The story is told that a desert brother told Abba Poemen (Egypt approximately AD340-450) he had heard something distressing about one of the others. Poemen asked, “Is it true?”

The brother answered that the source was trustworthy. The Abba did not agree. “The one who told you is not reliable. If he were, he would never have passed it on to you. When God heard cries from Sodom, he did not believe it until he had gone down and seen it with his own eyes.”

Then the brother confirmed that he had seen it with his own eyes also, to which Poemen referred to a parable Jesus told.

“Stop judging so that you will not be judged. Otherwise, you will be judged by the same standard you use to judge others. The standards you use for others will be applied to you. So why do you see the piece of sawdust in another believer’s eye and not notice the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to another believer, ‘Let me take the piece of sawdust out of your eye,’ when you have a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye. Then you will see clearly to remove the piece of sawdust from another believer’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-5 God’s Word Translation©).

Abba Macarius (Egypt AD300-390) lived by the mercy of God with such integrity that he ignored the faults of others as though blind and was deaf when someone slandered another.

Defamation is obviously delicious to swallow, but it rots the hearer from the inside out. So the example of these two great teachers should show us to zip our lips when anyone would cast aspersions and refuse to swallow slander or talk about tittle-tattle.

“Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly God’s compassion isn’t through! They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 CEB

A little boy, named David, had come to the home with his kindergarten class. He stood in front of the old man who introduced himself. “My name is David.”
The little boy replied, “So is mine.”
The man’s eyes opened widely and his face shone as though ignited by a holy fire. “No way!” was all he could say.
He was answered with a nod.
The man began to tell his same-named visitor about life on the farm where he was born. The cows and pigs and chickens, and of course, the border collie Rowdy who not only herded the cows for milking, but rescued David and his older brother, Dennis, from snakes in the long grass.
The little David crept even closer as the story went on until big David said, “Would you like to sit on my knee?”
The little one said nothing, but climbed up on the senior’s lap. “May I put my arm around you?”
The little one nodded. The story paused.
“Thank you,” said the almost teary-eyed man. “You know, I haven’t had a hug for years, because when I’m in this wheelchair people can’t reach, and so they wave, or touch my hand. That is nice, but sometimes I just want to be lost in a hug.”
With no hesitation the little boy from kindergarten reached up and shared a hang-on-tight hug, settling his head upon the man’s shoulder, breathing gently.
It was only minutes later that the teacher came along and called David to rejoin the group of young students gathering at the front of the room. He slowly unwound from the hug, pausing to look the happy old man in the face. They exchanged smiles. Then David slid down from the wheelchair and headed for his classmates. Suddenly he stopped, turned, and stood looking at the man again as though a high-speed line of communication was transmitting between them.
The teacher called once again, and he turned as though he was leaving the world’s biggest candy store
The students turned into a choir and sang three songs, ended by short words of thanks from the sponsor and the teacher. As the little learners began to file out the door David split off from the queue and ran to the wheelchair David. He stopped and put a hand on each knee and looked up with sparkling eyes and beaming face at the man sitting there. The man placed each of his hands on the little limbs that were touching him.
The teacher called David to order, who gracefully turned to go, carrying with him a piece of the man’s heart, and leaving a piece of his to fill the gap.
+++++++
This I saw in a vision today, and I share it because of the wondrous things it says about our loving God.

God is love. So we are told to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Luke 10:27 God’s Word Translation©).

This means we are to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit those who are sick or in jail (Matthew 25:34-36), and to protect the widow and the orphan (James 1:27). Nowhere does it say ignore and slander those trapped in sin. Nowhere is there a condition on who to help. Yet too often church people heap contempt on prostitutes, LGBTQ people, the homeless, anyone who doesn’t agree with our views on religion and politics, and anyone else who “gets in our way”.

No, we hate the sinners more than we hate the sin! Why? Because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), including us. If we could hate sin we would convict ourselves, and we don’t. We don’t have time. We spend all our time condemning others and playing God instead of loving like God.

Besides, love costs too much. It will cost us our pride, our personal convenience, and even our life. Condemning others seems the easier way, but the cost of that is eternal punishment (Romans 6:23)!

Jesus did not die on the cross so you could decide whom you will love! Or so you can justify your gossip and slander.

This strikes close to home these days. We have grandchildren who have chosen the road of sinfulness paved with loose living, contempt for parents, lying and anger, and more. However, we still love them with all our hearts.

If we saw sinners as our children and grandchildren, dearly loved, we could hate what sin does to people, but we could also pray for them with tears, show the face of love and make opportunities to express the love of God to people trapped in sin. We would sacrifice ourselves to be a light in the world and not flame-throwers.

