Blog Archives

NO WAY OUT?

3/30/2024

I have blogged before (05/30/2023) about my participation in the voluntary upkeep of a local graveyard. It is somewhat ironic that its name is Jackson Cemetery. I may well be kin to the family that began it in the early 1800s; but if so, it is distantly, as both their lineage and mine originated in North Carolina.

I share this because Jackson Cemetery is located at the western end of Jackson Cemetery Road, on a point overlooking the Little Tennessee River. My blog today has to do with what lies at the other end of Jackson Cemetery Road, the eastern end, where it turns off of the East Coast Tellico Parkway, so named because it parallels the eastern coast of Tellico Lake, a compound on the lowest reaches of the Little Tennessee River.

At this juncture stands a simple sign post. For years, it contained only a stop sign (for those headed east from the cemetery) on a metal post topped by the name of the road: “Jackson Cemetery Road”. But not now.

For recently, the county road department affixed a sign on the back of the stop sign. This new sign faces west for those who are entering the road to the cemetery. And in big brazen letters, it boldly proclaims: “NO OUTLET”!

Now, I get the purpose of the sign. In effect, it is stating that this is literally a dead end street. Once one has reached this end, there is no way out, other than to turn around.

But do not miss the implicit message on display here. And what is that? It is that one can freely enter upon a journey toward the cemetery; but once there, he or she has no way out! In other words, death, toward which we all inevitably proceed, is the all-consuming destination from which there is no escape.

Long, long ago, a venerable man (in the Old Testament Book of Job, chapter 14, verse 14) once asked the question: “If a man dies, will he live again?” For thousands of years since then, men and women have struggled with this most fundamental of issues.

For most, the conclusion has been a definitive “No!” As a result, a great many of our cultural forebears, especially (but in no way limited to) the Greeks and Romans, decided primarily that all that mattered was to make a name for oneself here in this world. Fortune and glory were all that mattered.

Sadly, a great many in the modern world have embraced this approach. The philosophy is “Eat, drink, and be merry”, for all that matters is this very day, this very world, and all that it very well has to offer.

But then came Easter!!!

When Jesus Christ came up out of the tomb, He turned the whole concept of the grave as the end of everything on its head. For He showed us that the grave was not the end. He showed us that there was indeed a way through the grave. He showed us that there was indeed a way out! And that way was to follow Him both through the grave and out of it on the other side!

Each day, all week long, as Palm Sunday has given way to Easter Sunday, I have walked past this road sign. And each and every time I have done so, it has served as a simple earthly reminder of a great eternal truth. And that is this….

If a person dies, he or she can indeed live again. He or she can venture down the road to the very place of death. Upon arriving there, he or she may be compelled to pause, but they must not, of necessity, be compelled to stop. Rather, through their faith in the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they may boldly proceed through and out to the other side.

Jackson Cemetery, on the shore of modern Tellico Lake, sits atop a hill that once overlooked the juncture of Lotterdale Creek and the Little Tennessee River. Near unto this point, the same man who founded the Jackson Cemetery also once operated a ferry. The name of that ferry? You guessed it: Jackson Ferry, the same as road upon which I now live.

These days, of course, we have bridges. Indeed, we have multiple bridges. But back in the day, ferries were the only way to cross a river. And it is for this reason that a ferry across a river is a most appropriate spiritual metaphor for what the future holds for each of us.

For each and every one of us must, of necessity, travel the road toward the grave. The only real question is what will happen once we arrive there. Will it be a place where we find no outlet? Or will it be a place where we find a way through, a way over, and a way out on the other side?

According to the Bible, this is all determined by whether or not we have placed our faith in the risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In his first New Testament Letter (chapter 5, verse 12), the Apostle John states: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” That is to say, those who have trusted Christ will pass through the grave into life eternal. Sadly, those who have not will have no way out of the grave and will suffer eternal death!

