It's about the ADE, not the lemons

"Wow!  Now that's family drama!"  I wondered if this had been the basis of a movie or surely some soap opera writers have used this story.  I even "googled" it.  I was off on one of my "sidebar" investigations after reading Psalm 3.  

The subtitle for Psalm 3 is "A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom".  I remembered how it ended for Absalom but not the details prior.  I read through 2 Samuel 13-19.  Talk about a soap opera.  This was raw family drama.  Brother dishonoring sister.  Brother getting revenge a few years later.  Son lusting after father's throne, power and women.  Son chasing father from throne.  War among family factions.  Rebellious son dies as a result of his pride.  (Absalom had a great head of hair.  He was very proud of it.  During his final battle, his long beautiful hair became tangled in a tree leaving Absalom hanging in an oak tree vulnerable to his enemies.)

My initial thought reading David/Absalom story was "All my troubles pale in comparison."  Then  I read the psalm again with that perspective.  During the peak of the drama, when Absalom had David on the run, David gave me advice to face my own drama, tragedy, crisis, oppression, fear, anxiety or doubt:

1.  God is my shield. 

2.  God is my answer.

3.  God will give me rest.

4.  God will deliver me.

5.  God will give me victory.

In the midst of this episode in David's colorful life, he adopted the ADE perspective instead of the "Why me?" perspective.   Too much of the world chooses the focus of  the victim rather than focus on the eternal.

You've heard the advice  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonADE?"  Here's what ADE means to me now:

A ssurance in God

D ependence on God

E ternal perspective

A couple of my Facebook friends have lived out ADE.  One experienced a tragic loss.  The other is struggling with a difficult diagnosis.  Both have been honest in the pain, suffering and confusion.  Both have demonstrated assurance in God, dependence on God during their difficult time, and trust in God's future for them.

I don't want be engulfed in my "self-contrived" drama and lose everything because of my pride (or my hair).  Psalm 3 reminds me  God alone is my shield, my glory and my only hope. (Psalm 3:3 Living Bible).

It's about the ADE, not the lemons. 

The Kiss Gauntlet

I looked down the line. I had to face the gauntlet to get out of the door.  I was about 12 years old. My family was on a weekend visit to my parents' hometown.  I wouldn't be able to exit without facing the line of Loves.

My mother's mother was the 11th in a family of 12 brothers and sisters.  So I grew up with a multitude of great aunts.  When we were in town there was at least one family gathering of the Love family (for real, Love was their last name!)    Most of the great aunts had never married or had children.  So as my mother described her youth, "It was like having half a dozen mothers. They all made me eat my vegetables!"  It often felt like I had half a dozen grandmothers.

The Love sisters were an affectionate bunch with farewells.  When we announced our departure, they would line up by door and we would each receive a hug and a kiss.  Avoidance was not an option. 

As I read Psalm 2, I pondered two things, politics and kissing.  Psalm 2 begins with a challenge to the foolish rulers who think they can "outwit" God (as the Living Bible describes.).  The worldly leaders think God's way is confining and plot to break His chains.  Too often, when watching my daily quota of the news, I shake  my head and mention to the "talking heads" that I really don't care about their burning issues.  They seem to be missing the major  points and focusing on minor issues.  But I'm not a political blogger.

I'd rather consider Love and Kissing!  In the concluding verses, these kings are advised to be wise, be warned and Kiss the Son.  I liked this advice.  Smarten up people and get right with Jesus.  I'd like to give those political talking heads this same advice.

So what does it mean to Kiss the Son? I checked an online commentary by Matthew Henry.  He had a list of four kisses:

·         The kiss of agreement and reconciliation.  After a tussle with a sibling, were you told to "kiss and make up"?

·         The kiss of adoration and worship.  Apparently idol worshippers would kiss their cold stone idols.

·         The kiss of affection and sincere love.  In Luke 7:38 a woman, a prostitute, kissed Jesus' feet and bathed them with expensive perfume.

·         The kiss of allegiance and loyalty.  In I Samuel 10: 1, Samuel takes a flask of oil and anoints Saul because the Lord appointed Saul.

Perhaps this list also gives advice on following God.  In the beginning, I had to accept there was God and He was in control.  I had to confess my sin so I could be reconciled with the Creator of my world.  Since my spiritual beginning, I have thanked God for saving me from a life without purpose and meaning, for not being a cold stone God, but one who miraculously intervenes in my daily life (like yesterday, but that's for another blog).  

