Father Love

I met a man last week that left an impression on me.  He was well into the grandfather era, and radiated abundant life and passion for serving the Lord.

He was teaching a group of people who had a collection of tough life stories, the likes of which most of us have never come close to experiencing.

I heard him say that one of his goals was to find ways to show them what the love of a father is like, because very likely many of them didn’t experience this well from their own fathers.  And the purpose behind this was to give them an accurate picture of the love of Father God toward His children.

So there were frequent hugs all around.

There were words of endearment and encouragement.  ”You’re my child, and I love you.”  “You’re doing so great!”

 

There were beanie babies for all.

 

There were photos taken together.

 

He took them all out for supper.

 

He prayed over individuals time and again.

 

He gave them cards to write prayer requests on for him.  And he told them how he carries those cards in his pocket.

 

They were shown his special book where he writes important things, and where he has written each of their names down so he can keep praying for them through the years.

 

They were told of his excitement of returning in a few months and seeing them again, seeing how much they will have grown and changed by then.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I watched.  And sometimes I had tears, because he was doing such a good job of accomplishing his goal that it was just a beautiful thing to see.  And because I saw how much they soaked it all up and loved him so dearly in return that they would have done anything for him and cried when he left.  And because it gave me fresh pictures of the love and enthusiasm my Father has for me...for all of us.

 

And it sent me on a ponder, too.  Why was I viewing this as a “special assignment” he had given himself?  Should this not be the goal/task of every believer?

 

“Show them what I am like.  Love them well.  Be my ambassador.”

 

It reminds me of a verse God highlighted for me a while ago.

 

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:1,2 NIV).

A Whole What?

Last time I wrote, I mentioned something about a "whole whack" of words.

Perhaps it's because I was in the language mode that I noticed it.  And I got to wondering.  Maybe you know the answer to this one?

How big exactly is a whack?  And does anything ever come in a half or a quarter whack?

(Webster doesn't know either.  Imagine that!)

Language Fun

Well, life certainly got more interesting since Babel.  At least I've found it so.

Sometimes I'm amazed to think about how there can possibly be so many ways in the world of saying the same thing.  I forget how many, but I think it's close to Lots.

Other times I'm amazed at how two of those ways which seem to have nothing in common can have many similarities.  For example, you can have one word that in Language 1 has two quite different meanings (according to good old Webster's), and then in Language 2, of all things you discover a completely different word that carries the same two meanings!

Fascinating...that's my word for it all.  For this Expotition I'm on.  Fascinating.

A great number of words in my Language 2 have only one syllable.  Which sounds like it would greatly limit the amount of possibilities.  But when you can hold the vowel for a long or short time, and then have five tones in which the word could be said, that changes the picture.

That means that the word I would have prounouced as "cow" can be said ten different ways.  I know completely disconnected meanings for five of those ways, and I'm guessing at least some of the other five have meanings that I have not yet discovered.  Yeah.

(Note:  Language 1 can say it ten different ways as well, but it pretty steadfastly remains a black and white beast in a pasture.)

There's something about tackling a new language that makes you notice what it's made of. I'm sure Language 1 has this effect as well, but when you've known it since always, I guess you don't notice the pieces as much.  But I love some of the ingredients of this language.

One classic is "heart" words.  There is a whole whack of them.  And they give pictures that make good sense and [even better] make you remember.  Here's a sampling:

sad:  dead heart
glad:  good heart
impatient:  hot heart
calm:  cool heart
startled:  fall heart
satisfied:  enough heart
paying attention:  standing upright heart
understand:  enter heart
trust:  place heart
repent:  turn heart

So yes, since there are many one-syllable words, when you run out of those, you just string 'em together to create the rest of the words you need (slight oversimplification here).  This has taken compound words to a whole new level for me.  But hey, they give pictures that make good sense and [even better] make you remember.

fireworks:  fire flowers
cold/flu:  big cold fever
agree:  see also
crayon:  colour candle
disappointed:  wrong hope
curious:  want to know, want to see
towel:  cloth wipe body
organs:  inside machines
shampoo:  medicine wash hair
and one of my favourites...toilet:  pull gurgle

And then there are just sensible things. Like having a different word for your paternal and maternal grandparents. That takes care of the need to tack on surnames or invent cutesy alternatives. Handy.

Ah yes...fascinating.

(While wholehearted attempts for accuracy have been made, "ignorance=innocence" is claimed in the event of error.)

For My Sake

God’s been leading me on a ponder the last little while.  Here I am to try to put it into some words...

“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life” (Matt 19:29).

“He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt 10:39).

Sure, I understand this.  It means things like:

• being martyred for your faith
• losing your job because you’re a Christian
• leaving your family and home to take the gospel around the world
• having few close friends in college because of your outlandish beliefs

 
Face it... for many of us, those come around now and again or never.

But what about when:

• I spend a lonely evening in a crowd
• unwelcome changes come my way
• words, or lack of them, bring hurt
• I’m getting tired of rice and roaches
• something I have really been looking forward to is taken from me?

These happen to those who are not in Christ’s Kingdom, too, so they probably don’t count as “for My sake”.  Right?

I wonder if, when I ride that brain train, I devalue opportunities God is giving me.  Ride this train for a little:

• Everything I have and experience comes through God’s hand.
• Therefore I have nothing of my own.
• Therefore I have nothing to offer to God but what God first gives to me.
• Therefore everything I receive from God is a potential gift I can return to Him.

Here’s the picture.  Something that includes discomfort is coming to me through God’s hand.  I can sadly and grudgingly receive it, trying to decide what to do with it and wondering how long I’ll be left holding it.  Or I can view it as something He has given me to place on His altar, and offer it to Him as a sacrifice, thus giving it value.  “Lord, this is for You.  I choose to receive it with a gracious spirit and respond with thanksgiving instead of murmuring.”

If difficulty is simply a don’t-like-it, gotta-deal-with-it matter, it remains at the level of losing life.  If pain or disappointment or loss or inconvenience is something I can offer to God, it becomes “for My sake”, brings meaning and value to the experience, and opens the way to finding life.

When I see difficulty and pain as an opportunity to please God with a sweet-smelling sacrifice, I find it removes some of the sting.  Or at least it gives the sting value, because I’m viewing it as something given to me to give back as an offering...“for My sake”.

And it becomes:

• a thank offering (Lev 22:29)
• a sweet savour unto the Lord (Lev 3:5)
• a sacrifice of praise (Heb 13:15)

I suppose if I lived across the street from the Temple, I’d be on the lookout.  “Hmm...what can I offer today?”

What about if I am the temple?