Moving Shadows

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Wednesday, October 17, 2018

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is.  You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.  My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.” Interlude

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.  We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it.  And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?  My only hope is in you.  Rescue me from my rebellion.  Do not let fools mock me.          I am silent before you; I won’t say a word, for my punishment is from you.  But please stop striking me!  I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.  When you discipline us for our sins, you consume like a moth what is precious to us.  Each of us is but a breath. Interlude

Hear my prayer, O Lord!  Listen to my cries for help!  Don’t ignore my tears.  For I am your guest—a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me.  Leave me alone so I can smile again before I am gone and exist no more.  Psalm 39:4-13(NLT)

The lectionary list of Scriptures for each day provides an Old Testament, Psalm, and New Testament reading.  Today the selections are Job 32, which is steeped in the middle of Job’s misery.  Then Psalm 39, David’s overwhelming grief in the middle of consequences following his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and his murderous attempt to cover up his sin.  And, finally, Luke 16, the rich man who ignored the poor man and wound up in Hell.  To quote old Homer Rothrock:  There ain’t much romance in any of it!

At the end of David’s prayer he asks God for a little break in this tsunami of guilt washing over his life.  Just give me a little down-time away from reality; let me play a little video game, or shoot a few hoops, practice shoot at the range, find a new girlfriend or some kind of diversion so I can forget my woes, smile a little, have a nice meal and go to bed.  Lord, just one happy day before you take my shadow off this planet!

At the beginning of this selection David asks for a reminder of the brevity of life; by the end of the passage he just wants to be left alone to forget all about it.  We humans, created by the hand of God, are truly complex and not at all consistent in the middle of grief.  But we do follow in our forbearer’s footsteps.  Later David’s son, Solomon would write the one word that describes his father’s deep sorrow – vanity[2].  And for good measure he would emphasize its impact on humanity:  all is vanity.

So, what good comes out of this happy little reflection?  Plenty…if we will hear it…unlike King David, who just wanted a little nappy.  The good news here is the answer for which David longed, a reminder of how brief and empty life will be when all we chase is the wind, with all its’ frantic and frivolous activity of self-absorption towards which we humans are bent.  God interrupts our video game with a power outage, or breaks our basketball hoop just before we make that incredible shot, or He dashes the next disastrous relationship before it gets going, just to keep us grounded.

Why is pain so necessary?  Why did God design life with shadows?  Why does everything seem so empty at times, when God speaks so powerfully about how wonderful it is to serve Him?  Why does He do that?  And the reality comes echoing back even before we finish getting those words out:  God didn’t do that; we did!

And then, like David, like Job, like Dives in Hell, we just want a break from thinking about it; just bring me a little drop of cool water to drip on my parched tongue, a nap, a little diversion from the truth.  That’s what we want; God rarely cooperates!

The Pastor Relations Committee from the two churches I currently serve met with me before the first Sunday we had together in 2012.  The agenda for the meeting included their sharing with me what they hoped to experience in worship, part of which was to not have sugar-coated preaching.  The gist of that hope is:  you cannot understand or rightfully-appreciate the Good News, until you rightly understand the Bad News.

I have so appreciated that thought; it frees the preacher to proclaim the height, depth, and breadth of sin, with all its’ consequences … and then announce the good news, that the love, joy, and salvation of God are bigger than anything sin offers.  David, Job, and Dives, the rich man who wound up in Hell all found out in the hardest of ways that we need to be rescued from our rebellion.  There is a better way than just choosing our own way; our only hope is in Christ Jesus.

For You Today

The next time your life seems like just a moving shadow, remember that when light hits the room shadows have to hide.  Better to live in the light, than to be a moving shadow!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Read Ecclesiastes

Of Breath Skin and Bones

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Thursday, April 9, 2015

So I spoke this message, just as he told me.  Suddenly as I spoke, there was a rattling noise all across the valley.  The bones of each body came together and attached themselves as complete skeletons.  Then as I watched, muscles and flesh formed over the bones.  Then skin formed to cover their bodies, but they still had no breath in them.  Then he said to me, “Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man.  Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  Come, O breath, from the four winds!  Breathe into these dead bodies so they may live again.’”  So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies.  They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.  Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones represent the people of Israel.  They are saying, ‘We have become old, dry bones—all hope is gone.  Our nation is finished.’  Therefore, prophesy to them and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  O my people, I will open your graves of exile and cause you to rise again.  Then I will bring you back to the land of Israel.  When this happens, O my people, you will know that I am the Lord.  I will put my Spirit in you, and you will live again and return home to your own land.  Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I have done what I said.  Yes, the Lord has spoken!’”  Ezekiel 37:7-14 (NLT)

Dr. Fredric Brandt was the Botox doctor to the stars; he used Botox products to curtail the effects of aging, such as wrinkles in the skin, or the typical crows-feet around the eyes and brows.  He also wrote books and hosted a radio show to promote his practice. 

The 65 year-old celebrity doctor's body was discovered this past Monday in a Miami home.  The police have reportedly ruled the death a suicide.  Considering our culture’s obsession with the physical appearance, it is no wonder Dr. Brandt’s Botox services were in high demand.

When Ezekiel looked at the valley of dry bones, representing what was left of Israel’s glory, it was a bleached, barren sight.  The bones were very dry!  God told the prophet to speak to the bones and they came back together, muscles, flesh, tendons, skin and all.  The bodies were perfectly put back together; still, they lacked one thing – breath!

Reality – all the Botox in the universe could not have done better in making those bodies look perfect.  However, as good as they looked they lacked what only God gives – spirit!

Now this is a critical observation, and I don’t want you to think I’m against looking as good as you can, but the line is crossed when physical appearance becomes more important than spiritual vitality.  Paul the apostle nailed it for his up-and-coming pastor-protégé, Timothy:

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.”  1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)

In eternity God will grant us a glorified body like Christ’s, with no imperfections.  But too many people spend an inordinate amount of time and attention in this present life trying to hold back the wrinkles of skin and crows-feet, while neglecting the growth of spirit and godliness in their soul.

These physical bodies in which we live this life are temples for the Holy Spirit of God, and we ought not to abuse them; we are stewards of everything God has given.  However, the engine of this body is the soul, spirit and mind. 

When you look at the pictures of Dr. Brandt it’s obvious the doctor practiced on himself what he preached.  However, all the Botox and other procedures didn’t change the fact that the physical appearance he labored hard to achieve and maintain could not keep him from the grave.

And within a relatively short period of time the body he tried to preserve will be food for worms.  We can only hope his soul was in better condition.

For You Today

Did you work out this morning?  Did you take your vitamins and orange juice?  Take the shower, use deodorant, trim what needs trimming, comb, spruce up, cover and dress all the best you know how?

Good.

Did you leave something out?

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[1] Title Images: Roanoke News (Roanoake.com) Dermatologist Fredric Brandt found dead at Miami home