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By Pastor Glenn Pease
1. IS MARRIAGE FOREVER? based
on Matt. 22:23‑33
2. GHOSTS OF THE GODLY Bases
on Matt. 27:5‑54
3. THE COINS OF THE BIBLE Based
on Mark 12:41‑44
4. THE REALITY OF ACCIDENTS Based on Luke 13:1‑5
5. THANK GOD FOR GRANDPARENTS
Based on II Tim. 1:1‑7
6. GODLY GRANDPARENTS Based on Ruth 4:13‑17
7. GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDCHILDREN
Based on Psa. 128:1‑6
8. THE SPIRIT OF SPORTS Based on Heb. 12:1‑2
9. THE POWER OF MEMORY Based on
Ex. 12:1‑16
10. HARMLESS AS DOVES
MATT. 10:16
11. TALKING TREES Based on Judges 9:7‑15
12. HELPING THE HANDICAPPED
Based on II Sam. 9:1‑13
13. THE POWER OF MUSIC Based on
Psa. 47
14. THE POWER OF NEGATIVE THINKING Based on Isa. 1:1‑17
15. PETS ARE FOREVER Based on Isa. 11:1‑9
1. IS MARRIAGE FOREVER?
based on Matt. 22:23‑33
One of the greatest romance stories of all history is that of
Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. Elizabeth was a normal active girl up to age 15, but then life
ceiling tumbled in for her. She became
an invalid, who for the next 20 years was confined to bed in a darkened room. She was a prisoner of pain and
loneliness. Her mother died when she
was 22, and she was left in the hands of a cruely stern father. Later, her favorite brother was taken by a
drowning accident. Few people have ever
written of the depths of despair as she did.
In spite
of her tragic and lonely life, she managed to write poetry of such quality that
it was published. She made a name for
herself among the world of poets. In
1845, after her 38th birthday, a poet six years younger than her, by the name
of Robert Browning, wrote to her, and asked if he could visit. Her spirit was willing, but her flesh was
weak, and she was reluctant to let any man see her frail and tortured
body. He was insistent, however, and so
the day came when he entered her darkened room.
The light
of love altered the darkness of her life almost instantly. They began to write letters to each other,
and her health took a sudden positive turn.
She wrote later that love drew her gently back from the gates of
death. Her father fought this love, and
forced them to carry on their friendship in secrecy. After a year of this, with a friends help, she stole away, and
was married to Robert Browning. Her
father never forgave her, and they never met again.
Her
wedded life was a taste of heaven. Love
lifted her from 20 years in bed to a life of adventure with her husband. They went to Italy, and together wrote great
poetry. She bore Robert a son, and she
became famous for the poetry her love inspired. One day she handed him a little pile of poems and said,
"Read these, if you don't like them tear them up." These were the now famous Sonnets From the
Portuguese. It is said of them,
"No purer expression of a heart on fire with love has ever been
written." The most famous of all
is this one which introduces us to our subject.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to depths and
bredth and height
My soul can reach, when
feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and
ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of
every day's
Most quite need, by sun and
candle light.
I love thee freely, as men
strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they
turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion
put to use
In my old griefs, and with
my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed
to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my
life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better
after death.
The
question is, was her hope of a better love after death a vain hope?
Is this merely poetic dreaming, with no foundation in fact? Does love last forever? Does death become the dividing line that
divorces all true lovers? These are not
minor questions, but ones which all loving mates ask at some time or
another.
It is
fascinating to study the marriages of great men of God, and see how the hope of
reunion with their mates is such a vital force in their lives. When William Booth, the founder of the
Salvation Army, stood at the side of his wife's grave, he spoke these words,
"I have never turned from her these 40 years for any journeyings on my
mission of mercy, but I longed to get back, and have counted the weeks, days,
and hours which should take me again to her side." After some other words concerning his sorrow
he said, "When I have served my Christ and my generation according to the
will of God, ....then I trust that she will bid me welcome to the skies."
Jonathan
Edwards, one of the greatest preachers and theologians America has ever produced,
did not die speaking of books and theology, but rather, of his dear wife,
Sarah. His final words were, "Give
my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union which has
so long subsisted between us has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual
and therefore will continue forever."
The
fascinating book, The Courtship Of Mr. Lincoln, ends with these hopeful words
of Mary Todd, that great president's devoted wife‑‑"The only
consolation left me, is the certainty, that each day brings me nearer my loved
and lost....I shall not much longer be
separated from my idolized husband, who has only gone before and I am certain
is fondly watching and waiting for our reunion, nevermore to be
separated." We could go on and on
quoting the hopes of lovers through the ages, both great and small. It is a universal conviction that what the
Song of Solomon says about love, is true.
In 8:6 it says, "Love is strong as death," and in verse 7 is
says, "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown
it." The context makes it clear
that this is the love of a man and woman.
All else may be washed away in the flood, but love endures forever. Christina Rossetti expressed the universal
hope of lovers in poetry‑
O my love, my dove, lift up
your eyes
Toward the eastern gates
like an opening rose.
You and I who parted will
meet in Paradise
Pass within and sing when
the gates unclose.
This life is but the passage
of a day,
This life is but a pang and
all is over,
But in the life to come
which fades not away
Every love shall abide and
every lover.
This
universal hope would, no doubt, be unquestioned by Christians were it not for
the interference of the skeptical Sadducees, who asked Jesus the difficult
question we read in our text of Matt.22:23‑33. The Sadducees were a sect of the Jews started in 250 B.C. by
Sadok, a president of the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Judaism. They did not
believe in any resurrection at all.
They knew they couldn't convince those who believed in a restored
paradise to give up the idea as nonsense, so they tried the next best
thing. They tried to make the idea look
so complicated and ridiculous that men would have to laugh at it. Ridicule has always been a powerful tool in
theological debate, and the Sadducees were skilled at it.
They
had, no doubt, watched many a pious Pharisee squirm as they presented this
problem, which seems to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of marriage
forever. The Pharisees were the largest of the Jewish sects and they did
believe in the resurrection. Keep in mind, the motive behind this question is
not the desire to find truth, but to make the hope of the resurrection look
foolish. How amusing the whole thing
was to them. How delighted they must
have been to have thought of this
example. Imagine one wife bewildered as
to which of her seven husbands she should choose in the day of resurrection. How hilarious to imagine the other six
walking away rejected to enjoy paradise alone. Their sides must have ached from the laugher, as they reviewed
their question, and it's implications.
Trying to hold back the smile, and look solemn, the Sadducee hit Jesus with
this question, "Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of
the seven, since all of them were married to her?"
At first
glance, the answer of Jesus seems to shatter the hopes of lovers through the
ages. In verse 30 Jesus says, "At
the resurrection people will neither marry or be given in marriage; they will
be like the angels in heaven." It
would appear that the Sadducees came off with a considerable victory here. Even if they did not destroy the hope of the
resurrection, they appear to have robbed it of one of it's greatest joys.
This passage
had disturbed many who fear that Jesus is saying, husbands and wives will not
be united in eternity, and all the hopes of eternal love are mere human
sentiments, and of no interest to God in His eternal plan. Such fears are unfounded, however, if we see
that Jesus is only concerned about destroying the Sadducees basis for
ridicule. Jesus is not eliminating
reunion and love, but only those aspects of earthly marriage which would make
it as complicated and ridiculous as the Sadducees suggest.
The
Sadducees have painted a picture of heaven that is filled with conflict that is
worse than what we see in time. The seven husbands in time were had one at a
time, and so there was no conflict. But now, in the resurrection, they are all
there at once, and they will be fighting over which one is to have this woman
as their wife for eternity. This picture is based on the assumption that in our
resurrection bodies we will still have sexual needs, and that no man is going
to want to be without a sexual partner for all eternity. Thus, heaven will be
filled with civil wars, with millions of men fighting to possess a woman who
was also married to another man in time. If nothing is different from time,
between the sexes, then you can see the mess there will be in heaven .
But the
answer of Jesus eliminates the problems the Sadducees foresee, that make heaven
such a mess. Jesus says people will be like angels in heaven. What does this mean?
It means the whole issue of sex is taken away. Angels are sexless beings, and
they do not have conflict over relationships. You never read about Mrs.
Gabriel, or of any angel having a mate. Their is no adultery among angels.
Their is no jealousy or lust, nor any the problems that sex leads to in this
life. Jesus is saying that sex is not necessary in heaven. There will be no
death there and no need for reproduction to keep the new heaven and new earth
populated. Sex is what makes marriage an exclusive relationship in time, and it
leads to a lot of emotions that will not be a part of eternity.
The
Sadducees were trying to carry over all the baggage of sexuality in time, into
eternity. If this was what eternity was to be, they had a point. But Jesus
makes all their objections irrelevant by making it clear that the conflicts of
sexuality will not exist in the resurrected bodies. James M. Campbell in his
book, Heaven Opened, writes, "True marriage is something more than a civil
contract, a partnership of convenience, a legalized indulgence. Where it
represents only those things it has in it no element of perpetuity, and can
have no existence beyond the present. But that which underlies all true
marriage, the union of souls, the ever deepening companion of souls, abides.
'The children of this age' marry in a
conventional fashion only for earth, but 'the children of the resurrection,'
who 'marry in the Lord,' are united forever. They are 'as the angels,' that is
to say, they have reached that androgynous condition in which sex distinctions
are transcended, or rather, in which the qualities of both sexes are blended
together."
This
means that the millions who have had two or more mates in this life need not
worry about making choices in heaven. Their will be none of that says Jesus.
The millions of singles need not worry that they will be left out, as if heaven
will be a continuation of the couple oriented society of time. All angels are
single, and Jesus is single, and all of the redeemed will be single. Marriage,
in the sense of an exclusive relationship, will be no more. We may love
millions without any jealousy on the part of others we love, for the sexual and
exclusive is no more. We will be like brothers and sisters to millions with Jesus
as our Elder Brother. Their will be no jealousy or envy in the family of God.
All will dwell in perfect harmony in the Father's house.
But what
about the universal hope of lovers? Does the answer of Jesus eliminate all
these hopes? Not at all. It only eliminates the problems, but it does not
eliminate the dreams of lovers of having a special relationship in the eternal
kingdom. We shall be like the angels. Are we to suppose that this means some
kind of demotion to a state where love is less than what we know in earthly
marriage? Jesus is not letting the Sadducees rob heaven of love. He is telling
them they are ignorant of the power of God, and they have too small a view of
God's potential to see that He will make love even greater in eternity than it
is in time. They have tried to limit God to their concept of love, but God is
not so limited. He has a higher level of love for those in the resurrection. It
will be a promotion to a love level enjoyed now by the angels. We will be moving
on up to a level of love where all the problems, the Sadducees could conceive,
are gone forever.
We are
not to read into this that there will be no unique love relationships in
heaven. Jesus is not saying, that in the restored Paradise, Adam will have no
special relationship to Eve. Will Eve pass her former husband on the streets of
gold and say to her companion, "He looks familiar but I don't know him
from Adam?" If so, then all that Scripture says about reunion of families,
retention of memory, and maintaining our identity is meaningless. Jesus said in
Matt.8:11 "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,
and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
kingdom of heaven." But what about
Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel? Is heaven to be for men only? Of course not! These
couples in the Bible will not lose their identity. If they did, there would be
no meaning to knowing them in eternity, for they would be a bunch of total
strangers. It is the retaining of the memory of who they were in time that
gives meaning to meeting them in eternity. You can eliminate conflict over
sexuality and exclusiveness, but you cannot eliminate the relationship of
married couples in heaven. Once you do that you destroy all that the Bible says
about recognition and reunion in heaven. This makes heaven meaningless, for then it is just a mass of beings who are
in paradise, but with no identity. This is a rejection of the Biblical hope.
So, what
do we conclude? Marriage as we know it will be no more, but the relationship of
married people will not be eliminated. Just as friends and family will have a
special relationship in eternity, so married people will have such a
relationship. If it was an unhappy or mediocre marriage, the couple will not
have to be in any relationship in heaven, even though all hostility will be
gone. But for those who want to go on forever in a special love relationship,
there is no reason, whatsoever, why this should not be so.
Rachel
and Leah are not going to go on for all eternity fighting over which one gets
Jacob to sleep with them, but there is no reason to doubt that they will both
have a very special relationship to Jacob, which they will not have with you
and me, even though we might become the best of friends in heaven. It can never
be that these people were not married, and so, even though they will not be
married in the sense of having an exclusive sexual relationship, they will be
married for all eternity. Will marriage be forever? The answer is both yes and
no. It is no, to the Sadducees limited concept of marriage, but yes, to the
concept of marriage, as a quality love relationship that the redeemed want to
possess forever.
I might
find myself greatly interested in Sarah. I have preached sermons on her, and I
might want to spend long hours hearing her story in heaven. She would become a
special friend to me and a sister in the family of God, but she would always be
the wife of Abraham. He would not be jealous of the time she spends sharing her
story with me, or millions of other men, for there is no reason for jealousy,
and no basis for fear that their unique relationship can be stolen. This means
the marriage relationship is more secure in heaven than it could ever be in time.
In time there are many things that can change the best relationships, but in
eternity they will be what they are forever, with no possibility of
change, except to get better. Their is
no decline of anything good or loving in heaven. Progress is forever, but
regress is never.
This
means that marriage will be forever for those who have a love they want to
enjoy forever. Not all married couples have such a love, but for those who do,
heaven will be the fulfillment of their hopes. Everyone will be married in
heaven, in at least one sense, for all will be married to the Bridegroom, who
is Christ. Matthew Henry, the great commentator, says, "The joys of that
state are pure and spiritual, and arise from the marriage of all of them to the
Lamb, not of any of them to one another." He may be overstating the case,
and be implying that there are no joys in any other relationship than that we
will have with our Savior, but his point is good. Just as all will love Christ
without any jealousy, so any love in heaven will not present any problem as it
often does in time.
A
husband was consoling himself and his wife who was on her death‑bed. He
said they would meet again and be together in heaven. But she replied that she
would not even notice him in heaven for she would be occupied forever in
praising her Lord. This sound super‑spiritual, but it has no basis in
fact. We will be ever in our Lord's presence and worship will be a perpetual
state of the redeemed, but to suggest that all other relationships have to be
denied is going against the grain of all Christian hopes. We are to love God
now with all our being, but this in no way detracts from loving others. In
fact, the second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourself. God is to be
our number one priority, but He expects us to love others as well. There is no
reason to suppose this will be changed in heaven where we will finally be able
to obey God's commands completely. We will be able to love God fully and still
be able to love others in a special way, as well as love all the redeemed. We must love others here to really love God.
It will be even more so in heaven. Our total love for God will make us all the
more loving to others.
Charles
Spurgeon, considered by many to be the greatest preacher in history, had a very
interesting and unique perspective on this issue. He writes, "I expect to
see and know all the saints, to recognize them, and rejoice with them, and that
without the slightest prejudice to my being wholly absorbed in the sight of my
Lord. Let me explain to you how this can be. When I went the other day into a
friend's drawing‑room, I observed that on all sides there were mirrors.
The whole of the walls were covered with glass, and everywhere I looked I kept seeing
my friend. It was not necessary that I should fix my eyes upon him, for all the
mirrors reflected him. Thus, brethren, it seems to me that every saint in
heaven will be a mirror of Christ, and that as we look upon all the loved ones,
gazing round upon them all, we shall see Christ in every one of them, so we
shall still be seeing the Master in the servants, seeing the head in all the
members. It is I in them, and they in me. Is it not so? It will be all the
Master. This is the sum total of heaven."
Spurgeon saw no problem in
loving one's mate forever, for it would not be a conflict with loving one's
Lord supremely.
The
Sadducees tried to make love a problem in order to make the whole idea of the resurrection
a problem. Jesus made it clear, their limited idea of love and marriage
was not the only concept of love and
marriage God was capable of designing. Failure to evaluate the answer of Jesus
in the context of this attack of the enemies of the resurrection has led some
to conclude that Jesus rejects the idea of love forever for mates.
This is
not so, and Christians all through history have never doubted that true loving
relationships will be eternal. Charles Kingsley wrote, "All I can say is,
if I do not love my wife, body and soul, as well as I do here, then there is
neither resurrection of my body nor my soul." This is the conviction of
many who have given this issue any thought. In the famous Pulpit Commentary,
widely used by pastors, we read these words on this passage, "Our Lord
says nothing here concerning mutual recognition in the future state; nothing
about the continuance of those tender relations which he sanctions and blesses
on earth, and in the absence of which we cannot imagine perfect happiness
existing....Love will continue, purified and deepened; husband and wife, once
joined together by God, cannot be put asunder." Herbert Lockyer, author of
numerous Christian books, says, "What kind of home would it be if its members
are to be strangers to each other for ever? ....the beautiful but broken
relationships of earth are resumed in the Father's house above where, as
members of the same family we dwell together in perfect harmony."
It is no
contradiction to the words of Christ to affirm that marriage will last forever.
It is probably more accurate, however, to say that the relationship and love of
married people will last forever, after marriage itself has passed away.
