Serving God

You may have heard an exclamation, “And I shaved my legs for this?” Believe it or not, this is not new. It echoes Psalm 73:13. Listen.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence;

Here is the Holman rendering:
Did I purify my heart and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?

For the record, the Psalm writer observed the wicked and noted that they were prospering despite their ungodly lifestyles. Not a foreign observation in our world. It seems that the “bad guys” both morally and socially are prospering and leaving the good guys behind. This is a repeat of the theme in Psalm 37.

These two Psalms mirror the book of Job. A question of the value of faith predominates the early verses (or chapters), but then God “turns on the light” and all is suddenly clear. When he came into the house of the Lord (the Light) he exclaimed: (73:17, 18)
Then I perceived their end. 18 Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.

No more need be said. It was worth “shaving.” An older song comes to mind: “The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows.” Check out the lyrics: (Citation below)
Since I started for the Kingdom, Since my life He controls,
Since I gave my heart to Jesus, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows.

The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

Ev'ry need He is supplying, Plenteous grace He bestows;
Ev'ry day my way gets brighter, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows.

The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.

This is particularly poignant when it is sung by an older Christian.  They know. I am reminded of my Dad. This will be a late Father’s Day tribute. When he died, several of the attendants from his nursing home came to the funeral. That in itself was a wonder to me, but most if not all of them commented to “us kids” that Dad always had a smile on his face.

I am confident that there is not a single person in SW Nebraska who would be able to say that, “Howard cheated me or was unfair to me.” I saw him go out of his way to give the other person in a transaction the best deal possible. His reward was not down here, so he was not enamored or ??? with accumulating earthly wealth.

The reputation and legacy he left for his children to follow is the greatest heritage that we could have imagined. Interestingly, many of his brothers’ children would say the same about their Dads. And it came from Grandad. As an illustration, he was with my cousins in a California amusement park when another family, having observed his for a while, approached him and asked him if they could “hire” him to be a Grandad for their kids. They were serious.

The godly heritage passed down from him challenges me, and the rest of my family, to live up to the standard laid down. I can confidently proclaim that, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.” And in the words of the Psalmist, it was worth shaving my legs for this.

If you would like a visual and audio reminder, follow the link below.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Bill+Gaither+Trio+the+Longer+I+Serve+Him&&view=detail&mid=E51619D7C91878B9D5AFE51619D7C91878B9D5AF&&FORM=VRDGAR


http://www.songlyrics.com/bill-gaither/the-longer-i-serve-him-lyrics/

Lost

Jesus told a series of parables in Luke 15 in response to criticism from the Scribes and Pharisees. They noted that He was fraternizing with tax collectors (publicans, KJV) and sinners. The three parables are about a lost sheep, a lost shekel, and a lost son. All three of these had one thing in common and one thing that differentiated each one from the other.

They were all lost. You may have discerned that without help. I had not thought about their lostness before. The different aspect of their conditions is the path that led to being lost. The sheep had gotten lost out of innocence or ignorance. It did not know that there were places and things out there that were dangerous. The sheep simply wandered off, probably following a little trail of grass. It did not intend to get lost, it just happened as it innocently strayed away from the shepherd.

The coin, on the other hand, was a completely passive object. It became lost due to the carelessness of the owner or simply fell from its normal location due to some outside influence. Possibly the shekel was simply moved for some reason, and the “put away place” was forgotten. Have you ever put something somewhere, thinking that you would remember where it was when you needed it? Then when the need arose you could not, for the life of you, remember where you had put it. I often recall that I have a tool or a part and vividly recall putting it where I would remember it, but not being able to find the resting place.

The lost son, on the other hand, knew exactly what he was doing and deliberately, decisively, and determinedly left home. He knew exactly where he was and why he was there.

But the point of Jesus’ telling of these stories was not that the three had been lost, but that they had been found. The lost sheep was incapable of returning to safety. It is quite possible that it had become trapped somewhere and was facing death if not rescued.

The shekel had no cognition and was not involved in anything. It just “sat” where ever it had been placed or had fallen. In contrast to those, the lost son had intentionally left, and knew exactly where he was, even if the father, the seeker, did not know.

But the best comparison is that all three were found. The shepherd actively searched until he discovered and recovered his lost sheep. The woman diligently went through the house eliminating every possible “hiding” place until the lost was discovered.

The father was diligently seeking the return of the lost, but at the same time was respecting the son’s sovereignty. It was a volitional decision to leave, and a volitional decision was required to become “found.” (Verse 32)

The sheep undoubtedly learned a life changing lesson, and we can surmise that it never wandered off again. Hopefully the woman learned to “put everything in its place” instead of merely stashing things in a convenient location. Finally, we can affirm that the son never strayed either. If he was a sharp as a sheep, he not only stayed out of trouble, but was an ambassador to others who were on the verge of straying. Hopefully, he was able to influence his older brother over time.

