear the news that had just filtered back.

   A man in the town had stabbed his girlfriend and fled down that very highway at speeds far exceeding the speed limit and, with apparent intent, hit a van head on. Both drivers were killed instantly. It had happened at 9:40. A ten minute delay anywhere along the road and one of those dead drivers might have been Keith.

   Many times we go through life thinking God has not answered our prayers. Because we are self-oriented and earthly minded, we see only what happens to us or to others right in front of us. But occasionally we are reminded that God is out there answering prayers we did not even know to pray.

   So many have asked me how I can stay positive in the circumstances in which I find myself. They do not know what I have been told.

   Five years ago was not the beginning of all this. It is the ending. Many times, many different medical personnel, including three or four doctors famous in their fields, have told me that as severe as my problem is, they do not know how my eyes have lasted this long, how I did not have a crisis long before. God has been answering those unsaid prayers since I was born. He has not let me down; he has given me far more than anyone else in my position had any right to expect.

   So today, while you are wondering why God has not answered a prayer you have prayed, when you think He has forsaken you in a time when you need Him most, take a moment to consider all the prayers He has answered that you are unaware of. He knows far better than we what we most need. He is, in fact, answering your other prayers too, but He is not required to keep to your timetable or your methods. Just trust Him. He is there, working while you sleep, while you work, while you play, and while you plan all those big plans that so often exclude Him.

   You may never realize what He has truly done for you today, but then just think how horrible it might have been if He hadn’t.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:20,21

Dene Ward

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Godly Sorrow--Comparing Psalms 51 and 32

10/29/2014

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I’ve known a lot of people who seem to think that true repentance is shown by moping around in a depressed state for weeks on end, as if the longer they beat themselves up the more worthy they are of forgiveness. If we have learned anything in our Psalms study lately, it’s just the opposite.

   David shows us in the progression of repentance that occurs between Psalms 51 and 32 that we should “get over it;” that a failure to do so is harmful to our souls.

   In our class we charted the verses in those two psalms. We found similar things in each: repentance, the effects of sin, and the effects that God’s forgiveness ought to have in our lives. Guess what we discovered? In Psalm 51, obviously written within a short time after Nathan’s visit to David in 2 Sam 12, even though at that time Nathan proclaimed God’s forgiveness, David is fraught with guilt and sorrow, even physically ailing from that burden of regret. He uses every synonym you can imagine for sin and his plea for mercy. In our modern divisions, those pleas take up seven verses. Another three describe his woeful emotional and physical state after finally recognizing the enormity and complexity of what he has done, a total of ten verses.

   Yes, he finally recognizes his forgiveness and spends three verses on his desire to get back to work for the Lord and on his concern for others, a general list of things he plans to carry out as “fruit meet for repentance.”

   And Psalm 32? This psalm is much less emotional. David repents yet again, but in two verses this time instead of ten. Does that mean it is not as heartfelt? Of course not, but his focus has changed. This time he spends most of the psalm recounting what he has learned from his sin and how to avoid it in the future. Listen to instruction, hear counsel, consider and come to an understanding, learn to control yourself. He has gone past emotion and is now using the experience to gain wisdom and strength. Then he spends more time in concern for others, that they learn the same lessons he has. Finally he shouts for joy, the joy found in forgiveness and a renewed fellowship with God. This section takes up four verses of an eleven verse psalm, where in 51 we are looking at three verses of a nineteen verse psalm. Those four verses in Psalm 32 are far more practical and helpful to us in terms of overcoming than the ones in 51, where his grief over his sin is the focus.

   By the time of Psalm 32’s writing, David has learned an invaluable lesson—though indeed his sin was “ever before me,” he understood that allowing one’s grief to paralyze him and pull him down into despondency was as much an aid to Satan as sinning in the first place. He was no longer serving God; he was no longer serving others. In fact, he was bringing others down with his depression. There is a selfishness in this sort of sorrow that is completely inappropriate—a “worldly” sorrow.

   Grief is certainly fitting. I wonder if we ever experience the kind of grief David did over sin, especially as shown in Psalm 51. If we did, perhaps we would sin less. But there comes a time when we must “get over it” and get back to work. “Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,” David says (51:12).   “Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,” and “Shout for joy!” (32:11). Sitting in sackcloth and ashes for the rest of your life, David is telling us, is not the way to show gratitude for your forgiveness.

