Leaning Forward

Methods

Good grief. Indoor plumbing may be centuries old in concept but only became available to a majority of people in my life time, that is, the past 64 years. I do remember when people put a chamber pot under the bed, and went to an outhouse to take care of business. Realizing this forces me to look around, take notice, and realize that most of the objects I use every single day are of relatively recent invention. It's hard to imagine life today without these conveniences, simple things like ball-point pens, microwave ovens, mobile phones, the lap-top, a nice coffee machine, bottled water, instant messaging, the shower, deodorant, yada yada yada. Well, maybe not the mobile phone!

It is a world in movement, constant flux, and change! Flash back to the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis and comprehend for a moment why God confused the their language. "The Lord said, If, as one people all having the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible to them" (Genesis 11:6). God wired humans with a creative flair, an innovative spirit, and the ability to invent. While history is tick-marked with the moral and ethical digression of fallen humanity, there's also a record of steady industrial, mechanical, and now technological advancement that continues to influence our lives. I mean, think about this. The best camera I've ever owned in my life is my iPhone. 

So, here's the deal. It's The Secular City envisioned by liberal Harvard theologian Harvey Cox in his book back in 1965. It's identifiers are anonymity and mobility, meaning that people seek to blend with the masses, and are on the move. And, we've been commissioned to make disciples in that world, the world that is fast, changes exponentially by the nano-second, and where people generally want to hide. How to pursue mission in that kind of world is the question. Some churches do it well. Many more, perhaps as many as 85-90% of local congregations, are on life support. They are disconnected from the world around them.

What is so incredible is the way God has permitted the creative mind of man to do mission in that kind of world. Many vibrant, growing congregation are also on the cusp of using technology, the information super-highway, and cutting-edge systems to communicate, serve, and minister to the world around them. It's the biblical truth that the message never changes, but the methods do. They must. The new thing God is always doing (Isaiah 43:19) demands new structures, organizations, and processes to make disciples in a world like this. We're not selling buggy whips anymore, and we dont' have an outhouse on the grounds. Well, yes, we do truck some porta-potties for events on occasion. But, we must proclaim this never changing gospel in ways and means that engage the world around us, like now.

There's an old story about the country parson paying a visit to the family out in the boonies. When he went inside to meet with the family he asked the little girl to bring him the most important book in the household. She brought him the Sears Roebuck catalog. Some of you don't know what that is. So, go here. At one time it was the premier shopping method in rural America. Sears stopped printing them in 1993. It was a terrible business decision. They couldn't adapt their old catalog to the new www world. They've changed that now with the Lands End Brand and many other ways to shop on-line. But, their failure to change their methods cost them dearly in market share and name recognition.

We're entrusted with truth that is eternal. But, if we're allergic to changing methods, our disconnect from the world will just become greater.

New wine, needs fresh, new wine skins. Jesus said it. We must believe it. And, more, practice it. 

 

 

 

Speed

There was a time when the local church regulated the velocity of community life. Little League and town hall and school officials consulted with the clergy when scheduling or planning events. The movie Footloose was an academy nominee in our house because it depicted, perhaps a little over the top, the power of church ideals over what moved the community.

In a larger sense, the pace of moral change was slowed by the insistent voice of spiritual leaders. When towns and cities decided the zoning status of low-rent clubs, adult movie houses, gang havens, and even abortion mills, elected officials listend and responded accordingly. The church was the speed bump that slowed things down.    

Not anymore. Today everything is hyper-engineered for speed. The metrics of the digital world have been superimposed over almost every operating system to permit velocity equilibrium. It's not even about setting the pace anymore. It's about keeping up. There's a book in the business department of the book store that tells the tale of this high speed world. The title? It's Not the Big that Eat the Small, but the Fast that Eat the Slow by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton. It's not inerrant or infallible, truth without mixture of error. But, it does ask some pretty important questions about maintaining influence in a fast-moving world. Even more, it is a reflection of what it is like to live in the real world today.