Marriage is an earthly concept, but love is heavenly and eternal, and that is
what lovers want. The old puritan theology of marriage put it this way‑‑"husband
and wife are to help each other to live together for a time as copartners in grace here, that they may reign together
forever as coheirs in glory hereafter." The idea that we will be like
angels ought not to cause us to reduce our concept of love. Are we to suppose
for one minute that angels are less loving than we are, and that to be like
them is a step down from our level of love. For all we know angels have a
pleasure in love that is far superior to what we know of in sex. All we know is
that there will be no jealousy and conflict in angelic love.
There is a land where beauty
will not fade,
Nor sorrow dim the eye;
Where true hearts will not shrink
nor be dismayed
And love will never die.
Marriage
existed in the first Paradise and God declared that it was not good for man to
be alone. God provided a partner for Adam, and Paradise was only complete when
he had his partner. Certainly, the final Paradise will not be less than the
first. There will be no widows or widowers in heaven. There will be no lonely
singles. Not all singles are lonely, but the fact is, many are so in time. This
will not be the case in heaven. Everyone will have a partner, for if it was not
good for Adam to be without a partner, it certainly will not be good for anyone
in the everlasting paradise to be without one. Christ will have His Bride, the
Church, and every man will have a companion, if not a wife, and every women a
companion, if not a husband. Nobody will be left out of a perfect love
relationship in that eternal Paradise. This would be a contradiction to all we
know of God in the Bible.
It is a
problem to grasp just what the relationship of mates will be in heaven, because
we are limited, like the Sadducees were, in our understanding. But it will be
something special. C.S.Lewis wrote, "About the nature of the relation
between spouses in eternity I base my idea on St. Paul's dictum that 'he that is joined with a harlot is one
flesh.' If the lowest, most corrupt form of sexual union has some mystical
'oneness' involved in it,...the married and lawful form must have it par
excellence. That is, I think the union between the risen spouses will be as
close as that between the soul and its own risen body."
Richard
Crashaw put the following epitaph on the tomb of a young married couple who
died and were buried together.
To these, whom death again
did wed,
This grave's their second
marriage bed;
For though the hand of fate
could force
Twixt soul and body a
divorce,
It could not sunder man and
wife,
Cause they both lived but
one life.
The last
line is the key to the hopes of lovers. If they are one in Christ, that unity will
be everlasting, but if they lack that oneness, they have no basis for eternal
oneness. All oneness, and all love that will be eternal, will be so, because of
a oneness in time in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is love for Christ that makes
every other love eternal. That is why Christians have always known that their
earthly loves will be a part of heaven. David knew that he would love his son,
he lost as a child, in heaven.(IISam.12:23). Dr. Lee Roberson, the great
preacher in the South, said in a message on this text, "This verse tells
me that we shall see our loved ones in heaven and know them." Martha knew
she would know and love her brother Lazarus, in heaven.(John 11:24). Paul
expected to know his Christian friends in heaven. In I Thess.2:19‑20 he
wrote, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory
in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are
our glory and joy." See also, II Cor. 1:14 and 4:14. How can we possibly
think that all relationships, but those of mates, will continue forever? All of
our problems with this reality revolve around the same issue the Sadducees saw,
and which Jesus eliminated‑sex. Ellicott in his commentary says,
"The old relation may subsist under new conditions. Things that are
incompatible here may there be found to co‑exist. The saintly wife of two
saintly husbands may love both with an angelic, and therefore a pure and
unimpaired affection."
The
answer of Jesus, to the trick question of the Sadducees, does not, in any way,
rob heaven of one of the great hopes of Christian lovers through the ages. On
the tomb of Charles Kingsley and his wife are three Latin words which give a
message that millions of mates feel is true. The three words say, "We have
loved, we love, we shall love." This has been the hope of Christians
through the centuries. St. Augustine, one of the greatest theologians of all
time, wrote a letter of consolation to Italica, a Roman lady of rank who had
lost her husband, way back in 408 A.D. In it he said, "We have not lost our dear ones who have departed from this
life, but have merely sent them ahead of us, so we also shall depart and shall
come to that life where they will be more than ever dear as they will be better
known to us, and where we shall love them without fear of parting." This
was also the conviction of Ambrose, the famous bishop of Milan from 340‑397
A.D. He wrote of his brother who died, and imagines the happiness of
Theodosius, "when he receives Gratian and Pulcheria, his sweetest
children, whom he had lost here; when his wife Flacilla, a soul faithful to
God, embraces him; when he rejoices that his father has been restored to
him;...." Recognition of, and
reunion with, loved ones has been the universal hope of believers. There is no
way you can leave mates out of this hope. John Greenleaf Whittier in Snow Bound
wrote these famous words of the Christian hope,
Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his
cypress trees;
Who hopeless lays his dead
away,
Nor looks to see the
breaking day
Across his mournful marbles
play;
Who has not learned in hours
of faith
The truth to flesh and sense
unknown,
That life is ever Lord of
Death
And Love can never lose its
own.
2. GHOSTS OF THE GODLY
Bases on Matt. 27:5‑54
History is full of the weird and mysterious in relation to the
dead. In Barbados, in the West Indies,
in 1812, a vault was opened and three coffins were in a confused state. In 1815 and 1819 it was opened, and again, each
time the coffins were in disarray. The
Governor, Lord Cambermere had the vault carefully checked and cemented up and
sealed. Nine months later it was opened in his presence with thousands of
spectators. To everyone's amazement the
coffins were scattered about, one was on end, and some on top of others. No one could explain it, and so it entered
the books as another ghost story, along with hundreds of other unexplained
mysteries.
Christianity has always been involved in the history of the unexplained,
because it too deals with the supernatural.
Many of the haunted houses of history have been parsonages, and you
wouldn't believe all the weird goings on that preachers have experienced. Much of the history of ghost haunting and
hunting has been written by Christian men.
For example, Sabine Baring Gould, author of Onward Christian Soldiers,
who died in 1924 at the age of 90, wrote much about ghosts, and his own brother
was seen by his mother after his death.
Ludwig
Levater, a Protestant Calvinist minister in Switzerland wrote a book in 1572
with the title, Of Ghosts and Spirits Walking By Night. He believed that the dead could appear, but
felt most ghosts were due to hallucination and pranks. He told of how merry young men would throw
sheets over themselves and scare the wits out of travelers at Inns. Sometimes they even went so far as to hide
under the bed. Ghosts are still a part
of most Halloween parties today, but they are so tame that seldom will a ghost
ever win a prize.
There was a young man of
Bengal,
Who went to a Halloween
ball.
He thought he would risk it,
And go as a biscuit,
But a dog ate him up in the
hall.
He would
have been better off as a ghost. This
type of humor was not appreciated by the Catholic Church. They officially believed in ghosts, and took
the matter quite seriously. In 1509
when four monks came to John Jetzer at night with sheets over them to give him
some theological answers from the other world, they were caught, and made to
give up the ghost in more ways than one, for they were condemned to die at the
stake. Some people just can't take a
joke. That phrase, giving up the ghost,
is used 5 times in the King James Version to refer to the death of Jesus on the
cross, and it is used also to describe the dying of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
The
ghost, of course, refers to the spirit of man.
Only once did we find a reference to a ghost in its eerie supernatural
sense in the New Testament. When Jesus
came walking for the disciples on the sea, in the night, we read in Matt.
14:26, "But when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were
terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!"
and they cried out for fear."
Any of us seeing a white figure moving across the water in the night
would jump to that same conclusion that it must be a ghost. Mark tells us the same thing, and both use
the word phantasma. This is the only
place where the word is used in Scripture.
It does reveal that the disciples believed in the possibly of
ghosts. This is not surprising, for
most everybody did in their day.
The
issue of the reality of ghosts revolves around the question of whether or not
the dead can ever return and appear unto men.
The Catholic Church has concluded that the dead in heaven or hell can
never return, but the dead in purgatory might, if God permitted.
Protestants concluded that all the visions and
contact with the dead are simply demons impersonating the dead. That is, they do not deny the evidence of
the supernatural appearances, but they feel it is demonic deception rather than
the return of the actual dead. The
Catholic Church tended to support the stories of good ghosts who would return
to make up for their sins. They would
haunt a murderer until he confessed, or help solve some injustice and encourage
the faithful. The Puritans so objected
to this that they went to the other extreme, and wanted nothing to do with the
dead, and so they ceased even to have funeral sermons.
The
point of this introduction is to show that there has been a history of
Christian debate over ghosts. The
debate goes on yet today, and there is a great interest in the subject. Dorthy Scarborough in her book, Famous
Modern Ghost Stories writes, "Man's love for the supernatural, which is one
of the most natural things about him, was never more marked than at the
present." Along with the growing
interest in the occult there are also a growing number of books on ghosts. Shopenhower asserted that belief in ghosts
is born with man, and that no one is free from it. It is true that such beliefs are found in all lands and ages, but
it is not true everywhere. I asked my
three children if they believed in ghosts, and they thought it was silly. Mark even said that is like believing in
Santa Claus.
Most
American Christians would be highly skeptical of anything to do with ghosts,
and I am sure most of us would fit this category. I'm not interested in looking at ghost evidence, but our text
brings us into a realm far more mysterious than any story you ever heard of
about ghosts.
Some believe these dead raised to life were ghosts. It all depends on your definition. My interest in the passage is to point out
how much more mysterious reality is than fiction. People flock to see horror movies with all the terror of ghouls,
vampires, and monsters of every sort.
Blood flows freely, and people get their sadistic kicks out of it
all. But its all fiction, and everybody
knows it, even those who scream and get goose pimples.
But our
text, and the whole of Matt. 27 is a record of historical fact. This chapter is so filled with evil and
horror, and supernatural mystery, that if we could see it portrayed as it
really happened, it would make the Hollywood horror films look like bedtime
stories. I defy anyone to show me
anywhere in all the literature of history a record of more horror and mystery
than we have here in Matt. 27.
It
begins with the evil satanic inspired plot to kill the Son of God. It records His capture and deliverance to
Pilate. Secondly, it tells of the
stricken conscience of Judas, and his terrible despair that ended in a most
gruesome suicide. Thirdly, we have here
a supernatural dream of Pilate's wife giving warning. Fourthly, we have the demonic plot successfully carried out of
releasing a known criminal, who was Barabbas.
Fifthly, we have the cry of the cruel mob saying, "Crucify Him and
let His blood be upon us and our children." Sixthly, we have the inhuman mockery, and the crowning of Jesus
with thorns. Seventhly, we have the scene of dying men forced to drag their
cross to the place of skull‑Golgatha.
It was a place of horror and death.
Eighthly, we begin to see the whole creation involved in this most
supernatural event. At noon the sun goes
black and for three hours the land is draped in darkness. Nothing Hollywood could do could ever match
such a setting for the conflict of good and evil. Ninethly, near the end of darkness a blood curdling cry came from
the middle cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
There is
more horror and mystery per verse here than anywhere in God's Word, or in all
creation. If the world is hungry for
the mysterious and supernatural let them read the Bible, and let us who believe
it share it, and let the world know. We
have a text that should be a thrill to anyone who longs for more insight into
the supernatural. It is a text that has
a fantastic history, and more implications than we can begin to cover. It raises many questions that nobody can
answer. It leaves commentators
mystified, and many just skip over it.
Christians are often afraid of the supernatural, and text like this
bother them, and so they ignore them.
People say they believe the Bible, but if you ask them if they believe
any have ever risen from the dead, and come out of tombs, and appeared unto
others, they would write you off as some kind of a kook. Most Christians are not even aware this
passage is in the Bible.
Maybe
some would like to believe it is one of those passages that got into the Bible
by mistake. No chance, for there is
scarcely a scholar anywhere who does not agree that this is a part of God's
original revelation. It is as authentic
as John 3:16. There is no escaping it,
and so we must treat it as God's revelation, and incorporate it into our
theology. The earthquake, the tearing
of the veil in the temple, and tombs being opened, are all connected, and each
has a valuable message to convey. We
are focusing our attention on the saints who rose from the tombs. An unknown poet has put the whole scene into
poetry.
The graves flew open, and
exposed their store,
And into bodies shook the
human ore;
The temple corner‑stones
were seen to yield,
And to and fro the laboring
fabric reeled,
The hallowed loaves were
thrown the floor about,
And the seven golden burning
lamps went out.
The sacred incense lost its
odorous scent,
The awful veil was into
pieces rent.
Heaven
and hell were locked in mortal combat.
The destiny of men in the world was being decided. And because Jesus, through death, conquered
death, and delivered those in bondage by destroying the power of the devil,
even Hollywood knows that the way to deal with Dracula is by means of the
cross. Here we have the real war to end
all wars, for this war opened the way to eternal peace with God. The open tombs and risen saints bore
testimony to the cataclysmic effects of the cross. The magnitude of what Jesus did in dying could not be revealed
except by a very extraordinary miracle.
The Roman Centurion was so impressed by the supernatural effects of
Christ's death he confessed that He was the Son of God. Luke 23:48 says, "And all the multitude
who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned
home beating their breasts." We
cannot be touched that deeply, but lets see what we can learn about these
temporary tenants of the tombs. The
first question we will look at is‑
I. WHO? Who were these saints whose bodies came to
life again? There are two views. They
could be saints of the Old Testament, or as most believe, they could be
believers in Christ who died during His ministry. If the thief on the cross was promised an entrance into paradise
that very day, what about those who believed before the cross, but who had died
already? Would they be blessed with a
destiny less than that thief because they died sooner? Most say no, for it is fitting that all the
followers of Christ would join Him in this conquering of death. Some commentators mention such people as
Joseph the husband of Mary, and Simeon, and John the Baptist. The evidence does support the view that
these were Christian saints rather than Old Testament saints. The word for saints is used only here in the
Gospels, but everywhere else in the New Testament it always refers to
Christians. If we go to be with Christ
when we die, why should all of those who died during His life not join Him
immediately in entering paradise? The
day of resurrection was not only for the head, but for all of the Body that had
been dead up to that point. The second
question is ‑
II.
HOW? Were they raised like
Lazarus in their natural body which would be subject again to death? Were they raised as was Jesus with spiritual
bodies, able to appear and disappear, and ascend with Him to paradise? Again we can only make intelligent
speculation in an area of such unusual mystery. Either view is adequate.
If they arose in their natural body, they did not have to die and be
buried again, but could have ascended like Enoch and Elijah did in their
natural bodies. Most everyone agrees
that these saints did ascend with Christ, and did not have to die again. Spurgeon felt they were given the spiritual
body we all we have in the day of resurrection. He said of them, "How I should like to know something about
them! They were representative men;
they arose as specimens of the way in which all the saints shall in their due
time arise." There is no way to be
sure of the nature of their bodies, but if they were raised with bodies like
Jesus, bodies that could disappear and go through walls, then they would fit
the description of what we think of as ghosts.
In many lands the ghost has a body identical to its body of flesh, and
it can eat and even marry, and none can tell the difference. If such be the case here, we have the ghosts
of the godly. The third question is‑
III.
WHEN? In verse 53 Matthew makes
it clear that it was after the resurrection of Christ that the saints came out of
the tombs and appeared to others. The
timing is important because the Scripture makes it clear that Jesus was the
first born from the dead, and that He was the first fruits of those who slept. The resurrection of Christ would be anti‑climatic
if the saints had appeared before Him.
The Christians would not have doubted the resurrection of Jesus if they
had already seen dead friends and relatives who had come back to life.
The text
says that the earthquake prepared the way for this resurrection by opening the
tombs. The earthquake did not wake the
dead. The tombs were open as Jesus
died, and no one did anything about closing them up, for to touch a tomb or
body would defile them,
and they would be eliminated from participation in
the Passover events. We have here the
weirdest weekend of the world's history.
You can search the records and you will never find an earthquake in
history that added to the world population.
They all subtract but this one.
Earthquakes are a mouth of death swallowing up people, but here is one,
like the great fish of Jonah, vomiting up the captives into life. There were more people alive after this
earthquake than before it began. Nature
helped Jesus literally rob the graves.
Jesus was the greatest grave robber of all time, and He is not through
yet, for He says in John 5:28‑29, "Do not marvel at this; for the
hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come
forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." All the spook shows of the world are kids
stuff compared to what our Lord has done and will do in the display of
supernatural power. The final question
is‑
IV.
WHY? Did Jesus just have a flare
for the spectacular, or was there a good reason for these saints rising and
appearing? Obviously there was purpose,
and some reasons are evident. Jesus
could do many things as the Son of God that no one else could do. If He rose from the dead alone, it would
still not be evidence that anyone else could do so. In these saints, however, we have a concrete example of the power
of the resurrection. If Jesus entered
death and set the captives free, then there should be evidence of it, and these
saints were that evidence. John Calvin
in his commentary on Matthew writes, "Christ, in rising from the dead,
brought others along with Him out of their graves as His companions. Now by this sign it was made evident, that
He neither died nor rose again in a private capacity, but in order to shed the
odor of life on all believers."
There was more than one empty tomb on that first Easter. Because Jesus died and rose again, there
were godly ghosts who walked the earth,
and they represent, not just the victory of Jesus over death, but the victory
of all who put their trust in Him.