But the point of the story is not in the individual narratives. The overall thrust of Jesus’ presentation is that all three were found. The “lost” did not recover themselves. Even the lost son, though he had a change of heart, depended upon the father’s seeking heart for recovery. Look at verse 20: “ But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him....” Can you put yourself in the lost shoes of this boy? The father “... felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

A question that often arises is whether a Christian can “lose” his salvation. Even a straying son will be sought by the loving Father and brought back to the place of safety, security, and service. This trio of parables combines to reassure that, if lost for any reason, we will be found. In fact, 1 John 2:19 explains the difference between a true believer and one who has never been a “son.” In expanding the warning in verse 15, John explains:
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

The “they” are people who love the world.
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

These pseudo-sheep pretend to be part of the family, but their true love becomes evident by their actions. Their “going out” is not part of the triple analysis for being lost that Jesus was explaining. If the older brother refused to reconcile with the prodigal, he was demonstrating that,  although he was a biological child, he was merely residing in the home and not a true son.

Jesus warned about that in Matthew 7:23. To those who pretended to be part of the family, He declared, “I never knew you.” We are not Christians because of a biological event. In the same line of thought, a true “son” has decided to follow the Lord. Once part of that household, we become subject to the “Seeker’s” will. And the best news of all is in 2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not willing that any should perish.

Jesus said in John 6:39
This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
What an assurance. What a confidence we enjoy. We are secure based on God’s will and Jesus ability.

That applies to those who have not yet believed and those who have. Once we are part of the family, we have the confidence that we can never be removed. In Paul’s time and even today, a child that was adopted into a family could never be disowned or disinherited. That is why Paul used the term adoption for our inclusion into God’s family. (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5)

The lost sheep, the lost shekel, and the lost son were found. The comparison is to the critics who refused the offer that Jesus made. They neither “ate with” Publicans and sinners, nor the seeking Savior. In contrast, this is the reassuring picture of what awaits believers who have been adopted into God’s family.

I am found! Praise God!

Little Foxes

Have you ever noticed how little things that you do not know can lead to very big problems? For instance, I have a Cub Cadet lawn mower and have had it break down about five times in the past two or three years. It has an electric clutch that activates the mower deck and that clutch kept getting loose and spinning on the shaft.

Did you hear my description? It is an electric clutch, so when it spins, the wires that carry electricity to the clutch are damaged and pulled out. One of the mishaps was so serious that it pulled the wired completely out of the housing, which required a replacement with a new clutch at the rate of $100.

Well, I got the new clutch installed last week and cut the grass. I was doing it again this afternoon when suddenly the mower just stopped dead. Fearing the worst, I stepped off the tractor and peered at the wire that is supposed to go through a hole in the deck to the clutch underneath. Just as I suspected, no wires were visible. Lying down on the grass, oblivious to chiggers, I looked under and there they were, stripped of insulation and hanging free.

To make a long long story short, as I was securing the clutch so that it would not spin again, I discovered that there are two, different sides to the bracket that secures it. The bracket, for those who are mechanically inclined, or declined, also serves as a belt guard to hold the deck drive belt on the pulley driven by the clutch.

You can disengage the bracket, swing it back out of the way, and slip the belt off the drive pulley to remove the deck. When I reconnected the deck and replaced the bracket, I made sure that it had engaged the clutch to keep it from spinning. Only this time, I decided to connect it to the opposite side of the bracket. The side, incidentally, that is fastened to the frame with a bolt so that it cannot come loose.

I tried several times to move the bracket far enough to engage the clutch mechanism but was unable to do so. My only recourse was to remove the bolt, lower the bracket, spin the clutch to match the bracket, and bolt it back. And it suddenly dawned on me why it continued to come undone. The side that I was using to hold it was not made for it, and was slipping.

So I have now connected the clutch “where is is supposed to be,” repaired the wires which were broken, and reassembled the connections. That one little thing, which took less than 10 minutes to connect correctly, even if the bolt had to connect with a hole in a blind location, has cost me over one hundred dollars and 15 to 20 hours of “monkeying around.”

I had even contemplated jerry-rigging a clamp on the bracket to keep it from slipping. The little things that we do not know can surely cost us time, money, and frustration.

Solomon noted that in Song of Solomon 2:15
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Little foxes can spoil an entire harvest, particularly if they strike at a vulnerable time in the development of the crop. “Little things” in our lives that are not controlled and even eliminated can cause significant havoc.  Take care of the little things and the big things take care of themselves. Emily Dickinson may have been the first to say that, but she could have taken it from Solomon.

Take care of the little things.