Then, there's the church, and all the layers of denominational life, moving @ 2 MPH. Restrictive governing documents, complicated organizational structures, standing rules, operating procedures, fiscal formulas, and all the other weights that inhibit movement keep the church stuck in the back-draft of speed around us. While our best and brightest lament trending declines, appoint study groups and task forces and committees, everything around us continues to zoom forward. And, it's distance that creates our disconnect from the culture of speed. They're light-years ahead while we're fumbling with the buggy whips.

When I need to ignite the retro rockets of mission I read through the Book of Mark. It is the immediate Gospel, the Gospel conditioned by the Greek word euthus, meaning "immediately". There's an urgency in Mark's writing that communicates Christ's power to heal, command the forces of nature, communicate the truth of the Word, and yes, change things. Throughout the Gospel this mind-set establishes a fresh connection that challenged the ancient, worn traditions of Jewish legalism. It was a new, pace- setting teaching, with total authority, that Mark portrayed changing the practices and ideals of the local population. Mark moves at the speed of spiritual truth, and it never lags behind the world.

Reconnecting with a fast moving world isn't rocket science, to use a popular pun. The writer of Hebrews spells it out clearly. It reads, "Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith..." (Hebrews 12:1-2). In my mind, the weights and sin that ensnares us involves the corporate baggage that has co-opted our mission. We're an institution, a large institution. And, we move slow. 

As I near the end of my pastoral journey over the next couple of years, my love for our denomination grows more and more. How thankful I am for the extraordinary education I received at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. What a blessing to partner with so many great and wonderful mission enterprises. But, that love is tempered by the realization that our mission is jeopardized as the world races past us and the distance becomes greater by the day.

Today I am praying for visionary and courageous leaders to apprehend the mission opportunitites that are within our grasp right now, and leap us forward as His people for these times. You know, Issachar's people, who understand the times, and know what we should do.

Not Bill and Karolyn Slowsky, BTW.  
 

Bigger than band aids

You don't have to be a sweet, innocent child to know the healing power of a Band Aid. At times a little soothing analgesic creme and a Band Aid brand adhesive can make any abrasion, scratch, or boo-boo feel a lot better, on the spot.

Of course, a band aid is also a generic reference to a temporary fix. When someone says they "put a band aid" on something they mean they've assisted or improved it only for a short period of time. In culture applying "band aids" is a short cut around more meaningful or lasting solutions. Most of the time, "band aids" are used as a momentary patch in worn out systems. See the cup @ left!

So, I've been a Southern Baptist for sixty four years and nine months. My parents enrolled me in Cradle Roll at West Greenville Baptist Church, Greenville, S.C. as soon as they knew I was on the way. For thirty three of those years I've been a seminary student, pastor, and for a short period, a staffer with the South Carolina Baptist Convention. In the process, it has been my honor to serve on several committees and boards in local associations, two state conventions, and in the SBC. 

Only in the past five years has the use of band aids to deal with our broken system been so obvious. Our greatest minds and most astute statisticians provide accurate analysis of numerical declines. Cooperative Program gifts continue a gradual decline. Baptisms, church membership, and most of the other numerical indicators reveal a similar trend line. Someone reported that as many as twenty SBC churches close each week. Thousands of younger Americans are leaving our churches to attend non- affiliated congregations. We can paint it as positively as we want, but it's alarming.

Some analysts suggest the church is done, an idea that has outlived her time! Of course, that is totally ridiculous, unless the Bible is in error. The gospel still changes lives and His church is still His body. But, there is the wineskins thing, and we seem to be trapped in a time warp that is as many as five decades outdated. Suddenly, our denomination, most of the state conventions, many local associations, along with a majority of our churches are bloated bureaucracies entangled in cumbersome rules and regulations, entrenched by governance that smothers creativity, innovation, or expressions of fresh faith, and stifles connection to a world changing at the speed of thought. The dynamic, living, organic church of the New Testament, often joined in spiritual partnership with others, is on life support. 