3. THE COINS OF THE BIBLE
Based on Mark 12:41‑44
Florence Banks in her book Coins Of Bible Days says that the
handling of ancient coins does with time what radio and TV do with space. There are hundreds of miles between us and
California, but TV eliminates those miles, and puts people there in our
presence here. So Bible days are hundreds
of years back, and a great gap separates us from the people who lived then. But to see and touch the bits of silver,
bronze, and gold that those people used, as we use dimes and dollars, brings
them nearer. She writes, "When we
hold in our palms the one thing we can hold which we have a reasonable right to
believe could have been in the hand of Nicodemus when he bought the hundred
pounds of myrrh and aloes for Jesus's burial; in the hand of Martha when she
went to market; in the hand of Mary of Bethany when she bought her precious
alabaster box of spikenard, or in the money bag of Judus when he purchased food
for the disciples, we feel a closer acquaintance with those personages of the
Bible than we had ever dreamed we could."
Money in those days was not called in when it got old like it
is today. There were no banks, and so
people hoarded money and hid it in caves and wells, and buried it in the
ground. That is why archaeologists are
able to find so much of that ancient money.
When Jesus told the parable of the treasure buried in the field He was
not dreaming up a hypothetical situation.
He was speaking of a common practice of His day. Many coins are also found in ancient ships
that have sunk, and so the result is there are actually more coins available
from the ancient world of Greece and Rome than there are from the 18th century
in the United States. There are enough
of the coins of Bible times available so you can own one for just a few
dollars.
The study of coins can make history come alive. The symbolism has much meaning, for coins often
had the image of some deity on them.
This led to people using them as magic and good luck charms. Some use to put coins under their pillow to
cure headaches because the god on the coin was a god of healing. Jewish coins, however, did not follow the imagery
of other people, for God commanded them not to make images. Of great interest to coin collectors,
however, is a coin that was made by the people in Gaza, the Philistine City in
about 400 B.C. It has a helmeted head
of an unknown male god on one side, and on the other is a bearded figure of man
seated in a winged wheel and holding a hawk on his hand. Three Phoenician letters are also shown
which are transliterated as YHD or YHW.
Kenneth Jacob in his book Coins And Christianity says that this coin may
be the only known example of the God of the Israelites being depicted on a
coin. The Jews did not make the coin,
but it was made by the people who made coins to appeal to a number of different
cults by using their deities. This was
their method of trying to open up trade.
The wings and the wheels fit the vision of Ezekiel. This unique coin is in the British
Museum.
The Jews learned the value of coins from others. For centuries they used precious metals as money
according to weight. The first rich man
mentioned in the Bible was Abraham. He
lived in the 19th century B.C. Gen.
13:2 says, "Now Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in
gold." In Gen. 23 we have an
account of a real estate transaction.
Abraham bought a piece of property from the Hittites for a burying
place. When agreement had been reached
Abraham weighed out, "Four hundred shekels of silver, according to the
weights current among the merchants."
This was equal to about $220.00 in our money in the 1960's. Today we could hand over $220.00 and a man
could slip it into his billfold and go about his business feeling no
burden. In that day you had to have bags
to carry your metal weights to measure, and then a beast of burden to carry away
your profits.
Through most of the Old Testament the weight system was
used. This became so inconvenient that
men had to devise an easier way of transferring wealth. That is why coins became such a helpful
invention. Not all have caught on to this
convenient idea even in modern times.
If you go to the small island of Yap in the Pacific, you will find that
they still use for their money huge stones up to 50 pounds. They have holes in them so a pole can be put
through, and two men can carry it. It
is the largest and heaviest currency in the world. In their primitive society it is no problem, but you can't even
imagine what an intolerable nuisance it would be in our society. There are also people in the Pacific who use
bird feathers for money, and so the heaviest and the lightest money in the
world is used by primitive peoples in the Pacific.
The Jewish people were more primitive than others peoples when
it came to matter of science, culture, and business. The first coins were made in about 700 B.C. in Lydia, which is
now the coast of Turkey. Gold was so
plentiful there that the river was said to be flowing with golden sand. Croesus, who reigned from 560 to 546 B. C.
was world famous for his extreme wealth.
He was the first to make coins of pure gold. Some of them have survived to this day. Deluded by his wealth he believed he was invincible, and decided
to take on Cyrus the king of Persia. In
two years he was defeated, and his fabulous fortune and mint were taken by
Cyrus. The Persians had no coins, but
Cyrus liked the idea and made his own coins.
He then went on to conquer Babylon where the Jews were in
captivity. This is where the Jews first
came into contact with the idea of coins.
When Cyrus sent them back to Jerusalem, they took with them vast
quantities of these Persian coins called drachmas. This is the first coin mentioned in the Bible in Ezra 2:68. In Neh. 7:70-72 we also read of the
thousands of drachmas given to help build up the wall. From this time on gifts to the temple are no
longer in weights of gold and silver, but in gold and silver coins.
Jewish coinage then began after the captivity, and, therefore,
at the end of recorded Old Testament history.
This means we must study the intertestimental period to learn of Jewish
coinage. This is of interest, but of
even more interest is the study of coins in the New Testament. We actually have coins in collections which
were made by Herod the Great, his son Archelaus who is also mentioned in the
New Testament. Also we have them by
Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded; Herod Agrippa who had Peter
imprisoned, and Pontius Pilate. Collectors are eager to find his coins marked
the 16th year of Tiberius, for that was the year of the crucifixion. It is a coin with a vessel on one side and
three ears of barley on the other.
The coin most in demand by collectors is that piece of money
Jesus held in His hand called the tribute penny. The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus in a political blunder by
asking Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Ceasar or not. Jesus in Matt. 22:19 asked them to show
whose likeness and inscription was on the coin. When they said Ceasar's, he responded, "Render therefore to
Ceasar the things that are Ceasar's, and to God the things that are
God's." This coin that Jesus
looked at was a silver coin with Tiberius Ceasar on one side and this
inscription-Tiberius Ceasar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus. On the other side is a female seated with a
spear in her right hand, and an olive branch in her left. She represented Rome, and the inscription
Pontifex Maximus meant chief priests or Pontiff.
It is of interest to note the symbolism of war and peace which
we still use on our coins, but also to note the difference. On this coin that Jesus held the symbol of
war is in the right hand showing a preference to war. On American coins the eagle holds both the arrows of war and the
olive branch of peace, but it is the peace symbol that is in the right talon
showing a preference for peace. There
can be no doubt that this slight reverse in symbolism is due to the influence
of Christ in our culture and heritage.
You could take a 50 cent piece or dollar bill and ask somebody why the
arrows are in the left talon, and explain that in the time of Christ they were
in the right, but He has made a difference.
A coin is a basis for a witness to Christ. He is the author of peace, and you can speak of peace that He can
give to those who will put their trust in Him.
The same Roman denarius was the coin that Jesus used in His
story of the Good Samaritan. In Luke
10:35 after he took the injured man to an inn we read, "And the next day he took out two
denarii and gave them to the inn-keeper, saying, take care of him and whatever
more you spend I will repay you when I come back." A denarius was equal to about 20 cents, so
he gave him an equivalent of 40 cents.
That would not go far in a Holiday Inn, but it was considerable money in
that day. In fact, it was equal to the
average man's wage for two days. In
Matt. 20 Jesus tells another parable of
laborers in the vineyard. They agreed
to labor for a denarius a day. This
means the Good Samaritan gave the inn keeper two days of salary.
In Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sits and watches people in their
giving. He sees the widow give her
mites. These mites were copper coins
which together equaled the smallest of the Roman coins. In our day they would be a half a penny
each. The RSV says instead of a
farthing, a penny. Here was giving on a
level that is the least possible unless she would give only one mite. Yet Jesus praises her, for relative to her
wealth she gave more than a millionaire who would give half a million, for he
would still have half a million left.
She gave her all, and in so doing she pleased Christ, and made the
little coin called the mite, or lepton, famous for all history. This provides a real stewardship lesson, and
gives even our penny a place of potential in the service of Christ. Littleness of value can be multiplied if
given to Christ. The poet put it-
Little drops
of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean,
And the beauteous land.
Little seeds of mercy,
Sown by youthful hands,
Grow to bless the nations
Far in heathen lands.
Never underestimate the power of small giving which is sacrificial
giving.
We don't have time to look at every coin in the Bible, but we
want to look at a few interesting facts about the role of coins following the
New Testament. The Romans made a big
thing of their destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They minted 15 varieties of coins to celebrate this event. Vespasian struck one of silver which can be
seen on display in Philadelphia. On one
side is himself, and on the other is a female captive with her hands bound
standing before a palm tree. The words
on it are Judea vanquished.
When Constantine, the Roman Emperor, became a Christian in 312
A.D., he began a process of Christianizing coins. It was slow at first, and there were just hints of Christian
symbolism mixed with pagan symbols.
After a century the cross was a frequently used symbol on coins. In 450 A.D. the emperor Marcian struck a
coin with he and his wife joining hands in marriage with the figure of Christ
standing between them. This was the
beginning of many coins on which Christ appeared.
In the East in the 6th century some silver coins had the cross
and the inscription-the light of the world.
Justinion II had his coins with himself and the inscription-the servant
of Christ. On the other side was a
portrait of Christ and the inscription-Jesus Christ-King of Kings. Sometimes Jesus was portrayed with a long
beard, and other times with a short beard, but the cross is almost always
present to make clear who it is. In the
10th century a series of bronze coins had Christ on them, and in the 12th
century Christ is shown crowning the emperor.
In England coins with the cross were common, and also the holy
dove. In France in the 10th century
there is coin of a bird with a twig in its beak representing the dove of
Noah. Some coins also had the Lamb of
God. Many Bible characters and scenes
were put on coins, and it became a custom to associate Christianity and coin
symbols. So much was this the case that
when a new silver florin was made in 1849 with reference to God omitted, a cry
went up from the people against what they called the godless florin. The outcry was so great that the coins were
promptly withdrawn, and a new coin made that had reference to God. The value of knowing this history is that it
gives the Christian another open door
to use a common interest, which is money, to witness for Jesus.
4. THE REALITY OF ACCIDENTS Based on Luke
13:1‑5
No doubt everyone of us has had our share of accidents. If not in a car, or with a knife, or some
other sharp object whereby we cut ourselves, then all of us have at some point
in our life fallen down. It is a part
of growing up to fall down, and so it is hard to conceive that even baby Jesus
did not fall down at sometime, or fall against some piece of furniture that
Joseph had made. It would not be a
normal childhood to grow up without some kind of an accident. But whether Jesus did or not is not the
issue, for nobody else does escape all accidents. We all have them, and the longer we live the more we have.
In the battle of Sockett's Harbor during the War of 1812,
David Sockett had his hand blown off at the age of 76. Most men had no such accidents at 76 because
most men never lived that long in that day.
Some years later a tree fell on Sockett's head and fractured his
skull. A few years after that he was
standing by when a cannon misfired and both his eyes were damaged by the
blast. After this a horse kicked him in
the face causing permanent disfigurement. You have to conclude that he was
accident prone, but it was something he learned to live with for he lived to be
115.
In contrast was our 17 year old neighbor. She was riding with
her brother when a Christian man in another car had an epilepsy attack. His foot froze on the gas pedal, and he ran
into their car. She was thrown into the
windshield where glass cut her juggler vain, and she died in just a few
minutes. At 17 one accident ended her
life. In another church I served an
army officer had a wife and three children who were hit by an oncoming car, and
the wife and two of the children were killed instantly. The third child was thrown out the back
window and survived. It was the first
an only three casket funeral I have ever seen.
These accidents didn't last very long, but the suffering they
left behind still goes on. I have had
my own share of accidents, and have wrecked a couple of cars quite severely but
have suffered no bodily injury. My
children cannot say the same. My oldest
son was hit by a car while on his bike and ended up in the hospital for a
month. My youngest son fell down the
stairs and was taken to the hospital.
My daughter once rolled down an embankment and smashed up a truck and
broke her neck. She had to spend weeks
in the hospital and months in traction, and with a lifetime of side
effects.
I read the same statistics that you read, and know that ten
of thousands of people a year die in car accidents, and hundreds of thousands
suffer injury, but cold statistics are not why I believe in the reality of
accidents. It is my experience of accidents
that convinces me they are real, and also my study of God's Word. But there is always this wide spread saying
that keeps coming up that says, "With God there are no
accidents." This is one of those
popular theological sayings that people use to cut off debate on a sensitive
issue. What can you say to such an
absolute statement? It seems
sacrilegious, or at least futile, to argue with such a statement. After all, who is going to have the audacity
to challenge the competency of God to run the world? The result is that this little phrase quite effectively cuts off
both debate and thought on the subject of accidents. But we cannot escape the fact that our experience suggests that
accidents are a very real part of the world in which we live.
Some pastors I have talked to about accidents feel that they
have to support the idea that there are no accidents in the life of a
Christian. I tried to argue with one
Christian leader that such a view doesn't seem to fit the facts, and he became
emotionally upset and did not want to pursue the issue. So I am aware that this is an emotional
topic, and you may not like questioning one of the strong convictions of many
Christians. But I decided that the best
way to deal with a dilemma is to look
it square in the face, and ask some serious questions. People make a lot of claims for God, but
what does God claim for Himself? What
does the Bible really say about accidents, and the things that happen by chance? Is there such a thing, or are these pagan
ideas that do not belong in the minds of God's people?
Philip P. Bliss, who wrote so many of the songs Christians
love to sing, such as Hallelujah What A Savior, Wonderful Words Of Life, The
Light Of The World Is Jesus, Almost Persuaded, Dare To Be A Daniel, And Jesus
Loves Even Me, and many more, was on a train with his wife heading for Chicago
for a series of meetings. A bridge gave
way and more than 100 people on the train were killed including the Blisses'. He gave so much of what we sing, but his
accident did not lead to more praise to God, but less. Bliss wrote the music to It Is Well With My
Soul, but the words were written by H. G. Spafford. He sent his family to Europe, and the ship sank, and all four of
his children went down with it.
Amy Carmicheal went to India as a missionary in 1895. She did much to alleviate the suffering of
children, but in 1931 she took a serious fall, and for the next 20 years she
was confined to her room. She was in
constant pain, but still managed the mission and wrote 13 books. She gained many victories, but not because
of her pain, but in spite of her pain.
When David Livingston went to Africa and devoted his life to reach those
people he faced constant danger. A lion
attacked him and left him wounded. He
was handicapped for the rest of his life on one side. A mad buffalo almost killed him, and a hippopotamus tipped his
boat, and he nearly drowned. He
suffered more fevers than anybody I ever read about, and spent a major part of
his life recovering. There seemed to be
no end to the problems, injuries, and suffering he endured.
R. G. LaTorneu gave millions to the cause of Christ. He crashed his car through 8 sections of a
fence and broke his neck. He spent two
months with his head laying useless on his shoulders. Later on in 1937 he and his wife and their quartet were on their
way to share the Gospel in word and song at a special meeting. They had a head on collision that killed all
three in the other car and two of their quartet. LaTorneu had both hips and a leg broken, and his chest was
crushed. His wife was severely injured
as well, but they both recovered and went on to serve the Lord, and gave
millions more to His cause.
We could go on and on, but the point is that the children of God,
as far as the record of history and the record of God's Word goes, do not have
any promise that they will escape the suffering that comes through
accidents. Godly people and leaders
frequently die in accidents. Some
Christians think that all of these accidents are really good because they are a
part of God's plan. But I do not see
this supported by Scripture at all. My
study of the Bible has led me to see that all of the events of life fall into
four categories. You may see other
categories, but here is how I see the breakdown of all events.
1. EVENTS WHICH GOD PLANS.
These events have to happen
because they are a part of God's purpose, and they are predestined. They cannot not happen. The cross is a good example. It was planned before the world was even
created, for God could not, or would not, create such a high risk being as man
with his freedom to fall without committing himself to pay the price to redeem
and restore him. The cross was the most
necessary event of history.
2. EVENTS WHICH GOD
PREVENTS.
These are things that would
have happened if God had not stepped into history and by His providence
prevented. Pharaoh took Sarah because
of her beauty, but God prevented his having her, and got her back to Abraham
unharmed and unused. The same thing
happened later with Rebekah. The
killing of baby Jesus by Herod was also prevented. There is no way to know how many terrible things never happened
because God prevented them from happening.
These two kinds of events‑what God plans, and what God prevents,
represent God's will in the world. They
happen or don't happen because God's plan demands it. But there are two other kinds of events also that we want to look
at.
3. EVENTS WHICH GOD
PROHIBITS.
These are all the things
that God forbids. He forbid Adam and
Eve to eat a certain fruit. He gave
commandments of what men should not do.
These things do take place, however, because God has given man the
freedom to disobey Him. God does not
will these events, nor does He prevent them.
They happen against His will.
All such events are what we call sin and evil.
