It’s interesting, writing this blog: first thoughts came rapidly and I rushed to write them down lest I forget them. Now not so rapidly. I mentioned yesterday about life’s stories—I really would like to tell them all—many of which cannot and some should not ever be revealed (like, it’s bad enough to know the Lord knows them, right?) But, today what I write is about hope.
Incidentally, today’s SIMH is “An Innocent Man” by Billy Joel, which bears the words, “Some people see through the eyes of the old, Before they ever get a look at the young.” I get the point of the line, but it fails to consider that the “old” have seen the same things the young are seeing and understand much further the ramifications of what’s being seen, or felt, and know the harm or the hurt of the failed attempts or the missed opportunities.
Three of the best Bible lessons I ever heard taught address some of this: “Under the Circumstances”-E.C.Moore; “Lost Opportunities”-also Bro. Moore, and “The God of a Second Chance”—done about 35 years ago by Bro. Art Watkins. These were momentous learning situations for me. The two by Bro. Moore were done in a home bible class in Fairhope, AL. The one by Bro. Watkins was at a bible conference from which he had been absent for a couple of years and our family was at a low ebb.
These two men weren’t something special themselves, but the messages were. According to bible study (not just the existence of a bible in your home) these 3 subjects run through the pages from cover to cover. I’m very sorry I don’t have the transcripts of the messages to parcel out on a daily basis.
They were filled with hope. Hope that was based on still being alive after the Circumstances had gotten one down, the Opportunites had passed, and yet to know the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has not abandoned us. If we have a Savior in Christ, we ALWAYS have a Savior in Christ.
First, of course comes the knowledge that we have a Savior. That’s as simple as can be: Believe Christ died for your sins, was buried, but God raised Him from the dead for your justification. If you allow trust in that, you’ve got a Savior. No other rules, no activity in which to engage, nothing to join—if you belong to the Lord, what else do you need? Only (and second) His words. Hope springs eternal! and eternally!
Then comes that form of personal examination to see what you really think of where you’ve been, what you’ve done, and how you reacted. The bible has some almost bullet-like sayings on this. The first is about knowing who you are: “prove your own selves.” (Paul to the church.) The second is accusatory: “thou art the man” (Nathan to David.) and the next is yet: “I go the way of all flesh.” (more than once.) We are just flesh. We will make errors. We will have to fix some of them. And in the end, we will never get done. Only those who live long with few regrets or regrets resolved can honestly say, “I’m done, I want to go be with the Lord.”
So, we live on with the hope that today is another day to please the Lord and those we love most, filled with the expectations that we will rise above the “Circumstances,” not miss the “Opportunities,” and know full well, our God is giving us another “Chance.”
Thanks for reading, the Elder
the Elder's Blog 