Stubbed Toes and Stitches

Once I was walking through my parent’s room in the dark. They had been out of town and there was a suitcase on the floor that I didn’t see. I straddled the latch of their suitcase between my “pinky toe” and whatever you call the toe next to it. Hard! I had to go get stitches between my toes! The healing was worse than the hit!

I wish I could have decided then and there that I would never straddle my toes on a suitcase latch or even stub a toe again, but I couldn’t. The only way to keep from stubbing your toe is to stand still – all the time. That’s just not an option.

To get somewhere, you’ve got to move. When you move, there is potential for toe stubs. It is only in movement, however, that there is potential for getting somewhere. I believe that going nowhere is worse than getting hurt in the travel.

Paul talked about his own race in life. He declared that he would press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God had called him in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). He knew that his race meant stubbed toes and stitches, but he also knew that races aren’t won standing still. Been hurt? What do you need to get back in the race? Scared of getting hurt? The prize from God is worth the pain. That’s a promise! That’s Life at Work!

Happily-Ever-After Depends on Today

Life at Work
“It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis” – Margaret Bonano.

Do you want to have a great marriage 5 years from now? Ten years? Twenty-five, forty, and fifty years from now? I hope you are planning on that. I hope you dream about it, and talk about your dream with your spouse. Whatever happiness you’ll find on your anniversary fifteen years from today depends on what you do today and tomorrow.

The age old wisdom of Proverbs offers this instruction that can be applied to your marriage today:

“Do not say to your neighbor (or spouse),
‘Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow’--
when you now have it with you.”

You’ve got some great things to give to your spouse today. Maybe you’ve been holding them back for some reason. No reason is good enough if you want to live happily-ever-after. You’ve got to create that day-to-day. Give your spouse your gifts of love, attention, fun, and commitment today! That’s Life at Work!

The Jesus Perspective: Blessed are those who Mourn

The Baby Centre lists seven reasons why babies cry. I noticed that being in pain is not one of them, so the list is not exhaustive. Maybe this list is the seven reasons babies cry when there isn’t an obvious pain source. Here are the reasons a baby would tell you she is crying if she could talk:

I need food
I need to be comfortable
I need to be warm — and not too hot or too cold
I need to be held
I need a rest
I need something to make me feel better
I need something ... but I don't know what
(http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/536698.html)

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Those are the reasons I cry! I don’t think that means I’m a baby. I think it means that those things that make us mourn stay pretty consistent and last a lifetime. I’m glad that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” That’s not just a word for babies. It’s a word for me.

Jesus knew when he said “Happy are the mourners” that some don’t mourn. They never allow themselves to feel hungry, uncomfortable, cold, alone, weary, less than perfect, or unsatisfied. They take care of themselves. Oh, maybe they’ll give to another if they aren’t put out any by their giving; but they will never have to ask for comfort. They make sure they are comfortable.

The assumption of Jesus is that all of us have reason to mourn, but people who have hardened their hearts – like those who won’t acknowledge sin, feel compassion for others, admit their inadequacy, or recognize their helpless estate – never will.

As Matthew tells the story, those who won’t mourn simply miss out on the blessing of comfort. But Luke reveals more. He tells us that Jesus went on to say, “Woe to you who laugh now. You will mourn and weep.”

Those who don’t mourn have shut their hearts from the reality of their own insufficiency and from the pain of others. Jesus said that those who will keep their hearts open will receive comfort. That’s good. That’s Life at Work!

Thanks for Helping

John, Al, Mike, Gary and their families appreciate people like you for your generosity and concern towards people like them. They are friends of mine who cannot live in their own homes because of Hurricane Katrina. They are victims of what will likely be declared the worst natural disaster in American history. People like you, many of you, have contributed to organizations that are going to help the displaced and despairing thousands. Some of you have volunteered your own time in our town and cities nearby to serve hand in hand with other volunteers, and face to face with those who have lost nearly everything.

I believe that’s something of God in you, prompting you to do something for others who are hurting. I believe that when God created us in his own image, he placed in us a conscience that carries a seed of God’s own character. That’s why I believe that ultimately, for all that any of us do, God gets the glory.

But some people suppress that urge in them to help the hurting. Some sear their consciences with flames of greed and self-centeredness. They don’t respond to that voice on the inside that says “love your neighbor.”

