pastorsblog

Counted Your Marbles Lately?

Really now, who didn't like playing marbles as a kid?  I vividly remember the small sturdy brown marble bag, with its shoe string cinch strap, that my mother lovingly sewed for me as a child.  This allowed me to carry my marbles to school for intense before school and during recess marble challenges that would ensue each day over the entire gamut of Gettysburg Elementary School's fenced in yard.  Yes, I cherished my Plain Janes, Black Eyes, Rubies, Cat's Eyes, Clearies and my favorite of all, Steelies.  I suppose I am speaking to generations gone by rather than to the children of today, for I do not hear much talk of marbles among children anymore.

I was watching the movie, Hook, with my children several years ago and one of the characters reminded me of those childhood days.  In the movie, Toddles, one of Peter Pan's friends who has grown up, but clearly lost his mind in the process, is searching for something on the floor.  "Lost, lost, lost!" says Toddles frantically  "Lost what?" responds Peter Banning (Peter Pan).  "Lost my marbles," Toddles boldly declares.  Having grown up in an era when marbles held their weight in gold (at least on the playground) I understand Toddles' despair.  Marbles can have a way to put all of life into perspective as the following story illustrates.

I once heard about a about a man who wanted to find a way to put his life and its brevity back into focus.  Having full cognition regarding God's Word through James that says that life is "a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away," he decided to place a clear reminder before him that he would see each day.  After reading in the Bible that a man's life consists of threescore and ten years (70 years), he subtracted the number of years he had lived from the 70 years he hoped he would have.  He then divided the difference, or the number of years he hoped he would have left, should God be so pleased, by the number 7 (representing a week) and came up with a final figure.  He then took that sum, purchased the same number of marbles and added them to a clear jar and set it on his desk.  Then, each Saturday, the one day of the week that he could pretty much do what he wanted with the day, he would remove one marble to represent that another week had passed.  As he held the marble in his hand, he would say to himself outloud, "Now, what did you do with that one?"  And as he watched the jar begin to empty, his life became more focused with each passing week.

The psalmist of old must have had similar thoughts when he penned, "So teach us to number our days , that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 

I close with this simple admonition - plan now to spend your life on things of value, for none of us want to get to the end and have to admit we have "lost our marbles" on things that did not matter.

Who Are You?

One of the classic comedy routines of all time is Abbott and Costello's Who's On First in which a fictional character named Who, is the main subject.  Maybe you've heard it enough times and it isn't funny to you anymore, but I still laugh every time I hear it.  The point I want to make here, though, is that Who is not a fictional character.  Who is you!

I know I've said it before, but growing up in the late 60's and 70's was, to say the least, a very interesting time.  Much of the secular music I listened to then was akin to casting your voice into a vast empty cavern only to hear the sound of your own echo in return.  One of the songs that illustrates this point was by a band called The Who.  In one of their most popular songs, Who Are You the question is resoundingly asked, "Who are you?  Who, who, who, who?  Who are you? Who, who, who, who?  Though a big hit, the question asked is never answered in the song.

Along with eastern religions and new age philosophies, songs like this surely prompted many to go out "in search of themselves" to find out "who" they really were.  Heard often was the phrase, "I need to go find myself," with the same kind of emotion a person expresses when they lose a hubcap from their car and now need to go down into the tall grass in the ditch to search for it.

Things have not changed a whole lot since I was a teenager.  Many of the newer secular songs continue to express a longing, a searching, an emptiness, a deep void.

When Jesus asked Simon the question, "Who do men say that I am?" He was also answering the question of every man, woman, boy or girl who has ever lived.  When Simon answered, "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," his response prompted these words from the Savior, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah...,  and I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (Mattew 16:17-18).  In other words, when Peter made the bold proclamation that Jesus is Lord, he found out just who he was, and his life and his name were never the same!   

And so with us.  When we find Him, we find ourselves.  No more searching.  We are complete in Him.  So the next time you're in the woods and hear the wise ol' owl say "Who?" just look him in the eye, shout out your name, and follow it with, "And I am a child of God!  That's Who!"

An Attutude of Gratitude

"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks..."  Luke 17:15-16  KJV

I recently received a letter from someone my wife and I have spent hours with teaching, encouraging and supporting.  The communication was quite unexpected, nevertheless, especially meaningful to both of us.  Many of us pour our lives out to others on a regular basis.  Sadly, our sacrifices are often not even acknowledge with something as simple as a thank you.  As I read the letter in my wife's presence, tears welled up in both our eyes, while our tacit expressions conveyed the message:  This makes it worth it all.  Worth all the time.  Worth every dollar.  Worth every prayer.  Worth any turmoil.

In the story above, from Luke chapter 17, we read that Jesus healed 10 lepers, yet only one came back to express his gratitude.  Not a very good ratio if you ask me.  Was his attitude of gratitude important?  I have to believe that from the mere evidence that this story was recorded in the Bible, it was especially meaningful.  While this man's thankful expression made the heart of the Savior glad, His question, "...Where are the nine?" suggests a very different emotion.

Someone once remarked, "The happiest people in the world are also the most thankful people."  It is very easy to take what others do for us for granted.  Maybe it's time to take a moment and reflect on anything or anyone you have taken for granted lately.  It might not hurt to pick up the phone or write a short note just to say, "Thank You."  They'll be glad you did, and so will you!