A Joyful Melancholy

As dusk approaches, my little hummingbird rejoices in the remaining few minutes of the day.  After one last drink at the feeder, he rests on ‘his’ branch in a nearby apple tree-his nightly perch, where he watches the sun go down.  A feeling of melancholy sweeps over me, that place where loneliness and loveliness meet.  I am profoundly aware of the longing in my heart for my heavenly home, even as true joy not only anchors me in the present, but also prepares me for the future limitless joys of being with Christ.

It’s not as though I am preoccupied with death; on the contrary, I am preoccupied with life and the kingdom of heaven here and now. The apostle Paul says that this “kingdom of God is not about eating or drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”(Romans 14:17). Paul goes on to say: “For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.  So then let us pursue the things that make for peace and the building up of one another.” (14:18,19).

Why should I waste my time on things that, in light of eternity, have no value; indeed are downright destructive in nature?  This joy in the Holy Spirit precludes uncharitable judgment and jumping to wrong conclusions.  It won’t allow misery to rule the day or jealousy to rear its ugly green head, or let petty pronouncements get turned into gossip columns.  Enough already!  

Can I not find ways to encourage the saints, rather than discourage and tear people down?  Can I be more like my hummingbird, enjoying the everyday events that are so beautiful and so touching?  

In Philippians chapter four, verse eight, Paul pens these words: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

Such a bittersweet place to be; this living here, and yet waiting for Jesus to make all things new.   Henry van Dyke’s hymn, penned in 1907: “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” is a good antidote for a moping heart and a disquieted mind. A modern-day version of this beautiful hymn sums up my delight in God’s creation, my joy in knowing Christ as Saviour, and my desire to cultivate this fruit, this Holy- Spirit- joy.            

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJRuCWFmxMQ

June 16, 2015.

Flourishing Joy

Joy - it makes for a lovely name, bringing to mind delight and exuberance.  So infectious, one wonders why it is not written all over our faces; and yet I can almost taste the longing for it.  This next-in-line fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22), can seem so ethereal, so difficult to grasp and hold onto; so enchanting and yet so fleeting.  Is there anyone who portrays a deep and abiding joy? Don’t you want to be around them?  Don’t you want to drink from their well of satisfying joy?

A happy providence it is for me, that I have begun to study Philippians, the Apostle Paul’s letter that refers to joy on 16 different occasions.  Writing from a Roman prison, it is beyond coincidence that he and Silas had been imprisoned in Philippi, years before, because of the gospel. As it had been true for them in the Philippian jail, (where they prayed and sang hymns of praise-Acts 16: 25), so it was still true for Paul - joy was the antidote for its miserable opposite: misery.  He spoke of the Philippians as his joy and his crown, (4:1) and he encouraged them to rejoice in the Lord always (3:1; 4:4).  Had I been in Philippi the day his letter was read, I am so sure I would have wept for the sheer joy of knowing Paul’s immeasurable love for the church.

Joy, true joy, will not be hidden.  It will overflow from one’s life without a by- your- leave.   This Holy Spirit- infused gift is not about being an eternal optimist; it’s actually being an eternal realist. Recognizing that we live in a world that has its share of misery, we offer the joy of the gospel:

Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, 

 who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, 

 and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

It has often been asked by many, including me, why there is evil if God is such a good God.  Why didn’t He create a world without misery?   Why did He give Adam and Eve a choice about whether they would rejoice in Him, or not?  As Pastor Pernell shared this past Sunday, we wish God had taken that choice away from THEM, but we would not want Him to take away OUR choices!  Oh no, that would wreck all our plans about what we want, when we want it and how we will get it.  We are so much smarter and wiser than Adam and Eve, and we are very sure that we would not have chosen the same path of disobedience, given the same circumstances.  But wait! 

You would think we would, even now, always choose joy.  You would think our newspaper headlines and television screens; our chat lines and text messages would exude joy.   But it is not always so.   Romans chapter one dispels the myth of finding joy in worshiping anything but the true God, and oh, the powerful truths about God letting us go to the terribly depraved consequences of our sad choices; misery personified.

Couldn’t, wouldn’t God just make all the ugly stuff disappear?   If that were to happen, then we would ultimately be without existence, since we are the ones making the awful choices.  It’s not like God is telling the lie or pulling the trigger or betraying us.  On the contrary, He is the One betrayed; He is the One put to death; He is the One to whom we have lied- denying His very existence.   He Himself has offered the only real solution to the problem of evil.  Becoming incarnate, Jesus has made a way for deep joy to be possible here, and His return will be its ultimate consummation:

“And though you have not seen him, you love him, 

 and though you do not see him now, but believe in him, 

 you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.” (1 Peter 1:8)

William Lane Craig says:

 “So, paradoxically, even though the problem of evil is the greatest objection to the existence of God, at the end of the day God is the only solution to the problem of evil. If God does not exist, then we are lost without hope in a life filled with gratuitous and unredeemed suffering. God is the final answer to the problem of evil, for He redeems us from evil and takes us into the everlasting joy of an incommensurable good- fellowship with Himself.”  (http://www.reasonablefaith.org/the-problem-of-evil#ixzz3dBtyJZqm).

Joy.  We’ve known it.  We’ve tasted it.  As the Spirit brings this fruit to maturity in the Christian, it will sustain you with great hope, day-by-day, through sorrow and heartache; hour-by-hour through tears and rejoicing.  Joy in the month of June…let it flourish, Lord Jesus!

Sweet Simplicity

June 8, 2015.