And, then, there are band aids. Hundreds of them. Vision statements to energize the flock, pastor and church staff turnover to inject some new blood into the system, t-shirts and coffee mugs with clever tag lines, mission projects to shift our focus beyond the people group next door, focus groups, consultants, demographics, sermon series gimmicks, and, you get it. You know, veneer alterations, changes in the landscape with little attention to super-structure, governing documents, or organization. It's institutional strangulation.

Years ago, a verse landed on our church staff. It's been central to ministry since 1982, a Scriptural guide to what He is attempting to do around us all the time. It was given through the prophet Isaiah. He wrote, "Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it?" (Isaiah 43:19). From that date on faith has been intensely personal, always new and fresh, and always challenging me to stay alert to what He is doing. The final question suggests that it can be missed, that it is possible for someone not to see it. Is it possible that He is doing a new thing around us and we'll miss it. Caught in the mire of self-perpetuating systems, stuck in a web of governance designed to keep us entangled, the distance between us and the world around us just gets greater by the day.

Hey, friends, band aids are good for the moment. They keep the germs out of the wound, and prevent messes, for a few minutes. But, we're far beyond band aids, in need of something deeper and more lasting. I'm praying for leaders of vision and courage who can take the steps necessary to lead us beyond quick fixes and temp- orary repair.

Jesus said, And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wine- skins, and both are preserved" (Matthew 9:17). 

Fresh wineskins. Let's think about what that means.

More grace

Talking to Rev. Randy Koon at the South Carolina Baptist Convention last week reminded me of a Bible verse that has blessed Harriet and me for the past two years. Randy Koon is the pastor of Mountain Rest Baptist Church in Mountain Rest, SC. Even more, he is a craftsman who uses his workmanship to bless others. The ball point pen he gave me on the final day of my term as President of the SCBC two years ago continues to bless me daily. No, that's not correct. It blesses us, and has blessed many others as well. Since Brian's death on July 18, 2011, I've told the ball point pen story pen to any number of people. It always concludes with tears of blessing and joy. Our meeting in the Gathering Place at Shandon Baptist Church last week was no exception. 

Let's re-tell the story. Randy drove by an old stump in his community for many weeks. Finally one day he loaded it into his truck, took it to his workshop and allowed it to cure. It was a molded, mildewed mess, damp, and infested with grubs and termites. After some time he began to cut into the wood, and discovered a small core of good grain in the mess. Out of that ugly wood he crafted a ball point pen---precision cut and milled, finished with polished metal fittings, sanded to a bright, smooth lustre.  It's the one on the far left in the pens pictured above. When he gave it to me, he told me he had crafted it to remind me that God could take something ugly and make something beautiful out of it. That takes my breath away.

The other day I told Randy about losing the pen. It went with me every where and I guarded it with my life. Not meaning to be rude, I usually wouldn't let anyone take it out of my sight. Many people have held it, admired it, and been blessed by it. But, after a speaking invitation I asked Harriet to hold it for me. She packed it away in her make-up kit and I couln't find it for a couple of weeks. One evening, as we torethe house apart looking for the pen, there it was. Right then I decided it would have to stay home. I would tell people the story but I didn't want to lose it again.

Until Randy Koon visited us last week in Columbia. He gave Harriet and pen, and me another one, from the same stump. They are treasures on a number of counts. That Randy crafted them is one great blessing. What they represent is a reminder of His grace. These three pens echo the verse He gave us two years ago: "But He gives more grace" (James 4:6).

More pens. More grace. WOW!

The Silver Shako

It's not the Governor's Cup (Georgia-Georgia Tech, 1893) or the Palmetto Bowl (Clemson-South Carolina, 1896), but the game for the Silver Shako, pitting the Citadel Bulldogs and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Keydets is the Military Classic of the South, and dates to 1920. At one time the entire Corps of Cadets of the two state colleges would make the trip to the other for the game. Several times they played in the Oyster Bowl in Roanoke, Virginia. Today, with a realignment of football conferences and stretching of tight budgets, fewer cadets/keydets make the trip. But, it is still a keen rivalry, usually a good game, and a matter of bragging rights amoung the state supported military schools.

