Reluctant Retiree

My wife and I witnessed first hand how a life can be consumed with traditions. We watched as Hindu neighbors and friends painstakingly followed the traditions of their faith. It required a lot of time and effort to carefully practice the traditions, which included a daily offering to the gods. I still can’t imagine the extent of personal sacrifice and diligence it took.

In our culture we tend to look down on traditions as old-fashioned nonsense. We may think that these traditions were fine for an older generation, but don’t make sense for us today. In many cases this type of assessment is true. For instance, you will not catch a cold simply by going outdoors in chilly weather. So for some traditions, it may be proper and right to reject them. The problem comes when we just reject all traditions or don’t investigate the reasons that the traditions are observed.

Paul encouraged believers to hold onto some traditions when he wrote, “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”

We must hold onto the traditions that we learn from God’s Word and from godly people. These traditions are based on truth and lead us into the glory of Jesus Christ.

The loftiest title ever given to me is “The Reverend Doctor”. However, it was mistakenly given. I am not a Reverend or a Doctor. I am still not sure where these people got the idea that I held such titles. Worse yet, why would they think that I wanted to be addressed in such a manner?

Some titles we can earn through education or our professions. Royal families in various countries are given titles simply because of their genes. Other titles are given based upon achievements, like All-star, War Hero, or Teacher of the Year. These titles describe us to a certain degree, but they do not define who we are.

God gives His children various titles. We have not earned these honors, but God gives them to us by His grace to describe who we are by faith. I Peter 2:9-10 lists some of these God-given honors; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We are given these royal titles because we are now born to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has adopted us as his children and made us joint heirs with His Son Jesus Christ. All these honors belong to those who have trusted Jesus for salvation.

While I was growing up, my mother always went a little overboard with Christmas gifts. We didn’t have a lot of money, but she gave us the things we wanted, and more, for gifts. The rest of the year, we had to make do with what we had. I remember getting a new pair of jeans for school every year. But that pair of jeans had to last the full year. I was like most boys playing outside in a rough and tumble manner most of the time. As a result, my jeans got holes in them all the time. She just ironed on a patch and sent me on my way. To be honest, it was a little embarrassing wearing the patched jeans to school, but it didn’t slow me down in playing and making more holes. Despite this minor embarrassment, we were provided all the things we needed. We had a secure environment with food and clothing.

God knows what we need as well. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Through His grace He will freely give us all we need. His gifts, as well as His grace, do not run out. However, we must be willing to receive His grace by placing our faith in Him. It all starts with trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. As the verse says, God did not spare His Son but gave Him up on the cross to die that we may live. Just like any gift, it must be accepted to be owned. Won’t you please accept His gift of grace and salvation today?

In our culture we sometimes use the expression, “I owe you” to describe a felt obligation to repay a kind deed. However, it can also be used to enflame a desire for revenge after we have been harmed. In either case, there exists no standard for when we owe somebody or what we owe. We develop the idea of owing based upon the perceived impact upon us.

The Bible clarifies the Standard for owing others when it says in Romans, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet’, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

God says that we all owe each other. But what we owe is love, whether we are harmed or benefitted by the actions of the other person. We owe them at least as much love as we have for ourselves. Returning evil for evil just continues and escalates the dispute. Returning love to the one who harms us quickly resolves trouble. The Bible also says, “love covers a multitude of sins”.

In professional football, every team puts in many hours and much effort in devising the game plan. Coaches review hours of film from previous games to determine what the other team tries to do. Then they try to understand what the opponent will do against their team. They devise the game plan to counter what the other team will do and maximize their team’s strengths. Once the game begins, the coaches will adjust the game plan based on what is or is not working.

We all devise a game plan for life. We maximize our strengths and try to minimize our weaknesses. Just like in football, we need to make adjustments as life is played out. Inevitably circumstances come that disrupt our game plan.

Fortunately we have someone to help us through the disruptions. God sees all that is happening in our lives and, at the same time, He sees our future. Better yet, He is in control, having all power and authority. We may not understand what is going on, but God fully understands. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

God is good! He is mighty! He knows all things! And He loves us! What a wonderful combination, worthy of our complete faith!