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There are few words in the English language that change a person quite like the word cancer. For those of us who have heard that word spoken in relation to ourselves and our condition, the moment it was uttered is branded in our memories.
Mortality rushes in like a flood with fear riding the crest of the wave. For a split second every muscle in your body tightens and the resulting nausea feels like you just stepped off of a roller coaster after having a seven course meal. This is quickly followed by disbelief at what you are hearing. Once that subsides an odd feeling of “Well, now that’s interesting!” creeps in along with a sense of helpless inevitability. At least that is what my heart, mind and spirit experienced when I sat down in my doctor’s office several years ago to hear the words, “Now look what you have done Tony, you have gone and gotten yourself cancer!” I remained suspended for a time after the doctor's visit within a confused cloud of self-pity, anger, fear and disbelief. I wondered what I had to done to deserve this. What great sin had I committed that brought on this calamity? I was a mess for a time; but all good things must come to an end, and eventually I was able to think rationally again and consider my plight through reasoned eyes. My reason told me that it was simply the luck of the draw. After all the body is a mechanism, beautifully made, but destined to die in the long run. This cancer of mine was simply the first shot over the bow of my life. It got my attention. I remember finally getting to the point where praying seemed like a good idea, and every night I prayed for the same thing: an explanation. To this day I have yet to receive one, but explanation or not, I did receive a message: a message that to me was just as direct and clear as if Christ were sitting across the kitchen table from me. The simple message was “Trust Me.” A simple request to be sure, but honoring such a request when you are preparing to go under the knife knowing that to awaken means a drastically changed life and life style is difficult to be sure. I determined to do my best, though. I will freely admit that after the surgery, the recovery and side effects made trusting Christ more difficult than I could have imagined; but I soldiered on and trust I did. He pulled me through. Thanks be to God! I don’t intend to belabor the point of trust too much in this writing. Suffice it to say that trusting in Christ is not always easy. Laying your burdens down at His feet, while sounding good in theory, is difficult in practice; but for those of us who call ourselves Christians, such trust is essential. Difficult times are part of life. You cannot escape them. They will be here just as sure as the sun will rise in the morning and avoiding them is simply not an option most of the time. So if avoiding difficult circumstances is not feasible, we had best turn to the God of circumstance and trust that He knows better than we which way to turn and which way to go. As we enter into a new year with all of its unknowns, remember that the God of circumstances has promised to never to leave you orphaned. He will be there every step of the way. On the other hand He has never promised to keep you from the challenges of life. It seems that often He allows a hurdle to cross your path with the aim of seeing just how well you will vault over it. For it is in the vaulting that the faith is strengthened and the resolve tempered. That being said, Oswald Chambers once wrote that God “never has museums[1],” but rather His life is manifested in the lives of his children. In other words, talk is cheap. It is in the day to day challenges that your faith is strengthened and displayed. It is in the ordinary stuff of life where our ability to trust in Christ is best demonstrated to those around us and where the greatest advancements of the Kingdom take place. The big challenges are made easier if in the small ones we first rely. So as this new year dawns, let us all resolve to trust in Christ in all things, the great and small alike. Let us resolve to live out our Christianity in all aspects of life so that Christ’s Kingdom is seen by all and His love and peace are not only spoken of, but lived and shared. Love, Pastor Tony [1] [1] Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Uhrichsville, OH. Barbour and Company Inc., 1935), 98.
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If Mary and Joseph were to arrive Friday night in Gilbert, tired, lonely, penniless and pregnant; what would we do? Would we see them and walk on by? Would we pray to God above that they bypass our houses and get help somewhere else, maybe down to Lexington or over to Leesville? Would we send them down the road or to the barn? Would we help or hurt?
I have often wondered what my reaction would be if Jesus Christ were to be born in a barn down the road. What would I do if a couple of farm hands told me that God was down there asleep in a feeding trough, or perhaps that the infant Son of God and Mary and Joseph had set up camp down by the river for the night? Knowing me, skepticism would be my response. I would more than likely figure that those fellas simply had a bit too much to drink and let it go; because, let’s face it; it makes no sense for the Son of God to come to earth that way. Above and beyond that it truly makes no sense that He would have anything to do with the likes of me. I am selfish and self absorbed. Seldom do I even notice my neighbor in need, much less help. Seldom do I do what the Old Testament law requires, much less the Law of Christ. My love is limited, to say the least. I love my family. I love a few other folks, and I love myself. I try to love the rest of the world, but it’s awfully difficult sometimes. Yet with my limited understanding of love, I am supposed to believe that God Almighty loves me enough to send His Son to save me. I find that almost impossible to believe, and yet deep down in my innermost being, I know that that is exactly what transpired. Through His birth in that stable all those years ago, I have been assured that God loves me enough to die for me, a fella no better than a shepherd. I can’t believe it, but I must. I cannot understand it, but I can accept it. I cannot fathom that much love, but I must embrace it if I am to become the Child of God for whom Christ came to this earth. The birth of Christ is wonderful, beautiful and divine in its simplicity, because it demonstrates to you and to me that God is a God who loves all: no matter what the station, no matter what the color, no matter what the gender, no matter what the sin. God is a God who loves us enough to send His one and only Son to teach us how to live, to teach us how to love, to give us life eternal in Heaven, and peace and purpose here on earth. The beauty of the birth of Christ Jesus is not found in the circumstances of Christ’s arrival on this earth. No matter how we try to gloss over them, they were not beautiful. They were not lovely. They were humble and tired and dirty. The beauty and fascination of the birth of Christ is that He was born at all. The beauty and allure of the birth of Christ is that in spite of our rebellious, sinful, down right awful nature; God still loves us and yearns with all of His heart to bring us back home. He longs to rescue us from the grip of sin and Satan and to give us a joy filled life eternal. That is the meaning of Christmas, and that is what I pray that each and every one of us enjoy. I pray that you have accepted the love and forgiveness revealed by the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ. For within that love is found true life. What would we do if Mary and Joseph were to arrive Friday night in Gilbert, tired, lonely, penniless and pregnant? Would we give the Lord a welcome worthy of the Son of God, or would we send Him down the road? If the truth be told, we would more than likely send Him down the road; afraid and unwilling to get involved. Not wanting to be disturbed. And what would Christ do? He would ignore the humiliation, ignore the loneliness, and ignore the pain. He would find somewhere to enter into this world of ours: perhaps in a barn, perhaps in a homeless shelter, perhaps on the street. No matter how long or difficult the road, He would find a way. Love always finds a way. Love, Pastor Tony |
AuthorTony Rowell Archives
December 2024
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