Reluctant Retiree

How would you feel if someone came barging into your presence and started making commands and harshly directing you to do certain things. Most of us would become fearful, and think this person to be unwelcome, rude, and severely out of place. This behavior is socially unacceptable and commonly viewed with contempt.

Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” When we speak with kindness, we spread light, life, and joy. When we speak harshly in a self-serving way, we spread discouragement, darkness, and fear. Let’s use gentle words with each other and find encouragement and strength in our common needs.

Suppose an important dignitary was coming to visit you. Most likely, an advance team would come to you beforehand to give you information about the dignitary. They would inform you of his/her likes and dislikes, the protocol for the visit, and anything else it would be important for you to know. One thing that the advance team cannot do is impart some of the dignitary’s qualities and attributes into your life. Once you meet this person, you may be so affected that some of these attributes become a part of your life.

John 17:25-26 says, “O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Jesus did not only introduce the Father to us, He continues to make the Father known to us and He places the Father’s love in us. Through Jesus we come to know God and become more like the Father through His Spirit living in us. This dignitary, Father God, is worthy to know and for us to be made into His image.

Allstate Insurance had a slogan that declared that they were the “Good Hands People”. Arm and Hammer baking soda displays a strong arm and a mallet to represent the strength of their product. While these products and services are fine for the need, they are not to be relied upon in all situations.

In John 17:11 Jesus prays for us and asks, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Jesus asked the Father to protect us from evil. Our unity in love is evidence of the Father’s protection. No one and nothing can take us out of His hands.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just can’t get closer to our goal. Perhaps we just get tired and don’t have the energy to pursue our target. Or maybe something goes wrong and that mistake puts us farther away from our goal.

Matthew 1:23 says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ which means , God with us.” When we have been incapable of moving even an inch toward God, God moved heaven and earth to draw near to us. First, He sent His Son to take on human form and show us the Father. Then He gives His Holy Spirit to stay with us and reveal the Father and comfort us with God’s comfort. The only way to achieve our goal of drawing near to God is to surrender to Him and let Him draw us near.

A witness in court has the responsibility to tell the truth about what they have seen and heard. Their believability and reliability is evaluated by the court. The jurors or judge ultimately decide the fate of the case and the people involved.

John 15:26-27 says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.” Another work of the Holy Spirit in the believer is to bear witness and reveal Jesus, both to the believer themselves, and to others through the believer. The Holy Spirit thereby reveals the truth about Jesus, the truth disclosed and given by the Father. We are called to be instruments of the Holy Spirit to reveal those truths to those around us.