Reluctant Retiree

As I write this, several significant sports championships are underway. The Stanley Cup Finals are about to declare a champion of the National Hockey League. The finals of the National Basketball Association will begin this week. Major League Baseball will finish their regular season today and start their playoffs on Tuesday.

All of these championships represent years of hard work and focus upon a singular goal. Every soon to be champion should be admired for their efforts and talents. They will receive praise and financial rewards. However, the thrill of victory will only be temporary. Next season a new champion will likely be crowned and their glory will fade. Sure we will remember their victory but its significance will fade. The Washington Nationals won the World Series last year, but failed to make the playoffs this year.

What kind of championship will yield lasting glory? The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:8, “More than that I count all things as loss in view of the surpassing glory of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”

So Paul is saying that the only thing with lasting glory is to know Christ. The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us how to run this race of life. “Therefore since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

So we must put off sin and run toward Jesus. Then eternal glory is ours.

When I worked in an office, we seniors would commiserate about the signs of aging. I used to say, you know you are getting old when every time you get up from a chair some new pain hits you”.

Today, the new pain is in my hip. It goes away after a few steps, but it hurts quite a bit in the first few steps. I have confidence that someday I will have no more pain, no more trouble, no more disease, and no more sin.

To experience this you must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t miss it. Believe.

I Thessalonians 4:14-17 says, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

Last night I went to watch our grandson play freshmen football. I just go to watch him play. I don’t care about the outcome of the game.

Normally I am very quiet and just watch. Last night I verbally questioned the coach from the stands. Not once but several times. Why would I do that? I don’t know. As I said, I really don’t care about the score.

I am ashamed of my behavior and will take measures to never do that again. My emotions got the better of me and I got carried away. I want to be a better example of sportsmanship, but also of the Lord.

Philippians 2:14 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” I am so glad that God is not done working on me yet and that his grace and mercy cover me.

My wife baked some apple crumble the other night. Boy, is it delicious! I want to savor every part of it. Unfortunately, parts of it are lost as crumbs fall to the ground. While I inevitably mourn the loss of some crumbs, I still rejoice in the taste of the bits I ate.

My relationship with God is a little bit like my relationship with apple crumble. I want to know him in every way. I want to delve into his nature as deep as I can. I want to experience the fulness of his love.

At times I am more successful than at other times. Sometimes my sin darkens the view of God, so that he is barely perceptable. Other times he answers my prayers in ways I don’t quickly understand. However, I do know that the closer I draw near to him, the better I know God and the more he will show me. I need to seek him with my whole heart. Then he will give to me the close relationship with him that I desire.

Matthew 6:33 records the words of Jesus when he said “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Today we went to a large flea market. I am not sure why we went, as we were not looking to buy anything in particular. In fact, I just used the time to get some exercise by walking about 5 miles.

Nevertheless, dozens of vendors displayed their goods for sale. Dozens of people looked through the goods to make the perfect purchase. My wife got taken when she purchased what claimed to be a face mask, but was really only a piece of cloth.

It is fun to watch the people at these things. It is an eclectic group of people looking through an eclectic group of goods sold by an eclectic group of vendors.

I am sure that some strong relationships are built through flea markets, as those with like interests are drawn together. I am not sure, however, that these relationships go very deep. After all, they really come together over a single interest. For a relationship to deepen, people have to have and discuss values, beliefs, motivations, passions, and interests. While people don’t always agree in these area they do often support and encourage each other in these connections. I would suggest that this is called love.

But Jesus called us to a higher and deeper form of love. He gave us a series of “one-another” commands to demonstrate this type of love. They include:

• Forgive one another
• Encourage one another
• Bless one another
• Be kind to one another
• Be tenderhearted to one another
• Carry one another’s burdens

And in John 13:34 he said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” The new command is not just to love one another, but to love each other as he has loved us. That is a much higher standard for love than previous commands. It requires great sacrifice on our parts.

During this election season there is plenty of blame to go around. One person blames another for all kinds of evil. The other person claims he/she is blameless and, in fact, the accuser is the one to blame. I am not sure that either one has told the truth or even knows the truth.

We have all been blamed for things we haven’t done. Generally we get indignant and transfer the blame to someone else. We react the same way even when we share at least some of the blame. There are many innocent victims in the blame game.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be truly blameless. If we are honest, each of us have earned our share of blame for the wrong we have done to others. When we do wrong in the sight of God, it is called sin. The Bible says we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and deserve death (Romans 6:23), which is eternal separation from God. Fortunately, God provides eternal life to all who believe on His Son, Jesus (John 3:16). He removes the stain of sin from us and makes us blameless. Jude verse 24 says “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

I didn’t sleep well last night. It seemed like I couldn’t slow my internal motor down. So today I am not operating at full capacity. I am retired so this doesn’t make much difference beyond how I feel.

The idea that we require certain amounts of sleep is interesting. God gave us the ability to shut down for a number of hours because he knew that we would have to recharge our batteries daily. Most days we are able to slow down enough to go into temporary hibernation.

God created us this way for our benefit. He didn’t miss any detail in any part of creation. And now he is watching us and providing our needs and protecting us from evil. Psalm 139:3 says, ” You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”

Now matter where we go these days, signs tell us to wear a mask. Some people don’t like this restriction. I understand. It is an inconvenience and sometimes it is uncomfortable.

But why do we wear the masks? I guess that it does decrease the chances we will catch the virus from someone else. But the main reason we are told to wear the masks is in order to decrease the likelihood that we will spread the virus to others. If that is true, and the evidence suggests that it is indeed true, then wearing a mask seems to be a minor inconvenience but a major way that I can love others. So I wear a mask somewhat for my own well-being, but mostly because I care about others.

I John 2:10-11 says, “The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” Don’t be blinded and stumble in the darkness. Love others and where a mask.

The grass is still green and the leaves are still on the trees. However, signs that autumn is approaching abound. The grass requires frequent watering to retain its hue and some leaves are falling to the ground. Soon it will be too cold to water the ground and the grass and the leaves will change color.

As I grow older, I have become more aware that I undergo the same sort of changes. Lessened visual accuity, decreased hearing ability, and the onset of heart and brain diseases tell me that autumn, if not winter, is approaching. Jesus compared our lives to that of grass, saying that the grass appears for a while but eventually is blown away as it dries out. He wasn’t trying to be morbid, but rather was pointing out that our lives are short.

Understanding the relative brevity of life, has me considering the things that will endure. A quick survey of the Bible helps me understand that the following things are eternal;

• God’s steadfast and abounding love
• Salvation to all who believe on Jesus
• God’s Word
• His promises
• His faithfulness
• Heaven for those who believe
• Hell for those who don’t
• Love
• Hope

I trust God in these things. II Corinthians 1:20 says, “For as many as are the promises of God, in him they are yes; therefore also through him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”

People seem to always be looking for signs as to what will happen in the future. They go to astrological charts and palm readers, in attempts to know the future and make decisions based on that. Politicians like to tell us what the future will be like if they are elected. They are rarely accurate. We expect the weather report to tell us what to expect outside in the coming days. Unfortunately these too are not often accurate. Many people look for alien spacecraft in the skies, always without success. Scientists look to the skies and make bold, but inaccurate, statements about the origins of the universe and what it all means.

There are some signs in the sky that are accurate. God says that these signs are true but often suppressed by people who view them. Romans 1:18-20 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Don’t miss what God is telling you through that which He has made.