As I inexorably approach that day when I too will enter the grave, I find myself trusting more and more in the One Who, at that very first Easter, journeyed to, through, and beyond the end of the trail. As I do, I trust that, by following Him, I will wind up exactly where He, Himself, now is – on the other side, alive and well!

That is to say... when that day comes, I will have found a way out! I hope the same is true for you, my friend.

SOURCES:

https://www.cleoejacksoniii.com/my-ongoing-thoughts/a-most-memorable-memorial-day.

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/job/14-14.htm;

https://biblehub.com/1_john/5-12.htm.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST?!

3/25/2024

I have written before of my regard for the award-winning movie Troy, which is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek saga, The Iliad, by Homer. It recounts the events leading up to and during the ten-year long Trojan War, wherein warriors arrayed upon a supposed 1000 Greek ships sailed east across the Aegean Sea and laid siege to the city of Troy on the western coast of Asia Minor.

Ostensibly, of course, it was the kidnapping of the beautiful Helen, Queen of Sparta, that launched all those ships. But in reality, Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae (and the powerful older brother of Menelaus, King of Sparta), had just unified the various Greek city-states and was just looking for a reason to expand his newfound empire.

As Agamemnon prepares to go to war, he convenes a council of lesser (and previously conquered) kings. One of them, Nestor, King of Pylos, tells Agamemnon that he needs to get Achilles, the greatest of all ancient Greek warriors, to join the fight because “That man was born to end lives!”

As a lover of “all things antiquity”, I have viewed this movie on multiple occasions. And each time, when it comes to this particular scene, I am struck by this phrase. Achilles, if indeed he ever truly existed, was a fierce warrior. That he was a born to end lives is not in doubt. Indeed, in a later scene in the movie, he tells a captured Trojan priestess that he has killed men in no less than five countries. Wow!

And yet, as one out to end lives, Achilles is not alone. Rather, he is only one in a long line of conquerors whose only real claim to fame is that they were born to end the lives of other people. Such names might well include Shalmaneser, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Cyrus, Alexander, Caesar, Attila, Genghis, Saladin, Cortez, Pizarro, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, etc… Sadly, perhaps, many of these names are household terms.

And yet, ironically, the one name in all of human history that surmounts each of these is that of Jesus Christ. I say ironically because Jesus Christ was not born to end lives, but rather to save lives!

As the Bible puts it (in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 17)… “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

This was affirmed by Jesus Himself, when He later testified (in the New Testament Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, verse 10): “The Son of Man came to seek and to save people who are lost.”

What a contrast! Born to end lives versus born to save lives!

With these things on my mind, I recently had an epiphany. Along with a great many other believers, I have historically placed a significant emphasis on the birth of Jesus each year at Christmas. As well we should. But not at the expense of an equally significant emphasis on the death, burial, and glorious resurrection of Jesus each year at Easter!

Being old school, I still operate with a 2007 160 GB Apple iPod classic. (Hey, it still works; and as long as it does, my philosophy will continue to be “Use it up, make it last, wear it out!”) On that iPod, I have a Christmas playlist with about a “gillion” songs, podcasts, audiobooks, and the like…

Yet, to my chagrin, it suddenly dawned on me this week that I did not have an Easter playlist! Ouch!!! After all, Jesus Christ was indeed born. But “why” He was born matters just as much if not more than “that” He was born.

So, why was He Born? He was born to give life, not to take life! As the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 10, verse 10) tells us: Jesus Christ was born that you and I “might have life, and have that life to the full!”

Given these things, I might well ask: “What’s on your playlist?” These days, my playlists include ones celebrating not just “that” Jesus came (Christmas); but also “why” Jesus came (Easter)!

Of course, a given playlist on a given device merely reflects the longings and/or aspirations of one’s heart. For this reason, I chose to entitle this day’s blog post (written in the midst of Holy Week), not “What’s in your wallet?” or “What’s in your heart?”, but rather “What’s on your playlist?” After all, the former surely informs the latter, both technologically and spiritually!

FILM SOURCE:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_(film).

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/john/3-17.htm;

https://biblehub.com/luke/19-10.htm;

https://biblehub.com/john/10-10.htm.