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter, 2 Cor 7:8-11.

Dene Ward

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Glowing in the Dark

10/28/2014

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I found a verse the other day that intrigued me—for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, Rom 14:17. While the meaning is obvious—in the context of eating meats sacrificed to idols, Paul is telling them that being in the kingdom is a matter of the inner man not the outer man—I still wondered why those three things were chosen among the many traits describing Christians.

   Before much longer I found Romans 5:1-3. Those three things are not three separate items, as if they can be chosen one without the other, they are a chain reaction. I am justified (made righteous), and as a result have peace with God, and that creates joy in my life.

   Keep reading down to verse 5 in Romans 5, then add 12:12 and 15:13 to the mix and you see that joy is inextricably bound with hope. The Greeks did not use “hope” the way we use it, a wish for something that could go either way, but as a confident assurance or, as Keith likes to say, “a vision of a certain future.” Along with the apostle John in 1 John 5:13, I should be able to say, “I know I am saved; I know I have been forgiven; I know I have a relationship with God; I know I am going to Heaven.” Is there anything that should inspire any greater joy?

   Being joyful does not mean we may not face sad times; it does not mean we must not ever grieve in a trial. What it does mean is that we will bounce back from those times because joy is the foundation for our lives. If, instead, I come through a trial with an attitude only toward myself, what I have endured, and what I believe others should be doing for me because of it, my joy has turned into bitterness. In fact, I have not successfully endured that trial at all. Whenever I allow something to smother my joy, in at least that much I have allowed that thing to be more important to me than my relationship with God.

   This is easier said than done. I used to wonder how to have this joy that everyone kept telling me I was supposed to have. God does not leave us without direction. Col 1:9-14 gives us several techniques for having joy. Be filled with the knowledge of Him; walk worthily of the Lord; bear fruit in every good work; give thanks for our salvation. Do you know what that boils down to? Focus on the good things and stay busy serving others.

   Joy is like a glow-in-the-dark toy. The more I focus on what God has done for me and what he expects me to do for others, the longer I sit in the light and the stronger my glow will be. But if I sit too long in the shadow of sadness and grief, focusing too long on myself, my joy will begin to fade until eventually it is gone altogether.

   If you find yourself alone in the dark today, it’s time to come back into the light before your joy disappears, along with the hope that reinforces it. This is a choice you make, one that has nothing to do with what happens today or what anyone does to you, but with the path you choose to take regardless.
That the proof of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ: whom not having seen you love; on whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:7-9.

Dene Ward

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The Naomi Project 1

10/27/2014

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    I do not appreciate mother-in-law jokes. If you tell them and you have a mother-in-law, then you must realize that your mother is also a mother-in-law. Are you talking about her too?

   As a mother-in-law myself, I try hard to be what I ought to be both for my son and his wife, who is now not just my daughter-in-law, but in my mind, my daughter, especially in the spirit. I think I might be a bit more sensitive to this than most—you see, my mother-in-law did not like me. Even after 39 years of trying, I never made the cut.

   To her credit, she was a fine Christian woman. She stayed faithful to the Lord despite family opposition, her husband’s severe illnesses and injuries, financial woes, and worst of all, losing a child to cancer. She converted her husband and raised both of her remaining children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. After all, I married one of them, and I know much of what she went through and exactly how she raised him.

   She had many things going against her but managed to stay faithful, raise godly children, and never lose the joy of her relationship with her Lord. To have done all that despite her many and severe trials makes our lack of a relationship more than forgivable. I was certainly less than the least of all those things she did accomplish.

   But I do not want my daughter-in-law to miss out on what should be a wonderful relationship. So I have decided to begin a new study—the ideal mother-in-law, which is what I want to be for Brooke. That’s what we will be discussing together for the next several Mondays.

   It is not difficult to find mothers-in-law in the Bible. The difficult thing is finding a detailed relationship between a mother- and daughter-in-law. Isaac and Rebekah both were “grieved” by the first two women Esau married, but they were Canaanites, Hittites to be specific, Gen 26:34,35. Although their complaints came before the actual marriage, Samson’s parents had the same problem with their future daughter-in-law, Judges 14:3—she was a Philistine.

   Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law but that is a situation so complex as to be unusable in our discussion. I can know that others surely had in-laws, but I do not know how they got along without making suppositions far beyond the realm of authenticity.

   No, the best example we can find is the usual one—Naomi and Ruth, and let’s not forget Orpah, who is often tarred with accusations she does not deserve. So I plan to study those in depth the next few Mondays to see how we can all improve our in-law relationships. I hope you will make a point to join me.

…a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah, Ruth 1:1-7.
Dene Ward

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Three Ways to Profane God's Name

10/24/2014

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Have you noticed that no one can speak two sentences without taking the name of the Lord in vain? Even children are uttering a phrase that once was never spoken in polite company, that men begged a lady’s pardon for saying, that television censors bleeped. When you have an abbreviation for it, it has become entirely too common. I have a friend who wants to make tee shirts with “omg” under the universal “not allowed” sign of a circle with a slash. But that three word monstrosity is just the first, and most obvious way to take God’s name in vain.

   Recently, while I was doing some research, I came across a website called Judaism 101. At the top, the following phrase caught my eye: Please note that this page contains the name of God. If you print it out, please treat it with appropriate respect.

   Oh, how we need this lesson today, and I don’t just mean the heathen out there in the world.

   The name of God stands for far more than just what to call Him. It stands for His essence and nature. It represents His history and reputation. And I will sanctify my great Name which has been profaned among the nations, Ezek 36:23. How would you feel if your “good name,” as we speak of this concept, were thrown around carelessly, used in sarcastic movie or book titles, or joked about? Yet it goes much farther than that.

   In Judaism, any act that causes God to come into disrespect or a commandment to be broken is often referred to as profaning the name of God. This makes sense when you realize that any good deed we do is spoken of as “sanctifying” or “glorifying” his name. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven, Matt 5:16. One is just the opposite of the other, and there you have the second way to profane the Name of God—disobey or cause someone else to disobey Him.

   Number three hits a little closer to home. The Name of God stands for His Authority. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord, Col 3:17. If a policeman yells out, “Stop in the name of the law,” he is telling you that the law of the land gives him the authority to stop you, and you had better do it or pay the consequences. Too many of my brethren are out there pooh-poohing God’s Authority these days, as if “authority” were a bad word. When you act without God’s authority, you are profaning His Name as surely as if you spoke it in vain. You have no respect for that Authority, nor, thus, for His Name.

   The website I mentioned listed several things that orthodox Jews will and will not do in reference to the Name of God. Some of them seem awfully, well, Pharisaic comes to mind. But at least they have the right idea, while we bandy about The Name of God as if it were just any other word, then profane it with careless, or even scornful attitudes, disobey His commands because they don’t suit us, and rationalize our way out of a life of sacrificial service because it’s “too hard” and “makes me feel like a failure.” Disrespecting the authority of God is one and the same as profaning His Name, and conservative fundamentalists take part in it every day. Number three is the scary one because it is so easy to fall into and still think you are just fine because you are so prone to shout Amen and Hallelujah.

   God is Holy. His Name is Holy. His essence is Holiness. Anything I say or do that detracts from that Holiness profanes His Name. It can be a careless phrase. It can be downright disobedience. It can be deciding for God what He will and won’t mind. Meditate on that awhile. Stand in awe of a God whose Name is so powerful it created the worlds, and be just a little scared of how you treat it.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Psalms 86:8-12

Dene Ward

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The Best Cup of Coffee

10/23/2014

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I think maybe I have discovered something that will help me a lot.

   The best cup of coffee is not the four-dollar, imported-from-some-exotic-place, freshly roasted, even more freshly ground cup you get at that boutique coffee shop. The best cup of coffee is the one you drink from a cracked ceramic cup in front of a campfire on a chilly morning, the smell of bacon mingling with the smoke from that same wood fire and the vapors of the coffee, maybe even a few drops of bitter oils floating on top of it because the propane camp stove is harder to control and sometimes the coffee comes just a little too close to a simmer. When you are cold, nothing tastes better than something warm.