4. EVENTS WHICH GOD PERMITS.
These are events which God
has not planned, but neither has He prohibited, or prevented them. They may cause a great deal of suffering,
but they are not events of choice, and so there is not the same guilt connected
with them as with those events which God has prohibited. This fourth category is where we put
accidents. Accidents are events which God did not plan to happen, nor did man
choose to happen. They happen because
of mistaken judgments, carelessness, and unawareness of the consequences of
what is being done. They are necessary
possibilities in a truly free world.
They are events that do not need to happen, for they are
preventable.
The Old Testament law had a very clear distinction between an
act of violence which was chosen, and an accidental act of violence. In Ex. 21:12‑13 we read, "Anyone
who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death. However, if he does not do it intentionally,
but God lets it happen, he is to flee to a place I will designate." The first is what we call first degree
murder. It is a willful planning to
take another's life. The second is what
we call manslaughter. There was never
any willful desire to take another life.
It happened because of unforseen events which we call accidents. There are all kinds of degrees of
responsibility for these kinds of events.
A ferry heading for Dover, England sank and a couple of
hundred people died. It was because of avoidable human error. Someone was
careless and forgot to close a certain door, and it led to the tipping of the
ferry. Hundreds of examples of this sort of thing happen. Is human error God's will?
If so, then there is no such thing as mistakes and human error, for if they are
God's will, and what he has ordained, then they had to happen, and man is not
responsible for them, for God made them make those mistakes. God alone then is
responsible for all human error. This takes away the responsibility of man and
puts it all on God, and this is false theology. We are responsible for our own
mistakes, and we cannot throw them back on God. It is part of the risk of a
free world where we can make choices. We often make bad ones, and they are our
choices and not God's. If we make bad choices on purpose it is sin, but if we
make them out of ignorance they are accidents. Either way, we are the ones
responsible.
Before you ever say there are no accidents again, let me share
with you the implications of what you are saying. An accident is something that
is not planned by God, or foreseen by man. But if it is a high risk situation
where it should be foreseen, then we hold those responsible for the act to a
higher degree of responsibility. For example, when a boy is throwing a hard
ball against the side of a house where a window is just a few feet away. This
scene gives us a good illustration of the difference between determinism and
freedom. When the boy lets go too soon
and the ball goes flying through the window, you do not get angry at God or the
ball. You know the ball had no choice in the matter, and so you do not get a hammer
and pulverize it. On the other hand, the boy who chose to throw it so near the
window does have a responsibility for what happened. If he has been warned
before not to play there, he is even more guilty. If there has never been any
warning, his guilt will be less for this first offense, for in ignorance he did
not realize the risk involved. His
punishment will be in accordance with the degree of his knowledge. If this is
the third offense, he is in deep trouble.
But now let us look at this event with the assumption that it
is true that there are no accidents. If this broken window is no accident, but
is the will of God, then the boy becomes identical with the ball. He is now
equally without choice, and had no more of an alternative than did the ball. To
punish him is the same as pounding the ball, for the boy is merely a tool in
the hands of God, just as the ball was a tool in the hands of the boy. The no
accident theory traces all apparent accidents back to the only one with a
choice, and that is God. This means God is the one who chooses all of the bad,
foolish, and ignorant mistakes that make the world so full of accidents. This
is bad theology.
If there are no accidents, there is nobody to blame for the
evils of life but God. You cannot blame the devil or man, because they only do
what God has planned for them to do. This reverses the revelation of God's
Word, and makes Him the cause of all evil, and the devil and man are mere
victims. The Bible says just the opposite, and that Satan and man by their
choices made the mess that God had to pay a great price to clean up by the
sacrifice of His own Son. If there are no accidents because all is God's will,
then it is no wonder that people get so angry at God for all of the terrible
tragedies of life. You do not even need a devil or evil forces, or even the
free will folly of man, for God alone can be the cause of all we hate about
life. But once you admit that all is
not God's will, and that evil forces and man can do what is not His will, then
you open the door to the reality of accidents. You can't have it both ways. If
God's will is not always done on earth as it is in heaven, and why pray this
prayer that Jesus taught if it is, then accidents have to be a part of reality
in a world where free choices are made every moment by imperfect beings.
People like the theory of no accidents because it becomes a
sort of magical way to get rid of evil and responsibility, and all of the
things that are disturbing about life. It is a form of escapism. Dr. Paul Tournier,
the author of numerous books, says in his book A Doctor's Casebook In The Light
Of The Bible, "The spirit of magic lies in wait for the Christians as much
as for the agnostics and the pagans. It arises, in fact form an inherent
tendency in human nature, and none of us can boast of being proof against it
wiles. It is the longing for the fairy tale, for the magic wand that will charm
away the difficulties of life, the suffering, the limitations, and the
uncertainties of our human condition."
Most of our superficial ideas about suffering arise from our
desire for a magical simple answer. What could be more simple than to believe
that there are no accidents, but that all is a part of God's plan? This means
that all is good, and there is no real evil in life. It is true that God can
and does work in all things, even evil and foolish mistakes, to bring forth
good, but to say that the evil and foolish mistakes are good is going beyond
Scripture and common sense. People do get comfort by believing that all is part
of God's plan, but I get more comfort by not believing that all of the
suffering in the world caused by accidents is the will of God. You can take
your choice, but I choose that which is based on the Word of God, and not a
traditional saying.
Now, at last, we come
to our text in Luke 13. Jesus is dealing with some of the tragedies of his day.
He chooses one from the world of suffering caused by the inhumanity of man to
man. Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galileans with their own sacrifices,
and the implication is that they were violently killed. The other tragedy he
deals with comes from the perversity of inanimate objects. Murphy's law comes
into play, and things like apartment buildings collapse and people are killed.
Jesus refers to the tower in Siloam which fell and killed 18 people.
The main point Jesus
is making is that the victims were not meeting such a tragic end because they
were being judged for their sin. They
were just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and they suffered the
consequences. They were not worse
sinners that anyone else. They did not
deserve their violent end anymore than those who escaped. Neither of these events were planned by
God. They fall into the category of
events God permits, but does not will. When a plane goes down and kills all who
are on board, those people who die are not any worse than those whose plane
does not go down. People who die in
auto accidents are not worse than those who do not. The whole idea of suffering and death being connected with the
sinfulness of the victims is rejected by Jesus. This is a false view of suffering to link it to the sinfulness of
people as if all suffering and death were in some way a form of judgment. Jesus is saying that suffering and tragedy
can often be accidental, and not a part of some plan to punish or discipline.
There is all kinds of discipline in life, and plenty of
punishment, but to look at an accident as one of these two is superficial and
contrary to the teaching of Christ.
Spurgeon, one of the greatest preachers in history, and a strong Calvinist, speaks very openly
about the reality of accidents. He
said, "It is very customary among religious people to talk of every
accident as if it were a judgment. The
upsetting of a boat upon the river on a Sunday is assuredly understood to be a
judgment for the sin of Sabbath‑breaking. In the accidental fall of a house, in which persons were engaged
in any unlawful occupation, the inference is at once drawn that the house fell
because they were wicked. Now, however,
some religionists may hope to impress the people by such childish stories as
these, I for one, forswear them all. I
believe what my Master says is true, when He declared concerning the men upon
which the tower of Siloam fell, that they were not sinners above all....They
were sinners, there is no doubt about it, but the falling of the wall was not
occasioned by their sin, nor was their premature death the consequence of their
excessive wickedness."
Common sense tell us this is so, for accidents happen to the
innocent so often. Children fall, and
children get into poisons, and nobody suffers more accidents free of all sinful
and wicked intentions than do children.
There is no connection between sin and accidents as a necessity. It is equal folly to say there never is a
connection, for people who drive and drink kill thousands every year, and their
suffering is a direct result of their sin and folly. It is not the case with their victims, however. Pilate was doing evil when he killed the
Galileans. They were innocent victims
of his evil, but there is no record that he suffered, just as the drunken driver
often escapes injury as he kills others.
You cannot find a connection between sin and suffering that
fits the whole world of innocent and accidental suffering. To even try is to
reject the Lord's rejection of the whole idea, and try to make all suffering
some form of judgment. Jesus says this tragic suffering and death is not
judgment, and it is obvious that it cannot be for discipline. Discipline is for
teaching so as to correct bad behavior.
Death is definitely overkill for this purpose, and so we are left with a
form of suffering we put into the category of accidental.
What does this mean? An
insurance agent once asked a cowboy if he had ever had an accident, and he
said, "No, none to speak of. A bronc kicked in my ribs and busted my
collar bone, and a rattlesnake bit me last year." "Good
heavens," said the agent, "Don't you call them accidents?"
"No," said the cowpuncher, "They done it on purpose." There are accidents which are done on purpose. We have all seen a movie where the bad guys
fix the brakes on the good guys car so they will go out when he is driving down
the mountain, and thereby have an accident.
Technically this is not an accident, but a plan event to look like an
accident. God prohibits such events,
and so it is no accident, but an evil act done by choice.
An authentic accident is an event that takes place without God
willing it to happen, and with no human foresight or expectation. It is not the result of a plan, but the
result of chance. Anything that happens
as a result of a plan is not an accident.
This is why many Christians say there are no accidents, for they believe
that everything that happens is a part of God's plan. If that was the case then everything is planned, and there would
be no accidents. Other Christians find
this intolerable for it makes God responsible for all that we find most evil
about the world of suffering. The
innocent who suffer and die in war; because of alcoholic drivers, and because
of all the foolish mistakes adults make are all a part of God's plan, if this
theory is correct, and that is not acceptable to most Christians.
It would be easy to believe that Satan is responsible for all
this evil suffering, but to call it part of the plan of God blurs the
distinction between good and evil. The
Bible says that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. It is hard to believe this if one also
believes that all of the accidents of the world are really planned by God. The issue of responsibility is what we are
dealing with. I once pulled into an
intersection as it was getting dark, and a car without its lights on tore the
front end of my car off. When the
police arrived they did not give me a ticket even though I pulled right in
front of the guy. It was because he had
a responsibility to have his lights on at that time. He got the ticket because he failed to do what he was
responsible to do.
I have made mistakes in driving also, and I could have caused
an accident by these mistakes. If I
would have, it would not be God's responsibility, but my own. To throw blame back on God for all human
error, carelessness, and irresponsibility is passing the buck. We don't like it, but we have to accept the
fact that God has given us a great responsibility in determining what happens
in this world. Most accidents are
because we fail in our responsibility.
God permits this because He permits us to be free.
5. THANK GOD FOR GRANDPARENTS Based on II Tim. 1:1‑7
Professor Gordon Rupp, the British historian, was asked how
the church could survive the decades of persecution and communist propaganda in
Russia. His answer was, "It's
largely due to grandparents." The
communists made the big mistake of thinking that because the church was only
full of old people it had no future.
They failed to realize that grandparents have an impact on their
grandchildren. The old Russian
grandparents passed their faith on to their grandchildren, and that is why
there is a new revival of Christianity in Russia.
We often look at the masses of youth in our schools and
colleges and say that they are our future, and it is truly so, but let us not
forget that our future is also in the past because the older people pass on
their old values and faith to those masses of youth. Paul recognized this in the life of young Timothy. He loves Timothy dearly, but he recognized
that his gifted young Christian servant was not merely a product of his own
making. He had a heritage that went
back to grandma Lois. She was the one
who had faith in God, and she passed that faith on to her daughter Eunice, and
together they instilled it in Timothy.
He was not a self‑made man.
He was a product of a godly heritage that came to him from his
grandmother.
The Bible is filled with grandparents. All of the Patriarchs of the Old Testament
were grandparents, and practically every famous person in the Bible was a
grandfather or grandmother. Every
person in the genealogy of Jesus was a grandparent. The grandfather of Jesus is mentioned 3 times. A major portion of the Bible was written by
grandfathers. But Lois is the only
person in the Bible actually given the label of grandmother. There is one in the Old Testament given the
name grandmother as well. Her name was
Moaca the grandmother of King Asa, but she was a bad example. So Lois is the only named grandmother in the
Bible with a positive influence.
Her grandson Timothy is one of the major New Testament
servants of God, and Paul's two letters to him are a major part of the New
Testament. We do not know a lot about
Lois, but her faith touched her family, and through her family has touched all
of history. She became an ideal example
of the value and influence of grandparents, and on this grandparents day we
want to focus on the role they play in God's plan for the family. It is of interest to note that the Greek
word for grandmother is mamme. It is
very close to mommy, and from which we get the term of respect, which is
mom.
Grandparents should be addressed with terms of affection
and respect. A Swedish proverb says,
"Where there is a grandmother in the house the children always have a
friend." In a world where children
in greater numbers than ever have to endure the trials of divorced parents, and
multiple kinds of abuse, the grandparents often are the glue that keeps
together any semblance of continuity.
If kids loose the present,
but still have a pass to tie into, they can bridge the gap to the future, but
rob them of their grandparents too and they are cut off and abandoned. That is why the courts in recent years have
given grandparents the right of visitation so that no matter how messed up the
parents are, the children can still develop a healthy relationship to grandma
and grandpa.
Rita Fuentes received this letter from her grandson that
illustrates the impact of grandparents, and one way we can let them know of our
love.
"Dear Nana and Pop‑pop:
I was reading a book written by one of my favorite poets,
Rod McKuehn, and all of the sudden the phone rang. Immediately I scanned my desk top for some kind of bookmark and
settled on a wallet‑sized photo of you two from 1983.
After finishing my phone conversation, I opened the book and
saw those two familiar faces saving my place.
And then it occurred to me that the two of you have been saving a place
for me for a long time now.
So basically, in celebration of Grandparents Day, I decided
to let you know that I have a special place saved in my heart for both of
you."
When the Star Tribune back in 1991 asked for letters of
affection from 11 thousand students they did not write about boyfriends and
girlfriends, or even about mom and dad, but mainly about grandparents. One of the main values grandchildren love is
the escape from legalism they experience in their home. Grandparents will often let rules
slide. This is called spoiling the
grandkids, but it is great fun for everyone involved. When I was a young boy I was not allowed to drink coffee, but
grandma would put a little in the bottom of a glass and then fill it up with
milk. I felt proud to be able to drink
coffee at grandma's house. There is no
such rule there about no cookies before supper. All of the forbidden treats are available at any time at
grandma's house.
It is part of the fun of the young and the old to escape
for a while from the legalism of everyday life. It makes grandparents feel like liberators. Freedom is a gift that grandparents give to
children. They need the discipline of
rules and consistency that parents give them, but they also need to taste the
freedom to explore, which grandparents often allow on a different level than
they get at home. Grandparents help them
see the bigger picture of their mom and dad.
They are adults who were once children and they did a lot of crazy
things as kids too. Grandparents tell
about all of the silly pranks of their parents. This is great fun and gives the kids perspective. They also know they are loved when they blow
it, for blowing it is part of the family tradition.
In the Old Testament there were cities of refuge where
guilty people could run to for protection.
Many children see the home of their grandparents as their city of refuge. Even the guilty need a place to flee to
where they can be accepted in their guilt until they can work out their
problem, and grandparents can provide this refuge. I can remember running across the field to grandmas house when I
felt rejected at home.
Grandparents focus
on making life fun for children, and teach that being spiritual and committed
to Christ does not mean a loss of enjoyment and pleasure. They do not demand as much as parents, but
give a lot out of sheer grace, and ask nothing in return. They illustrate the love of God who gave His
Son while we were still sinners. The
free gifts of love from grandparents leads to a sense of gratitude in
grandchildren. They have to get into
their 20's or 30's before they fully appreciate all that mom and dad have done
for them, but they can feel it early toward grandpa and grandma, and that leads
them to want to do what pleases their grandparents. Grandparents provide an alternate atmosphere for children. They do not carry the daily burden of
raising children, and so they are more free to provide an atmosphere of more
fun.
Millet, the French artist, who gave us the Angelus and The
Man With A Hoe, and some 20 other works that are in the Louvre in Paris had a
godly grandmother. At his wedding she
said to him, "Remember my Francois, that you are a Christian before you
are a painter. Never sacrifice on the
altar of Baal." He promised he
would not use his gift for any evil, and he kept that promise to his
grandmother. Her standards became his,
and like Lois, she passed on her faith to her grandson.
I read of Darwin Carlisle, the girl who refused to
die. Her mother abandoned her at age 9
and left her in an unheated attic for several days. When she was found her legs were so frostbitten they had to be
amputated. Here was a case where great
grandma took over. She was fitted with
artificial legs, and great grandma went to court to get custody. She gave her great encouragement to overcome
her handicap, and in two months Darwin was roller skating and riding a
bike. You can never underestimate the
influence of grandparents.
We have all been entertained by Bill Cosby. We have his grandfather to thank for
that. Bill is a funny guy even off
stage, and he loves to tell funny stories.
His grandfather was his role model, and he was always clowning around
and telling funny stories, and so Bill became a comedian because of this
influence. His grandfather usually had
a moral point to his stories, and so Bill learned to stick with good clean
humor. A grandfather with a less godly
sense of humor would have influenced him all together differently.
