Author: Ian Bothwell

Each year on the week before Christmas dinner we go in search of fresh brussel sprouts because one of my sons loves them.  Scientific studies indicate that over half the population has a genetic dislike for brussel sprouts.  My son’s appetite for this obnoxious weed was not inherited from me.  I have checked with my sisters and they share my distaste for those little round whatevers.  My wife was an only child and her parents are gone; therefore we can only garner limited information on her side.  She will eat them but rarely cooks them for herself.  Surely brussel sprouts were not in Eden but grew outside the gate and became food as punishment for Adam and Eve’s transgression.

I have met people who are to me as brussel sprouts.  I just don’t like them.  I don’t want to be around them.  I am so happy Jesus never asks us to like others.  He does ask us to love others and there is a huge difference.  The word He used for love meant for us to care for others and to wish them well.  I can do that for people I don’t like.  I am not so naive to think everyone likes me.  I know they don’t; even if my mother never understood how someone would not like me.  I just hope they do not wish me harm.

I doubt very much that Jesus liked the people who beat Him before taking Him to the cross.  Surely there were places filled with evil people that very much repulsed Him.  But He still loved them.  He even asked His Father to forgive them because of their ignorance.   Before you go to bed tonight think of someone you don’t like and then pray for them.  It will be good for both of you.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 4, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

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“For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtledove has been heard . . .” Song of Solomon 2.   I realize I am pushing it just a bit.  But spring will be here in just two weeks.  Daylight savings time does begin this weekend.  While it would be difficult to see any flowers because of a persistent foot of snow that won’t go away, I’m sure that deep underneath there are crocus thinking about pushing their heads above ground.  As for the dove, there was a very amorous fellow outside my window wooing and cooing the girl of his dreams. She was playing hard to get but there was no doubt he had the Song of Solomon in mind. This is not to say we will not get another blast of winter.  It could easily happen.  After all, we wouldn’t want Punxsutawney Phil to be wrong.  He did see his shadow.

Jesus did say, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for spring draws nigh.”  Well, not actually.  I did fudge the text just a bit.  He actually said, “your redemption draws nigh” which is much better than looking forward to spring.  Life is made so much better when we have good things to look forward to.  Thanksgiving is looking forward to the children and grandchildren gathering about the table.  Christmas is about looking forward to giving things to our loved ones.  Spring is looking forward to zephyrs and daffodils. And Jesus is about looking forward to an eternity filled with things to look forward to.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 7, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Don’t you love it when you are on schedule for an appointment and suddenly a train crosses the road in front of you?   You can forget about being on time.  It happened to me today.  I entertained myself by looking at the graffiti on the boxcars that slowly rolled by. One particular boxcar was splendid.  The graffiti was true art.  It must have taken hours and several cans of spray paint to produce what I thought was a masterpiece. What a shame that it would never be in a museum for all to see.  Instead just a few will be able to savor it as they wait at the blinking red lights and clanging bell.

There are people like that boxcar.  Through the years they have allowed God to paint them into being a masterpiece.  They will never be famous.  Only their fortunate families will know who they are.  They will never be mentioned in Time magazine.  They are just kind, warm, generous decent people that make the world work.

We feed ourselves on a diet of bad news from the networks and our newspapers and we become overwhelmed with the idea that everyone out there is evil and corrupt.  But it’s not so.  This country works because there are a million masterpieces getting up in the morning and going to work and coming home to be good parents and good members of their communities.  I’m sure we all know such people.   But better than knowing them is being one of them.  God wants to paint us into splendid examples of how wonderful people can be.  Unlike the boxcar that will rust away, God’s masterpieces will someday be in His throne room on display for all to see.  That’s us!  That’s worth an “how grand.”

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 6, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Sunday evening with less than a second on the play clock Khalil Edney hurled an impossible 55 foot swish basketball shot to win the game.  That was amazing.  But something much more amazing then took place.  Fellow students from his school ran onto the court yelling, “We won.”  What an interesting use of the word “we.”  For the duration of the game they were in the bleachers.