You’ve let your heart have your ear. And you’ve helped. My friends in south Mississippi would have me tell you, “Thanks.” I’ll say it, too. “Thanks!” That’s Life at Work!

The Jesus Perspective: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

There are a couple of things that many people depend on to bring wealth to the soul:

One is the personal bank account. The rich man who wouldn’t care for Lazarus had this. The drive to be rich is so strong in many people. Getting there is the goal of poor. Staying there is the goal of the wealthy. Lives are consumed with the gaining and the holding of wealth. Some know how to do it, others don’t. Some want to be wealthy due to hard work; others look to the lottery or to theft; others know they want to be wealthy and are just hoping it falls in their laps some way, sometime. Monetary wealth is not the only goal, however. Coupled with that is the desire to feel secure, even powerful. It is believed that the wealth in the wallet brings wealth to the heart and mind – the soul. That is the human perspective and it drives the human agenda.

Another is personal righteousness; you might say rightness. The Pharisees had this. Many never believe that they are less than adequate spiritually – and that’s on their worst day. Most of the time we find enough people who are less ethical, less moral, less driven by conscience, that we are able to compare ourselves right into the belief that we must look good in God’s sight.

The Jesus Perspective is dramatically different. Jesus said that happiness (blessedness) will not come those who think they are spiritually or monetarily wealthy, but to the poor in spirit. To be poor in spirit is to, in humility, recognize spiritual poverty. The truth is that all of us are bankrupt spiritually because of sin. True happiness belongs to those who recognize that truth and are willing to admit it.

That’s Life at Work!

Theology of Marriage

Important reminders from Genesis 1-2 about marriages:

A Theology of Marriage from Genesis 1:
Man and woman together make mankind. They created them, and it was very good. All mankind, male and female, are created in God’s image.

A Theology of Marriage from Genesis 2:
Man was created first and received instruction from God. There was closeness between the man and the Creator.

Man was initially alone, and it was not good. This is the first time that something about what God had done was seen as “not good.”

Man was made to realize his tremendous desire for companionship before God gave him the woman.

Woman was made from the man – the only created being to come from another created, breathing being.

Woman was a wife. God didn’t create a mother to care for Adam, nor a child for him to give care. This was a wife.

Woman was the completion of man – at her creations mankind was whole.

The man’s immediate response was to keep the woman. No comparisons. No complaints. She was his. He was hers. No questions.

Husband/Wife relationship was declared the most important of relationships. There were no fathers or mothers, but Moses commented “A man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife….”

Marriage is unique relationship. The two are “one flesh.”

Understood to be for all of life (Matthew 19:6)

That’s Life at Work!

The Importance of Washing

Life at Work
In 1818, when Ignaz Phillip Semmelweis was born the finest hospitals lost one out of six young mothers to the scourge of "Childbed fever." A doctor's daily routine began in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. As the doctor left that room to move to the rooms of his patients, including expectant mothers, he never stopped at a sink to wash his hands. Dr. Semmelweis was the first man in history to make the connection between unwashed hands and the infection that led to death from “Childbed Fever.” Semmelweis did begin to wash his hand with a chlorine solution, and after eleven years and the delivery of 8,537 babies, he lost only 184 mothers - about one in fifty. He spent much of his time and energy debating with his colleagues. Once he argued, "Puerperal fever is caused by decomposed material conveyed to a wound....I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proved all that I have said. But while we talk, talk, talk, gentlemen, women are dying. I am not asking anything world shaking. I am asking you only to wash....For God's sake, wash your hands." Bruce Mouton vividly described the response of his Semmelweis’ contemporaries and the consequence: “Virtually no one believed him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for thousands of years without washing, and no outspoken Hungarian was going to change them now! Semmelweis died insane at the age of 47, his wash basins discarded, his colleagues laughing in his face, and the death rattle of a thousand women ringing in his ears.”

When David realized the wickedness that had been a major part of his life ever since he saw Bathsheba on her rooftop, he wept as he wrote, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:2). “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (vs. 7). Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (vs. 10) “Wash me!” was the anguished prayer of King David.