Grandparents have gone through many hardships and yet
because they are faithful in their faith they have a great impact on
children. I can remember my
grandmother, who had 9 children and who labored from morning till night on the
farm, still having time to be faithful in her Bible reading. She even continued to play Christian music
on the organ into her 90's. Her faithfulness
to the Lord and the church had a great impact on me, for she was an example of
persistence in faith. You do not just
serve the Lord while you are young, and then back off as you get older. You persist in faith and the labor of love
all of your life. This poem by an
unknown author fits my grandmother perfectly, and many others as well.
Grandmother, on a winter's
day,
Milked the cow and fed them
hay,
Slopped the hogs, saddled
the mule
And got the children off to
school;
Did the washing, mob the
floors,
Washed the windows, and did
some chores,
Cooked a dish of home‑dried
fruit,
Pressed her husband's Sunday
suit,
Swept the parlor, made the
bed,
Baked a dozen loaves of
bread,
Split some fire wood, and
lugged in
Enough to fill the kitchen
bin;
Cleaned the lamps and put in
oil,
Stewed some apples she
thought would spoil;
Cooked a supper that was
delicious
And afterward washed up the
dishes;
Fed the cat and sprinkled
the clothes,
Mended a basket full of
hose;
Then opened the organ and
began to play,
"When you come to the
end of a perfect day."
I have known Christians who are very embarrassed by the
antics of their grandparents when they get so old that their arteries
harden. They begin to do things they
have never done in their lives. One old
godly gentleman began to swear, and he had never used such language in his
life. His daughter was mortified, but I
assured her that everyone who knew his godly history would recognize that this
is the result of his loss of control due to old age. It is not a sign that he is rejecting his faith. A quiet talk with the man revealed he was
persisting to the end in his faith, and this deviation from it in his language
was not a matter of choice.
The example of persistence is a powerful influence on
grandchildren, and if old age weakens that appearance of persistence
grandchildren need to realize that this is a matter beyond the control of the
person they love. Most of my family
were not Christians when I was a child.
It was my grandmother's faith that influenced me, and then through me
touched my parents. My personal
experience confirms history and Scripture.
Grandparents make a major difference in this world for the kingdom of
God.
Margaret Mead, the world renowned author, wrote, "The
closest friends I have made all through life have been people who also grew up
close to a loved and loving grandmother or grandfather." This was true for Paul and his dear friend
Timothy, and it is our responsibility as grandparents to make it true for those
who befriend our grandchildren. We need
to pass on our faith so that our grandchildren can pass it on again to the next
generation.
6. GODLY GRANDPARENTS Based on Ruth 4:13‑17
Among the many things that makes man unique in creation is
the presence of, and the influence of, grandparents. F. W. Boreham many years ago pointed out that in the vegetable
world, "The bursting buds of spring push off the last lingering leaves of
the previous season, and thus decline to have anything to do with the
generation that preceded them, to say nothing of the generation before
that. Among animals and birds a certain
filial affection is sometimes found for fathers and mothers, but of the
grandfather and grandmother never a trace.
But a man is so much greater than either a tree or a beast that a
special factor is introduced into his training. He comes under the influence not only of teachers and tutors, of
fathers and mothers, but grandfathers and grandmothers as well."
The impact of grandpas and grandmas in history is beyond
calculation. Most of the famous people
of the Bible from Adam and Eve on were grandparents. Often the grandparents played a key role, if not the major role,
in the way history went. Hezekiah was
one of the best kings God's people ever had, but his father was Ahaz, and he
was one of the worst they ever had. But
his grandfather was Jotham, and he did that which was right in the eyes of the
Lord. Hezekiah took after his
grandfather rather than his father, and the result was victory for the kingdom
of God.
Because of the powerful influence of grandparents there is
always hope even if one generation goes astray, because the next generation can
be brought back, and in that lies the glory of grandparents. They often bridge the gap between parents
and children, and they make major differences in the course of history. The relationship of grandparents and
grandchildren is so unique because it is so full of hope and expectation. This explains the mystery of how a boy who
is not good enough for your daughter can father such marvelous children. And it explains why the girl unworthy of
your son can bear such brilliant beings as your grandchildren.
It is a strange question to ask, but the book of Ruth makes us
ask it: Is a baby on the day of its
birth more a child or a grandchild? In
other words, who is to be more congratulated, the parents or the
grandparents? For some reason the book
of Ruth votes for the grandparents, and it makes this passage one of the most
powerful exaltations of a grandmother you will find anywhere in human
literature. It is almost as if the goal
of this book was to come to a happy ending with grandma Naomi holding grandson
Obed in her lap, and everybody singing her praises.
Note how suddenly the story of Ruth and Boaz comes to an
end. Their romance has dominated the
stage for most of the book, but their wedding and 9 months of pregnancy, and
their whole life together is wrapped up rapidly in verse 13. When Ruth gave birth to that baby boy, she
and Boaz left the stage, and the spotlight focuses on grandma Naomi for the
closing scenes of the story. There is not one more scene about the parents, for
the star now is grandma. All of the
praise and rejoicing now revolve around her.
Naomi has a kinsman‑ redeemer.
Naomi has a comfort for her old age.
Naomi has a grandson, and they say she has a son.
This radical removal of the parents, and this thrusting of
grandma and grandchild front and center is a powerful revelation of just how
important a role grandparents play in the life of a child, or should we say,
can play, or should play? Every person
in the blood line from Adam to Christ was a grandparent. The genealogy that ends this book is a list
of people all of whom became grandparents.
Obad, the baby of Ruth, was the grandfather of King David. What a delight it would be to know more
about these grandparents, but the book ends with a special emphasis on
grandparents, and with such a deliberate focus on Naomi that I do not know of
anywhere in the Bible where you can find a better text for grandparents
day.
Someone may point out that Naomi was not Ruth's mother, but
her mother‑in‑law, and so technically she was not the grandmother,
but just the opposite is the case. This
first child of Ruth and Boaz was to preserve the name and inheritance of Ruth's
first husband and Naomi's son Mahlon.
It was equivalent to Mahlon's son, and thus, technically it was her
grandson. But who cares? Who cares about the grandparents of George
Washington, or Lincoln, or any other famous man or woman? Apparently God cares, for the book or Ruth
only exists because all of these people were grandparents and great
grandparents of David, the great king of God's people. God is into genealogies and roots. And so God is into grandparents. God has so made life that grandparents play
a major role of what happens in history, and it is because of their special love
and influence on grandchildren.
So great is this influence that even parents who fail their
children can become such successful grandparents that the family tree is
healed, and restored as one that bears fruit for the kingdom of God. There are many ways in which the role of
grandparents is superior to the role of parents. We can't cover all that is precious about the grandparent‑grandchild
relationship, but we can look at the two R's of this relationship suggested by
our text. These can instruct and
inspire us to make the best of this great blessing God has given, not to
animals, not to angels, but to man. The
first R is‑
I. ROOTS.
The book of Ruth exists to trace the roots of David the king
of Israel, and there is no way to do this apart from getting into the lives of
grandparents. This is true for all of
us. It was true for the only man in all
of history who had two letters written to him which became a part of God's Word
to the world. Those two letters are I
and II Timothy. One of the things we
know about Timothy is that his Christian faith had its roots in his
grandmother. Paul tells it clearly in
II Tim. 1:5, "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first
lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded,
now lives in you.
Paul made a major point of the roots of his faith, for the
fact is, what the grandparents were makes a big difference in the majority of
lives. There are millions of ungodly
grandparents who make their grandchildren like them, but Christian grandparents
do the same, and give the faith of their grandchildren deep roots, it is hard
for me to imagine that I would be the Christian I am without the influence of
my grandmother. My father ran away from
home at 18, and he became a cowboy. He
roamed all over the country with rodeos, and was far from being a godly man in
his youth. My parents did not go to
church when I was growing up, and I never remember any instruction in the
things of the Bible in my home.
It was my grandmother who read her Bible, who prayed, and who
gave me a comic book Bible when I was a child.
That book changed my life, for it made me fall in love with the Bible
stories at a early age. It was my
grandmother who would argue and defend the Bible, and the Christian way of
life, at family reunions where her own skeptical sons, who were my uncles,
would challenge her faith. I can't
begin to measure the impact of that one woman in my life. She never led me to the Lord, but she gave my
Christian faith its roots. When I
became a part of the family of God, I already had family in that family.
The older I get the more I realize how important roots are,
for had I not had the roots I had, I do not know where I might be in my relationship
to Christ. My mother's mother did not
have the spiritual impact on me as did my father's mother. But my German Lutheran grandmother still
gave me roots. I belonged to a greater
family of people than just mom and dad, and that is important for establishing
identity.
Margaret Mead, the noted anthropologist, has said a lot of
controversial things, but you will find no authorities debating her statement
in her article Grandparents and Educators.
In it she said, "Somehow we have to get the older people,
grandparents, widows and widowers, spinsters and bachelors, back close to
children if we are to restore a sense of community, a knowledge of the past,
and a sense of future to today's children."
Rootless people are the result, at least in part, of being
ripped away from the influence of their grandparents. Grandparents can be just
that, parents who are grand. They do
not have to be the disciplinarians of life, and so they are more free to be the
teachers of values. They have
opportunities to talk and share in ways that parents often do not have, or do
not take advantage of, because they do not see from the same perspective as do
grandparents. Leo Tolstoy said, from
birth to the 5th year is an eternity, but from 5 to old age is a step. It is a gift to be there for the one to 5
period of their life in order to be the place of refuge and an oasis in the
hard land of growing up.
Grandparents are often the key to a child's self‑esteem. Children are difficult and life is complex,
and often parents give most of their energy to discipline, and only a fraction
to love. This is where the grandparents
can add the ingredient that makes the family balanced. In troubled families they are even more
important. Dr. R. Loften Hudson of the
American Association For Marriage And Family Therapy tells of one of his
clients who was working through her emotional problems. He asked, "Who was the biggest
influence in your growing up? I don't
know who the significant others were in your life with your father gone most of
the time, and your mother running around and getting drunk. Who did you look up to?"
"That's easy," she replied. "It was my grandfather and
grandmother. I didn't spend much time
with them because my mother hated them.
They were daddies parents. But
the loved me and told me so." Dr.
Hudson said, "How could they have influenced you much when you seldom saw
them?" She responded, "Oh,
but they believed in me. They made me
believe in myself. I remember once my
grandfather talked to me and said 'Ellie, I want to tell you something. You don't have to let your parents problems
ruin you. There is something great in
you. There is not telling what you can
become. The world out there needs
you.' I shall never forget that
speech. He made me believe in
myself."
There is a powerful influence of even a rare opportunity to
build up your grandchildren's self‑esteem. Don't sell yourself short.
You can be the key, with even a few brief words, to the encouragement of
your grandchildren. Grandparents provide the opportunity for grandchildren to
develop roots, and establish an identity that is not limited to the present,
which may be far from ideal. Grandparents can help them have roots that reveal
a larger picture in which they are a part.
The next R we want to look at is‑
II. RENEWAL.
The grandchild‑ grandparent relationship is a two way
street. The child has as great an
impact on the adult as the adult on the child.
In verse 15 the women say of baby Obed, "He will renew your life
and sustain you in your old age."
This little guy was to be to Naomi all that Geritol is today, and
more. There is something about a
grandchild that can change the whole psychology of life, and bring hope and joy
to the forefront. Pro. 17:6 records
this universal reality: "Children's children are a crown to the
aged." Your children may have kept
you poor, but their children will make you rich. They renew your spirit, and give you a whole new role in the
world of loving, lifting, and serving.
Until this scene where Naomi becomes a grandmother her life
has been one trial after another. Life
has been a burden, and she has suffered sorrow and grief beyond the average. She has suffered the loss of her husband and
two sons. She has had to endure the
life of poverty and despair. She has
had to bear the responsibility of caring for Ruth, and trying to get her
established in a home of her own. Naomi
has had little joy in this story until this closing scene where she is
grandmother. Now it is almost a
heavenly scene. All tears are wiped
away, and there is a spirit of praise and joy, for now her whole future looks
bright, for she has a grandson.
The event of being a grandmother has changed the whole
psychology of her mind, and she is in a state of renewal. Dr. Lewis A. Coffin in his book The
Grandmother Conspiracy wrote, "As soon as a person becomes a grandparent
he or she undergoes a radical personality change‑stern fathers become
cooing grandfathers: harpie‑type
mothers melt and crawl on the floor, sing lullabies, and cram cookies and
cookies and cookies down their sweet little grandchildren's throats, take them
to the ice‑cream store, bake cakes and pies for them, and stand back
admiringly as the little ones swell, tweet their obese little checks
approvingly, and raise a terrible hue and cry if anyone tries to
interfere."
They often become a problem to their children because they
allow the grandchildren to do what they forbid. My grandson Jason is a jumper.
He loved to climb up on things and jump to me. Once I let him stand on the roof of the car and jump off to
me. It was pure pleasure for both of
us, but my daughter almost flipped when
she saw it. A child was injured near
her by climbing on the car, and she was teaching Jason never to climb up on a
car. And here I was having fun with him
doing the very thing he was not to do.
I let our grandchildren bounce on our bed, and play with my tape
recorder, and who knows how many others thing they are forbidden to do by their
parents. The point is, there is a
different psychology between grandparents and grandchildren then between
parents and children.
Grandparents have changed from when they were parents. They now value relationship with a child
higher than things, and so they risk more for the sake of relationship. My parents would never let me drink coffee. They said it would stunt my growth. But grandma always let me have coffee. Of course, it was one part coffee for each
one thousand parts of milk, but I always felt like it was a big deal to get my
glass of coffee with the big people.
The reason grandparents tend to spoil grandchildren is because
of this renewal in the minds of the grandparents. They are so grateful for the new joy and pleasure of life that
they say thanks by being over indulgent.
This makes the grandparent‑grandchild relationship one which is
dominated by the positive, and it is one of fun. The fun is mutual, for most grandparents get more laughs from
their grandchildren than they do from comedians. I can't imagine being with my grandchildren for an hour without
some laughter at the cute or ridiculous things they say.
One little girls said, "I am sorry grandma I scratched my
arm on your cat." Another little
girl who was taken to a theatre for the first time tickled her grandfather by
whispering, "Grandpa what channel is this?" For renewing and refreshing fun I'll take grandchildren over the
comics. It is not all fun, of
course. I had to watch my grandson fall
out of the swing, and almost fall from the monkey bars. I watched him stumble and almost bash his
head into the concrete. He missed
catching a frisbee which hit his lip and it swelled up for a while. There is a price to pay for the laughs you
get. Someone said, "Children are
always a handicap to grown ups who want to lead a dull life." The beauty of being a grandparent is that
the price is so minimal compared to that of parents who must endure
childishness 24 hours a day.
One of the reasons grandparents are often more fun than
parents is because they have more time.
Parents are so loaded down with responsibility that they do not have the
time for fun with their children. A 9
year old girl has written this description of a grandmother, and it has become
a classic.
"A grandmother is a
lady who has no children of her own,
So she likes other people's
little girls. A grandfather is a
man grandmother. He goes for walks with the boys and
they talk about fishing and
tractors and like that.
Grandmas don't have to do anything except be there.
They're old, so they
shouldn't play hard or run. It is
enough if they drive us to
the market where the pretend
horse is and have lots of
dimes ready. Or if they take us
for walks, they should slow
down past things like pretty
leaves or caterpillars. They should never ever say 'hurry
up.'
Usually they are fat, but not too fat to tie kids shoes.
They wear glasses and funny
underwear. They can take
their teeth out and gums
off.
It is better if they don't typewrite or play cards except
with us. They don't have to be smart, only answer
questions
like why dogs hate cats and
how come God isn't married.
They don't talk baby talk
like visitors do, because it is hard
to understand. When they read to us they don't skip, or
mind if it is the same story
again.
Everybody should try to have one, especially if you don't
have television, because
grandmas are the only grown ups
who have got time.
Time is one of the treasures of life that grandparents have
learned to use more wisely. Dale Evans
Rogers has written a lot about her 16 grandchildren,
and her advise is, if you want to establish a warm bond with your
grandchildren, get rid of the parents.
That is, be alone with your grandchildren. It will be a time of learning, growth, and renewal for both
generations. She wrote, "One of
our grandchildren was spending the weekend with Roy and me, and I was clowning
around with her in the kitchen.
Suddenly she put her hands on her hips, cocked her head to one side, and
stared at me. I knew one of the those
piercing statements that children are prone to make was forthcoming. A child has not learned the art of tact, and
frequently her remarks unveil a trait or weakness in us adults that we'd rather
not have exposed. This time, however,
her comments were welcome. She said,
'Why, grandma, you have fun. I thought
grandmas were too old to have fun!'
Lord, help us grandparents to be young at heart with the young."
But lets not leave grandpas out, or older grandchildren
either. One of their older
granddaughters who graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles wanted Roy
to take her hunting as a graduation gift.
It was very unusual in that she had never had an interest in hunting,
but Roy took her, and a week later he got this letter from her.
Dear Grandpa Roy,
I want to thank you so much
for the "bestest" present I've
ever gotten. Beside the excitement of learning to shoot a
gun,
watching the dogs work and
later even cooking a pheasant, my
most favorite part was being
with you, just you without a crowd.
