The Main Thing

As I have noted before, I receive a daily devotional from a pastor friend of mine, Larry Lilly. As I read today’s letter, I was struck by this quotation: “Keeping the main thing, the main thing, is the main thing.” In support of this thought, Pastor Lilly cited the words of our Lord to Joseph and Mary, when He was but a lad of twelve years old.

Luke 2:49  And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

Joseph and Mary together with the child Jesus had gone up to Jerusalem to keep the annual Passover. When Joseph and Mary returned home, Jesus stayed behind. Joseph and Mary assumed Jesus was among the kinsfolk and acquaintance. Being about a day into the return trip, Joseph and Mary sought Jesus and could not find Him. They then went back to Jerusalem and after three days found Him in the temple engaged in questions and answers with the doctors of the law, who were astonished at our young Lord’s understanding and answers. The above passage is our Lord’s response to His mother’s inquiry when she found Him.

Luke 2:48  And when they (Joseph and Mary) saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

When Joseph and Mary found Jesus, He was in the temple dealing with the matters of the law, which would have been the topic of discussion in the temple. He was busying Himself in matters of doctrine. This He called “my Father’s business.” It is obvious that He attached a greater priority to this than to the sorrow of Joseph and Mary. They should have understood that He had to be about His Father’s business. Jesus was not lost. He was right where He belonged.

Now the thing that leaps out at me in this passage is that our Lord attached more importance to His Father’s business than to the concern and feelings of Joseph and Mary for Him. For Him, the Father’s business was the main thing. He would not allow the concerns and emotions of His earthly family to get in the way of that main thing. Couple this together with the fact that His Father’s business was dealing with the law of God in the house of God. Our Lord put the doctrine of the word of God ahead of pacifying the feelings of family members.

There are many today that think the main thing is being concerned about people’s feelings. For our Lord, the main thing, the Father’s business, is the doctrine of God. If we would follow the example of our Lord, we would never let pacifying the feelings of people come ahead of the Father’s business. There is certainly a lesson in this for pastors who spend more time stroking people’s feelings than engaging in dialogue and study of the doctrine of God.

So the challenge for today is to identify the main thing, the Father’s business for you. And let the main thing be keeping that main thing the main thing. Believe me, it’s a challenge!

Taken, Healed, and Let Go

For my daily Bible reading I am going through the gospel of Luke. Today I read chapter 14, which opens with an account of our Lord healing a certain man, “which had the dropsy.” The dreadful disease of dropsy is characterized by the abnormal collection of fluids in the cavities or tissues of the body. This results in unsightly swelling and no doubt in great discomfort.

In other accounts of the healing miracles of Christ, we read of the sick coming to Him or calling out to Him themselves for healing. Or we read of others asking Christ to heal their sick. But in this incident there is no account that either the man with the dropsy or anyone else asked Christ to heal him. Rather, our Lord took the initiative and healed the man without being asked to do so. Here is the account of the healing:

Luke 14:4 And he took him, and healed him, and let him go.

Let us analyze each verb phrase in this passage. First consider the phrase “and he took him.” All of the miracles of Christ were miracles of salvation. In this case, the man was saved from dropsy. We can learn a great deal about the salvation of God by studying the miracles of Christ. Observe that this salvation occurred when the Lord “took him.” Salvation is more a matter of the Lord taking us to save us than of our taking the Lord as our Saviour.

Then consider the phrase “and healed him.” Whenever we are healed, whether it be by a miraculous intervention, as was the case here, or whether it be by means of nutrition, medicine, surgery, or rest, the Lord is the One Who heals us.

Exodus 15:26  …I am the LORD that healeth thee.

No means of healing sickness can be effective apart from the blessing of God. Although Hezekiah was recovered from his life-threatening sickness by means of a plaister of figs, Hezekiah praised the Lord for the healing (Isaiah 38:15-21). And this not only applies to the healing of the body. It also applies to the healing of the heart and soul.

Psalms 147:3  He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

Psalms 41:4  I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.