In the New Testament, being washed clean of sin is a wonderful theme. Paul moved the Corinthians to refuse to return to sinful living by reminding them of their spiritual past: “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” 1 Cor. 6:11). He wrote to Titus about the kindness of God:
“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior…” (Titus 3:3-6).

Without being washed clean, in a much worse way than the women who died by the touch of unclean hands, we all die from the contamination of sin. Paul was in the same filthy condition as David - and us - when he heard the words, “What are waiting for? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” What are you waiting for? For God’s sake, wash! That’s Life at Work!

Citation or Savior

Life at Work
In 1992 a Los Angeles police officer was writing citations for parking violations. His practice was to come up behind the automobiles, write out the ticket, and place it on the automobile somewhere where it would be seen. One of the cars he ticketed that day was occupied at the time of violation by the driver. The policeman filled out the citation, walked to the open window on the driver’s side, and then placed the ticket on the dash right in front of the driver. There was no argument from the man in the car. He offered no explanation for being parked where he was, and the officer asked for none.

A few hours later, the police officer was questioned about the ticket because the man in that car had been shot and killed 10 to 12 hours before the ticket was written. He was dead, but the officer was too busy writing tickets to notice.

I know I’m guilty. So does Jesus. He understood that I need a savior, not a citation. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us. Paul wrote about that blessing to Timothy, “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13-14).

Instead of writing citations, Jesus became our Savior. Instead of sitting in judgment, Jesus became sin for us! That’s good news. That’s Life at Work!

Effort to Grow

Life at Work
We joke about putting a brick on our kids’ heads to keep them from growing, but we know it is a joke. Growth of the human body is natural. When a body is healthy and it receives proper nutrition, it grows. Christian growth doesn’t happen naturally, though. Paul wrote, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved….” (2 Tim. 2:15) Peter wrote, “Make every effort to add to your faith… for if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:5-9). Christian growth depends on “doing our best” and “making every effort.”

In “Southern Cross,” Crosby, Stills, and Nash sang the words, “We never failed to fail. It was the easiest thing to do.” They sang about human relationships, but some have that same approach to their growth toward God. It is easier to do nothing, fail, and then moan about the failure, than it is to grow.

I don’t know all the reasons someone would live that way – failed past attempts or laziness might be a couple. It’s certainly true that someone who never excels will rarely be given responsibility in the future. Some might be trying to stay away from future callings.

I do know what Peter says about those who don’t make the effort. He says they have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins. When you remember how far you’ve come by the grace of God, you have the motivation to keep going. Have you settled in? Are you in a pattern of failure because that’s the easiest thing to do? Remember where you’ve come from because of God’s mercy, then do your best again. That’s Life at Work.

Is that Clock Right?

Life at Work
Hugo Wolf was an Austrian composer who in 1897 went insane and was committed to an asylum. He was sane enough, however, to know his condition. Once, pointing to a large clock in the dining room of the asylum, he asked, "Is that clock right?"

"As far as I know," responded the attendant.

Wolf asked, "Then, what's it doing in here?"

There are requirements for being in certain places, aren't there? One of the requirements for being in the Kingdom of God is to be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3). The Pharisees were not poor in spirit. They were spiritually rich, in their own eyes. Because of that, they couldn't come into the Kingdom.

I used to say that I had not come across many people who were convinced they had everything right spiritually. Since then, I’ve met a few. I have also known many, self-described, good ole boys/girls who just never do anything really bad, in their own eyes. They never go to the cross acknowledging the fact of their guilt, and never ask for forgiveness. The church is not the place for people who won’t admit they are wrong. If you think you're right, or just don’t do much wrong, you don't belong (1 John 1:8-10). To enter the Kingdom, you've got to admit you've been wrong, and know that only Jesus can make you right.

That’s Life at Work!

The Greatest Thrill

Life at Work
George Shearing was a jazz pianist, and he was blind. One afternoon he was waiting at a busy intersection for someone to help him across the street. Another man, a blind man, tapped him on the shoulder and asked if Shearing would mind helping him get across. Being asked about his response, Shearing said, "What could I do? I took him across and it was the biggest thrill of my life!"