My first Corps trip was to Roanoke in 1967. The entire knob class and a few upper- class chaperons traveled us by train to support the Dogs in a 22-11 loss to the Keydets. We rode a train all night on Friday night, wandered around Roanoke till game time Saturday morning, went to the game, rode a train all night back to Charleston, and attended a sweat party in the fourth divisions showers Sunday evening. It was a full weekend. But, I did trade a VMI plebe for his shako brass. So, it was a success even in the loss. 

So, the battle for the Slver Shako is today at Johnson Hagood Stadium just off The Citadel campus. The Citadel now leads the series 36-30 with two ties. Both schools are in a resurgence with larger Corps of Cadets than in previous years. VMI shrunk to around 1100 Keydets several years ago and de-emphasized football to some degree. But, the corps there has grown again and their sports programs are on the rise.

So, go Dogs. Let's kep the Silver Shako in Charleston another year.

Beams

When Paul wrote, "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7), the point was clear: real value involves what is contained in the jar, and not the jar itself. It's a powerful image story that must be handled with delicacy, however. It certainly can't mean the earthern vessel is without value. It must imply that the pottery does not have grater worth than the treasure in it.

Go here. In creation God shaped the human in His image, formed from the dust of the earth. It was the peak of creation, the one element of creation in which He downloaded His image. He breathed His breath into Adam and te man became a living soul. Redemptive history is the epoch of His love and care for the human species,  and the death of God the Son to claim us as His own. He had loved us with an everylasting love, and has heaped on us His lavish care. Mercy and grace condition His guidance of us. Even more, He has chosen, in the mystery of His ways, to live in us. So, we cannot ever say that the earthen vessel is without value. Certainly he loves us beyond any other part of creation. We are His select children.

All the more, He has give us the light of the Gospel in the glory of Christ. So, if we follow this image story all the way through we must know that the Word of grace, and the power of Christ in us is all the more value than our deteriorating bodies. The pot will be worn, broken, trashed, bruised, marked, and abused. But, the light of His glory will shine in us throughout our use on earth.

In the verse preceding our theme text for the week, Paul wrote, "For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone inour hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's slory in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthian 4:6). God means for His light to shine out of darkness, even from the image darkness of a declining human body. And, it is a vivid word picture, this shining. The word translated "shine" in this verse, is the Greek noun "lampo", from the verb "lampein", meaning "to shine". It depictes the shining of light beams, clear flashes of steady light streaming through breaks in the surface. Out of this cracked pot (not, crack pot) shines these beams of light from within. As a side note, it is the root of our word "lamp".  

In the instance of the clay jar, the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ is transmitted to th world around us through the broken places in our surface. How we handle the experiences of injury, the blows that leave marks on us, the slashes that open places in our skin, are the places the light beams brightest to the people around us. The treasure then, is the most valued element. And, it beams out of the cracks.

When I was a little Baptist I was a Sunbeam. This was sixty years ago. We sang, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine". It was sweet and precious, all the more from the innocent naivete of a child's heart. We laughed and smiled and beamed the joy of that message from hearts yet uncomplicated by the perplex issues of life. We really didnt know then that the light would beam from us out of the broken places, the wounds that damage the covering. 

We know it now, all of us cynical and jaded people worn down by the road. Yet, in it, is the reality that all our lives the beams of His glory can come from our hard days and trials, and announce to the world His faithfulness to us even when we become damaged goods. No. That's not it. We annouce to the world His faithfulness because we are damaged good.

Peter wrote, "But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear of be disturbed. But honor the Messiah as Lord in your harts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:14-15).

Notice how our witness and suffering are joined here. Notice more the treasure, the hope that is in us.

Incredible!

