There is an old cliché about not being able to fit a square peg into a round hole. Of course, there is the wise guy who says to just get a smaller square peg. I remember buying a toy for my kids when they were young that taught them about those shapes. It was a plastic ball and it pulled apart. The top half was red and the bottom half was blue. There were yellow plastic pieces inside that fell out when you opened it and they were all different shapes: round, square, star, half-circle. There were holes in the ball and the game was to put the correct piece through the correct hole. Obviously, the object of the toy was to teach shape recognition to the child who played with it.
The same cliché has also been applied to people to describe why we should not have certain ones in our life. The reasons may be financial status, religion, skin color, nationality, or just about any other reason that can be applied. Maybe it is a long standing family feud, such as the Hatfields and McCoys or the Sutton-Taylor Feud. One famous family feud was celebrated in fiction: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Regardless of the reason behind keeping people apart, it is not part of God’s plan for us. God does not teach us to reject people out of our lives; He teaches that we should love everyone, even those who are our enemies.
Throughout the gospels, Jesus is often seen meeting with people who are outcasts. He met and talked to prostitutes, tax collectors, cripples, people with leprosy, Romans, and Samaritans. Even when he died on the cross, he was in the company of sinners, the two thieves who were crucified with him. The strict rules of the time dictated the people he was allowed to talk to and those he was supposed to avoid. He was a constant problem for those charged with enforcing Jewish law at the time because he routinely flaunted it. His message was that the old laws of the Old Testament were no longer in force, that he came to change that part of society and institute a new order, a new set of rules. The new bottom line was belief in him as the savior and all were invited to take part and change regardless of their shape.
We will always have differences between people, whether they are strangers, co-workers, friends or family. We have to remember that while there are differences, they should not be the reason for us to behave towards them in a way that is different from what Jesus Christ taught us and showed us. His message was to love one another, even those who may be an enemy. As a lady I know once said, you have to love them, but you don’t have to invite them to dinner.
How about you? When you meet someone for the first time, do you look for the ways they won’t fit? Do you then decide to avoid them or stay away from having a relationship with them? Do you look, instead, for those differences and apply the rules of the red and blue ball described above? While each piece had to fit into its own hole, when the game was finished, all of the pieces were inside the ball. That is the way it is with God. It doesn’t matter what our shape is, there is still a hole in His ball that will match our shape and He will be there waiting for us. While we are on His earth, can we do less than apply His rules?
Monday, October 19, 2015
Sunday, October 11, 2015
It's A Rainbow!
Our life is full of rainbows, just look in the right direction after the rain stops on a sunny day. Usually we get to see one end or the other because trees or buildings get in the way. Many years ago, I was on a tropical island and after the storm and the sun came out, there was a double rainbow out over the water. It was a truly beautiful and wonderful sight. Rainbows are celebrated in poetry and certainly song. I am sure we have all sung "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" to our kids, just as our parents sung it to us. Whether it is the Judy Garland version or the much newer medley by Israel Kamakawio'ole, it is a wonderful song that talks about hope for something or somewhere. There is also the musical, Finian's Rainbow, that debuted on stage in 1947 and was made into a movie in 1968 starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark. It is full of music and humor and Astaire's character is always looking for that other end of the rainbow, looking for the pot of gold.
When we took General Science in high school, we learned th colors that are in the rainbow by the silly name of ROY G BIV. The letters stand for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. There is a certain magic in the colors. The Red and Yellow make the Orange, the Yellow and Blue make the Green, and the Blue and Violet make the Indigo. All of those make still more colors, an infinite variety of the visible colors from one end to the other. Don't forget the ones we can't see unaided, the ultraviolet on one end and the infrared on the other.
The physics of light refraction don't change and there have always been rainbows as long as there has been sunlight and rain. However, the best rainbow ever recorded is in Genesis when God showed one to Noah at the end of the period of the great flood and promised him that he, God, would never again destroy the earth with flooding. That promise is but one of many that God has given to us since our creation in his image and likeness. The best promise of all was to give his son to us to save us and redeem us from the sin of Adam and Eve. Twice in the new testament, God the Father announces that Jesus is, "My beloved son in whom I am well pleased". He did it to the multitude who witnessed Jesus' baptism and again on the Mount of Transfiguration. God kept that promise through the horror of the crucifixion and the ascension.
God promised us that we may spend all of eternity with him once our time on Earth is finished. His only request of us is that we serve him faithfully, follow the rules, the commandments, he gave us, and follow the leadership of us son, Jesus. He didn't promise us it would be easy or without trouble or strife. He did promise us he would be there for us to call on when we needed help. Whether that help would be truly miraculous or having the right person come into our life at the right time is up to him. He knows the best way and we who are wise will accept the help he brings.
God may or may not show you his rainbow as the symbol of his promise. He may show you something else of his beauty when you most need it. At the end of the day, what he will show you is his limitless and endless love for you. What more can we want?
When we took General Science in high school, we learned th colors that are in the rainbow by the silly name of ROY G BIV. The letters stand for Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. There is a certain magic in the colors. The Red and Yellow make the Orange, the Yellow and Blue make the Green, and the Blue and Violet make the Indigo. All of those make still more colors, an infinite variety of the visible colors from one end to the other. Don't forget the ones we can't see unaided, the ultraviolet on one end and the infrared on the other.
The physics of light refraction don't change and there have always been rainbows as long as there has been sunlight and rain. However, the best rainbow ever recorded is in Genesis when God showed one to Noah at the end of the period of the great flood and promised him that he, God, would never again destroy the earth with flooding. That promise is but one of many that God has given to us since our creation in his image and likeness. The best promise of all was to give his son to us to save us and redeem us from the sin of Adam and Eve. Twice in the new testament, God the Father announces that Jesus is, "My beloved son in whom I am well pleased". He did it to the multitude who witnessed Jesus' baptism and again on the Mount of Transfiguration. God kept that promise through the horror of the crucifixion and the ascension.