This brings us to the phrase “and let him go.” After the Lord took this man and healed him, He let him go. And that is what the Lord does when He heals you. He lets you go. Now the question is: Being let go by the Lord, where and how will you go? Has the Lord healed you from a sickness and restored your strength? Has your heart been broken by grief or loss, and has the Lord healed you by His comforting word? Has your soul been burdened with guilt over sin, and has the Lord healed you through His pardoning mercy and restoring grace? Has your heart been poisoned by anger and bitterness? Has the Lord enabled you to give up that anger and find instead the healing that comes through forgiveness, reconciliation, and acceptance of things you cannot change? Now that you are healed and let go, where and how will you go? Will you go back to sin and foolishness? Or will you go forward following Him? May it be your happy lot to do as blind Bartimæus did when the Lord Jesus healed him and let him go.

Mark 10:52  And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

I close with these sobering words addressed to those whom the Lord has saved and let go:

Psalms 85:7  Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.
8  I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Thanksgiving Day in Retrospect

Last week’s meditation was designed to prepare my readers for Thanksgiving Day. This week I would like to share with you some of what I experienced on Thanksgiving Day. For me, this was one of the best I have ever been part of.

The day was spent with our family, who live in this area. The only one missing was our newly acquired Canadian son-in-law, Joshua. He had to work. Thanksgiving Day in Canada is celebrated in October. Having just taken a week off for his honeymoon, he couldn’t afford to take yet another day off.

We all gathered at the home of our daughter Caroline. As dinner was being prepared, some of us enjoyed playing games together. But as things rolled along, the television was turned on to the football game. I sat with my sons-in-law, Kevin and Jared, to try to watch some of the game. But as I did so I began to seethe inwardly. Here we were all together as a family and we were being diverted by the television. I resented those football players charging into the midst of my family and stealing our attention away from one another. I was not amused by the characteristic racket of a football game accompanied by the noisy and often ridiculous commercials. When the ladies announced that dinner was ready, I said in a tone that I am not proud of: “Let’s turn off that television and give thanks to God.” By that point I was upset and it was evident. I emphasized the word God with the intent of placing Him in stark contrast to the American icon of football and television in general. It is not that I think it is a sin to enjoy a football game. But did we have to do it then, on Thanksgiving Day, when we were together as a family? Does television have to invade everything? I then proceeded to explain to all that I had envisioned this to be a day for us to enjoy each other. We are all together on such few occasions, that it seemed to me a shame to let television interfere with this opportunity to interface with each other. When I explained why I was upset about the television, the wishes of the patriarch were understood and respected. The television was turned off never to be heard from again for the rest of our time together. Thanks be to God! In hindsight, I should have calmly explained my position when the game was first turned on. I would have saved myself all that inner turmoil that finally boiled over.

As for the food, the women of my family outdid themselves. It was a rich repast. During dinner we engaged in lively conversation. You get that with the Motts. I think it must be that rich French blood that courses through our veins. Kevin and Jared do not have our gift of gab. Therefore, they quietly ate and endured the rest of us with exemplary Christian patience. Had Joshua been there, he would have been a major participant in the conversation. But then he is also French. After dinner, the grandchildren got to open some presents that Opa and Grandma had brought. Linda and I had purchased a few cheap items from the Dollar Chain and had wrapped them. Each grandchild had a package. And, no, we were not celebrating an alternative Christmas! So don’t even go there. I am fully prepared to bury you with arguments if you try it.

As the ladies cleared away the main courses of the dinner and prepared for dessert, my sons-in-law and I enjoyed a card game called Phase 10. I won every hand leaving Jared not far behind me with Kevin trailing in the rear. For me this was a payback. My sons-in-law and I had recently gone bowling together. Kevin bowled outstandingly. Jared did well, too, but Kevin far outshined us both. Kevin used to bowl in a league. He was glad to find that he had not lost his touch. Kevin’s score so far exceeded mine that the words of Job occur to me as an apt description of my defeat: “I have…defiled my horn in the dust” (Job 16:15). So, needless to say, I was quite enjoying beating him in a game. You see, I stand a chance of winning if it is a game of pure chance. But if the game requires athletic skill, then count me out.