   Even tomato soup from that red and white can tastes pretty good. It doesn’t matter if the seasoning is not well-balanced (too much sugar and salt and little else). It doesn’t matter if there is no complex depth of flavor, just candied tomatoes and tin can. Those niggling little details make no difference to you at that moment. It’s warm and you appreciate that. If you have never been truly cold, so cold that your insides quiver and you can hardly make your hands work and keep your mind functioning, you have never tasted a truly good cup of coffee or a good bowl of soup, no matter how much either cost you, or how many gourmets raved about it.

   So why will that help me get through life? Just think about this: How do people who have a terrible disease, or who have experienced one calamity after the other, or who are unfairly oppressed for their beliefs, or who come within inches of death, still smile and laugh, still enjoy life and keep their faith? Because when you have a REAL problem, suddenly you understand what is important. You are able to find pleasure in the little things. You can feel joy in watching a sunset. You can find happiness in seeing children play. You can experience contentment in even just one moment of normalcy. You can enjoy peace in the company of those who love you, even if they are not perfect. Suddenly their imperfections become insignificant.

   I cannot think of any instance where griping is anything but a sign of ingratitude. When we whine about the inconsequential things, when we complain about the traffic, the weather, the petty grievances against others and the annoyances of life, then maybe we need a catastrophe to wake us up to what really matters. Sadly, that is often what it takes to get our priorities in order. Some things are just more important than others but, just as it takes a nearly hypothermic person to enjoy what he might ordinarily consider a mediocre cup of coffee, it often takes a disaster to force us to recognize how blessed we truly are.

   We could be even happier if we did not always have to learn that the hard way.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil -- this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember [brood about] the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart Eccl 5:18-20.

Dene Ward

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Moles

10/22/2014

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Chloe doesn’t have much of a sense of smell thanks to her doggie allergies, which alternately cause congestion or a runny nose. We can throw her a treat and then sit for several minutes unbothered while she searches for it in the grass. But her sense of hearing must be amazing.

   She can distinguish our car engine all the way from the highway, almost a half mile. I’ve seen her sit there and watch for Keith for several minutes before he even gets to the gate, before the dogs along the lane begin to bark at his passing because she hears “him” coming.

   And she can hear moles digging underground. We will be walking along outside when suddenly she stands at point, looking at the grass just ahead of her, then pounces and begins digging, her snout in nearly to her eyeballs as she digs and sniffs (bless her heart, she tries) and searches. Many times she has brought out the mole and disposed of it. This year we have had plenty for her to work on.

   Moles are small mammals, insectivores, adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have tiny or invisible eyes and ears. They have developed the ability to survive in a low oxygen environment by reusing oxygen inhaled aboveground. That also means they can tolerate the higher levels of carbon dioxide that would poison most mammals. They avoid each other except in breeding season and fight whenever they do meet. I couldn’t even find a word for a group of moles. They aren’t herds or swarms or gaggles or flocks. Maybe that’s because the word is unnecessary since they never get together.

   Think about all that. Does it sound familiar?

   Do you know any people with small eyes and ears, many of whom are blind?

   Why do you not understand my speech? [Even] because you cannot hear my word, John 8:43.

   In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Cor 4:4.

   Do you know a group who reuses old oxygen, failing to bring in any new work to revitalize its heart, poisoning itself in the process?

   Thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, Mark 7:13.

   Do you know a group that avoids each other except in season (Sundays) and then fights when they do meet?

   Whence [come] wars and whence [come] fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your pleasures that war in your members? James 4:1.

   But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another, Gal 5:15.

   If all that sounds like a group you know, even if they call themselves the body of Christ, they are only pretenders. That is not what he gave his life for
.
   I am certain you could come up with other comparisons yourself. But don’t waste your time on that or you are in danger of becoming one of those moles yourself, festering underground in your own poison. Just do what you can by being what you ought to be. Moles are ugly, in more ways than one. It shouldn’t take much motivation to try not to become one.

"There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'; and he veils his face. In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. Job 24:13-16.

Dene Ward

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A Big Stink

10/21/2014

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I was nearly out of lotion and saw a sale--some fancy stuff for the same price as good old Lubriderm. I stood there at the display amid way too many choices. How do you decide between apple pomegranate, vanilla fluff, gingerbread, sugar plum, lemon twist, and blue ocean? Well, I was afraid the last one would make me smell like salt cod so that was a no-brainer.