Today, again, I pledge my alliance to The One who delivered and continues to deliver me from a foolish life chasing temporary treasure.  The One has given me the opportunity for eternal life with Him.  Psalm 2 and kissing reminds me to give up my plots and plans, submit to the best life God has planned for me and let myself be loved.  His "gauntlet" of Love is ever-available and everlasting.

Living on the Edge

My apologies to my neighbors.  I'm sure my three dogs were the alarm clock no one wanted to hear.  I had the dogs quietly walking on their leashes when they spotted a rabbit just a few feet away.  They strained and pulled us in the rabbit's direction.  The rabbit moved one foot away in the direction we were headed, not in the opposite direction!  Again the dogs inched toward the rabbit.  The rabbit moved just another foot away in our direction!   Since the rabbit didn't run away, like every other smart rabbit had done,  the dogs thought they actually could catch this rabbit.  They erupted into a furry pack of barking, chirping and howling.  I kept asking the rabbit to run as I pulled the black pack up the street.

I was amazed at this foolhardy rabbit.  It was a larger rabbit. Youthful ignorance could not be its excuse.   I walk the dogs every morning on the same route.  All the other rabbits have seen us pass by.  Surely my three dogs were the topic of the rabbit morning gossip session.  Why would this rabbit live  on the edge of such danger? (Two of the three dogs are "catch and release only" but one of them does try to consume his catch.  More than once I've had to "put my big girl pants on", gather a shovel to take an unfortunate victim away from the dog and toss it over the fence.  My husband gets a text to dig a grave  on his lunch hour.)

I thought of that foolish rabbit who disregarded all sensibility to torment my dogs, and my sleeping neighbors, when I read Psalm 1.  This psalm contrasts the benefits gained by meditating on God's law and being meaningless, like chaff in the wind.  Staying close to God's law leads to prosperity and protection.

The visual image used in this psalm is a tree planted by streams of water.  The tree was intentionally planted near the nourishing water, a wise choice.  Tree roots will grow deep into the earth to reach the water. This tree planter wisely choose a spot near the water, to make it more convenient.  The life giving water is close enough to be seen and appreciated.

I thought about the rabbit's foolish choice to remain on the very edge of disaster and the very wise choice of planting a tree at the edge of the necessary ingredient for a productive life.  Too many people in today's world are like that rabbit.  They make choices that keep them inches from mortal danger.  What sense does it make?

The psalm compared the foolish to "chaff in the wind."  The song lyric by the group "Kansas" popped into my head.  "All we are is dust in the wind."  A depressing thought.  This psalm reminds that life on the edge of disaster is temporary but God's way leads to eternity.

I'd like to be more than dust blown to and fro by unseen forces. If I want a life of meaning,  I can take control of the influences guiding my life.  I can choose to study the Word and consider how it applies in my daily life. God's way will give my  life  perspective,  protection  and promise.  I want the kind of life grown from being like a tree near the stream.  Rather than live on the edge of disaster, it makes sense for me to live on the edge of eternity.

See ya later

"Have you noticed he never says goodbye?"  I asked my husband referring to a well respected leader of our church.  He was gracious and a good conversationalist.  Yet when he sensed the dialogue had reached its conclusion he would just walk off.  I'm not sure why I noticed or even still ponder it.  I'm not a fan of farewells.  To me, the farewell emphasizes the ending rather than the new, the fresh, the beginning.

Sometimes I avoid endings.  If I really enjoy a book the last few pages take as long to read as most of the whole book. 

Yet sometimes I gain real satisfaction from the end.  Hand sewing the binding on a quilt is one of my favorite parts.  Making the binding is my least favorite.  The final step of turning and stitching the binding gives me pure satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment in the midst of  a farewell.  (I love all my projects.  If I don't love them, they either get thrown out or never finished.)

Paul gave me  a recipe for a proper farewell in Philemon 21-25.  There are four ingredients.

1.         Encouragement.  Paul expressed his confidence that Philemon would do more than the "right thing" with Onesimus' situation.

2.         Hope.  Paul asked Philemon to get the guest room ready because he intended to visit Philemon.  It would be more than a visit.  It would be the restoration of their friendship and an answer to prayer.

3.         Assurance.  Paul reminded Philemon of their fellow workers in the joint mission to serve Christ.  He mentions Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke.  Paul reminded Philemon that he was not alone in his service.

4.         Relationship.  Finally Paul wraps it up with what the theologians call a benediction.  I think of the final statement as a reminder of the True Point:  It's about Jesus.  It's about the spiritual relationship with Him and the believers, not the petty stuff the world majors on but the eternal matters.