But this is where it really became good. After the dessert, we all gathered around the table for a hymn sing. My wife and I raised our daughters to love music. They all took piano lessons and learned to read music. We are able to harmonize as a family and have sung together ever since we have been a family. I am pleased to report that my grandchildren are learning music as well. They, too, chimed in as we sang. On a couple of songs we adults refrained from singing on the chorus and just listened to the children sing. What a blessing that is! Then we had a time for telling things that we are thankful for. My grandson Ashton said: “I am glad the devil is going to hell because I don’t like him.” I quite agree with you, Ashton. I don’t like him either. My grandson Justin thanked God that he is a child of God and that he will go to heaven someday. My mother expressed thankfulness for how the Lord has been with her throughout all her days. Scarcely restraining the tears, she then pointed to her family as one of her chief blessings adding also the blessing of her church family. My son-in-law Kevin expressed gratitude for the deep friendship that he has with his brother-in-law Jared, to which Jared agreed. I was touched to hear Kevin so openly and unashamedly expressing his affection for his brother-in-law. There is nothing unmanly about men expressing their love for one another. It is such a blessing to see the in-laws in my family getting along so well. Then my little granddaughter Rebekah expressed her thankfulness for cups. Yes, you read it correctly: cups. Now you don’t often hear cups listed when people are counting their blessings. But light was shed on the subject when my grandson Nicklas afterwards prayed. He joined his sister in thanking God for cups. Here were his words to the Almighty: “Thank you for cups to drink out of so we don’t have to sink-drink, because that is disgusting.” Of course, others of us had to subdue a chuckle. But when you think about it, cups are indeed something to be thankful for. Imagine what life would be without them. When my turn came, I thanked God for the wonderful resource for joy and companionship that I have within my own family to offset the hardship and loneliness that often goes with being a minister. We had a time of prayer with some of the grandchildren praying. I prayed what I thought was to be the concluding prayer. But my grandson Brendan expressed a desire to pray at the end. Toward the close of his prayer he thanked God that even though it was dark and rainy outside, we were all inside laughing and that it was sunny in our hearts. That crowned the day! And I believe everyone was truly glad that we had turned off the football game. We did not need the outside world to entertain us after all.

As we parted for the day, I went away with this recurring thought: This was how Thanksgiving Day was meant to be celebrated. Thank you for taking a little time to visit with the Mott family. Ya’ll come again now!

Psalms 136:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Thanksgiving

Today’s meditation will be a simple one. But some of our biggest problems arise from overlooking the simple matters of our most holy faith.

This coming Thursday our nation will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Unfortunately, for many, if not most, it will be a day centered on eating and watching football with little, if any, regard given to thanking God. Let me encourage it to be otherwise with you.

First of all, giving thanks to God is just plain a good thing to do.

Psalms 92:1  It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:

Since it is a good thing to do, thanksgiving will make your life better. The word better is the comparative form of the word good. So if you add something good to your life, you have made your life better than it was before you added that good thing. This is simple logic, but it is profound in its implications.

Secondly, consider this passage as it relates to our subject.

Colossians 1:11  Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

Observe that the believer who is strengthened with all might according to God’s glorious power is a believer who is giving thanks unto the Father. Now to be strengthened with all might, and that according to God’s glorious power, is to be strong in the greatest way that a human being can be strong. Show me a thankful Christian and I will show you a person of strong character. His body may be weak and sickly and his possessions few, but he is strong. Also notice that God’s strength leads to all patience and longsuffering. A strong believer can suffer patiently for a long time and still be thankful. To suffer patiently is to suffer with calmness and composure, to suffer without losing it, as we say. And he can suffer with all patience, that is, with God’s strength he can suffer with all the patience he will need for as long as he needs it. Furthermore, a believer strengthened with God’s strength can suffer with joyfulness. His sufferings do not take anything away from his joy. His joy is full. And that his joy is full is explained by the fact that while suffering he is giving thanks. For thanksgiving is the companion of joy as the following passages show:

Psalms 95:2  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Psalms 97:12  Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

Isaiah 51:3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

Jeremiah 30:19  And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.

Also consider the following passage as it relates to thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

This verse connects being thankful with letting the peace of God rule in our hearts. Ask yourself this question: Is your heart restless, anxious, or fearful? If so, then the peace of God is not ruling in your heart. If this is the case with your heart, check your thanksgiving. Just how thankful are you, that is, how full of thanks are you? If you are thankful, the peace of God will hold sway in your heart. Because, you see, when you are thankful, you are focused on God and His goodness. This puts whatever troubles you have into perspective; it scales them down in size so that they do not loom so largely over you. When this happens, then God’s peace takes over and calms the heart. In other words, it rules or has the commanding influence in the heart.

So let me close by joining the Psalmist in giving you this exhortation:

Psalms 100:4  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Empty Nest

God willing, my last daughter will wed on next Saturday, 14 November. For my wife Linda and me, this is a great turning point. We have had a child in our home for thirty-three years. That is about to end. We now come to that experience that is known as “the empty nest.” So please suffer a father to pour out his heart.

