Confounded

I found myself having a very pleasant conversation with a good friend. Suddenly I saw someone enter the room who I deemed to be more important. Quickly I terminated the conversation so I could associate with the more important person.  It was not until later in the day that I pondered what I had done and I was filled with remorse.  It sounds so very crass when I tell you about it.  But the truth is consciously I did not think, “That person is more important than this one.”  It was a subconscious social reaction whose meaning did not surface until later.  I just did it without thinking.

There is more than one thing wrong here.  First, I did it without thinking. Big mistake.  We should think before we do.  Second, there is no such thing as one person being more important than another.  Rank is a mythical social construction that implies one person has more value than another.  It reminded me of taking a cruise and being told there would be no place in the lifeboats for the men until women and children were safely cared for.  I was rudely reminded that an undereducated eighty-year-old woman would have more value than a fifty-year-old male Nobel Prize winning brain surgeon.

Perhaps it is the cross of Jesus that puts this into some perspective.  The creator of the universe died so we can live.  He took our place so we can take His place.  No, I’m sorry.  This isn’t working for me.  I don’t get it. There is no possible way this logically works.  That sacrifice is totally out of proportion.  When I see Him face to face I will be even more confounded.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 16, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Helping without Harming

So many organizations rushed to Haiti to supply free medical help to victims of the earthquake that already established hospitals and clinics have gone bankrupt for lack of paying patients. In Africa free American food is rushed to famine stricken nations only to have farmers, who have labored all year to produce their crops, have the price fall out from under them because of our help.  Helping people can be a serious challenge.  How do you help someone without harming another or harming the very person you are helping?  There are times I see opportunities to help a student pass a class only to realize I have enabled their indolence and have reinforced bad habits.  While supplying grace to one situation I have contributed to an attitude that one need not really work hard and learn.

And so it is with grace. How can I steel myself against sin when I know that God will always forgive?  I can guess what you are thinking.  God knows our hearts and knows we are working the system; therefore, we will not get the grace we need.  But there is forgiveness for willful sin.  We can deliberately do wrong only to discover the consequences were much worse than we had anticipated and thus enter into a genuine repentant state.  Yeah.  We can.

The quest to be genuinely Christ-like and to always do the right thing for the right motive is an immense challenge I have been questing for all my life.  When I am totally honest with myself I know I need grace, lots of grace.  So how can God help us without harming us?  In His wisdom He does it very carefully because He understands our hearts are amazingly deceitful – deceiving ourselves.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 10, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

The Joy of Service

Life is full of wonders.  Today I had a new one.  I love teaching.  Students never cease to do something new.  Today in my human development class, which spans the twelve o’clock hour, a young lady got up and left the room. That happens all the time.  What followed does not.  About ten minutes later she returned with her dinner.  She had gone to the cafeteria and now sat down in class to eat her meal.  I was so taken back I didn’t know what to say.  My wife, an experienced elementary teacher, had the right comment.  But having never taught third grade I didn’t know I was to say, “Did you bring enough for everyone?”

Now Jesus would have had an even better comment.  He would have said, “Bring it to me.”  After blessing it He would have passed it out to everyone and then collected the leftovers for them to take back to the dorms.  The feeding of the crowd must have been very satisfying to Jesus; so much so He did it twice, once in Galilee and again east of the Jordan.  It brings joy to be able to meet genuine needs.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  To do good works is the purpose for our being. There is no real joy in those who constantly feed their own selfish nature.  Real joy permeates us when we discover a meaningful task, have the means to meet it and then do it.  When we do, the miracle of the feeding happens anew.  Resources are multiplied and we achieve our fullest potential.  That’s a grand experience.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 9, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Top Billing

We were having breakfast at Denny’s this morning with friends when I recognized a semi-famous film star eating in the booth next to us.  It took my brain just a few seconds of running through its Rolodex files to identify him.  Later when I looked up his bio on the Internet I discovered we are just weeks apart in age.  It’s amazing what a really good face job and well dyed hair can do.   I definitely show more wear and tear than he.