NO WORRIES?!

3/20/2024

It all began months ago, early last fall. But I remember the incident like it was yesterday. I was in what my small grandsons mistakenly call the “raspberry”. My wife and I call it my “library”, as it contains the remnants of my multiple volume professional library accumulated over a forty plus year career in ministry. In reality, it is a man cave. But I digress...

I was there moving an object that was fairly heavy. Unfortunately, I was doing so barefooted. Sure enough, I dropped the object in question on my left big toe. Ouch! I danced around for a few minutes, suffering significant pain and doing my best to suppress both my anger and any resultant foul language!

In the short term, I suffered a bloody toe. In the medium term, I endured a sore, swollen, black and blue toe. And in the long run, I faced a third issue. A dark bluish black spot appeared at the cuticle. As the days unfolded, the small spot grew larger and larger. It also began to migrate ever so slowly up the nail.

A few months later, just after the first of the year, I visited my primary care physician for my annual physical. While there, I asked him about the big blueish black spot on my toe. He took one look at it and reassured me that what I was suffering with was a “Subungual Hematoma”, which occurred due to an injury resulting in blood collecting between the nail and the nail bed.

His advice to me? It may be ugly to look at; but it is nothing to worry about. It will continue to climb its way up my toenail until it eventually grows up and out from under my toenail, completely disappearing.

In other words… “This too shall pass!”

Now, some two months later, everything he predicted is coming true. Let’s just say that the spot in question is now nearing the finish line! Soon, it will cross over and disappear altogether. Thereafter, it will be as if it had never even been there.

As I have reflected on this, I have been reminded of the phrase: “This too shall pass!” While not technically found in the Bible, this particular phrase is nonetheless attributed to King Solomon. According to ancient Jewish folklore…

King Solomon once searched for a cure against depression. He assembled his wise men together. They meditated for a long time and gave him the following advice: Make yourself a ring and have thereon engraved the words “This too will pass.” The King carried out the advice. He had the ring made and wore it constantly. Every time he felt sad and depressed, he looked at the ring, whereon his mood would change and he would feel cheerful.

This story carried such historical weight that no less an individual then Abraham Lincoln alluded to it in and address he gave in 1859…

It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!

I have never met King Solomon. Nor have I ever met Abraham Lincoln. I hope to remedy both of these shortcomings by meeting each of these individuals in the afterlife.

But I did have the privilege in this world of knowing a man named Ron Carlson. Ron himself is now in Heaven; and his sons are carrying on his life work, Christian Ministries International, which he founded way back in 1975 and which he devoted to providing reasons for believing the truths of Scripture.

On multiple occasions, Ron spoke at the church I pastored, during “Apologetics” events we hosted – “Apologetics” being the field of theology devoted to rationally defending the Christian faith.

Ron was a brilliant man; and he bequeathed to us a voluminous
collection of video and audio presentations designed to aid believers in the field of “Apologetics”. For that, I am thankful.

But I will always remember Ron for another reason. In a presentation he once made to our congregation, he waxed philosophical with regard to life’s difficulties. In that presentation, he repeatedly stated: “Ah, just give it two weeks.”

His point was that the vast majority of whatever presently may seem so pressing, so threatening, and/or so overwhelming is in fact likely to prove nothing of the sort. That is to say that so much of what we fret and worry over never comes to fruition. As Mark Twain once put it: “I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened!”

This is why I so treasure a faded old cross-stitch my sister once gave me, which says: “Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday, and all is well!” My toenail issue, as gross as it may be, simply proves to underscore this truth.

Of course, long before Mark Twain, Ron Carlson, or my sister and I ever existed, Jesus Himself proffered some similar wisdom. In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25-34, He states:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

In other words, stop worrying so much! After all, so much of what you worry about won’t ever really come to pass! But what will come to pass is a day when so much of what you worried about never even came to pass!