But for the grace of God, Shearing would never have gotten to tell that story because he and his blind companion would be dead. But for the grace of God, the blind man writing this article would never have gotten to tell his story, the story of forgiveness. I, was not physically blind, but spiritually. Jesus, the Light, gave me sight so that he can lead me to the other side. Now, my greatest thrill in life, and the greatest thrill for all of us who are disciples of Jesus, is to help someone else on that same journey. The way is not one that we created, nor a crosswalk we painted. The path is the gospel - the good news that Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he rose again. When we respond in faith to that message, the greatest thrill is ours. That's Life at Work!

Life at Work

Life at Work

Near the end of his life Douglas MacArthur said these gut-wrenching words:

"In memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God....

Twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, again the filth of murky foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts... the horror of stricken areas of war."

War is one of those things about which many memories will always be ugly. MacArthur's memory could not rose-color the awful memories of the years of war. There was too much filth, weariness, suffering and death to be overcome.

I'm convinced that if the filth, weariness, suffering and death that is a part of our spiritual war could be visualized on an on-going basis, the army of the Lord would have many more soldiers than it does. I believe that because we see it occasionally. We look at the lives of others and see the turmoil brought about by alcohol and other drug abuse--and when we see it we think about how filthy and rotten sin is. We see the marches on television with the vile public actions of the sexually immoral, and we think about how filthy and rotten sin is. We see a building or a subway blown to bits and hear about the hundred or more killed; and we think about how filthy and rotten sin is. When these things happen, more people become convinced that obedience to God is the only way to clean up.

These things don't happen every day, though. They only occur occasionally, thank God! It is easy to forget between reminders, though, that every sin is ugly. Every curse word, every evil thought, every gossip session, every lustful look, every lie, every hateful gesture, every laziness, every sin is filthy and brings weariness, suffering, and death.

Too many have come to like fighting in this war zone, though. In fact, they look for the ugliest foxholes, the nastiest trenches, and the most stricken areas. Jude commands us in his letter to "hate even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

We must keep in mind that this spiritual war is dirty. Whether we see the filth, whether we sense the suffering and death, is unimportant. It is there, and God is the only one who can keep us clean.

Thinking Sacramentally

Life at Work
Sex, money, and power. When you read those words just then, were your thoughts negative or positive? I mean did you think of ungodly things or godly thing? I’ve said those words and asked that question about them a time or two recently. Nearly everyone has said that the words spark a negative, ungodly thought in them – including me, by the way.

In his book Rumors of Another World Philip Yancey encourages us to think sacramentally. Sacra mean “sacred.” Mentally indicates “in mind.” To think sacramentally, then, is to keep the sacred in mind when considering something. The truth about sex, money, and power is that they were created by God and God said that his creation was good – very good after mankind was created in fact. Those three things were intended by God to be used by people for our good, not for our destruction. If they have bad connotations, it’s not because they are actually bad things; but that we have abused them.

Paul told us that people quit glorifying and thanking God, and that their thinking was futile and their hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21). We have continued in that pointless thinking and dark hearts. It’s time to be renewed in our minds.

Open your eyes again to the way that God sees things. When we see them his way, we will use them in a good way. That’s Life at Work!

Free from What?

“We have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we will be set free?” (John 8:33). I don’t know if those who spoke those words were blind or forgetful. One or the other, though. I do know they were wrong. The Israelites had been slaves a number of times in their long, colorful history. In fact, they were slaves to the Romans, in a sense, when those words were uttered.

Jesus was less concerned with the reign of Rome than he was the reign of sin, though. You can tell because of what he accomplished. Dying on a Roman cross wasn’t intended to bring down an empire of men. Dying, then resurrecting was intended to defeat sin and death! The Roman Empire lasted for a while after Jesus rose. The dominion of sin came to an immediate end!

You can also tell which slavery Jesus was concerned about because of his response to their ridiculous claim: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34). Slavery to sin is worse than any national slavery can ever be. Slavery to sin lasts longer, and its effects are more devastating.

When the people in the American colonies began to feel enslaved because of taxation without representation, they signed a Declaration of Independence; and then fought and won a war for freedom. To this point in our brief history, we can say “We’ve never been slaves of anyone.” But let’s neither be blind nor forgetful. We have all sinned. We have all been slaves to sin. Guns can’t win our freedom from this reign of terror. The Son and His truth are the only way to being truly free. That’s Life at Work.