Promises for fragile believers

They look pretty worn. They've been marred and marked by their times. They are clay jars, made to hold something valuable, something treasured. They might contain something as mundane to us as simple drinking water. Or, they could protect something more exotic, jewels, gold, or currency. But, they've been used. And, they bear the exterior punctures and bruises of exposure to the elements of their craft, the bumps and grinds of their intended purpose.

Paul wrote about them, in a way. He wrote, "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us." (2 Corinthians 4:7). It is a classic and blessed portrayal of a believer's life, the treasure of the light of the Gospel and the glory of Christ contained in the earthen vessel of the human body. It is a clear reminder of the transitory nature of life, that human physical life is moving in an unavoidable direction, toward the dust from which we came.

But, Paul, a man familiar with suffering, afflicted with a tormenting thorn in the flesh often believed to be poor eyesight, one whose race was nearly completed, was also inspired to cover this assessment of life with promises. They are promises for fragile believers, human beings in whom He has chosen to reside, delicate jars of clay moving in that predetermined direction of physical death. That the Christ of glory would choose to inhabit such transitory containers is incredible enough. That He would inspire Paul to include the promises for fragile believers is even more.

So, he added, "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). It's almost autobiographical, Paul's stark reminders about the rigors of the mean streets. It's the language of hard living, the stresses and conditions of real life. These words are not ornamented with lace, dripping with sugar, or oozing the sweet juices of easiness. They clearly depict strain, effort, test, ordeal, rough stuff. Mark them. Pressured in every way. Perplexed. Persecuted. Struck down. The mind's eye may see those used, perhaps abused clay jars pictured above. They've been handled and mishandled, filled and emptied, tossed, stacked, buried, moved, upended, soaked, baked, washed, cleaned, dirtied, tossed, and stored. In every way. Sounds like some people I know. You?

But, then, there are the big words, the promises for fragile believers. They are the power words of this great text. Not crushed. Not in despair. Not abandoned. Not destroyed. There's an enduring quality to this life, a resilience that keeps the injured receptacles working, functioning. They've been exposed to the dangers and perils of usage, but are still operating. Hard living has not defeated them. They're not as good as new. They've got dents and scratches. But, they are not destroyed.

Life is hard. Anyone who says different hasn't lived long enough, yet. But, it is full of joy, blessing, and promise. We believers, what I think is the moral of the clay jar biblical image, are not immune to the hardness of life. Jesus promised rain on the just and the unjust alike. So, we can expect to experience all that life has to offer in a flawed and broken world. In fact, we may expect more because we are His. You know He promised us trouble in this world. He also said we would be blessed if we are persecuted in His name. And, it may be so, that we experience a great level of lfie's harshness because we belong to Him. 

But, there are the promises for fragile believers. Yes, there are eternal promises too, heaven and forever with Him. Here and now, however, are the promises that we will be pressured in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.

So what? Today, I'm going to face life with a little different attitude, because He promised these wonderful outcomes as we experienced pressurized times.

And, I'm saying, "WOW"!    

Treasure

So, where else would a first century person store a valuable treasure? Under the mattress? In the strongbox hidden in the floor? The safe behind mom's wedding picture? Under the mattress? No, when you think about it, the clay jar makes a lot of sense. It was relatively solid, easy to hide, and could protect a nice sum adequately. Clay jars were available to the common folk, inexpensive, and generally secure from the weather. It wasn't ideal. But it was as good as it gets then. There just wasn't anything else.

Paul wrote, "Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). So, everyone want to identity the "treasure", that which is entrusted to clay jars. Some believe the "treasure" is the the ministry mentioned in 2 Cor. 4:1, "Therefore, since we have this ministry...". Others refer to 2 Cor. 4:6, "...He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ", shortened to "...the light of the knowledge of God's glory...", truly a "treasure". Even more, some reference the "...light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor 4:4). And, the debate goes on. 