So it's seems time to end my study of the Book of Philemon.  As I look back this tiny book (in comparison to the other books in the Bible) has presented me with opportunities.  Opportunities to change my view of the world, to change the world I live in and to change, for the better, my relationship with God and other believers.  Who knew there was so much wisdom packed into a mere 25 verses of what some think of as a letter asking for a favor.  Wow, there is so much more to Philemon.  I could read it again and again.  That's the miracle of The Bible.  It will speak freshly to me every time I read it.

Watching a sunset  may seem to be the end but it is also the promise of a beginning.  The sun will come up again tomorrow.  It hasn't missed a single day in centuries!

I'm going to wander off and not say farewell to Philemon.  See ya later. Philemon.  It's been more than swell.   I'll be back to Philemon but there are more treasures awaiting me in............now I have to decide what to study next!

"Chalk it Up"

"You need a new coat. Go downtown."  I had just arrived at my grandmother's home for a visit and this was how she greeted me.  No glad you visited, or how was the trip, but here's what you need.  It was her way of expressing her affection.  It didn't take me long to enjoy and anticipate the greeting because it wasn't always a coat, it was also shoes or clothes.  It meant a trip to the store to be waited upon with "first class" attention and my purchases charged to her account.  It was a small town and my grandmother was well known.  I had the personal attention of the sales clerks.  She sent all her family downtown with a shopping assignment.   My role was to make my choices and then the clerks would add the items to my grandmother's charge account.

My grandmother had a reputation for generosity (she sent us to the best shops in town) and reliability (she paid her bills).  She gave me the opportunity to be trusted. I made sure I made wise choices.  She wanted me to have quality but I did not take advantage.  My grandmother trusted the sales clerks and she trusted me. I was shopping on the value of her name and reputation.  I benefited with the privilege of feeling special.  She enjoyed the "fashion show" when I returned.  It was her reward to see what I'd chosen and know she'd provided.

I thought about charging items to my grandmother's account when I read  Philemon 17-20.  Paul asked Philemon, as his comrade, to welcome Onesimus as if he were Paul and if Onesimus had any debts to charge them to Paul. (In The Message, Paul told Philemon to "chalk it up" to him.) If Philemon would agree, Paul would be refreshed in his faith in Christ.

What a new world Paul is describing?  A world where believers trust each other to accept the debts of others and accept repayment from friends of the debtor. I imagine that this world is about more than just financial debts.  Too much of our world is ruled by so-called "fairness" and "accountability".  Not that those are evil traits.  It seems that too often we worship fairness more that trust, affection and faith.  What would the world be like if we spend time building our reputation on trust, affection and faith?

How can we overcome a world founded upon mistrust, self-centeredness and self-dependence?  Only Jesus can show us the way.  Jesus, for some strange reason, loves us so much He trusts us with this crazy world.  He expects us to provide for others, to trust each other, to recognize He has provided us with the best if we would just choose to recognize it.

Jesus does greet us with "Glad you came" and "here's what you need and I will provide it".  Jesus is the ultimate in trust, reliability and generosity.  On the rare occasion when the world might think Jesus had failed, I believe it was the result of poor choices on my part or He had a bigger and better plan in motion.  I can't think of a time when I have recognized the good gifts Jesus has offered me and felt like I was second class.  I've always felt He gives his best.

Jesus gave Himself for me, and you.  In my mind, when I recognize my failures, my sins,  I believe Jesus will say "to chalk it up" to Him.  He has paid my debts as if they were His own.  Not because I earned or deserved it.  Just because He showed His affection for me, and you.

Jesus has "chalked up" my debts.  Can I do the same for someone today?  Can I refresh my heart and faith by providing for someone?  Not because of fairness but because of affection, God's affection.  Will my eyes be open to encouraging another to see God's goodness?  This new world is more than providing one another financially.  In the new world the Book of Philemon introduces it is about relationship with God and each other.

My grandmother's generosity made me feel special.  I should feel extraordinarily special and chosen since Jesus has been generous and paid the debt for my sin.  Paul's request to Philemon to "cover" Onesimus' failures was a surprise.  Onesimus didn't deserve it.  He was guilty. Yet, how refreshing! 

Paul asked on the basis of his good name and God's Name for Philemon to be generous with Onesimus. What a different world we would live if we expressed how much God loved each of us by refreshing others in His name.  God has loved and trusted me, and you, with this world and each other.  How can I use my name and His Name to proclaim His Great Love for me and other believers?

It's about love and wisdom and trust.  God loved me.  God sees value in me.  God has entrusted me with purpose.  My purpose is to love other believers, to see the value in other believers and to refresh other believers with the reminder of how special they are to the Lord.  The Book of Philemon challenges me to think less of myself and more of God and other believers.  Now that is a world changing idea!