We are not the only ones experiencing this. What I see in our present circumstances is a powerful way to talk about what will change people’s lives, namely, the love of God which Jesus showed to death (and life) and which now lives through us humbled by our own pain, and our faith that refuses to give up on anyone.

“The Lord isn’t slow to do what he promised, as some people think. Rather, he is patient for your sake. He doesn’t want to destroy anyone but wants all people to have an opportunity to turn to him and change the way they think and act” (2 Peter 3:9 God’s Word Translation©).

I love my wife, and my family, and clan.

When extra pain enters our world an extra weight falls upon me. I care.

Today two things were given to me. The first I know and just needed a reminder, “Casting all your care upon God Who cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) is a decision and an action.

The second thing is that I love my family, but no matter how deep and wide that love is, it cannot compare to the love which Jesus has for each of those in my love bubble. The love I express falls short, and so in order to love them as much as they deserve, I have to love with God’s love, not my limited human love. It is human arrogance that says I will love and that will help. It simply adds a load, however if I let God’s Spirit love through me, it not only is bigger love, but Jesus is bearing some of the load for love and lightens my own weight and allows me to focus more on The One Who Is Love and less on my caring and, often, inability to cause a positive result with the ones around me.

Human love resides primarily in emotions. If I let God love I can care more deeply, more effectively act for the loved one, and not be drained by emotions that are usually magnified by seeing the pain and not having a ready fix.

At this moment I need this lesson to be carved on my soul. It is the only way to get through.

There is a common story across religions of humans wanting to be gods resulting in rebellion, pride and division. Still today there are people who claim to be spiritual, but live with a lust for personal power, not service. They show no respect to anyone (despite deceptive words to the contrary) and use personal perspective to judge everything and everybody. And they are so wrapped up in their infinite wisdom and unshakable “rightness” they have no room for empathy or humility, despite verbal claims of loyalty to these principles.

So, after decades of experience (including much formal training) and a history of victimization based on my race, gender, religious affiliation and economic status I have something to say:

I chose, and still choose, heavenly love. I remain loyal to The Almighty, not to any religious institution, dogma or doctrine. Service to Creator and creation costs everything, but I would rather be tormented as a child of The One Who Made me than have an inflated public image of importance and power. I will continue to confirm the accuracy of my observations of others before I complain about, or condemn, people. Reconciliation with the Family who share this Earth is far better than humiliating others for personal advancement or “proving” superiority of personal ideology. To alter a famous line from a famous poem (“Paradise Lost”), “I would rather be the lowliest servant in the household of The Divine One than a governor in the world of evil and hate.”

I pray I would start hearing people tell me stories of humble collegiality instead of betrayal and self-aggrandizement. I would be filled with a soul-joy if I met more people who thought social responsibility was a higher ideal than personal rights and opinions.

The life I have chosen is to follow, without religious trappings, the Jesus of the Bible: Saviour and Only Judge.

Again today I heard a preacher talk about how hard it is during this pandemic. With the Stay at Home Order, people are becoming impatient, staring at the four walls.

Then we listened to our own Pastor who asked when was the last time anyone was so awestruck by God that they fell on their face in humility and fear and adoration.

God wants to bring the Church to its knees in humble obedience, but instead Christians are standing tall and shaking their fists at government, police, bylaw officers, even bishops and other leaders who encourage we live out care for our community and help to stop the spread of the virus that is killing people. And, yes, at God for not magically taking all this away because we told the Almighty Creator to do so – pronto!

I cannot be the only one who sees God at work in mighty ways, and making it possible for believers to grow (and to name only a tiny few examples:

1. I am making a worship video every week, and that was not even on my radar before all this happened;
2. tiny congregations streaming onto the internet and people around the world being touched;
3. in our own congregational online worship we had a couple from another city lead one of the songs, unheard of when things were “normal”.

I do not want a return to “normal”! I want us to have learned about getting out into the world, of sharing in ways that most Christians hadn’t even considered.

This pandemic didn’t happen “accidentally”. The western Church, especially, has become lukewarm, at best. Where is our obsession with Good News, servant heart, humble community and practice of the deep, God-like love shown by Jesus?

To those who are praying that the “suffering” stop now, learn from it, let The Spirit teach us wondrous things, let us once again become beacons of light in a world deep in the shadows of despair.

“We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5 God’s Word Translation©).

Sure, there are things I would like to do, like visit with family, but why should my selfish desire be the focus of my waking hours. Enough self-centred self-pity, demand to be in control human thinking.

I choose to delight in knowing God is at work, that I can protect people around me by following public health orders, that I have more time to pray for others than ever before, that I can encourage others.

As a family we are in deep grief, and that is just the time to show my love for others. I will not act like a devil in brazen disregard for others and with a lust for personal satisfaction above all social responsibilities.