I wonder what it is like to be semi-famous; always the co-star and never the protagonist.  Surely it has its advantages.   The pay should be very good and yet he can eat a quiet breakfast at Denny’s without having people pester him for an autograph.  But does he ever wish that just once he could have top billing?

There is a wonderful verse in Revelation 3 that says, “He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”  Just imagine the Creator of the universe personally presenting your name before His heavenly Father.  This is top billing.  This is being famous where it counts.  This is so much better than having a Wikipedia page, an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy or whatever fleeting human award one could receive. It’s truly grand to have friends in high places and this is as high as it gets. Never forget John 15:14.  “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”   And what has He commanded?  “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you . . .” John 13:34

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 7, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

What We Don’t See

At least six times each week I use a back road into our college.  Today I saw a new “No Passing Zone” sign.  I asked my wife how long it has been there.  “Years” was her response.  “Years!!!”  So much for being observant.  At least I am not alone.  One of the psychology texts I use explains how our minds protect themselves from being over-stimulated.  Our senses are continually feeding our brains billions of bits of data.  To avoid overload our brains subconsciously sort out what to notice.  We can see something hundreds of times and our brains reject any input–visual, auditory, etc.  No two people see the same event.  Everything is filtered.

I have some friends who see God working continually in their lives.  I have other friends who are just the opposite.  For these folk God isn’t much interested in them.  The difference isn’t with God.  He is the same today, yesterday and tomorrow.  The difference is our personal filter.  He is there whether we see Him or not.   Psalm 138 says it so well, “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.”

There is a great old song that goes like this.  “Open my eyes that I might see glimpses of truth thou hast for me. . . Open my eyes, illumine me.” Paul assures us we do not yet see things clearly.   In I Corinthians 13 he tells us we are looking into a steamy mirror.  However, the Good News is little by little the steam evaporates.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 12, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Motive, Motive, Motive

I live in Massachusetts, the land of the patriots.  No, I’m not talking about those guys who didn’t get to the Super Bowl this year.  I mean the real patriots who defied King George and his Redcoats.   One cannot spend much time anywhere near Boston without coming across some monument describing some heroic act.  No matter where one lives in America you will have heard of Sam Adams and John Hancock.  But what about Elisha Brown?

It seems the British had a nasty habit of quartering their troops with the local populace.  Without any choice people had to feed and house and often give up their beds to the Redcoats, who were very tough guys.  When you realize they marched in full gear from Boston to Concord (roughly 40 miles round trip) and back again, you have to admire their strength.  Well back to Elisha Brown.  He was not about to quarter a Redcoat.  So he bought a year’s worth of groceries and water and locked his windows and barred his door.  He settled in for a siege.  After about two weeks the Redcoats decided he was a crazy old coot, went away and left him alone.  Hooray for Elisha.

Was it courage or stubbornness?  I have often wondered how many people really do stand for truth, for love of God, for principle or are they just the kind of people who resist having anyone tell them what they can and cannot do.  Does it make a difference?  Absolutely yes, it does.  Never forget I Corinthians 13 where Paul says though I give my body to be burned if I do not do it for love it is worth nothing.  Scary.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 11, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Good News Junkie

According to the dictionary the word “junkie” does not have to have negative connotations.  The second and third given meanings are “a person with an insatiable craving for something: and an enthusiastic follower: fan; devotee: a baseball junkie.”  Therefore, I have come to realize I am a junkie.  I am a good news junkie.  I like to hear about good things that happen to people.  I am also a Good News junkie.  I can’t get enough of the story of Jesus.  The hymn “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” is one of my favorites.