    I picked up the gingerbread tube and thought I would just flip open the top and give it a sniff. Nothing. I do have more trouble these days smelling things because of all the medications. So I decided to give the tube a light squeeze so a puff of scented air from inside the tube would give me a better whiff.

    Instead of air, a big glop of orange creamsicle-colored lotion shot straight into the air and arced over to the catchall shelf of sorts that I carry in front of me. Plop! A big orange spot appeared on my bright blue sweater.

    Wait! Is anyone looking? Did anyone see? I looked around guiltily and then, because I had nothing else with me, started wiping if off with my finger. The sweater was dark enough and nubby enough that the spot no longer showed, but I had a big dollop of lotion to get rid of and the best I could think was to just rub it into my hands and arms. I am sure the security people were laughing their heads off as they viewed the monitor that picked up this “I Love Lucy” moment.

    You know what? I did not like the smell. A friend later asked me if I had spilled machine oil all over myself. No, just gingerbread body lotion, and I carried it about with me for a long eight hour day because I had a doctor’s appointment afterward. Yuk!

    Let that be a lesson to you. Sometimes we start wondering what we are missing out there in the big, bad world. I have been good all my life—brought up “in the church,” taught to obey all authorities--parents, teachers, policemen--memorized all the no-nos for a Christian, and the scriptures to go along with them. If all those things out there are so bad, why do so many spend their lives pursuing them? What do they know that I don’t? Just one little whiff is all I want.

    But that little whiff can easily become a big glop of smelly stuff that we carry with us far longer than the actual experience lasts. Consequences can raise a big stink in your life. In fact, they can ruin your life, and even the lives of those you love and have no desire to hurt.

    It is not a question of what those folks out there know that you don’t; it’s a question of what you know that they don’t—that sin is deceptively easy to fall into and sometimes impossible to get out of. God will forgive you, but he will not wash away the consequences—like ruined relationships, like destroyed trust, like physical diseases or injuries, like jail time and a record that follows you everywhere.

    Though I did not really like it much, that little glop of lotion did not smell quite that bad when it landed on my sweater. But as the day grew longer, it began to reek. Sin will do exactly the same thing.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! Selected verses from the 38th Psalm.

Dene Ward

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I Choose...

10/20/2014

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As we brought not-quite-five-year-old Silas home with us for Vacation Bible School last summer, he squirmed a bit in his booster seat, eying the long crowded highway ahead of us and the “boring” scenery of rolling green pastureland in Florida horse farm country.

   “How long will it be?” he asked, the perennial question of travelers.

   “It will be awhile,” I said, “but if you were to fall asleep, the trip would be over in a flash. Suddenly you would wake up and we’re there!”

   He lifted an eyebrow and gave me a skeptical look. “But I don’t like naps,” he firmly stated, with his little arms crossed.

   “Well,” I said with one of those what-do-you-do sighs, “that’s your choice. Either a long wait or a nap.”

   He thought a minute and finally, categorically stated with a firm nod on each word “I choose a long wait.”

   Five minutes later he was asleep. He never has been able to stay awake in a car, something I hope will change by the time he turns 16 and starts driving.

   I couldn’t help wondering how many of us look at the choices set before us and stubbornly make the wrong one. God tells us how dangerous the world is. He warns against deception and trickery. He tells us our salvation is our own responsibility so be careful who you follow. Yet even when we look at the choices side by side, we seem so drawn to the wrong ones. They are immediate. They are tangible. They are pleasant. The idea of something far superior in the future seems to be pie in the sky. “A bird in the hand…” the old saying goes, and we fall for it nearly every time.

   It would be so much easier if God made the choice for us, if he made the sleep overwhelm us involuntarily so the trip would be over in an instant, but where is the glory in a creature who cannot choose?

   The idea that God did not give us a choice is, of course, a fairly common theological doctrine. Yet it limits God in ability and creativity. It makes Him a respecter of persons. It makes Him unsympathetic and unapproachable, a tyrant who makes decisions seemingly at random, playing with the eternal souls of people as if they were plastic action figures. That is not the God of the Bible. There are too many heart-rending pleas for us to return. There are too many passages giving options to people in all sorts of situations, including whether or not they will serve Him for that to be true.

   He gave me a choice; he gave you a choice. Make the right one.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed, Deut 30:19.

Dene Ward

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