I guess I enjoy being comfortable
when you feel comfortable. I
wish I would have caught on
to the fact that you're a neat
grandpa about 20 years ago,
when I was hiding in closet from
you! I couldn't think of adequate words to thank
you so I
drew this picture for you,
because I want you to know there is
something about a grandpa
that no one else can copy. Spending
time together with you meant
more to me than any other present
you could buy. I really felt loved...and love is the most
precious
gift I can think of to give
to anyone.
I love you, Grandpa.
Time alone together with grandchildren is one of the most fun,
educational, and influential experiences of life. Grandparents can learn plenty too. One grandmother wrote, "I've been an artist for 40 years. My
grandson has taught me a new way to paint.
I always thought I had to set aside a whole day, decide on my subject,
study it, get equipment and paints together, then spend the rest of my time‑uninterrupted‑until
my picture was completed.
My grandson, age 4, comes bursting in, exclaims, 'Maw Maw,
let's paint a picture!' He works on the
back ground, but tells me what he wants me to paint as the main idea. At Christmas, it was Santa Claus. Sometimes its monsters. In 10 minutes we have completed an entire
picture‑colorful, exciting‑satisfying to both of us."
The relationship of grandparents and grandchildren is like the
period of courtship, whereas that of parents and children is more like that of
marriage. The first is more dominated
by fun, and the second by responsibility, and that is a major reason why there
is a different psychology at work. One
little girl said, "Grandparents are like this. When you tell them you want to do something, they will say that
is what they want to do. They will even
say it when they don't exactly mean it.
But after they do it with you, they will have fun anyway. This can be a problem for parents. Judith Viorst tells of getting her children
back from a fun filled week with the grandparents. She writes, "After 7 days of paradise my children returned
to plain, ordinary, grumpy, preoccupied me.
The reentry problem was shattering.
The kids kept asking what wonderful plans and pleasures I had arranged
for them today. And I kept telling them
I wasn't their social director. It was
only after considerable scolding and weeping that we all finally got use to
each other again."
It is one of the paradoxes of life that after great fun there
is weeping and wailing because it cannot last forever. It is a price worth paying, however, for it
deepens the roots, and opens channels of renewal, and that is what the
grandparent‑grandchild relationship is all about. The evidence is enormous that grandparents
are key people in the lives of most children. Grandparents are one of God's
major weapons to keep His plan unfolding and progressing. We see it in David's heritage in Ruth, but
the stories are endless, and they are going on today in the lives of millions.
In China a grandmother took her sick grandson to a mission
hospital in Canton, and not only was the child healed, but she became a
Christian. She returned to her village
and shared Christ with another grandmother.
She prayed with her for her sick grandchild, who was also healed. That whole family became Christians, and one
son became a Baptist pastor. The baby
who was healed grew up to be a medical doctor, and his son grew up to become
the president of the Baptist World Alliance.
He was David Y. K. Wong. It was
all because of a grandma who cared.
Godly grandparents have such a powerful impact on the lives of
grandchildren that one is not far from the mark to say that the church and the
Sunday School, and all other arms of the kingdom of God are supplements to the
influence of grandparents. They change
the course of history, and no matter how rotten a generation becomes, there is
always hope for renewal because the next generation can be turned toward
righteousness by the grandparents.
Eight year old Ann Johnson wrote this poem which expresses the influence
of millions of grandparents on their grandchildren.
My grandma likes to play
with God,
They have a kind of game.
She plants the garden full
of seeds,
He sends the sun and rain.
She likes to sit and talk
with God,
And knows He is right there.
She prays about the whole
wide world,
Then leaves us in His care.
May God help all us to be aware of the importance of our role
as godly grandparents.
7. GRANDPARENTS AND GRANDCHILDREN Based on Psa. 128:1‑6
Almost everybody you know in the Bible became a
grandparent. But since the term is not
used in the Bible we tend to ignore this fact and seldom think of people as
grandparents, and of children as grandchildren. When I read the blessing at the end of Psa. 128 that says may you
live to see your children's children, I realized that is the way the Hebrews
described grandchildren. They are your
children's children. So I looked up
children in the concordance and realized it would take many hours of searching
to find all the places where children's children are mentioned. So I typed it into the computer and it told
me instantly that grandchildren are referred to ten times.
The one thing the Bible makes clear is that grandparents are
often the determining factor in the righteousness and love of God being passed
down from generation to generation. If
grandpa and grandma do not care about the will of God, and it is not a priority
in their lives, the flame of faith can go out, and the torch will not pass to
the grandchildren. It can often skip a
generation, and children may rebel and depart from the faith. We see it often in the Bible. But if grandparents are faithful the
grandchildren can pick up where they leave off, and they can keep the fire of
faith burning.
Psa. 103:17‑18 says, "But from everlasting to
everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him and His righteousness
with their children's children‑with those who keep His covenant and
remember to obey His precepts."
Grandparents play a vital role in keeping God's kingdom going and
going. In the Lord's prayer we pray for
His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This prayer is answered in large measure
because of godly grandparents.
When you read the biographical writings of Christians it is
amazing how often you read that it was the grandparents who most impacted them
for Christ. For example, here is the
testimony of Dale Evans Rogers:
"My childhood hero was my Granddaddy Wood of Uvalde, Texas. As I look back now, I still believe he was
one of the finest and most generous men I ever knew. The people of Uvalde, a small, typical Southwestern Texas town,
dearly loved and respected my grandfather Wood. He was tall, broad‑shouldered with a thin frame‑a no‑nonsense
man, but I especially recall the warmth and kindness in his eyes. Two memories especially stand tall in
mind: During my high school days I
loved to play the piano and sing for him because he was so appreciative and
complimentary. And then I recall the
nightly prayer time in his bedroom. All
of the family was expected to attend, and we did! His goodnight prayer sent us all off to bed with the feeling we
had been with God. Granddaddy loved
unselfishly, and was greatly loved in return.
He taught me much about love. It
is true he wasn't much of a talker, but he was a real doer."
This is a very common testimony, and I have the same
one. It was not my mother and father
that most influenced me for Christ. It
was my godly grandparents. There was
also an uncle that influenced me, and he too was a grandpa. Margaret Mead, the world famous author, made
this statement: "The closest
friends I have made all through life have been people who also grew up close to
a loved and loving grandmother and grandfather."
One of the reasons for this being so true for so many is
because of the very nature of the relationship of grandparents and
grandchildren. Parents have to be more
Old Testament in relation to a child.
There is a lot of law involved in the training of a child. But grandparents can focus on grace. They are more New Testament in their
relationship to the grandchildren. A
high school youth said, "When my father says, 'you are so dumb,' that
makes me feel just terrible. So when I can, I go to see my grandmother and tell
her about it. Then she says, 'I think
what you did is not so good. But you're
O. K.'"
Parents often have to be involved in discipline, and justice
often leads to conflict. Kids feel they
are being treated unfairly, and often it is true because parents are not
omniscient and really do not know the degree of guilt in each child. On the other hand, grandparents can focus on
mercy and give love and understanding even to the guilty child. Many a rebel who cannot get along with their
parents is saved for the kingdom by grandparents who do not need to deal with
the tensions from the same perspective.
It is because their role is so different that they are so important for
balance.
Many Christian parents do not know how to handle a rebel
child. They feel obligated to condemn
them if they fall into some serious sin.
This role is not always out of line, but it can be so severe that they
fail to mix in a measure of mercy.
Grandparents can often make up for this imbalance and give the child the
hope of being restored and loved again.
Part of the problem of our culture and the breakdown of families is that
grandparents are not what they use to be.
Today we have self‑help books, pre‑marriage counseling,
marriage enrichment, and seminars on every subject, but all of them together
cannot do what a godly set of grandparents use to do for families. They use to be living demonstrations of love
and loyalty to God and family, and this is often missing today.
Godly grandparents are worth more than all the seminars man
can ever produce, for they are God's method of keeping balance in life. Paul in Titus 2 reveals that he is convinced
that older men and women are the key people in keeping families growing in
love, and being pleasing to God. If you
want to help the younger generation to be better, the best place to start is
with grandparents. I know this is an
over simplification, for our culture has so changed that the good old days are
gone. Grandparents are a different
breed in modern life. Some anonymous
poet put this change into poetry:
In the dim and distant past,
When life's tempo wasn't
fast,
Grandmas use to rock and
knit,
Crochet, sew, and baby sit.
When the kids were in a jam,
They could always count on
gram.
In the age of gracious
living,
Grandma was the gal for
giving.
Grandma now is in the gym
Exercising to keep slim;
She's off touring with the
"bunch"
Taking clients out to lunch.
Driving North to ski or
curl,
All her days are in a whirl,
Nothing seems to stop or
block her
Now that grandmas off her
rocker.
I think the point is, if grandparents are no different than
parents, which is often the case, then the children do not get the benefit of
what grandparents can give. This leaves
the whole family structure as dysfunctional, and everybody loses. It is important for grandparents to be
different. Children to quickly conclude
that grandparents are just old fashioned and their ways are obsolete. This leads to much conflict which is unnecessary.
Judith Viorst writes about her conflict with her mother about
how to raise the kids. She said,
"Some of us may have to ask ourselves if we are willing, when grandmother
is the sitter, to let her handle our children her way, even when her way is not
ours." This is hard because
parents fear that the differences of grandparents will be harmful, and so there
is resistance and conflict. But wise
parents will let grandparents be free to love the way they feel comfortable in
loving. The differences will be
positive and not negative. Grandparents
are suppose to be different, and the difference will be beneficial to the kids.
This works both ways, and so grandparents need to have a
hands off attitude, and let the parents be different too, and not try to force
them to do things their way. The Bible
says a man is to leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife. The implication is that each couple is to be
independent and to formulate their own ways of loving and raising children. Whether is it better than the way they were
raised is not the issue. The issue is,
are they free and independent, and able to decide for themselves what is best
for them.
Grandparents cause most trouble in families where they try to
force their children to duplicate them, and try to control their
decisions. The most flagrant example of
this is the cartoon where an older couple is seated at the table with a younger
couple, who are obviously their children, and the older woman says, "We've
decided not to have grandchildren."
There are many decisions in life that are not up to grandparents, and
the sooner they learn this the happier everyone will be. This often calls for a lot of tongue biting,
but the experts say don't even give advice unless you are asked, and even then
do so sparingly. This will prevent more
uncivil wars than any other bit of wisdom.
It is an illusion that because we lived a certain way that it
is the best way for our children too.
Life changes, and there are so many differences that what we did may not
be the best for our children. Seeking
conformity to your pattern of life is saying that we are superior and you are
inferior. This is offensive. The best relationships come to people who
treat each other as equals. I read of a
7 year old boy who was told by his parents he was not to eat any milk
products. Grandpa thought this was a
bunch of poppycock. He said that milk
is good for everyone. One Saturday
afternoon he bought the boy an Eskimo Pie.
The boy had an attack of asthma and had to be taken to the emergency room. Grandpa should have listened to his
children, for they often know what is best for their kids, even if it does not
make sense to us.
Gram and Gramps are not to be grumps in trying to keep on
raising their raised kids. That job is over, and their job now is to make sure
the grandkids have pleasurable experiences.
In his book Then God Created Grandparents And It Was Very Good, Charlie
Shedd says that one of the main functions of grandparents is to make life
fun. He quotes a grandchild's perspective,
"My grandmother was my very best friend.
I mean my best friend ever. The
winter before she died she came to live where we did. Only she had an apartment on the corner. Every night I would get off the school bus
and stop to see her. She would always
be waiting for me by the window. Then
we ate some cookies, had hot chocolate, lemonade, played games. We played "Kings and Queens" and
sometimes animals. She could meow just
like a cat, and bark almost like a dog.
We also played movie stars and people from our favorite TV
programs. I could talk about everything
around my grandma and imagine anything.
She wouldn't laugh at me. Grandparents
are the most fun, because they aren't afraid to pretend."
I can remember as a young boy always being excited when I
knew grandma and grandpa were coming to visit.
It was because they always brought us things, but it was also because
they were fun. They gave us good things
to eat and they made us laugh. All my memories
are positive about my grandparents, and this means they fulfilled their role
well in my life.
The Psalmist says it is one of God's great blessings to live
long enough to see your grandchildren.
Let's remember that this is to be a two way street. It is to be a blessing to them also that you
live to see them. This means you must
play a positive role in their lives.
The key elements for having the kind of impact God wills are faith and
fun. These are the two things grandkids
most remember. Billy Graham reflects on
his grandparents and says that long before he was saved he was led in the right
direction by their example. The
testimony of many in the kingdom of God is that it was grandparents that most
influenced them to come to Christ.
Dale Evans Rogers in her book Grandparents Can says that
they way we do this is not by being perfect but by helping our grandkids see
that parents are not perfect, but they are trying to do their best. She tells of the many mistakes she made as a
mother. She accused her kids of things
and punished them only to find out later that they were innocent. Sharing her mistakes makes her grandkids
understand their parents better. They
come to recognize their parents make mistakes, but this does not hinder their
love. Grandparents are to be aids to
the parents, and help kids understand how hard it is to be wise and right all
the time.
Grandparents still make mistakes and they need to admit it
to themselves and the kids. The National
Safely Council reports that 17% of all prescription drugs ingested by children
belong to their grandparents. No
grandparent plans this, but it happens because kids are hard to watch every
second. It takes forethought to be good
grandparents. You have to prepare the
environment for their coming, and put things away that can do harm. It is not all fun and games. There is also work involved. Life is seldom fun without some work of
preparation, and so grandparents have to work at being fun.
It is interesting to read the prophets and their prophecy
about the ideal life of those who are faithful to Him. We read in Zech. 8:4‑5, "Once
again shall old men and old women sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each leaning
on a stick because of their great age; and the streets of the city shall be
full of boys and girls, playing in the streets." The good life is old and young together in a setting that is
filled with fun.
Grandparents and grandchildren are the two extremes that make
the picture ideal. Everybody else in
between is there also, but these two groups give it completeness. No picture of the good life is adequate
without grandparents and grandchildren.
God drew this picture, and we know from experience that God is
right. Prov. 17:6 says,
"Children's children are a crown to the aged." When a grandchild is born a new king and
queen are born as well‑Grandpa and Grandma. They now reign over an empire and not just a family. The grandchild represents the potential for
their family to become a kingdom characterize by faith and fun. May God help us be faithful in our role as
grandparents.
8. THE SPIRIT OF SPORTS Based on Heb. 12:1‑2
Back in the days of depression the mighty Babe Ruth was asked to
take a salary cut for the first time in his career. He didn't go for it, but insisted on his customary $80,000
contract. "But Babe,"
protested an official of the Yankee Ball Club, "These are trying
times. That's more money than Hoover
got last year for being president of the United States." "I know," persisted Babe,
"But I had a better year than Hoover." And indeed he did, and many sportsmen have better years than the
president. We have come to the age of
the affluent athlete. The ancient
Greeks and Romans loved sports, but they could never imagine an athlete who was
wealthier than the Emperor.
The reason this is the case today is because people are wild
about sports, and they are willing to pay to be involved. The American people spend more on sports
each year than is spent for national defense.
Anything this big is bound to come under criticism. Many feel that we are over doing it, and we
are giving sports to big a role in our culture. Too much time and energy are being given to sports, and this
keeps people from doing more important things.
Before we look at the positive side we must admit that sports
can become an idol, and many outstanding Christian athletes have given
testimony to this fact in their own experience. Millions are more enamored of the sermon on the mound than by the
Sermon on the Mount. One of the great
empires in the history of baseball was Bill Klem. He said, "Baseball is more to me than the greatest game in
the world! It is a religion." He was not alone, for one writer said he was
amazed that the sick were not being brought to home plate to be healed during
the World Series.
Sports and religion have this in common‑they both spawn
fanatics. In 1969 the referee awarded a
late penalty to El Salvador in their World Cup football match against their
neighbor Honduras. El Salvador won the
match. When news of the results spread
riots broke out in both capitals as fans refought the match in the streets by
beating up the opposition supporters.
As a direct result war broke out between the two neighbors, and before
it ended 2,000 soldiers were killed.
Both nations suffered serious food shortages. This was a case of idolatry, for "idolatry is investing
undue significance, even reverence and adoration, in temporal objects and
pursuits." When a sport becomes a
matter of life and death it is idolatry and not merely a game.
Sydney Harris says, Karl Marx made a mistake in his famous
saying that, "Religion is the opium of the people," for the fact is,
sports are the opium of the people.
Sportianity has captured the hearts and zeal that Christianity once
had. Sports draw the biggest crowds,
and players are the best known, highest paid personalities in our culture. Sydney Harris wrote, "Sport is as
necessary, as useful, as nourishing to humans as any other natural activity‑but
it is no longer a natural activity; in its cancerous form, it has displaced
religion, dislodged citizenship and even further dislocated communication
between the sexes."