Hebrews 1:1-4 is all about Jesus.  It begins talking about Him right from the start.  “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

Jesus is the “express image of His person.”   One of the reasons Jesus came was to show us what God is really like.  Those “various ways” in the past were the beginning of the revelation of God.  Jesus was the consummate revelation.  He made us rethink all the ideas we used to have about the Father.  The Father wasn’t just some super form of an Old Testament god but was the kindest, most caring, most concerned, most sacrificing and most loving God anyone could ever imagine.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 10, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

 

A Kindergarten Visit

I’m sure we all remember Mark 9:36 where Jesus takes a small child up into His arms.  What a story that child had to tell the rest of his or her life. Well, this morning I watched something just as good.  I was in a Kindergarten supervising a student teacher.  It was circle time and the children were all gathered on a rug while the student teacher read to them and taught them their lesson.  Repeatedly the children had to be moved back. And just as soon as they were the student teacher’s magnetic charm automatically drew the children closer and closer.  It was impossible for the children to resist the loving attitude and appeal.  They all wanted to sit on her lap.  If I had a small child, I would want him in that room.

There is no argument to be made against the principle that love attracts. We cannot help ourselves.  We are drawn to it like children to a candy counter.  There is no question that most of the people that flocked to see Jesus were miracle gawkers. These were the same ones who quickly turned on Him.  However, the ones drawn by His love were the ones who stayed faithful. Just as soon as John got over the initial fright and confusion of the arrest in the garden, he got himself into the trial chamber and stayed as close to Jesus as possible all the way to the cross.

The very first song I ever learned was “Jesus Loves Me.”  Many decades later I am still moved by the power of its simplicity.  I know of very few debates over Jesus’ human/divine nature or the power of sin that have ever been as magnetic as that little song.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 9, 2010

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Golden Years

Coming out into a busy college parking lot this afternoon I couldn’t find my car.  I really looked carefully up and down the rows.  No car.  Could someone have taken it?  Holding the key in my hand I decided to press the alarm button to see if I could hear it or see its flashing lights. The beeping horn almost rattled my teeth.  I was standing right beside my car – right beside it!  Early this morning my wife and I had swapped cars.  Even though I had driven the beeping car to the parking lot when I came out I proceeded to search for the wrong car.  Ouch.  I’m seriously beginning to doubt the hype about “golden years.”

I think the real golden years are when the house is full of little kids, when you are barely paying the bills yet hear “Daddy’s home” and hear the thunder of little feet coming to mob you.  My dog does that now but it’s not quite the same.  It’s a dog.  I wish the four legs were divided between two little boys. The problem with most of us is we don’t recognize the real golden years until the wall fills with graduation pictures and then they are over.

I wonder what I will forget tomorrow.  In my human development class I talk about long and short term memory.  As we age we hang on to the things we learned decades ago.  Memory verses I learned as a child still fill my mind as inspiration for these devotionals.  One of the best things we can do for our children is to have them memorize a Bible text each week.   Decades later they will thank us for it.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 8, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org

Standing and Falling

I realize that some of the people who audition for American Idol are just trying to get their fifteen minutes of fame, meet the judges and have some interesting video to someday show their great grandchildren, but one gets the impression that some of them really live in a delusional world of self-adoration.  The tears that flow from the deserved rejection seem to be deeply felt.  I am sometimes reminded of a man who once told me he had gone over a week without sinning. When I asked for him to explain he told me that since it was Wednesday he couldn’t break the Sabbath today.  He had not murdered anyone today, stole anything, cursed or disrespected his parents. His definition of sin, or should I say victory over sin, was adherence to a code of commandments.

At first I am tempted to quote, “Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”  I Corinthians 10:12.  However, I’m not sure someone living under such a narrow concept would ever be aware when he falls.  He is not aware that he has yet to stand.   While it is true that sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4) it is so much broader and deeper.  Sin is selfishness that is deeply embedded into the fabric of our being.  It is living for satisfaction of self at the expense of others.  It is anything that harms self or others.  Sin is something as simple as spitting out chewing gum on the street where others will step on it.  Sin is tossing trash out the window of your car after going through a fast food drive up window.

Considering the truth about our human condition there is only one way for any of us to stand.   It is not complicated.  It is understanding the only goodness, the only righteousness we will ever have is a gift from the mercy of a loving God.

Written by Roger Bothwell on February 4, 2011

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

Rogerbothwell.org