Shoelaces

Ah, the simple solutions can be so easily missed.  Mom’s shoelaces were too long, and I kept forgetting to buy new ones that were a reasonable length.  It took a trip to Hawaii and a pair of scissors in my sister’s hands, to solve the problem.  Yes, I will admit that I did not even think of this as a solution; no, not even once, over an entire 365 days of Mom wearing those particular sneakers.   I was humbly reminded of the fact that I was looking in the wrong place, and an obvious answer was written all over those laces – cut them shorter, so Mom could be safer. 

Walking through Paul’s fruit of the Spirit, (Galatians 5:22), I am reminded  that God’s word has so many helpful solutions to everyday problems, and while shortening shoelaces is not one of them, loving well has a preeminent place.   And in case this gets missed, the fruit of the Spirit has an awful lot to do with community - it’s mighty hard to have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control all by one’s self. I suppose one could argue that this fruit can be applied to oneself- we should love ourselves, be kind and patient with ourselves, etc, but Paul concludes his exhortation with the words:  “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.” (Galatians 5:26).  That “one another” phrase is a key to the entire sweet list of spiritual fruit.

Just as I was looking in the wrong place for a solution to the shoelace problem, sometimes we are looking in the wrong place for answers to our spiritual problems.  Dwelling on the fruit of the Spirit has been refreshing for me - God has the best, and sometimes the simplest of solutions.  Go to His word; seek godly counsel; expect an answer.  Considering love, it has meant looking back to its first use in the Bible, describing human love.  We find the story of Abraham and Isaac, and God’s request for Abraham to give up his son, his only son, Isaac, the son he loved.  (Genesis 22:2).  What a picture of God’s amazing love for us- He gave up His Son, His only Son, the Son he loved, (Jesus), for us to be forgiven; for us to know the truest picture of love we could ever find.  This is the love mentioned in the fruit of the Spirit. 

I can apply this love; this self-sacrificing love, in everyday matters.  I can show love rather than gritting my teeth at an inconvenience in the grocery store, or choose love rather than hot anger when I am slighted, or let love guide my thoughts about those around me; people for whom Jesus died.  It is really that simple, without being simplistic.  My sister’s practical, simple, easy solution means my mom is much safer now, and I am excited to dive into joy, with love leading the way - next on Paul’s list.  Will you join me?

"It's alright. Let her keep them."

May 13, 2015

It was a lovely gesture; this giving of a flower to my Mom, on Mother’s Day.  There were half a dozen to choose from: blushing pinks, subtle yellows and flashy reds. Most, if not all of the moms had been in the morning church service, but we went in the evening, as I had been at work earlier in the day.   As Pastor Pernell presented the vase to Mom, for her to choose a flower, she just took the entire vase into her hands and said, ever so graciously and so happily: “Thank you.”

A moment I will not soon forget, I felt heat climbing up towards my face.  I tried to explain to Mom that she was to choose one.  Thankfully she did not hear me, with her nose in the sweet bouquet; nor did she hear the answer to my unspoken question:   ”It’s alright; let her keep them.” 

Even now, I have tears in my eyes.  Mom was blushing, and her cheeks matched the hue of the flower in her hand.  I could hear church family smiling; no, they were not laughing at her, they were smiling.  Incredible to me, that we could all share in that precious moment; it felt like a foretaste of heaven, and I am so very thankful.  Oh, the kindness of the Lord, not to let me spoil it with a feeling of embarrassment; there was no shame to bear and only love to be seen and heard.

Over the next few months, I hope to focus my heart and my mind on the fruit of the Spirit, giving a month of meditation for each one, in the order in which Paul has written:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law.”  (Galatians 5:22, 23)

How timely it is that May, this month of new beginnings, has love as its focus.  

Poiema

May 8,2015.

Mom and I have been working on art projects.  When I first arrived home to live with her, she decided she wanted to paint her cat, Angel.  At 89 years of age, she did need a bit of help with angling the box “just so,” in which Angel was crouching.  Other family members added some shading and texture so now it hangs on our wall, and it’s a sweet reminder to me of what Mom can do.

At 90 years of age, she decided to paint a picture of the home where she was raised.  We only live two kilometres from there so we drove over and took some pictures.  This time around, she needed more help with depth perception, colour choices and keeping the windows straight, (which was my job but I won’t be hired any time soon)!  She wanted me to add my signature to hers, at the bottom of the painting.  I told her: “Not this time around, Mom.  It’s mostly your work.”

Now, at 91, she has started a new project.  Painting Evangeline, the heroine of Longfellow’s poem, is a labour of love as Mom is 100% Acadian, (and so am I, for that matter)!  We found a simple drawing, but Mom has not been able to keep her focus.  By the time she looks at the picture and then turns to her easel, she loses her moorings and ends up erasing everything and starting again.  Now, I have picked up the pencil, and we are doing a work of art, a handiwork; together.  The Greek word, “poiema,” has the idea of this “handiwork,” and Paul writes it into an amazing verse about Christ working in us so that we can then work out of love, for Him:

“For we are His workmanship, (poiema), created in Christ Jesus for good works,

which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

We get our English word, “poem,” from this Greek word and it is so- our lives are a poem, a work of art, written by God and yet we are implicated in the writing of it; we as believers have choices to make.  Will we participate in the work God has already prepared beforehand, for us to do, or will we relinquish that precious gift and let the poem be an unfinished work of art?  Paul ends the phrase by admonishing us to “walk in them;” be busy at the work you have been called to do.

Mom and I will both sign the painting, when all is said and done, and I wouldn’t miss out on that for all the world.

Even though I am in a bittersweet frame of mind, thinking back to Mom’s beautiful paintings over the years and looking now at this canvas filled with my feeble strokes, I am grateful, as we are creating this poiema together.   I have been reminded that the canvas of my own heart has been transformed by the power of the gospel; a work of art attributed to the Creator of the universe.  I don't intend to miss out on the unfolding of the rest of the painting, on the rest of the poiema, for all the world.