My first reaction is, “No you did not win.”  Khalil Edney won.  Then I remembered Romans 8:37.   “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”   Paul was not hesitant to use “we” when speaking of Christ’s victory.  We are included in the glorious victory.   The Father is so anxious to give to us He even makes us joint heirs with Jesus.  With all this inclusiveness one might think we would someday forget who it was who won and think we saved ourselves.  However, there is no need to fear.  Revelation 5:13 says, “I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!’”

We could never forget because every time we see Jesus we will see that the sacrifice was not for 33 years but was eternal. Paul wrote to Timothy, “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” 1 Tim. 2:5.  Note the present tense.  This never-ending mystery will fill our minds with wonder when we assemble for praise services.  There He will be.  God and man – wonder of wonders.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 5, 2013

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

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While sitting in a waiting room I was drawn to the face of a man my age.  There was something about his eyes that said, “You know me.”  My internal computer was running on high capacity as it searched for someone, somewhere in times past.  Was he once one of my best friends?  Decades part us from childhood pals and we add pounds and wrinkles and lose hair that is no longer the same color.   Just as I was about to approach him and ask who he was a lady returned to him and they left.  Now I am haunted.  Regularly we see people who remind us of another, but this was different. I could not identify who that might be and of course it might have been a once close friend.

I must confess the very human trait of being extra nice to people who remind me of people I love.  As a teacher I have to be very aware that I do not do the opposite of not being kind to someone who reminds me of someone I don’t like.  Sorry, I am not Will Rogers.  I don’t like everyone.  I’m not sure God likes everyone.  He loves all of us but there is a difference between liking and loving.   Loving is wanting others to do well and be happy and healthy.  Liking is wanting to be with them.  I doubt very much that Jesus liked Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas and company that terrible Thursday night.  The stench of stupid hatred in the room was so foreign to His nature He had to be repulsed by those who were torturing Him.  Yet there was a place in God’s Kingdom for each of them; if they so chose.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 4, 2013

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

He is probably twenty years old but to someone my age he is a kid.   He surprised me.  He came into the first class and took a seat up front right under my nose.   I assume those are the students who are eager to be engaged and do well.   I proceeded to tell the class what they needed to do to get an A and if they did so they were guaranteed an A.   This is when he surprised me.  He piped up, “I don’t want an A.  I just want to pass.”   Well, he pressed my buttons and I launched into a motivational presentation.   I told him I was determined to see him get an A.  About thirty minutes later he slumped down, closed his eyes and started to take a nap.  I was all over that boy like bees on honey.  I woke him and made him stay with me.  He continues to sit on the front row.  At the close of the semester I will let you know if I win and he gets his A.

On my way home this evening it occurred to me that God doesn’t want us to just get to heaven.  He wants the best for us.   He wants us to star.  He wants us to be all we can be.  If He has to jar us out of our sleepy lethargy He will do it.   Slipping in through a crack at the bottom of the door is not His dream for us.  The first time we enter the throne room He wants an angel standing at the door to announce us.  “Ladies and Gentleman, ambassadors from galaxies afar, I present to you ……….”   Please put in your name.  You are a star.  No Cs. You get an A.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 30, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Some time ago my older son drove in “The King of the Hammers,” a desert rock race in Southern California.  It is more than a hundred miles of brutally traumatizing your internal organs while trying to keep your car upright.  Isn’t it strange what some people call fun?  His goal was to finish with the car, his spleen and kidneys intact.  You can imagine his ecstatic surprise to not only finish but to place third in his class of car.

Life is full of surprises, some pleasant and others not so pleasant.  Obviously the pleasant ones are to be desired.  One of my pleasant ones was getting married and discovering she was so much more wonderful than I thought she would be.   Having children can be incredible.  We think the baby is wonderful and how grand it is when he or she just keeps getting more interesting and rewarding.

I sometimes think life is so worth living even if these few decades are all we get; however, the really good news is Jesus has made it endless.   He said, “He who believes in me has already crossed over from death to life.”  Awesome.   The Bible is a love story.  If you like books or movies with a happy ending you will love the Gospels and especially the end of Revelation.  Don’t let people make you think being a Christian is dull and unimaginative.  They only say that because they have never tried the real thing.  Be surprised – read John.