God promised us that we may spend all of eternity with him once our time on Earth is finished. His only request of us is that we serve him faithfully, follow the rules, the commandments, he gave us, and follow the leadership of us son, Jesus. He didn't promise us it would be easy or without trouble or strife. He did promise us he would be there for us to call on when we needed help. Whether that help would be truly miraculous or having the right person come into our life at the right time is up to him. He knows the best way and we who are wise will accept the help he brings.
God may or may not show you his rainbow as the symbol of his promise. He may show you something else of his beauty when you most need it. At the end of the day, what he will show you is his limitless and endless love for you. What more can we want?
Thursday, October 1, 2015
It's Not Just The Journey
It is an ancient cliché that says we should enjoy the trip, the journey. The idea is to not just focus on the start and the destination, but to pay attention to what passes before and around us while we are on the way to wherever we are going.
As kids especially, we were always eager to get where we were headed. We were constantly asking our parents, “Are we there yet?”, “How much longer?”, usually with a whine in our voice. Our parents, usually with patience that eventually started to thin, would come up with some answer or other. In an effort to distract us, they would start pointing out different sights that we passed, or sometimes would come up with a game of some kind that passed the time until we either arrived or started the inevitable questions again. Looking at the sights along the roadsides was something that parents did, not us kids. As the years passed and we developed outside interests, we might have started noticing the sights that didn’t focus on us.
As adults, we really aren’t all that different from what we were as kids. We are still in a hurry to get where we are going, ignoring everything that surrounds us as we pass through life. The other cliché of “Take time to stop and smell the roses” was great advice but is largely ignored today. If we aren’t running just as fast as we can, we are just certain that life is going to pass us by, that we are going to miss out on an opportunity of some kind or other, that big promotion, or the sale we have been awaiting.
There is a wonderful world out there, one that God created for us to enjoy. Whether it is nature, animal, vegetable, or mineral, it is out there for us to experience. Too often, we have to be forced to slow down, either by bad health, or some other circumstance that befalls us. Or, maybe we move into the role that our parents once held, of trying to point out to our kids the world that is around them.
Part of the journey we are traveling has to do with God and his plans for us. The quick way is to try to zip our way along. We limit our trip to hurrying to church on Sunday, spending that hour listening to someone tell us about him and how he is supposed to fit into our life. Then we hurry off to play, watch TV, go shopping, work, or do something else. We spend an hour with God and 167 hours each week with something or someone else. God deserves far more than that. We need to slow down and take notice of what he has given us. I am not talking just of taking note of our surroundings, but of taking note of the love that God has for us. He has given us his words and instructions. He has provided men and women whom he has blessed in a special way that enables them to lead us down a path which leads us to spend the rest of eternity with him. In return, he asks that we get to know him better, to take the time he has given us to study, read, and listen. He wants us to be with him when our time comes to leave here. Since we are going to be there for the rest of timelessness, doesn’t it make sense to slow down and get to know him better?
We have a journey to take here in this life, one that leads us to a wonderfully beautiful destination. Are you going to just rush through it focusing on only the surrounding wonders, or are you going to spend time getting to know the One who planned the journey?
As kids especially, we were always eager to get where we were headed. We were constantly asking our parents, “Are we there yet?”, “How much longer?”, usually with a whine in our voice. Our parents, usually with patience that eventually started to thin, would come up with some answer or other. In an effort to distract us, they would start pointing out different sights that we passed, or sometimes would come up with a game of some kind that passed the time until we either arrived or started the inevitable questions again. Looking at the sights along the roadsides was something that parents did, not us kids. As the years passed and we developed outside interests, we might have started noticing the sights that didn’t focus on us.
As adults, we really aren’t all that different from what we were as kids. We are still in a hurry to get where we are going, ignoring everything that surrounds us as we pass through life. The other cliché of “Take time to stop and smell the roses” was great advice but is largely ignored today. If we aren’t running just as fast as we can, we are just certain that life is going to pass us by, that we are going to miss out on an opportunity of some kind or other, that big promotion, or the sale we have been awaiting.
There is a wonderful world out there, one that God created for us to enjoy. Whether it is nature, animal, vegetable, or mineral, it is out there for us to experience. Too often, we have to be forced to slow down, either by bad health, or some other circumstance that befalls us. Or, maybe we move into the role that our parents once held, of trying to point out to our kids the world that is around them.
Part of the journey we are traveling has to do with God and his plans for us. The quick way is to try to zip our way along. We limit our trip to hurrying to church on Sunday, spending that hour listening to someone tell us about him and how he is supposed to fit into our life. Then we hurry off to play, watch TV, go shopping, work, or do something else. We spend an hour with God and 167 hours each week with something or someone else. God deserves far more than that. We need to slow down and take notice of what he has given us. I am not talking just of taking note of our surroundings, but of taking note of the love that God has for us. He has given us his words and instructions. He has provided men and women whom he has blessed in a special way that enables them to lead us down a path which leads us to spend the rest of eternity with him. In return, he asks that we get to know him better, to take the time he has given us to study, read, and listen. He wants us to be with him when our time comes to leave here. Since we are going to be there for the rest of timelessness, doesn’t it make sense to slow down and get to know him better?
We have a journey to take here in this life, one that leads us to a wonderfully beautiful destination. Are you going to just rush through it focusing on only the surrounding wonders, or are you going to spend time getting to know the One who planned the journey?
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