People can become fanatics about sports. They are like the Yankee fan who complained,
"What a day. I lost my job, my
wife ran away with a salesman, and the Yankees lost to the Senators. Imagine that‑leading by 3 in the 8th
and they blew it." The negatives
are real, and no doubt many a wife lives in frustration because her husband
appears to have more interest in one kind of game or another than in her. On the other hand, there are those
Christians who see sports as a golden opportunity. The Fellowship Of Christian Athletes is making a tremendous
impact on the whole world of sports.
Best selling books are available with their Christian testimonies by
famous sportsmen. Several films have
been produced sharing the fruits of being a Christian athlete.
One high school youth in North Carolina went to a conference
where some of the great athletes were speaking, and when he came back he gave
this testimony‑"I went to this conference to see my gods in the
athletic world. When I got there I
heard my gods talking about their God, and before the week was over, their God
became my God." Hero worship of
sportsmen has been going on ever since Heracles started the Olympics in 776
B.C. Modern Christians have discovered
that hero worship can lead to worship of the hero's Hero and Savior if the hero
points the way. And the only way he can
get to be a hero is to do his best until he is a great athlete and a
winner. Men with this conviction loves
sports, and they feel it worth all the time and energy they give to it.
Sports have even been used for missions, and Ken Anderson,
founder of Ken Anderson Films traveled with the Venture For Victory basketball
team all through Asia drawing great crowds.
At every half time they gave their testimony and saw numerous
decisions. Rev. A. D. Obot, head of the
youth movement in Nigeria said, "In my country we find preaching and
athletics, when combined, provide a wonderful way to turn people to Christ."
Because sports are a major part of life for many people,
Christians have sought for ways to have an impact in this world of sports. Campus crusade has its Athletes In
Action. Baseball Chapel Inc. sponsors Sunday
services for major league teams. The
Institute for Athletic Perfection seeks to get athlete's into a stable local
church setting with their family. Pro‑Athlete's
Outreach seeks to use the pro's to influence young people. These are just a few of the outstanding
ministries through sports. There are
numerous men and women in the sports world who are dedicated Christians, and
who use their time, money, and talent to teach the Word of God, and spread the
good news. But what does the Bible have
to say about sports?
In the Old Testament there is almost nothing said about athletic
events and skills. It was an honor for
a Jew to be a swift runner, and to be skillful with the bow, spear, and sling,
but not for athletics, but for war. The
Jews always preferred the arts and the wisdom of the mind rather than the feats
performed by the body. The Jews were
disgusted with the Greek Greeks and their gymnasiums, and all their emphasis on
the body. The Saducees like the
gymnasium, but the Pharisees did not.
Jews were divided concerning the value of sports, and the result was
Jews did not begin to excel in sports until the late 18th century.
It all began with the great Jewish boxer Daniel Mendoza who
was called the father of the art of boxing.
He opened up a school to teach Jewish youth how to box. In the 1920's the all Jewish soccer team
were unchallenged world champions. Then
in the 70's the most famous sportsman in the world was the Jew Mark Spitz with
7 gold medals from the Olympics in Munich.
Jews have worked hard to overcome the image that they are too
intellectual. The fact remains,
however, that there is little in the Old Testament that refers to sports.
When we come to the New Testament it is a different
story. Much of the New Testament was
written to Greek Christians who had grown up in the Greek culture where sports
and the gym had been a part of their way of life. Paul was a Roman citizen, and he must have enjoyed the athletic
games of his day, for he uses them often to illustrate the Christian life. He refers to racing, boxing, and wrestling,
and applies them to the Christian experience.
Paul's favorite sport was obviously racing, for he uses this to
illustrate most often. Racing was the
most common of the ancient events, and would capture the attention of the most
people.
Paul's own personal testimony was put into athletic terms in
Phil 3:13‑14. "...forgetting
what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." The Christian life is a race, and like a
disappointed coach he wrote to the Galatians and asked in Gal. 5:7, "You
were running well, who hindered you from obeying the truth?" Paul knew a winning athlete had to obey
rules or he would run in vain. He wrote
to his young son in the faith, and said in II Tim. 2:5, "An athlete is not
crowned unless he competes according to the rules."
If you break a rule in the Olympics you can lose your gold
medal, or miss your chance to get one. Babe
Ruth made some of the most spectacular plays in baseball. One of them goes down in history as a first,
and probably the last. The bases were
loaded and Babe came to bat. He hit a
high drive into deep right field. The
Dodgers on first and second hesitated to see if it would be caught. Meanwhile Babe came charging right past the
man on first with his head down. His
illegal passing electrified his friend on first, and paralyzed the one on
second. All three players reached third
base at the same time. Two of them, of
course, were put out to retire the side.
No matter how good you are, you have to play by the rules or lose.
Paul was a spiritual coach who wanted his team to stop being
sinners, and start being winners. He
knew they had to give to the Christian life all an athlete gives to be a
winner. Listen to his pep talk to his
team in Corinth. In I Cor. 9:24‑27
we read, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only
one receives the prize? So run that you
may obtain it. Every athlete exercises
self‑control in all things. They
do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box
as one beating the air; but I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after
preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." Paul was a great spiritual sportsman, and
when his life draws toward the end he makes this judgment on his own efforts in
II Tim. 4:7.
"I have fought the good
fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
The fact that Paul could use sports to illustrate the
Christian life means that the spirit of sports is a positive spirit. The virtues of the athlete are of value for
all of life, and that includes the spiritual life. If we could develop the spirit of the good sportsman, we would be
better Christians. Our purpose,
therefore, will be to look at the spirit of sports, and show how it applies to
the Christian experience. Heb. 12:1‑2
is one of the great sports text of the Bible.
The reference here is to the great Olympic games so familiar to the
ancient world. They were held every 5
years, and the ambition of every youth was to get a chance to compete in the
Olympic.
The author of Hebrews is telling us that every Christian is
in the greatest Olympic contest of all.
The greatest event of life is the Christian race. The audience is spectacular beyond anything
that can be imagined. In the Olympic
stadium the veterans of by gone days were given a place of honor from which to
view the achievements of the younger generation. This stimulated the runners to do their best. The author of Hebrews says that we also have
a great cloud of witnesses watching as we run the Christian race. They are not mere spectators, but are those
men and women of faith who have gone before, and have set great records for
God. They behold us and cheer us on as
we run the race of faith. Whether you
like sports or not, as a Christian you are obligated to learn and apply the
spirit of sports in your Christian life.
At the very foundation we see‑
I. THE SPIRIT OF
COOPERATION.
The spirit of cooperation is even more fundamental than the
spirit of competition. In sports even
your opponent must agree to cooperate and play by the same rules, or the game
can have no meaning. The competitive
spirit says, I want to win, but the spirit of cooperation teaches us to
discipline our lives so we win according to the rules which all must obey. A poor sport is one who cannot tolerate the
discipline of the rules. The good sport
is one who must learn to accept defeat or penalty when he violates the
rules. When all submit to the authority
of the rules, then all is fair, and the spirit of cooperation can lead to
exciting competition.
People in sports are still sinners, and they are narrow and
have prejudice. They have their convictions on politics and religion, and are just like people everywhere. But if
they are good sportsmen, and show the true spirit of sports, they suppress
their differences for the sake of the common cause, and strive for
teamwork. No team ever gets good which
lacks teamwork or the spirit of cooperation.
In sports the Christian cooperates with the non‑Christian, for
they have a common cause. Can you
imagine one of the Dallas Cowboys who is a Christian deliberately throwing a
bad pass to his teammate who is not a Christian? Can you imagine a coach telling some of his Christian linemen to
let some opponents be free to sack the quarterback because he is not a
Christian? A house divided cannot stand
Jesus said. The reality is that a
Christian will stop another Christian on the other team from getting to his
quarterback who may be an atheist.
Unity and the spirit of cooperation is at the very heart of sports, and
if Christians are going to do an effective job for Christ, this spirit must be
at the heart of their labors.
Unfortunately, many Christians have not learned from sports
the power of cooperation. Christians often magnify their differences rather
than their common cause. The result is
that the church is often as ineffective as a relay team that is divided as to
which hand they should use in the transfer of the baton. Tom Landry was a great Christian and a great
sportsman, and he said that just being a Christian does not help you win. He said you have got to play according to
the rules, and you have got to work and discipline yourself. Atheistic athletes can win just the same as
Christian athletes. God doesn't take
sides in sports. He is the author of
the laws that govern sports, however, and if a atheist team learns to develop
the spirit of cooperation better than the Christian team, than the atheist team
is more likely to win. God is no
respecter of persons, and that is why the church sometimes loses to the
world. We could never be winners and
gain the prize of God's best if we fail to develop the spirit of
cooperation. Next we consider‑
II. THE SPIRIT OF
CONFIDENCE.
The spirit of cooperation has to do with your relationship to
others, but the spirit of confidence has to do with how you feel inside about
yourself. Sportsman are often accused
of being proud, and this can be a vice, but on the other hand, you cannot
become a winner if you lack the confidence that you can win. Sports develops in a person the values of
the power of positive thinking. The
mind plays a major role in sports. It
is far from being a thing of the body only.
How you think is vital to victory.
Everything the New Testament says about sports is positive. The values of discipline and persistence are
stressed, and we are encouraged to press on with confidence that we can win.
Paul did not say, I have fought a poor fight, and have failed
to finish the race. Instead, he spoke with
confidence that he had done well, and was pressing on to do even better. That is the spirit we need to be good
sportsmen and good Christians. You
cannot be either without it. I've read
the testimony of many Christian athletes, and everyone of them is a person with
confidence that they can win. If a
Christian lacks confidence, he will be a loser before he even begins. Bill Krisher played with the Pittsburgh
Steelers. One day his opponent across the line said, "I've heard you're a
Sunday School guy," he snarled, cursed, and then added, "I'm going to
hit you so hard you'll lose your religion." Bill smiled back and said nothing. The ball was snapped and the guard picked himself up off the
grass. After the game he came to Bill
and said, "Lemme shake your hand Krisher.
Your religion is as tough as your body block." Had Krisher lacked confidence as an lineman,
or as a Christian, he could have lost out all around in that conflict, but he
had the confidence to stand fast and win.
When a Christian is attacked, mocked, and offended, and he
begins to go to pieces, it is due to a lack of confidence. Many a new Christian says they cannot live
up to the Christian life. The pressures
are too great, and they feel they cannot learn all they need to know. People razz them and they feel they just
can't take it. That is the thought
process that produces a loss. No great
sportsman can go into an event saying, "I'll never make it. I'm not good enough. I'll never hold up. I can't take the pressure." Undermine the spirit of confidence, and you
are almost a sure loser. But if you
develop this spirit you will be a winner, for even if you lose a game, you know
you can do better the next time, and you will keep pressing on to get
better.
The author of Hebrews says we must lay aside every weight and
sin which clings to us to win the race . We let so many things rob us of
victory in the Christian life. We think wrong and have the wrong attitudes, and
these hold us back. Glenn Clark, who was a coach, wrote the book, Power of the
Spirit on the Athletic Field. He tells of Bob in the book, who was only a
mediocre runner. They were holding him back he thought. He even prayed hard to
win, but he never did. One day Dr. Clark, who saw his potential told him to change
his attitude toward the other runners. Pat them on the back and wish them luck
sincerely. Do not fear them, but enjoy their competition for the sheer joy of
running. The next day on the 220 Bob came around the bend 20 yards ahead of his
nearest competitor, and he broke all local records. He was holding himself back
with the weight of wrong and negative attitudes toward his fellow runners.
Many Christians never gain victory in the Christian life
because they wear the weight of wrong attitudes toward fellow believers. You
cannot wear combat boots and expect to win the speed race. God will not reward
folly, and answer the prayer for victory when you do the very thing that makes
victory so unlikely. We must take off the weights and develop the spirit of
cooperation and confidence is we hope to be winners. The third spirit we want
to consider is‑
III. THE SPIRIT OF CONSTANCY
Other words to describe this are grit, pluck, tenacity,
persistence, and perseverance. It is the pressing on spirit of Paul. It is the
never say die spirit. Sports writers have a saying that expresses it,
"Quitters never win, and winners never quit." Mark Twain once interviewed a man over 100
years old, and he asked him how he accounted for his longevity. He gave the
reply that he avoided the bad habits of life and cultivated the good ones. But
Twain protested that he knew a man who followed the same pattern and he only
lived to 80, and he asked him how he accounted for that. The old man just
replied, "He didn't keep it up long enough."
Many a runner starts off well and takes the lead, but they never take the prize because they do
not keep it up long enough. Our text tells us to run the race with patience.
Pace yourself and learn how to run so as to always have the stamina to keep
going no matter how many obstacles you encounter. It is not enough just to do
your best, for you must keep going and get even better than your present best.
Nobody is ever satisfied with a world record in sports. Nobody ever says that
is good enough, and so lets stop trying for anything better. No, they say we
must train and get so good we can break that record.
Paul says we are to forget what lies behind and press on to
what is a better goal ahead. Forget the record of yesterday and aim for a
better record tomorrow. You lived a great Christian life last year, but do not
rest on that record. You need to press on and do even better this year. Rafer Johnson was one of the great Olympic
record holders, and he said, "It is sometimes said that winning is not
important, that the important thing is competing. But when we go to the
hospital for an operation we expect more from the surgeon than a good try. We
expect him to win." Johnson loved Jesus and knew that Jesus did not want
him to be second rate in anything he did. Jesus will not come in second in the
competition with Satan, and He does not want us to be anything less than
winners. Johnson says,
"Championships will soon be forgotten. Trophies grow tarnished and old.
But the Christian team will go on to greater and greater victories in
Christ."
He learned the truth that Paul wrote of in I Tim. 4:8,
"For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in
every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to
come." We cannot all become great
athletes of the body, but we can become sports persons, and run the Christian
race with the spirit of cooperation, confidence, and constancy, that will win
the prize.
9. THE POWER OF MEMORY Based on Ex. 12:1‑16
One of the most important battles in the history of our
nation was won by 262 Minnesotans. It
is generally agreed by historians that he battle of Gettysburg was the turning point
that led the North to win the tragic Civil War. That battle was going badly for the North, and at one point the
Confederates had them in retreat and
they were in hot pursuit. They were
only a half mile from a position where they could cut the union line in half
and have a decisive victory.
The only troops who might prevent this were the First
Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. These 262
officers and men were camped right in the path of the attacking Confederates. They were out numbered many times over, but
when Colonel Covill gave the order to charge they did so with such force that
they stunned the larger army. They were
cut to ribbons, however, and most of them died. Only 47 survived, but they held the line until reinforcements
arrived and made it possible for the North to finally win that battle that led
to the winning of the war. General
Hancock, who was there, said of this sacrifice on July 2, 1863, "There is
no more gallant deed recorded in history."
I discovered this bit of history in the book 101 Best Stories
Of Minnesota by Merile Potter. It made
me realize that we cannot remember what we have never known. Just as you cannot go back to where you have
never been, so you cannot remember what you never forgot because you never knew
it. I never liked history as a student,
and it is a shame that so many students feel this way. It should be one of the most exciting
classes in school.
God made history a required course for His people, and then
gave memorials to make sure they never forgot their history, and the grace of
God that made them a people. Everything
they were, and all they had, was because of events of the past. The deliverance out of Egypt was the
beginning of Israel as an independent people.
They owed their existence and survival to the Passover when God judged
Egypt and set them free. God felt is
was so important that every generation of Israel remember this event that He
established a memorial feast of the Passover, and it was so important that the
people observed this memorial in every detail that God gave severe laws to
excommunicate anyone who treated them lightly.
In Esther 6:1 we read where the king could not sleep and
ordered the record book of his reign to be read to him. In so doing he was reminded of the heroic
deed of Mordecai the Jew, and because of that memory being restored by that
record the entire race of Jews was saved from the conspiracy of Haman to
destroy them. They were saved by the
power of memory. The Bible makes it
clear that God loves memorial events, for they force our minds to reflect and
remember, and this keeps the past alive in the present so that the future can
be what He wills.
That is why Jesus left the church only one event to remember
Him by. It is a memorial service that
we call communion, and by which we remember that His death on the cross is the
foundation for all we have as Christians in time and eternity. Do this in remembrance of me Jesus said
because He knew the power of memory and the importance of having roots in the
past.
Memorial Day has never had a great deal of meaning for
me. I have had many members of my
family in the armed services, and an uncle who won the purple heart, and who
was a prisoner of war. I've never lost
a loved one in war, and so I have never been a part of a family who went to the
cemetery to place flowers or a wreath on the grave of one who died for our
country. It use to be called Decoration
Day for that is what families did for loved ones who died in service.
Even those who had such graves to visit began to lose
interest. Theodore Ferris, who was
pastor of the historic Trinity Church of Boston, had a long family tradition of
doing this. His grandmother said,
"When I am gone nobody will continue this," but his mother did all
her life. But when his mother died, he
reasoned that his loved ones were not in the cemetery and so he let the
tradition die. My point is, Memorial
Day for the majority of people is more a day for making new memories of a great
weekend of fun and travel rather than a day of remembering the past and the
sacrifices that make such enjoyable freedom possible.
