Dad's Letters

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“So be very careful how you live, not being like those with no understanding, but live honorably with true wisdom, for we are living in evil times. Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for His purposes.” — Ephesians 5:15-16, The Passion Translation

There are certain photos from moments in time that don’t quickly fade. One is the day my parents dropped me off for college. Just before leaving, I still picture them both standing outside the door to my dorm room, looking at me with that “So, is this it? You’re on your own now?” expression. No tears. No smiles. Kind of a numb realization. As much as I was excited to be there, a part of me wanted to say, “OK, I change my mind, let’s go home.” But my roommate was there so that wouldn’t have been cool. And my parents would have blocked my exit anyway.

The rope to the parent-child mooring was loosed, and it was off to the glorious unknown. The time of hand-holding was over. The time of navigating life for yourself had begun.

In the days and months that followed, although my parents weren’t physically present, I never felt very far away from their voice and influence. Mom called just about every week, not to pry but just to see how I was and to catch me up on things back home. And every once in awhile, I’d get these hand-written letters in the mail from dad. Somehow, he knew I was looking for a map on how to steer this thing called life-on-your-own. They were always warm words full of wisdom and never a lecture. But I remember each one had this theme:

Live life well… be careful how you live… I love you.

Like everyone else, I messed up a lot along the way of discovering life-on-your-own. I still do. But I never forgot the spirit of dad’s letters — wise counsel that has stood the test of time. A type and shadow of my Dad who has penned a much more powerful Letter but that still carries the same themes as dad’s: Live life well… be careful how you live… I love you. I really like that last part. Especially because, unlike being dropped off for college, with this Letter, there is never a worry of having to navigate life for yourself. It’s always right there in black and white and red, there to be read and remembered and lived out over and over again. All with an incredible promise, not unlike that frozen image of mom and dad standing in the doorway: “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

Thanks, dad. And thanks, Dad. I can’t think of a better torch to pass along…

“My child, pay attention to My words;

    listen closely to what I say.

Don’t ever forget My words;

    keep them always in mind.

They are the key to life for those who find them;

    they bring health to the whole body.

Be careful what you think,

    because your thoughts run your life.

Don’t use your mouth to tell lies;

    don’t ever say things that are not true.

Keep your eyes focused on what is right,

    and look straight ahead to what is good.

Be careful what you do,

    and always do what is right.

Don’t turn off the road of goodness;

    keep away from evil paths.”

—Proverbs 4:20-27, New Century

When 'Not Much' Can Be Huge

"For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." (1 Chronicles 16:9)

The next time you find yourself responding to someone's "What's new?" with "Not much," it's good to remember that there probably really is a lot going on beneath the surface of all that seems routine and obvious and even dull. It is good to know God is no respecter of activity or events of any size for anyone whose heart is His, and that He is just as active in the "not much" of life as He is in the moments and achievements that seem big, and cool, and important to us. 

Quite often, in fact, He'll use a parable—a simple story from our "not much" kind of week—to remind us what and Who in life really matters, and that whether waking or sleeping or driving or going to the hardware store, that He is very much delighting in us and at work in us every step of the way as we stay faithful in even the small things... 

• It is good to laugh like a kid while watching a thunderstorm from a porch, but it is better to duck in awe and wonder in the presence of the rushing wind of God. Selah.
• When each passing day seems pretty much just like all the others, it is good to remember that faithfulness in the routine is how Jesus lived while in the carpenter’s shop for 18 years.
• A busy life is not always a fruitful life, and the wise will continually prune back all that does not produce a heart that beats only to the simple Gospel.
• Like the man who went into his room, closed the door, and lifted up his imperfect prayers to his Father, so is a creative gift given back to its Creator and poured out in solitude—it is never wasted, even if no one else sees or hears it.
• A man on his Journey may feel like he is running in circles and getting nowhere, but the Lord sees perseverance that is strengthening his faith....

"Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

—Mother Theresa

Thirsty

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“To hunger and thirst after righteousness is when nothing in the world can fascinate us so much as being near God.”—Smith Wigglesworth

The early morning coffee may be brewing and the aroma may be intoxicating, but someone wise and healthy once told me to take a drink of water first—your body needs it more than coffee. I had my doubts, until I tried it. It was like a jolt of cool, refreshing energy flowed from head to toe after a night’s sleep. (The coffee still was worth the wait, though.)

It happened again in a different way yesterday as my daughter and I were nearing the end of a 5K run on a wicked hot and humid day. We began it by looking forward to stopping for an iced coffee on the way home, but as the heat and activity began to take its toll, the only thing that sounded good and right was…water. Pure water. No seltzer, no energy drink, no fruit-flavored water. Just plain water.

Why is that? One reason is that our body is made up of anywhere from 45-75% unflavored water, depending on age and other factors. It’s how God made us. And when you’re thirsty, only the real thing can satisfy and restore that which has been depleted. Alas, God seems to have a type-and-shadow explanation for everything in our lives...

“If anyone is thirsty,” Jesus said loudly to the crowds during the multi-day Feast of Tabernacles, “let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37)

...Such a strange thing to say. It was nearing harvest time. The people had been celebrating God’s faithfulness and had probably been eating and drinking all sorts of things. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrations, say Bible scholars, included a ceremony called the water libation where a pitcher of water was poured out by the priests on the altar inside the temple as an expression of Israel’s hope for rains to come and produce an abundant harvest. Only water would bring life and fullness. But it’s believed the ceremony had a deeper meaning than that—it was a longing for satisfaction of a spiritual thirst that couldn’t be satisfied by anything but God, and a longing that God would come once again and pour Himself out with refreshing and renewal and hope in the midst of their lives under political turmoil, economic stress, and trying to obey the seemingly impossible commandments of God...

And perhaps somewhere, someone could be heard singing the song of the psalmist: “O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)...

The more things change, the more things stay the same…

And Jesus stood up in the midst of it all and said in effect, “Hey! Look here. Here I am. I Am what you are longing for and looking for, even if you don’t realize it.” And what’s more, He happened to speak these words on the heels of condemning the religious leaders of the day for being judgmental. “Stop judging by mere appearances!,” Jesus said a few verses earlier in John 7:24.

And as it was then, so it is now: Whatever condition our condition is in, the invitation—a pleading invitation—is to come to the judgment-free zone of mercy and grace, just as we are, to the One who has made us who we are, to be healed, forgiven, restored and filled or filled again with Him and find true satisfaction of thirst that an iced coffee or Gatorade or anything else that is “Jesus plus…” will never assuage. 

“Maybe when I’m ready. Maybe when I’ve got my act together. He doesn’t want to see me like this right now. Not today. I ain’t got nothin’. Maybe…” And echoing the prophet Isaiah, Jesus might reply even now…

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk

Without money and without cost—simply accept it as a gift from God.

Why do you spend money for that which is not bread,

And your earnings for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

And let your soul delight in a]abundance.

Incline your ear to listen and come to Me;

Hear, so that your soul may live…”—Isaiah 55:1-3, Amplified

It is another hot and humid day in New England when thirst will likely be rampant, and just as on that run yesterday, when only pure water will truly satisfy. A good day to remember, and to give praise with a grateful heart, that Jesus’ invitation to “Come!” and be satisfied has no qualification, experience or age requirement…or an expiration date.