Look Past Your Handicaps And See!

At a campground church service out West, we were treated to music led by a family that played lots of musical instruments.  They sounded like they could be from Tennessee, using fiddles, dobro, acoustic guitar and accordion.  The message was about being thankful for your “handicaps” and making the best of it.  They focused, as musicians on the hymn-song writer, Fannie Crosby (1820-1915), who wrote over 8,000 hymns, who had become blind when just little baby through a series of events beginning with an eye infection. 

There’s a story about a minister who in conversation with Ms. Crosby, shared he sympathized with her condition.  Her response must have surprised him:  "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?"  When the minister asked why, her response: "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"¹

            So what is a handicap, really?   Is it just a physical symptom, or can it be something we create, that works in the pit, where we find ourselves?  Can it be an abuse situation where one partner continually puts the other one down?  Can it be pride so intense and destructive, it gets in the way of doing what is good and right and trusting God for the situations in our lives?

            Restricted eyesight for the human is a handicap most would choose not to have, yet Fannie Crosby considered it a blessing.  Frogs also have a unique perception to vision.  The frog’s optical ability allows for only images that directly affect him, (like a natural enemy) or for food necessary for survival.  Their “optical power” eliminates distractions of any other kind.² 

            We get so distracted by the material things of this world, our drive for success, our particular circumstance and what we consider “handicaps,” we often lose sight of what is important.  We become like the frog, with restricted eyesight, and unable to see past what is right in front of us.

           Fannie Crosby rose above her “handicap” and served in an incredible capacity.  It is entirely possible you are in a situation where you believe your “gift” cannot be used because it is unimportant, or you haven’t had the education to do it well.  Or perhaps you simply feel unworthy of using the gift God’s given you. 

            We all have excuses!  Our world has nurtured a society who finds it easy to blame someone else for our failures.  There are troubled childhoods, financial difficulties, relationship problems, substance abuse, living in the wrong geographical area or a hundred others!  The truth of the matter is no one has a perfect life!  There is no perfect body, home, mind, relationship, childhood, or work environment!  We live in a world of challenges.  It’s how you choose to respond to the challenges that is important!

I challenge you to reconsider, without excuses!  Fannie Crosby was able to use her handicap to see past what most people can see and become an amazing song writer!  She saw with her heart a God who was real and personal.  Can you also see with your heart?  What great gift has God given you?  Look past your handicaps and see!

1 http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biorpcrosby.html

2 http://odb.org/2004/10/28/the-frogs-blackboard 

 

Only God Knows The Future

            I am fascinated by the predictions made on the news about when this or that will happen.  One of the latest prophecies is related to World War III.  The statement is made that we are headed for one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history.  Maybe they’re right.  I know the dollar has lost its value even while wages continue to increase, and the prices of goods and services rises even more quickly.  But man cannot predict the future. 

Men can make predictions based on statistics, or what has already happened.  They can do extensive, complicated numerical juggling to find patterns that fit their criteria and perceptions.  They can use surveys to determine how people feel about things they’ve experienced or think are going on at this minute.  But it’s still impossible to accurately predict the future.  Even weathermen, (and I am fascinated by this science), are unable to accurately predict one hundred percent of the time just what the weather will do or when it will do it!

Historians and scientists spend hours pouring over data and can, with some accuracy, based on past events, predict what they believe will occur.  Even philosophers are unable to predict what will happen in a person’s life, even within the next hour.  The events are out of his control.

The RAND corporation (Research And Development), formed in 1946 has had the ability to shed light on some things that seem to infer the capability of being able to predict the future, at least to some degree.  Statistics indicate they have been able to correctly predict 42 of 50 scientific events, related to some important and complicated problems facing our world over a fifty year period.  But even this process takes up to tens of thousands of studies, to come up with what they believe is a credible prediction.  And while 42 of 50 is a great average, it’s still not 100% correct.

            Now all that said, Christians are told to be watchful, and we have Bible information that spells out signs which will indicate we are nearing the end of the world as we know it.  Christ assures us He will return!  But even with all the information given in His Word, we still cannot predict accurately the date or time His return will be.

            So, if man cannot predict the future, who can?  There is only one person who has the ability to reveal the future and this is God, himself!  God has shown time and again He fulfills every prophesy He’s ever claimed.  There were prophesies around Jesus’ birth, life and resurrection that all came true, some written hundreds of years before he was even born!  Most recently are some of the prophesies around Israel.  It was prophesized in Ezekiel that Israel would one day become a nation and that her people would one day return.  This is happening even now as Jews scattered across the world make the pilgrimage to their homeland.  Leviticus foretells of Israel being supernaturally strong against her enemies.  This has not happened only once but several times, since her statehood in 1948.  Yet, even with all the fulfillment of prophesies relating to who the Messiah is and Israel’s revitalization, many are missing the significance.

            Clearly God is all knowing and keeps His promises.  So I challenge you to consider where you stand on Israel.  Do you see fulfillment in God’s Word?  Do you also see the signs clearly, that Christ will return soon?  I hope you do, because God said it, and it will be just as He promised, because He does know the future.