I do not feel it is of any value to try and provoke a guilt
trip in anyone's mind, but I do feel it is of value to try and get us all to
give thought to the value of memorials and to the power of memory. Our nation has fought 8 majors wars, and
over a million men and women have died in them. All that we enjoy as Americans has had a high price tag. Somebody else had to sacrifice for the
benefits we enjoy. The least we can do
is to acknowledge their sacrifice.
Memories of bad things of the past are an aid to preventing
bad things in the present and future.
War is terrible and we need to be reminded of its terror and cost lest
we forget and let it happen again. In
Israel there is a memorial called the Memorial of Witness and Warning in
Jerusalem. It is in memory of the 6
million Jews killed in the Holocaust.
There are mementos and even pictures of children being herded into the
gas chambers. What a horrible memory to
keep alive, but the Jews work hard at it.
On this memorial are the words of an 18th century Jewish scholar which
read, "Forgetfulness prolongs the exile: Remembrance is the secret of
redemption."
It is the remembrance of just how awful prejudice and hatred
can be that will save the world from another Holocaust. It is forgetfulness that leads to history repeating
itself in its most despicable events.
Memory is the key tool in the prevention of the terrible. Memory is what helps all of us become
efficient in the prevention of suffering.
Bad experiences of the past, when they are remembered, cause you avoid
those same experiences.
There is a positive side to Memorial Day. The day had its beginning in the loving
compassion of Civil War mothers in Columbus, Mississippi. In the spring of 1863, 2 years before the
war ended, these mothers went out to lay flowers on the graves of their
Confederate dead. There were Union
soldiers buried there also. These
mothers realized that the mothers of the North could not come to the graves of
their sons, and so in love that rose above the hatred of the war they put
flowers on the graves of the Union soldiers as well. This practice spread all over the South and then into the North,
and that's how Memorial Day began. It
was a day to remember an honor all who died in war. In our day it has come to be a day to remember all who have died
in any way, for life itself is a form of warfare, and so all who die do so in
combat of some sort.
Lynette Wert was a student traveling in Italy when she got a
letter from her mother urging her to visit the American cemetery in Florence
where American service men were buried.
A friend's son was buried there and the mother never saw the sight, nor
had any of the family. It all seemed so
meaningless to her, and it was out of the way, but she finally found it. There were rows of crosses and finally she
found the one with the name Terry Stewart.
She was shocked to discover that he had been born the same day as her
father. It could have been her father
buried there, and she would have been deprived of the chance to even exist.
She gained a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice of
American service men, for she realized that her very existence depended on
someone else paying the price so that others could be free to live, love, and
make a future possible. She said, "My father could have died in
warfare, but he did not, for others died in his place. My grandfather could have died in war, but
he did not, for others died in his place.
My great grandfather and his father, and on and on you could go. All of them were spared because others died
in the wars that might have killed them.
Everyone of us is here today because we have a family tree where our
limb was never cut off because someone else died in the place of the one who
kept our branch growing. Everyone one
of us owes our very existence to those who died."
Both our temporal life and eternal life are ours because of
the death of others for us. Only the
death of Jesus makes our eternal life possible, but many have died that we
might enjoy the present physical life.
And without physical life we could never have eternal life. This leads to some startling conclusions
that make Memorial Day far more significant than any of us could imagine. If began with those mothers who rose above
prejudice and honored the enemy soldiers who died fighting their own sons. This unity of all humanity, and oneness even
with our enemies, is an inevitable part of Memorial Day, for the dead who died
for our freedom and very existence were often people very opposite from us.
Catholics died for Protestants and vice versa. Blacks died for whites and vice versa. Atheists died for Christians and vice versa. In war every traditional enemy died for the
other. Arabs died for Jews, and Jews
died for Nazi lovers. Every one alive
is so because of the sacrifice of their enemies as well as their friends. Remembrance of this reality could go along
way in preventing the prejudice and other human follies that lead to the evil
of war. For the Christian it is also
another reason for the promotion of loving those who may not love you. If there are people you do not like, it is
likely that some of their very group died in a war in order that you might
enjoy the life you do. The memory of
this can have the power to heal your prejudice, and produce in you the
compassion of Christ for those very people.
The Civil War was the worst war ever for Americans, but the
memory of how it ended is one of the best memories we can have. General Lee on April 9, 1865 stood before General Grant to surrender
according to Grant's terms. The terms
were generous, for Lee's army was free to go home, stipulating only that they
leave their arms. Lee responded,
"This will have a very happy effect on my army." He then explained that the Confederate
cavalrymen and artillery men owned their own horses and inquired if they might
keep them. Grant recognized they would
need their horse or mule to work their little farm and so he granted this
request plus a supply of rations. This act
of love toward the enemy was a major step in uniting a severely divided people.
War is hell, but the memory of the heroic and loving acts of
many who died and who fought wars can possess the power to make the present
heavenly. The more I study war the more
I hate it, but, on the other hand, the more I love people, and the more I have
compassion for all people. Foolish
people learn only from their own experience, but wise people learn from the
experience of others. We do not have to
make the same mistakes of previous generations that led to war. We can, by the power of memory, honor the
heroic dead most of all by preventing the follies that killed them.
Christians should be leaders in learning from history,
because the Bible was given to us by God that we might be just such
learners. Paul stressed this in Rom.
15:4, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach
us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope." Over and over again
the Old Testament reveals the power of God's memory. Salvation is based on God's remembering His people and His
promises. God remembered Noah, and God
remembered Abraham, and God remembered Rachel, and God remembered His covenant
with His people. If God never had a
Memorial Day in which He looked back and remembered His promises the people of
God would have ceased to exist. They
have been saved many times because of God's memory.
Ex. 6:5 is representative of numerous examples. It says, "And I have also heard the
groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I
have remembered my covenant." That
Memorial Day of God became a perpetual Memorial Day for Israel because it
became the day of their deliverance out of Egypt. God's people are to perpetually remember that God remembered
them.
Memorial Day is to remember those who have died, but keep in
mind that it is also a day to remember the providence of God that used the
death of others as a basis for the life we now live. It is a Thanksgiving Day for those who see that they only live
because God remembered and refused to let evil win and destroy the good. In every crisis of history where evil
threatens to conquer the world, God and His providence comes to the
rescue. Many good people die, but God's
people live on, and His kingdom presses on giving all people the hope of
eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Remember the Alamo, and remember Pearl Harbor, and remember Iwo
Jima, and remember all the heroic battles and sacrifices, but above all,
remember the God who remembers that we are but dust, and yet provided a way for
all men to have hope of an eternal destiny where sin and all of its
consequences will be remembered no more.
An event happens only once in history, but in memory it can
happen over and over. The memory can
give the event power beyond what the event itself had. We can reflect on the sacrifices of the past
and be changed because of them. The
memory has the power to give the past event and impact in the present. It is my means of the memory that the past
still lives.
One of the most important things we need to remember is that
the millions who died for our freedom would have accomplished nothing had it
not been for the providence of God. The
more you study the wars of our history, the more you discover that they were
not won by man alone. No where is this
more evident than in the Revolutionary War.
The British sent an invading force of 55 thousand men to
defeat the American army. On one August
morning in Brooklyn 15 thousand British and 5 thousand Hessian troops who were
well trained faced Washington's 8 thousand men half of whom were
untrained. Washington watched as one by
one as his generals were crushed. It
was only a matter of hours and the Revolution would be over, and he and his
remaining troops would be dead or in chains.
But for some unknown reason the British general Howe decided to wait
until the next day. It was that mistake
that changed the history of our nation.
The next day the weather was not fit for a war. It was such a dark and dreary day. It gave Washington an idea for the greatest
escape plan in American history. He decided
to risk taking his entire army off Brooklyn in small boats right under the
noses of the British. All night long
skilled oarsman noiselessly rode the troops a mile across the water. It was mission impossible, and yet it was
working. As dawn came the sky was
clearing, and they were far from finished.
It was with great anxiety that they watched the rising sun that would
expose them and leave the remaining troops at the mercy of the British. But to their amazement fog began to rise off
the river, and it kept them covered until the last boat with Washington in it
left. Then it lifted and the British
ran to the shore firing, but they were out of range.
Eight thousand men were saved from certain death or
imprisonment, and the American army was spared to fight another day, and
eventually drive the British out of our land.
It was not cost free, for 15 thousand Americans died that battle, but by
the providence of God their deaths were not in vain, for God spared the rest of
the army to go on to victory. The point
is, when we remember those who have died it borders on idolatry unless we also
remember the hand of God in giving us the victories that preserve our
liberties. No number of deaths could
have given us what we have without the hand of God in our history. Therefore, let us look back and remember our
heroic dead with a spirit of thankfulness to God, and the kind of humility we
see in George Washington which he made clear in this prayer he wrote:
"O God, who art rich in
mercy and plenteous in redemption,
mark not, I beseech Thee, what I have done amiss; remember
that I am but dust, and
remit my transgressions,
negligences and ignorances,
and cover them all with the
absolute obedience of Thy
dear Son, that those sacrifices
which I have offered may be
accepted by Thee, in and
for the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ offered upon the cross for me."
Washington recognized that the greatest power of memory is
experience when we look beyond all that we have done, or all that the heroes of
history have done, to what God has done for us in Jesus. There is no greater memory than to remember
that it is His death that gives value to all other deaths on our behalf. Every Memorial Day is to be a day of
thanksgiving to our Lord who brings life out of death. Thank God for the power of memory, for by it
we can see abundant reasons to thank God for the past sacrifices that have
given us a great land for time, and a greater yet for eternity.
10. HARMLESS AS DOVES MATT. 10:16
A small boy sat by the side of
a pool fishing. "What are you
fishing for," asked a man who passed by.
"Sharks," replied the boy.
"But there are no sharks in that pool my little man," said the stranger. "There ain't any fish in this pool at all," answered
the boy. "So I might as well fish
for sharks as anything else."
Children have a vivid imagination, and this is certainly one of
the characteristics Jesus had in mind when He said men must become as little
children before they can enter the kingdom of heaven. Imagination is the eye of the soul. Without it we are, as Beecher once said, "And observatory
without a telescope." You cannot
enter into the world of great literature and poetry without imagination. Robert Louis Stevenson discussed every
sentence of Treasure Island with his schoolboy step‑son before giving it
its final form. He knew that if his
story was to be great he had to appeal to the imagination of youth. Einstein said that even in science,
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Imagination is the key to great discoveries
in every realm of life, including the spiritual. John Davidson wrote,
That minister of ministers, Imagination, gathers up‑‑
The undiscovered Universe, Like Jewels in a jasper cup.
No one can begin to understand the teaching of Christ without
imagination. Jesus constantly spoke in
parables, and used imagery that would leave a man in the dark who did not have
the illumination of a childlike imagination.
The common people heard Jesus gladly because he did not speak in
abstract theological terms, but in common pictures that appealed to the
imagination. The kingdom of heaven, he
said, was like a man sowing seed, like a woman putting leaven in bread, like a
merchant in search of fine pearls. Or
else he would say, it is like a mustard seed, or treasure buried in a field, or
like a net thrown into the sea gathering fish of every kind.
Jesus took His illustrations from life, and from nature, and
appealed to the imagination. He did so because God made nature the greatest
resource for material for visual aids in religious education. Jesus also knew
what modern psychology has discovered‑that the imagination is more
powerful than the will. Win a man's imagination and he is your captive. Great
leaders must appeal to the imagination of their followers to hold their
allegiance. Napoleon said the human race is governed by its imagination.
On an individual level you can demonstrate this easily. Take a
ten inch plank and put it on the ground and walk from one end to the other. It
is simple. But put the same plank across two buildings ten stories up and you
could no longer do that simple act. Your imagination would fill your head with
visions of falling and it would leave you powerless. Modern psychology says
that whenever the will and the imagination come into conflict the imagination
always wins. This means that a mind filled with visions of tragedy and evil
around the corner cannot be set at rest by good news and positive signs. The imagination reigns and makes them
pessimistic inspite of all evidence to the contrary. On the other hand, fill the imagination with pictures of glory
and victory, and all the storms of hell will not be able to blow you off the
pleasant path of optimistic assurance.
That is why the book of Revelation is so precious to Christian in
persecution. Its vivid scenes of glory
around the throne of God, and the victory songs of Christ and all His saints
wins the imagination over and makes it a friend rather than an enemy in the
battle of life.
This means that a Christian generally lives on a level that
corresponds with his imagination. If it
is weak, he will be like the man of whom Macaulay said, "His imagination
resembled the wings of an ostrich. It
enabled him to run, though not to soar."
The Christian, however, is never to be content with wings that do not
lift him aloft. We are meant to mount
up with wings like an eagle. We are to
have aspirations like David who wrote in Psalm 55:6, "O that I had wings
like a dove! I would fly away and be at
rest." These wings of the dove,
that David longed for, are available to all believers who have the imagination
to appropriate them. Ever since the
Holy Spirit came down in the form of a dove, theology has been linked to the
wings of the dove. Spurgeon pointed out
that many astounding sermons have been preached on the dove. All history has been ransaked for facts and
fables about doves, and they have been used to teach lessons of Christian
truth.
As far back as the second century Tatian began to speak of the
fall of man as the loss of his spirit wings.
These wings are restored to man when he is filled with the heavenly dove‑‑the
Holy Spirit. The wings of the dove came
to mean detachment from the world, and from the weight of flesh. To be sanctified and separated from the
world was to rise with the wings of the dove.
In the fourth century, Gregory of Nyssa developed a whole system of
Christian mysticism based on the idea of the wings of the dove. We cannot begin to cover all the references
to doves in Christian theology and hymnology, but we want to look at some of
the most important Biblical references.
If we use our imagination we can see many parallels between
literal birds and the work of the Holy Spirit.
As the Holy Spirit hovered over the dark world before it burst into life
and light, so He hovers over every life in darkness eager to mother it out of
the shell of sin into the world of light, and give it wings to soar. Charles Wesley put it in poetry–
Expand Thy wings celestial Dove,
Brood o'er our nature's
night;
On our disordered spirits move,
And let there now be
light.
After we have been hatched by the Heavenly Dove, which is
another way of saying after we have been born again by the spirit of God, we
are not through with the concept of the dove in the Christian life. There is more to the dove than wings.
It has character also, and
it is the dove's character that Jesus is interested in, in our text. Jesus is preparing His disciples for the
greatest mission of their lives. It is
literally a matter of life or death, for they will face opposition and in tense
hatred like they never saw before. It
is no time for light entertainment and small talk. They need to be given some deep impressions and profound assurances. It is in a context like this that Jesus
twice uses birds to get His message across, and into their imagination. Birds have lessons of value for the
Christian, not just in the hour of gaiety, but in the most crucial hours of
life.
Jesus said to them,
"Behold," ‑‑that is, pay attention to this; get the full
and realistic picture of what you are heading into. "I send you out as sheep in the mist of wolves, so be wise
as serpents and innocent (or harmless) as doves." The disciples had to have knowledge of four
different kinds of creatures to be able to understand an obey Jesus. He paints a word picture with animals,
serpents, and birds‑‑the crawlers, the walkers, and the flyers, all
in one little verse. With imaginative
interruption we could describe how the wolves devoured the sheep in the early
centuries. We could show how many were
wise as serpents in obedience to Christ.
We could consider the fascinating fact of how Jesus selected a quality
of the serpent for us to imitate even though the serpent, all through
Scripture, is a symbol of Satan.
Jesus can find some good for
illustration in every creature He has made.
This would be an interesting study, but for now we are limiting our
attention to the last of these creatures‑‑the dove.
How many Christians face a crisis, and an encounter with the
world, with their minds on doves? A
Christian who talked about birds at such a serious point in life would probably
be looked upon as being crazy as a loon.
In reality, he would be seeking to take his Lord seriously. Jesus says the dove has something a
Christian needs. It has a character
that is harmless, innocent, blameless, and gentle.
The dove is the most Christlike of all the birds. The dove is the first bird to play a role in
the life of Christ. When Jesus was just
a baby, Mary and Joseph brought Him to Jerusalem, and according to the law of
Moses, it says in Luke 2:24, they offered a sacrifice of a pair of turtle doves
or two young pigeons. Doves and pigeons
are of the same family. The law in the
Lev. 12:8 says that for those who cannot afford a lamb for atonement and
offering of two turtle doves or two pigeons can be a substitute. This means that Mary and Joseph could not
afford a lamb, and so birds were their substitute. What this means is that Jesus the Lamb of God is also the Dove of
God, for both were offered in atonement for sin.
The dove became a symbol, not only of the Holy Spirit, but of
Christ also. In the middle ages the
vessels in which waffers were kept for the Lord's Supper were sometimes made in
the form of doves. The dove was the
bird of good news from the beginning.
It brought back the evidence to Noah that the water had departed and
land was uncovered. The ancients carried
doves on their ships, for they were often literal saviours of lost men. When a storm would blow a ship off course,
they would release their doves and the direction in which they flew would
indicate the way to the nearest land.
Columbus used doves on his ship.
The dove is symbolic of the Savior in that it is a sacrifice for
atonement, and it is a guide to safety.
Someone might object that I am taking birds too seriously, and that I have let my imagination run beyond what the