While the Bible does not technically say “This too shall pass!”, it does often say “And it came to pass!” The beauty of this latter phrase is that it is not based merely on assertion, but also on testimony as well. Time and again in the lives of people recorded on its pages, the Bible affirms that whatever difficulty they were facing was only temporary, and was eventually surpassed by a better day.

This is a welcome reminder. For it underscores for us that so much of what we worry about is, in the end, only temporary. Therefore, be encouraged, my friend. Much of what we face today will pass. And tomorrow will be a better day.!

SOURCES:

https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/bleeding-under-nail;

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/does-the-bible-say-this-too-shall-pass.html;

https://medium.com/learning-for-life/this-too-shall-pass-tracing-an-ancient-jewish-folktale-6f5a1aaa0a0e;

https://www.christianministriesintl.org/;

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/201777-i-ve-had-a-lot-of-worries-in-my-life-most.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/6.htm.

GOIN' GREEN!

3/15/2024

As I write this, it is the 15th of March, a.k.a. (also known as) “The Ides of March”. Of course, this date was made famous in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar met his tragic end at the famed “Theatrum Pompeii” in ancient Rome. It may well be said that this noteworthy day in history should best be remembered by the color of red. After all, according to the ancient historian Plutarch, Caesar was stabbed to death by conspirators no less than 23 times!

But now, some 2067 years later, and for me at least, this day will be remembered by the color green. Please allow me to explain...

In anticipation of the change of seasons, my wife and I spent the entire day yesterday prepping the grounds. She rode the riding mower and mowed off the wild onion sprouts that mar the lawn this time of year. I followed with the push mower, the trimmer, and then the driveway edger.

Next, we replenished our landscaping beds with colorful flowers and an abundance of pine straw (our ground cover of choice) and filled in bare spots in the yard with grass seed and straw before finally applying insecticides designed to deal with ants and other unwanted pests.

We did all of this yesterday in part because it is spring break week, and we have no obligations with regard to providing daily childcare for grandsons. But we specifically chose yesterday for these measures as the weatherman had predicted storms and rain over night.

The rain did come. A full inch fell overnight. As did the storms. Only these storms did not involve heavy winds as they so often do. Instead, they involved lightning – lots and lots of lightning. I awoke many times throughout the night to the flicker of lightning and the rumble of thunder. When I awoke this morning, I expected the usual – a yard full of debris and, as more than half of our property is full of trees, perhaps even one or two downed trees.

And yet, our property was detritus free. Hardly a leaf, let alone a limb or even a tree was visible on the ground anywhere. Instead, what awaited our eyes was an extensive panorama of green! Green, green, and more green. Everywhere the eyes beheld in the dawning light, the scenery was green!

It was then that my precious wife posed the obvious question: “Can you believe how green it is outside?” I had to admit that she was on to something. The transformation within a mere twenty-four hour period was astounding. We went to bed with a yard that was sort of a whitish yellow in color and woke up with one that was quickly going green!

All my life I had heard that lightning greened things up. Now, there was no denying it. So, as I am wont to do, I decided to investigate the matter. It turns out that lightning does indeed green things up!

To cut to the chase, according to www.gardenmyths.com, the story goes something like this... “The air contains 78% nitrogen and during lightning some of this is converted to nitrogen dioxide, which dissolves in rain drops, and falls on your lawn. This extra nitrogen works just like a fertilizer; grass absorbs it and becomes greener. Others say that the darker green color is created from wet grass sparkling in the sun. It’s all just an optical illusion.”

Whatever the explanation, as a result of multiple lighting storms overnight here in east Tennessee, our grass and whatever trees were in bloom on our property were all clearly “goin’ green” this morning!

As I have pondered this throughout the day, I have been reminded of a spiritual principle. Many a time in the pages of Scripture, we see that light from above has a definitive impact on life here below!

Many examples could be cited here. While out in the wilderness (as recorded in the Old Testament Book of Exodus, chapter 3), Moses witnessed a bush burning without being consumed. It turned out that the One True God from above was the source. That same One True God went on to enlighten him with truth heretofore unknown.

