The New Mother (a parable)

The New Mother

Once upon a time, it so happened to be, that a man found himself father to several children but was without a wife to be their mother. His family would tell you that he cared for his children, but, being so busy with his other affairs of business, the children were often left in the care of family members who might have the time and resources to care for them properly. The father was an excellent orator and would speak of truth and divine wisdom. He could speak a truth such that it would make a witch want to turn in her broom. By way of his spectacular speeches, his family was certainly convinced that he was doing what was good and right and that his every intention was pure.

Well it happened one day that the children and some of the family came to meet a young lady with whom they and the children were quite taken. The young lady, as well, found herself taken to the children and had it in her mind that she would like to get to know them better. The family, who had been caring for the children, recognized this as a great opportunity and quickly acted upon it. They told the father of this young lady and her wonderful ways with the children and begged that he consider taking her for his wife that it might be of most benefit to the children to have such a great woman as their mother (which, up until this time, they never had). The father was reluctant and with his knowledge and wisdom, attempted to dissuade the others from this idea. All of his speaking was in vain, however, for her qualities were indisputable and they pressed ever greatly that she become the mother to his children. The father was overtaken by their persistence and, with great hesitation, he accepted.

The proposal was brought before the young woman and, not knowing much about the children’s father, but being so much in love with the idea of being mother to these wonderful children, she gladly accepted. After all, she thought, if the children were as wonderful as they were, certainly the father of such delightful children would be equally as delightful. All the arrangements were made and the children now had a wonderful mother to call their very own.

Many years passed and the relationship between the new mother and the children grew ever strong. It was inconceivable to the children of anyone else filling her shoes and equally inconceivable to her to have any others as her children. She was to them every bit their mother and they all loved each other very much. It happened one day, however, when some of the family members who also had grown quite fond of the young lady noticed that she was showing some signs of illness. Some of the children had also taken notice of this, but the young lady would, would only laugh and refer to such talk as utter nonsense. And she was pleasantly able to keep up this appearance, too -- for a while.

Then came the tragic day when her illness came upon her quite severely. For most of the family and certainly all the children, this was a surprise and a shock to them. Soon after taking ill, she became incapable of caring for the children and they were again left in the care of the extended family. The children would be allowed, at times, to visit with their mother, but they could no longer enjoy time with her as they once had. This, of course, greatly saddened the children as well as it did their mother as she would no longer be able to be the mother to them that they deserved and so much needed.

She never did speak of her illness to anyone, but it became known to the family many years after her passing. …

The man, who had taken her as his wife, was no better a husband than he was a father. If he was inattentive to his children, then he was ten times as much to his wife and if he was harsh with his children, he was ten times as so with harshness to his wife. Though she was kind and loving and gave all she had to give to her children, there was no one taking care of her. She never knew the proper relationship of husband and wife and the reluctance he had had with their relationship from the start, turned to a lasting resentment towards his new wife and was thus a source of great secret pain for her. He and he alone had brought the illness upon her and she, never wanting to plant despair into the hearts of the children (as you cant choose your father) and in not wanting to destroy any good image his family members may have had of him, never spoke of this great injustice. Their father had been given the greatest gift and in his pride and hatred, he destroyed it and it was everyone else who truly suffered the loss.

(tg/JAN08)

faith & science

How does a Christian manage in a scientific world? Science is not the anti-religion that some of my elder faith followers have made it out to be. Science has co-existed with faith quite contently in times past. So why such a noticable division now? -tg

stuff syndrome

I was recently previewing a nooma dvd online and came across this concept. that we live in a world that is setup to make you want what you dont have. And so we get focused so much on those things that other people have, that we lose sight of what we've got. I made me think a little bit and wont share all of that here for length, but this short snipit came to mind and was worth sharing.

It is very likely that wanting the things I don't have has led me to have all the things I dont want

That is, I look around and I do see all this stuff that I dont need or even want and it should make we wonder - why do I have it in the first place? I must have wanted at some point, right? Was it something I needed at the time, or was it simply something I didn't have?

Falling Up!: Secondhand Experiences

Falling Up!: Secondhand Experiences

So what is real first hand experience?