But, identifying the "treasure" is not the most significant discovery of such a great text. What stands out in this entire comparison is that the "treasure", whatever it is, can only be contained in the jar of clay. Now, the glory of God and of Christ is made manifest through general revelation in all of creation. But, the light of this gospel, the Good News of redemption in Jesus Christ is only intended for human redemption. The sin of Eden marked all of creation. Jesus will return one day with a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem. The natural order will be reversed. But, this glorious gospel is intended for human redemption. His glory is announced in all of creation. But, the light of the gospel is placed in the jar of clay, the human being, the one created in His image. The earthen vessel was all that could hold the valued treasure. Only clay jars can receive the light of the gospel.

It is a delicate, sensitive work, the earthen vessel in which he resides. Every day it is subject to the jarring effects of life, the shattering realities of the fallen world. At our best, we humans are but a step closer to the dust, returning to the soil from which the creator shaped us. In the mystery of His ways, He sought residence in such an earthen vessel. He resides in the recipients of His grace. 

What in the world? How can this be? More, why would He live in such fragile vessels? Paul answers in a thrilling end to the sentence, a reminder of the dynamic of a clay jar holding a valuable gift. He wrote, "...so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us". We are helpless to weather the erosion of the clay jar. It happens day by day, often gradually, sometimes suddenly, the fading of this outer container. But, the light of the Gospel in contained right here in this clumsy, easily broken jar. So, we can't get too puffed up about it. The glory is not that we're so sturdy or great, so tough or enduring, such an impenetrable facade. It is that even with this slight and fading exterior, He lives in us. The glory is about Him. 

So, we're spending billions to fight off the ravages of time, the aging process that is so frightening to so many. But, it's useless. We're dew on the ground, grass that withers, a vapor that goes away in the hot sun, a pot that is cracking and breaking. But, He is the everlasting God who has taken residence in these broken vessels, and we can say "Glory to God", He lives in me.

And, that's the treasure.  

Earthen vessels

On our first trip to Israel a number of years ago, our guide took us to a snack bar, aka a tourist trap, alongside the Great Sea near Caesarea. At this particular site, walking in the dunes close to Herod's Aqueduct, the government allows tourists to own any artifacts they discover in the sand. Of course, we all became seasoned archaeologists searching for lost manuscripts of the Bible. It was the Three Stooges in a sand dune.

One of our group actually stumbled over a piece of pottery. It was a handle and spout from a clay bottle. Our guide took it to the proprietor of the gift shop and he estimated the piece to be ancient: over a thousand years old. The rest of it had broken off and only the top part of the jar remained. But, it reminded me of Paul's words about earthen vessels, only somewhat of a reverse from what I had always imagined. If it was a thousand years old, it was very sturdy stuff.

To the Corinthians Paul wrote, "We have this treasure in clay jars (in some versions earthen vessels) so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us" (2 Cor. 4:7). I've always thought the reference to earthen vessels, or clay jars, was a reference to the fact that we are all returning to the dust from which we came. It certainly would fit, the clay being created from the mud, and in the process of some deterioration from the time it was created. Finding a thousand year old fragment ignited a great deal of debate among our pilgrims. Our guide, a native Israeli and orthodox Jew, explained that it was partially correct.

But, he also told us about digs around the country where entire pottery jars, often containing ancient coins, were discovered. Turning to dust they surely are. Even more, however, they are extremely fragile and subject to cracking, breakage, and being crushed by whatever was happening around it---pressure from being buried, movements of the earths crust, rains and storms, marching troops, animals stomping over the ground, and other threats that could damage the thin construction. That eventually they would turn back to dust wasn't argued. But, like the ancient ones pictured above, they are much more subject to breakage. They erode and break. Like human beings. We are fallible, flawed, and fragile. No matter how good we feel or look or act, we are turning into the dirt from which we were formed.

Americans are totally obsessed with living forever. Boomers are most afflicted with the anti-aging virus, most of the 70,000,000 of us. The Huffington Post estimates that we are spending $80,000,000,000 (note billion) per year fighting the aging process. Economists estimate the number to skyrocket to $114 billion annually by the year 2015. The idea of getting old is a nightmare for so many of our cohort. And, we'll do just about anything to stave off the wrinkles, sags, bulges, lines, eyesight dilemmas, sore feet, and all the rest that just goes with age. To be honest, the people who usually fight it the hardest are the ones losing the battle fastest. But, you can mark it down. We're all going to die, and age in the process (Hebrews 9:27).