A few hundred years later, the Prophet Elijah, atop Mount Carmel (as recorded in the Old Testament Book of I Kings, chapter 18), called upon this same One True God to send fire from Heaven. This He did in spectacular fashion!

In the famed 119th Psalm (verse 105), no less an individual than King David also testified to light from above that was a lamp unto this his feet.

Later on, of course, as the New Testament Gospel of Matthew records, three wise men were guided to the Christ Child in Bethlehem by a light from above. Still later, at Pentecost, as recorded in the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter 2, the guiding light of the Holy Spirit descends from above to, and upon, the followers of Christ.

Yet again, in Acts chapter 9, light from above is what intervenes in the life of the Apostle Paul and brings about his radical, life-transforming conversion.

You may well be asking what should we make of all of this? In response, I would make the following observations...

Spiritually, as the New Testament unfolds, the vast majority of the world (being Gentile) was then dead. The remainder (being Jewish) was, at best, then dormant. But when the One True Light from above exploded upon this world in the Person of God's One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, the possibility of a tremendous transformation for both parties immediately unfolded here on earth.

The New Testament Gospel of John (in chapter 1, verses 9-13) puts it this way…

The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

In the natural world, of course, plants do not really have any choice but to embrace the life-giving light from above. As they do, they flourish. And yet, in the spiritual world, things are a bit different. In this world, we here on earth clearly have a choice. We can choose either to embrace or not to embrace the Light from above.

If we choose to embrace the Light from above, we will flourish spiritually. But if we chose not to embrace this Light, then we will invariably suffer the consequences. If nothing else, the events of the last 24 hours have underscored this great truth for me.

I am thankful that the One True “Light of the World” intruded Himself upon me. Recognizing this, I have now been quickened to life! I can only hope that you, my friend, have had a similar recognition.

Back in the day, Michael Johnson had a top ten hit with the song titled “Bluer Than Blue”. In it, he bemoaned the station of one who was bluer than blue and sadder than sad because of a long lost love.

While I have personally experienced more than my share of long, lost loves along the way, I am thankful today that I am not bluer than blue, but rather greener then green! Missing a long lost love is one thing. Missing one’s only shot at Heaven is an altogether different matter!

What about you? Are you bluer than blue today as a result of
missed opportunity after missed opportunity? Then why not become greener than green! Why not change colors and go green today?!

“But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God!” Don’t take that lightly!

SOURCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar;

https://www.omnicalculator.com/everyday-life/bc-to-ad;

https://www.gardenmyths.com/lightning-grass-greener/.

SCRIPTURES:

https://biblehub.com/niv/exodus/3.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/1_kings/18.htm;

https://biblehub.com/psalms/119-105.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/2.htm;

https://biblehub.com/niv/acts/9.htm;

https://biblehub.com/bsb/john/1.htm.

SEE ALSO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluer_Than_Blue;

https://genius.com/Michael-johnson-bluer-than-blue-lyrics.

A GOOD LOOK?!

3/10/2024

As controversial as it may be, I’ll just go ahead and say it. The once touted notion of the electrically powered truck has not quite panned out. Recent reports out of Detroit are that the major automakers are now seriously re-thinking their commitment to the whole concept. It seems that the whole matter comes down to consumer preference.

And rightfully so… After all, it is the consumer, and not the producer, who ultimately determines the fate of any given product. Indeed! For it seems that the consumer has long determined that the F-150 gasoline powered pick-up truck series produced by Ford Motor Company is a winner. After all, as Wikipedia puts it…

Since 1977, the F-Series has remained the best-selling pickup truck line in the United States; it has been the best-selling vehicle overall since 1981. The F-Series has been the best-selling truck in Canada for over fifty years. As of the 2018 model year, the F-Series generated $41 billion in annual revenue for Ford. By January 2022, the F-Series models have sold over 40 million units.