Paul and The Crisis

Life at Work
Do one “word association” with me. I’m going to type a word in all caps. You tell me the word that comes immediately to your mind. Ready? “JESUS”. What did you think? What word came to mind? Savior? God? Lord? Christ? There would have been times that if you had done that word association exercise with Paul when you said, Jesus” he would have said “death.” Paul wrote that he and his gospel preaching companions “always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). He wrote to the Galatians, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). He had earlier written to the Corinthians, “I die every day….” (1 Corinthians 15:31).

This was not just a choice that Paul made for himself. He was a follower of Christ and Paul understood that his life was not his own. He knew the words of Jesus, “… anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38).

If you know the history of Paul from Luke’s stories in Acts, you aren’t surprised to read words like those from his pen. One of the greatest stories is one that Luke witnessed with his own eyes:

“A prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”
When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21:10-13)

Thomas Paine wrote “The Crisis” on the occasion of General Washington’s retreat across the Delaware River. Washington was so moved by the words he ordered them to be read to some of his soldiers whose courage seemed to be failing. The first words are famous ones: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” These words, also from “The Crisis,” help me understand Paul’s resolve to go to Jerusalem: “Tis the business of little minds to shrink but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

Paul knew that the Jerusalem journey was his path. The hungry there needed the funds he was bringing. The Christians there needed to know about the concern of their Gentile brothers. Everybody there needed the message he would give from God. He needed to do what he was convinced was right.

What’s the right thing that you need to do? That’s your path. That’s Life at Work!

The End is Near! So What?

Life at Work
As Peter wrote about the judgment and the end in 1 Peter 4:7-11, he gave four instructions that were perhaps intended to keep the readers from sitting in their spiritual rocking chairs and waiting for Christ to come. The Christians who heard this letter read were not to be asleep like Peter was in the garden with Jesus. There are things to do.

I haven’t known of many who expected the return tomorrow and ceased all activity waiting for the clouds to part, but there have been a number of groups and individuals who have done just that. I encounter people, rather, who give little thought during the week, much less the day or hour, of the coming. The instructions that Peter gave fit that situation, too.

1. Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
2. Love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins.
3. Be hospitable without complaining.
4. Use your gifts from God for all their worth.

You see, just because the end is at hand doesn’t mean it’s time for life to shut down. While we continue living, though, keep the end in mind. That’s Life at Work!

Adventures in Fatherhood

Life at Work
We’ve put our hand to the plow, so to speak. We’ve marched into the battle. We have framed our building. When Jesus employed those word pictures, he was telling his hearers that they needed to count the cost before striking out on the Christ Adventure.

The pictures are equally applicable to the Adventures of Fatherhood. Before you have kids, count the cost. There are many blessings and there are many sacrifices. What is best for you and your wife right now?

Surely, though, there are readers who have already stepped out in faith, but are asking, “What was I thinking?” They didn’t consider some of the cost before, but they are paying the price now. Christianity often calls us to a higher level of courage and conviction than we dreamed in the beginning it would.

There are a lot of us who are fathers who often feel like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew. Some of us felt that way the first time that we had to change a diaper by ourselves. Others of us felt ahead of the game until we met our match in our teenage children. Maybe you’ve asked the question, “What was I thinking when I thought I wanted to have kids?”

Here are three things that I think are important for fathers to do so that fatherhood doesn’t become a burden:

First, create the fun. Be imaginative, make the appointment (if you have to call it that to keep it), and have some fun with your children. You’ll need to do a little research to discover what they would really enjoy doing, but get yourself out of the house and away from your other irritations. You might just find that you aren’t so much frustrated with your kids as you are other demands that have become irritants.

Second, allow room for mistakes. You’re a Christian for goodness sake, practice a little grace.

Third, learn to laugh again. Kids laugh four hundred times per day. Adults laugh less than twenty times. Look how much happier they are! Laughter really is the best medicine – that’s in the Bible nearly (Proverbs 17:22).

Don’t give up. You fathers are already in it now. Get determined again. Don’t look back. Finish this tower and win the fight over the temptation to give up. That's Life at Work.

Father's and Good Foundations

“And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4; NRSV)

Dads, as Father’s Day approaches, meditate on that passage. Consider that as Paul details the really important things in relationships; his instruction for you is about the training of your children, not providing for your children. I thought about that when I read Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. In regard to the amount of energy a family gives to work, he wrote this:

“The place to start is not with the assumption that work is non-negotiable; it’s with the assumption that family is non-negotiable. That one shift of mind-set opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities” (p. 118).