As I muse over the last thirty-three years, I have a lot of mixed feelings. Like most parents I have my share of regrets. If I had it to do over again, there are things I would definitely have done differently. Living day and night with me, you can believe that my daughters have seen my bad side big time. But overall I have to say that I tried to be a good father. To date, all my faults notwithstanding, my girls all love me dearly and respect me highly. The things they say to me in cards for Father’s Day and my birthday often convey their deep appreciation for the lessons I taught them. But more than the cards, I look at the lives they live and that, above all, is the greatest gift that they can give to me. This gives me the satisfaction of knowing that I did something right with those precious lives that God bequeathed to my care.

When my first daughter married, we came home from the wedding only to find a letter from her on our bed. We read the letter and released a flood of tears. The letter expressed her love and appreciation for us and all we had done for her. Of all that she wrote, the only thing that stands out in my memory is the special mention she made of appreciating the model that our marriage had been to her. I once read that one of the greatest gifts you can give to your children is a good marriage. I firmly believe that.

Now that my wife and I face the empty nest together, a good marriage is all the more important. You see, it will just be we in this house most of the time. If we couldn’t stand each other, the empty nest would be a thing to dread. For there will no longer be a child between us. Our daughter will not be here to keep conversation going. No more will we hear the garage door open announcing her arrival home from work. No more will she be a regular presence at our dinner table. No more will we hear the stirrings in her room downstairs. No more will we have the weekly visits from her lover coming to court her and filling our house with their lively conversation and laughter. She will be on her own now living under the authority of the man who will be her husband. Dad will be the number two man in her life. Well, I have been that already, but now it will be even more so. Now she will be bodily removed from my continued surveillance. And Linda and I will return to where we started: just the two of us at the table. We will now face each other with gray hairs, wrinkles, and a wealth of memories good and bad that we did not have when we started. But thank God, we will sit there still in love with each other, more in love than when we began. This will surely help to smooth the transition.

Other parents who have experienced the empty nest speak of it positively, some very positively. And I must say that in one way, Linda and I are looking forward to it. I prayed today that God would give us strength and health for some years to come so that we might enjoy this experience together. Yet in another way, we feel sadness at turning this page in the book of our lives. We have enjoyed our girls. Thanks be to God, none of our children has ever caused us any serious trouble to date. They have been a joy and still are. It is a blessing to watch them as they raise their children. And, of course, the grandchildren are a continual source of great joy. It is as my mother often says: “They are the joy of your old age.” I am blessed to have a family in which we all love one another and enjoy being together. When we are all together I sometimes feel such a sense of blessedness in being the patriarch of this clan. In fact, one of my son-in-laws affectionately calls me patty for patriarch.

Please do not think I am foolishly boasting when I say this, but if ever God has blessed a man on this earth, He has blessed me. The patriarch Jacob expresses my sentiments exactly:

Genesis 32:10  I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant….

Unworthy though I be, I have been the object of unspeakable favours from such a kind and merciful God. Of all the mercies God has extended to this poor sinner, my daughters are among them. When God gave me those girls, He certainly was not dealing with me according to anything I deserve. He could have given me children of Belial that would have been a source of continual sorrow. I deserve as much and worse.

As I muse on these past thirty-three years of raising my daughters, I can honestly say that we have never known the want of anything we have needed. I have relied on the words of Psalm 23:1 and proved them true: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” And it rejoices me no little to know that this same Lord is also the shepherd of my daughters as their faith in and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ attest. I am blessed to watch as He provides for their wants as well. And the good Shepherd will still be taking care of them when I am long gone.

Although my daughters are all now grown and out on their own, there is one thing that will never change: they will always be my babies. Oh, I won’t treat them like that. But in my heart I have that same feeling for them that I had when I first cradled them in my arms. After my father died, I was given a New Testament that his father had given him. I never knew my grandfather, as he died when my dad was only sixteen years of age. My grandfather gave this New Testament to my father on 25 October 1940. It is now in tatters. But in the cover a prayer is inscribed in my grandfather’s beautiful handwriting. This is the prayer that is upon my heart as I send off my last daughter. It is simply this: “God take care of my baby.”

I hope I have not wearied you with my sentiment. I close with tears.