Of those 40 million units, I have first hand knowledge of two. The first is the F-150 King Cab Platinum edition I purchased in 2016. It was the gold standard. Nothing could beat it for looks. Nothing could beat it for travelling. And fully loaded, nothing could beat it for convenience.

The second is the 2000 F-150 standard cab my father-in-law purchased back in 2000. Both were Ford trucks. Both were white in color. Both had V-8 engines with automatic transmissions. Beyond this, the similarities quickly come to an end!

Mine was loaded to the gills with frills. His had none – and I do mean none. His had no electric windows, no electric door locks, no hi-fi stereo, no CD player, no satellite radio, no onboard computer, no HDMI ports, no electric seats, no electric seat warmers, no leather interior, no back seats, no fancy rims and tires, etc.… By contrast, mine had all of the proverbial bells and whistles – and I do mean all of them!

Of course, there was one other significant difference. Mine came with a hefty monthly payment. His did not! You see, I bought mine with a loan from the bank. He bought his with cash! For when the day came that I needed a new truck, I went to the dealership and said, “This is all that I want.” By contrast, when he came to the day that he needed a new truck (to replace his prior worn-out F-150), he went to the dealership and said, “This is (only) what I need.”

Which leads me to the last point… I now fully admit that when I bought my last pick-up, it was as much for status as it was for functionality. Whereas, when he bought his last pick-up, it was purely for functionality. You see, my King Cab Platinum F-150 with all the bells and whistles may have looked great, but at the end of the day, it only had room for a 5 foot bed! By comparison, his Standard Cab F-150 had an 8 foot bed. (And when you put down the tail gate, it held an object a full 10 feet in length!)

And there you have it - one pick-up truck that looks really cool, yet has limited functionality, versus another pick-up truck that admittedly lacks in the looks department, but clearly abounds in all matters of functionality and usefulness!

Little wonder then, that after my wife and I retired, after her father passed away, and after we then found ourselves in possession of both of the aforementioned two F-150 Pick-Up trucks, we chose to sell the one with all the looks and retain the one with all the usefulness! And we have not regretted that decision for one second. Anytime we set out to haul anything, we are reminded of the prudence of her father in regard to his election of a truck!

As I read the New Testament, I am reminded that there is a vivid contrast between those purporting to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. One group clearly does so for the benefit(s) they enjoy in regard to how they feel, how they think they look, and/or how impressive they perceive themselves to be as they sport their “platinum” righteousness before others!

Over against this are those who choose to focus less on how they are perceived and more on how they can be useful; less on how they look to others and more on how they can best befit the purposes of their owner!

The second chapter of the New Testament Book of James (verses 14-17) records the following admonition:

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.’”

Clearly, James is here pointing out the discrepancy between those who merely want to appear as Christians and those who definitely want to demonstrate that they are such by their productivity. To underscore this, he continues in verse 18 by saying: “Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

All of this is to say that this simple little lesson in trucking has reminded me of a far greater lesson in living. It matters far less how I want myself to look to others; and far more what I genuinely demonstrate. That is to say… Is what that I purport to deliver what I actually deliver?!

Surely this deserves “a good look”!

SOURCES:

TRUCKS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_F-Series.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/james/2.htm.

BIG LITTLE LESSON!

3/5/2024

You gotta love grandsons! As I went to open the chest of drawers in my bedroom last evening to get a pair of pajamas, I had to step over a four foot long stuffed toy alligator. When I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, I had to do so while being stared down by a ferocious one foot tall plastic Tyrannosaurs Rex.

A short while later, as I nestled into my bed, I found I did so amidst a small parking lot of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars and trucks. It seems the latter had been transported there during naptime earlier in the day.

In addition to taking over all my personal space, they have also laid claim to any and all forms of entertainment. My television set, once accustomed to being used to watch the history channel, the science channel, the travel channel, the sports channel, or the classic movie channel, is now devoted almost exclusively to “Simple Songs”, “Blippi” episodes, or any and all things “Mario”, “Spiderman”, or “Hulk”.