I will never bring glory to God, show the love of Jesus or live by the wise counsel of The Spirit if all I want is what I want.

God inspires faith. I will trust God.
God gives hope. I will live in hope.
God is love. I will love others more than myself.
“And the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Psalm 94 is disturbing to me.

To modernists it is disturbing because in their arrogance they refuse to allow God to act against sin. For them God can only be gentle love and consolation.

That is not what disturbs me, however. What a heart-breaking poem Psalm 94 is because the wicked do wickedly and have no sense of remorse, even claiming that God doesn’t see what they do because there is no God except their power over others.

Personally I have been persecuted and treated with contempt for justice by those who have the power to do just that. Even years later these people show no remorse; they continue living like they can do no wrong because they can do what they do and, so far, God has not sent cataclysmic punishment upon them.

Without remorse there is no repentance and so there is no forgiveness which means their eternal condition is at stake.

God continues to show that racist bigotry, gender hatred and economic oppression or any evil are against the very fabric of the universe. The power-abusers don’t care, and as Jesus observed even from the cross, “Forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”.

In a long story in Matthew 25 Jesus points out that those who show sympathy, empathy and compassion will receive the blessing of The Creator, while those who are heartless, self-centred and malicious will also receive payback in kind, with eternal consequences.

If we steal from someone (reputation or property) or kill someone (through hate) or destroy someone through emotional vandalism we act as Apollyon (Abaddon), The Evil One.

We can never consider that we are right if we win against someone. Our call is never to be right, but to do right. And if we do right it will cost us something or build someone else up.

So have you been in a debate or argument and made someone look foolish in the eyes of others, or competed and took everything and left someone standing emotionally naked? Then repent and apologize.

Eternity is awaiting, for blessing or suffering. What you cause here is what you can expect there.

PSALM 94

1
O Lord, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, appear!
2
Arise, O Judge of the earth.
Give arrogant people what they deserve.
3
How long, O Lord, will wicked people triumph?
How long? vengeance, appear!

⁴ They ramble.
They speak arrogantly.
All troublemakers brag about themselves.
⁵ They crush your people, O Lord.
They make those who belong to you suffer.
⁶ They kill widows and foreigners, and they murder orphans.
⁷ They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t even pay attention to it.”

⁸ Pay attention, you stupid people!
When will you become wise, you fools?
⁹ God created ears.
Do you think he can’t hear?
He formed eyes.
Do you think he can’t see?
¹⁰ He disciplines nations.
Do you think he can’t punish?
He teaches people.
Do you think he doesn’t know anything?
¹¹ The Lord knows that people’s thoughts are pointless.

¹² O Lord, blessed is the person
whom you discipline and instruct from your teachings.
¹³ You give him peace and quiet from times of trouble
while a pit is dug to trap wicked people.

¹⁴ The Lord will never desert his people
or abandon those who belong to him.
¹⁵ The decisions of judges will again become fair,
and everyone whose motives are decent will pursue justice.

¹⁶ Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will stand by my side against troublemakers?
¹⁷ If the Lord had not come to help me,
my soul would have quickly fallen silent ⌞in death⌟.

¹⁸ When I said, “My feet are slipping,”
your mercy, O Lord, continued to hold me up.
¹⁹ When I worried about many things,
your assuring words soothed my soul.

²⁰ Are wicked rulers who use the law to do unlawful things
able to be your partners?
²¹ They join forces to take the lives of righteous people.
They condemn innocent people to death.
²² The Lord has become my stronghold.
My God has become my rock of refuge.
²³ He has turned their own wickedness against them.
He will destroy them because of their sins.
The Lord our God will destroy them.

Our second daughter, as a newborn, would let no one carry her or comfort her except my wife. This went on for a little while and then I refused to let it go on any longer because my wife was wearing out. Besides, I was her Father.

So I picked her up. She screamed. After awhile it turned to crying. A little later it transformed into a whimper. Finally she went to sleep. After that I could care for her.

During this ordeal of behaviour modification my wife had to leave the house. A nursing Mother not only has an emotional reaction to her crying baby, but also a physical one.

I was just sitting here remembering that incident because a life event triggered a different memory, and this flashed into my mind afterwards.

It is for me a picture of how humans treat God. We complain when God reaches out to care for us, because we want it the way we want it and there is no compromise. So God performs a transformation to open our hearts to the mothering of our Creator, and it is sometimes an ordeal. (Imagine, we fight being cared for by the Creator of the universe Whose love transcends all limits!)

What my wife endured reminds me of how we look on at God working and we judge it and condemn it and blaspheme our dear Saviour because we do not understand what is going on, yet in our humanity we assume we are all-knowing and can stand in judgment against the eternal, just and infinitely fair Judge.