Thanks for the encouragement. Right? But, of course, Paul talks about the joyful parts too. In the backdrop is eternity, and the promise of Christ for those who believe. In a here and now scenario, though, there is a blessed side to the fading of the human body too. In the same Corinthian passage he offered this, "Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day"
(2 Corinthians 4:16). In the final verse of this section he added, "So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). 

There's this thing that should be happening in mature believers, a shift of focus that puts us in contact with eternity before we get there. I remember reading that entire text (2 Corinthians 4:7-18) to my mother as she struggled through the physically appalling test of ALS, Lou Gehrigs Disease. She would listen to those words and smile. Several times she wrote me a note that said simply, "Again". It was the assurance that something was happening on the interior of that clay jar as the exterior was broken and fading, fragile and delicate. It was peace. Being at peace.

The journey has a beginning and an end. That is, the physical journey. Along the way something miraculous can happen to us internally that gives us another angle on life, and releases us from the bondage of fearing aging and death.

Paul added something breathtaking in 2 Corinthians 5:1. He wrote, "For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands".

WOW!    

Say "thank you"

A simple "thank you" will do. A nation of drama queens and kings enjoys a parade or a banquet or a star-studded gala. Since most of us can't actually command that kind of display, we'll just let Monday pass without even a small expression of gratitude. Words seem so puny compared to the sacrifices many of our veterans have made in service of their country. But, the truth is, a simple "thank you" to a veteran, that is, to any veteran, will most likely make someones day.

Now, if you want to be a little more extravagant, you can certainly express thanks in many more ways. Last year a friend of mine went to Starbucks, gave the nice person behind the counter $100, and told her to give an anonymous free coffee to every person who acknowledged being a veteran. Nice. Another person I heard about went to Cracker Barrel and bought breakfast for every person in uniform at that hour. In Charleston, a military town, there were a few. Someone else distributed hand-signed thank you cards to people who identified themselves as having served our country. And, on and on. 

But, last year, I left my ideation strength in bed that morning and couldn't think of anything clever to express my appreciation for the veterans on their day. So, I decided to ask people through the day if they had served, when they had served, and in which branch of the service they had served. To each I said simply, "thank you". I cannot tell you how much they seemed to have been touched by such a simple yet heartfelt gesture. Sometimes in our desire to do something nice, we overlook the obvious. Saying thanks is strong.

It's symptomatic of a consumer culture: words are cheap. The refrain today is "show me the money". Goods and services are the bottom line that speak loudest. So, every expression of good wishes, gratitude, happy birthday, happy anniversary or any other kindness must be converted to a tangible gesture, something more concrete than simple words. And, that is a shame. Can it be that we have cheapened our words to the point that they mean so little?

As a believer, I must understand the delicate tension between words and actions, the interplay of gracious language supported by acts of kindness. Scripture acknowledges the value of redemptive talk, well chosen words to express our deepest emotions and feelings. Here's somewhat of a dilemma. You see, you can put a monetary value on just about every tangible good or service. So, there's a worth issue here, the cost of a gift or acknowledgement. Yet, words of gratitude, a note of appreciation, a simple shared thought cannot always be appraised. Unless, of course, the culture says words hold no value whatsoever.

Paul wrote, "Your speech should always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person" (Colossians 4:6). Earlier Solomon said, "A man will be satisfied with good by the words of his mouth, and the works of man's hands will reward him" (Proverbs 12:14). Over and over Scripture warns of the mis-use of words, the treachery of misspoken words. Again, "Pleasant words are a honey- comb; sweet to the taste, and health to the body" (Proverbs 16:24). Righteous living involves the maturity to express genuine sentiments in the simple manner of words.

So, veterans, including our active duty personnel today, thank you.