Pray. Share the gospel with someone. Fellowship with a believer. Write a song (let God lead you through it). Feed the poor. Help the helpless. Mentor.

The Word was written so that you might know the truth, but merely reading is not the ultimate experience; it is simply the way to find it.

did i do that?

It is obvious that our lives are destined to have hardships. Some more than others. I have discussed earlier on the ‘fairness’ of it all in “the beauty of grace” so I wont go there again. Now I’d like to break out hardships into two major categories: a) Circumstance and b) Consequence

a) Circumstances are situations that exist that are outside your realm of control.
b) Consequences are situations that exist as a result of direct or indirect personal influence.

Just like in the book of Job, there are those who insist that hardships (i.e. aunt Edna got cancer) are a direct result of sin in your life, and so within your realm of control. The book of Job is certainly case against that notion entirely. That is not to say, then, that no hardships in our lives are a result of our own doing. Take for example the man who is poor, homeless on the street. No one knows his story, but God does. He cries out, “God, why have You done this to me?” and God quietly whispers back thru the poor mans guilty conscience, “Not I, but you. You spent the money. You spent it on drugs and gambling. And now it is gone. I have done something, though. I have kept you alive this long. I have brought to you my witnesses that you may hear the good news that I have for you, but your financial hardship is simply the consequence for your actions.”

(a quick appeal to my public image – this is not my presupposition towards the homeless)

And so this brings to mind yet another quote from Relient K: “I so hate consequences”

Anyways, when facing hardships, it’s perfectly okay to ask, “Why God? Why me? Why now?” Just be prepared for the answer. If it is circumstance, remember God is with you. He will never give you more than you can bear (though it may seem as such). If it is consequence, learn from it. Own up to it and thank God for second chances.

Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28 KJV).

This will be the next book study of mine, so I should have some greater insight on this in the future (hopefully), but I would like comment on just a couple things here.

“…work together for GOOD…” What is good? Let first establish what it is not. It is not earthly good fortune for you. God does not work all things toward you earthly well being and comfort. Now, I have heard (1) that “good” is the fulfillment of Gods will in any aspect of the lives of others or ourselves, for all that God does is good (even if we don’t think so). I have also heard (2) that “good” is the attainment of heaven for the follower of Christ and that all things work together as a woven tapestry in our lives toward that end..

“ALL things…” In this case all is limited. It is not limited to what, but to who.

“…them that LOVE God.” The word “love” here is the present participle form of the Greek word AGAPAO. This is a love that is unconditionally available and willing of ultimate sacrifice. Do you agapao God?

“…called according to His purpose.” This is the second criteria for the “good” mentioned earlier. The Greek name for the early church was “ekklesia” which meant “called out ones.” As new Christians, we are ‘called’ to respond to the message of salvation. The required response is obedience / submission to Christ.

they are weak, but He is strong

In regards to the "strong" and the "weak."

Let us recall an old favorite: "Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong for they are WEAK, but He is STRONG"

God won’t let us endure more than we can handle. You'd be surprised what you can live through, but death is not exactly failure either (martyrdom).

So let us not categorize people by either weak or strong, but rather by a more observable criterion. I have come up with 2 major divisions: a) Trails and b) Service. There are those that seem to endure life trials and those that don’t. There are also those that serve with their whole life and those that seem to pencil God in at convenience. In both cases, there is variance in degree and not just the extremes. These groups can also be interwoven. Just because one serves God with every minute of everyday, doesn’t mean that life trials couldn’t take them out (consider Jonah). And just because one endures trials without fail doesn’t mean that they must be religious zealots (consider Job). Our goal should be to be aware of both categories in our own lives:

a) Remember that this life is just the road home. It’ll get rough at times. He said, “narrow is the path” meaning “difficult” is the life that Christ has called us to, but its worth it, so keep pressing on.

b) Remember all that our Savior has commanded of us. This is what’s really important. Christianity is not just a belief, it’s a life, live it!

So who are the people who make up the sum of these categories? -Christians; real Christians and fake Christians. And most times, to the naked eye, it can be difficult to tell the difference, though the Bible does give us a measuring stick in John 15:5. –another topic for another time.