My iPad, once used by me for my own favorite apps, is now almost exclusively utilized by my grandsons for their favorites, including dozens of Bimi Boo alphabet and math learning apps, Corona Labs construction apps, and Vroom emergency vehicle apps. (Thank goodness they cannot yet operate a laptop, or I would most likely not now be typing this very blog post!)

As if the overtake of my personal space and my personal entertainment venues were not bad enough, now, even my avenues of nourishment are under assault. Nothing, I repeat, nothing that has hitherto been reserved for me is off limits. I buy a bag of Cheetos and bring it home, only to discover that the majority of it gets consumed before I ever even have a chance to indulge.

The same goes for Slim Jim beef sticks, butter flavored popcorn, dill pickle flavored potato chips, Fritos, Doritos, yogurt, bacon, cheddar cheese, barbecue flavored pig skins, and a whole assortment of other essential components of a flavorful and nutritionally balanced diet.

And don’t even get me started on soft drinks or flavored water. These get scarfed down faster than a spoonful of water in the Sahara desert! Indeed, given that a human being can go weeks without food but only days without liquid intake, I could well go down due to dehydration long before I ever do due to starvation!

And yet, I would not change one single aspect of any of this. Why? Because I absolutely love my grandsons! What a blessing they all are!

You see, over the last few years, my wife and I have been inundated with factors typically associated with the “fourth quarter” of life. Shortly after retirement, I lost my mother, and then my older sister. Not long thereafter, my wife lost her father. Thus it is that our focus as of late has been primarily on things that are somewhat sad and depressing.

What a welcome distraction, therefore, have all of our seven grandsons, each under the age of seven, been for my wife and me!

As two who have now lived through 62 winters, my wife and I know all too well how welcome the advent of spring can be. Likewise, as a couple who have now reached the fall of our lives (and who are fast approaching winter), we fully recognize the value of an injection of springtime along the way!

Children can be just that. They are like a breath of fresh air. They bring much needed joy and laughter to life! Both the questions they ask and the statements they make can prove hilarious. I never tire of receiving texts from my daughter recounting conversations between herself and one or more of her three sons. Here is one such example she recently sent me of her four year old son’s bedtime prayer:

“God is good. God is great. I thank you for Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and raising from the dead three days later. I thank you for dinosaurs are real and got stuck. I thank you for Megalodon. I thank you for Great White Sharks. I thank you for the biggest Megalodon and biggest Great White Shark. Amen.”

At times, however, they can also be painfully forthright. Witness when one of my grandsons recently opined that I had a “big belly”! (We’ll hear no more on this matter!)

It might be said that my grandsons make such statements because they have not yet learned the fine art of being civil. Or of being polite. But in reality, it is purely because they are unpretentious. That is to say that they have not yet learned the fine art of acting like, or pretending to be, something they are in order to appear that they are something that, in reality, they are not!

Praise God for what may be the most significant and commendable quality of childhood: unpretentiousness. Praise God for children, who are almost always straightforward and forthright in their observations and assertions. And why not? Having yet been conditioned, they generally have nothing to hide, nothing to obfuscate, and nothing to mediate!

How unlike we are as adults. For by contrast, we tend to hide things from others, to confuse or muddy the circumstances, and/or to seek ways to arbitrate any and everything that might otherwise make us uncomfortable.

Little wonder that Jesus once said (in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 18, verse 3) that “unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven.” In other words, to come humbly before Him, in full recognition that we are separated from Him by our sinfulness, and are therefore in need of His redemptive work in order to be made whole again.

In this world, unpretentiousness matters in childhood. How much more does it matter, therefore, in terms of eternity?! All that God requires of us is that we be completely honest with Him about who we are and what our needs are in His presence. In other words, that we do not stand before him with pretense!

Just a little lesson from seven precious little ones. But, oh what a big little lesson!

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/matthew/18-3.htm.

NO WAY OUT?

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLAYLIST?!

NO WORRIES?!

GOIN' GREEN!

A GOOD LOOK?!

BIG LITTLE LESSON!

Cleo E. Jackson, III

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