Covey warns us not to get addicted to the stimulation of the work environment and a certain standard of living. When we do, we are compelled to make all other lifestyle decisions based on the false assumption that lifestyle is high on the list of important foundations for children.

The discipline and instruction of the Lord is what your children need most from you. Don’t set aside that priority for anything. That’s Life at Work!

No More Wasted Time

Life at Work
The Eagles sing in “Wasted Time” about a girl who has given herself in a number of relationships that have ultimately faltered. She is distraught over having no close relationship after long-time personal, emotional investments. Having reminisced, Henley sings:

So you can get on with your search, baby,
And I can get on with mine
And maybe someday we will find,
That it wasn’t really wasted time.

We aren’t always concerned about wasting time while we are wasting the time. Something happens periodically, though, that causes us to reflect; and when we realize that time will be short, or has gone by too quickly, we mourn wasted time.

Peter wrote about wasted time in a letter to people who had invested part of their lives in wicked ways. He wrote, “For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry…” (1 Peter 4:3). Paul asked the Christians in Rome why returning to the kind of life in which they found shame and death would even cross their minds. He told them that the beneficial life was the one in which the slave to God would be led to holiness and to the great ending: eternal life.

I don’t want to say, “Get on with your search, and I can get on with mine.” I want to tell you instead that Jesus has called us to the abundant life. For either of us to pursue any life course without heaven as the goal will prove to be wasted time. I don’t want to waste anymore time! Do you? That’s Life at Work!

That There May Never Be Another Case Like Emmett's

Life at Work
The ground in Burr Oak Cemetery is being turned near the headstone of Emmett Till today. The FBI is exhuming his body while his family looks on in order to dispel rumors that the body in that grave might not be the body of the thirteen year old killed in Money, Mississippi in August 1955.

Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam were charged with murdering Emmett, but were acquitted by an all white jury. I wonder if they experienced even a moment of imprisonment by guilt for killing that young boy. They are dead now, but before they died, they confessed to abducting, beating, and shooting Emmett because he whistled at Bryant’s wife.

Emmett’s home was in Chicago. He was visiting his family that summer in the Mississippi Delta community where he died. He was found in the Tallahatchie River three days after he was abducted from his uncle’s home and killed. His body had been held under the surface of the waters by the weight of the seventy pound gin fan that was tied to him. A strand of barbed-wire had been wrapped around his neck and tied to the fan to keep him under the water.

They will find that the body they found and buried thirty years ago is Emmett, I’m confident. A momma knows her son, and Emmett’s mom had the casket open during the funeral to expose the violence of the crime against her son – and against humanity. I hope they will find some evidence that will link someone else to the murder, if in fact anyone else participated, or knew about it and said nothing. And if that someone is alive, I hope they will be charged, found guilty, and live the rest of their lives in prison.

I was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in March of 1966 - eleven years after the brutal hate crime against Emmett Till. I lived in Mississippi for twenty-three years. I can say without a moment of hesitation that the hatred that was prevalent among some my fellow Mississippians in the fifties and sixties did not infiltrate my heart in the least.

From the days of my earliest memories in elementary school, to my experiences in Mississippi churches where we were members or frequently visited, and to my high school experience, I encountered many people of various races. While we were obviously different – we looked different, we talked different, and we worshipped different – we were all God’s children, and I knew that.

There are a number of reasons why I could love anybody – even those of different races – in a state where hatred was at an epidemic level. No doubt, the impact of the civil rights movement in the late fifties and early sixties, exposed race hatred for the horrible thing it is. I believe, though, that what made me appreciate people of all skin colors was the influence of my parents who appreciated people of all skin colors. You see, if my parents had been racists, the likelihood is that I would have been one, too, until I developed enough maturity and/or saw the idiocy of racism to bring about change in me. Since, however, my parents were equal opportunity lovers, I learned it from them.

One of the most powerful things you can do to stop racism is to model respect for all people to your children. If you haven’t been doing that, another Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam are a generation away. If you have been modeling respect for all people, your children have seen the reflection of God in your life. That’s Life at Work!