Written by Roger Bothwell on March 1, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

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I am sitting here eating a clementine and it occurred to me that I do not know the difference between clementines and tangerines.  So I did my usual routine and Googled it.  And the answer is – clementines don’t have seeds and tangerines do.  Tangerines are a natural fruit and clementines are engineered.  Without seeds means they are sterile and have to be the product of a graft on a varietal.

Through the years I have talked with many Christians who are fearful of their salvation because they are not aware of ever reproducing.  They cannot identify anyone coming to Christ as a result of their influence or ministry.   First of all, I am not aware of any Scriptural reference saying in order to be saved one must reproduce.  The only thing I have ever discovered in the Bible is that salvation is a gift without attached requirements.  This is not to mean we aren’t grateful and don’t want to be as much like Jesus as we can be.  But once again that is the fruit of allowing the Holy Spirit to reside in us and transform us.

Secondly, I doubt if there is such a thing as a sterile Christian.  Just because we are not aware that we have positively influenced someone doesn’t mean we didn’t.  The smallest act of kindness, the shortest expression of care, the contribution to a church’s mission all make a difference for eternity.  It is an old expression but non-the-less true, “No man is an island.”   Every day we touch others and they are not the same because of that contact.  One does not have to be a great evangelist to make a difference.  We channel God’s love.  It is His love that changes lives.

Written by Roger Bothwell on January 29, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

While reading the fine print on a coupon my wife noticed that it was not transferable, which seemed strange considering it had come addressed to OCCUPANT.  Did this mean that I could not give it to my neighbor and he could not give his to us?  Perhaps it meant not transferable to a different restaurant.  I have noticed that the various donut shops in our town will take each other’s discount coupons.  But I have never known restaurants to do so.

I did think of something much more significant that comes to OCCUPANT.  Romans 10 says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”  That seems to cover OCCUPANT.  That means anyone.  God is not fussy about gender, race, age or nationality.  He is an all purpose savior.

Now that brings us to the not transferable.  It is not. We cannot be saved for another.  It is a highly personal relationship with our saver.  I know that many parents would exchange their salvation for one of their children.  However, that does not work.  That was done once.  Jesus gave His life for all.   Once you give something of which you only have one, you cannot give it again.  In Romans 6:10 we read, “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; . .”  He could do that because He was without sin.  Hebrews 4:15   We can’t.   There are some who are baptized for past ancestors.  Sorry.  That is not transferable.

So I still do not understand the coupon we received in the mail.   But I am overwhelmed by the power of us being occupants of earth and each receiving a non-transferable gift of salvation.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 28, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, Ca 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Many years ago I organized a necktie party. (No not the traditional kind.)  It seems in the eagerness of my youth I confused western culture with Christianity.  It is a common error of missionaries – especially young ones.  It is difficult for us to sort out traditions from what really matters.  I wrote to one of the churches I had pastored as a very young man and asked them to rid their closets of neckties and send them to our school in Uganda.  When they arrived I passed them out to our male students and required them to wear them for church services.  After all we must dress properly if we are to come into the presence of the King of the Universe.  The problem was neckties were not the local custom, to which I should have been very much more sensitive.

When we baptized a man who already had more than one wife we required him to put away all but one wife.  (He always kept the pretty one.)  And so we created homes with mothers with children and no father figure.  Fathers would make monthly visits to bring food and money to those homes.  I do believe we created a lot of guilt as a result of those visits.  Once again we confused Christianity with western culture.   The only thing Paul had to say about such men with more than one wife is that they not be church leaders.  Some of the men were more perceptive and compassionate than we.  They came to church every week and just were never baptized.

Psychologists call what I (we) did “Group Think.”  In our group we had convinced ourselves we were on moral high ground and God was on our side.   May God make us wise enough to discern real truth from our acculturated beliefs.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 27, 2014

Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org