A Matter Of Commitment

                     It is said commitment is to be emotionally or intellectually certain of purpose, devoted to a cause or person, and expressed through behavior and action.  Marriage is a perfect demonstration of commitment.  It is an arrangement between two people- man and woman, who love each other, participate in a legal ceremony with the promise of spending the rest of their lives together. The commitment is more than a responsibility, it’s the outpouring of self at all costs, yet yields one of life’s greatest pleasures.

            There is the story of a young boy who hated his stepfather.  His childhood and youth years were spent with bitterness until one day he came home and found his mother very ill.  The boy instinctively went to find his step-father who immediately left the field where he was working to take care of the wife he loved. This man, whom the boy hated, loved his mother. And after his mother had received the medical attention she needed, the step-father assured the boy his mother would be fine.  His gentleness, despite the boy’s hatred, unnerved the boy.  The action made an impression upon the boy he had to come to terms with.

            Jesus made a commitment to us when he willingly went to the cross.  He didn’t have to.  He wasn’t guilty of a single sin.  It was I who sinned.  It was I who deserved to die.  But Jesus was willing to take the responsibility of my sin, gave everything He had- including his life, so that I might live.  This brings Him pleasure!

            Have you ever considered your commitment as a Christian?  I’m not talking about going to a cross or giving your life for another …… just your commitment as a Christian.  We are called to love not hate.  We are called to light not darkness.  There is no neutral.  There is no sitting on the fence.  There is no in between.  If we claim to be a Christian, others should be able to see our love and the Light that lives in us.

            After the commitment to love and Light, there is the commitment to other Christians.  The Bible is clear about how we are to treat our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are all one body and each member is as important as another.  We are to treat each with love and respect.  We are to share joy, pain, sorrow, good times and bad.  Does our commitment to Christ include this kind of behavior?  There is no middle ground or gray area. 

            There is also the commitment to share the Gospel.  This is not a choice; it’s a commandment.  We are to remember the new command of God’s love in Matthew 22  “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.…….and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  We are to love friend and enemy.  We are to love the clean and dirty, the righteous and sinner, the accepted and the rejected.  We are to have depth and substance which we find in the Word of God. It is a spiritual journey out of darkness that we are to share and demonstrate.

            Like the young boy who saw his step-father demonstrate love for his mother, we are to love those who we don’t understand or otherwise “love.”  So I challenge you to consider your commitment to Christ.  Are you demonstrating Light and love, or something else?

Best Friends

          

         A friend and I have been involved in a Bible Study for some time.  A couple days ago we were asked to name a mentor, a woman who is energized for the Lord, who we look up to, enjoy spending time with, and is quick to ask if we’ve looked into the scriptures whenever we are faced with some kind of issue that has us rattled.  I did come up with such a woman, but I also came up with a young man I know well, who also fits this description.  Many times I’ve said, “I’d love to have his strength, his faith.”

           Do you have someone in your life who you can count on in any situation; a friend, even a best friend?  I remember for years, as a young person, wanting a “best friend” and for whatever reason I never seemed to have one.  Oh, I had friends, all right.  I had lots of them.  But to say I had a best friend, just didn’t seem to be available to me.  My "best friend" came later in life.

            There’s a story about two sisters who had a discussion about friends, even best friends, that was especially difficult, even though they were both adults.  They were as different as day and night,  had different perspective on lives, different views on faith, attitudes, things and people in general.  In the discussion, the older sister asked if the two of them could be best friends.  The younger sister said, she would always love her as a sister, but best friend relationships aren’t chosen that way.  They are developed over time, nurtured on both sides and it grows naturally into the relationship it becomes.  This relationship of trust and love can stand the test of time and is the groundwork for sharing secrets, pain, growth, happiness, dreams and more. 

            We just passed Mother’s day.  It is said there is no greater love than that of a

mother. I won’t say a mother’s love is perfect, but if ever there was a love that gives with

all the heart is it in this arena.  Mother’s have the innate ability to love beyond measure,

even when they are misunderstood, treated badly, or seemingly forgotten.  The following

quote by Washington Irving seems to say it best:   

         “A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ― Washington Irving

            I guess what I’d like to be, is both the mother described by Washington Irving, and the best friend who demonstrates godly character, strong in her faith and an encouragement to others!

            Jesus, the Messiah, wants that kind of relationship with each of us. He loved, He served, cared for the poor, had compassion, understood pain and grief, knew the power of temptation, had the authority to forgive sins and was willing to go to the cross to offer a path of salvation.  His love is even greater than that of a mother.  His is a perfect love, without any faults or human frailties. 

            So I challenge you to look at your relationships.  Do you have a “best friend” who you can always count on?  Are you that kind of friend?  Do you know Jesus as your ultimate “best friend?”  I hope you do.  If not, I encourage you make Him your personal Savior and Best Friend right this moment.