Thursday, May 30, 2019

TIMES OF LOSS

"TIMES OF LOSS"

 

This week's lesson is going to usher us into a subject that no one likes. Although loss is the most ubiquitous experience we all face, it is one which most never acknowledge for what it's worth. The lesson this week invites us to look at various nuances of loss ranging from the loss of life, health, trust, and freedom. As I'm writing this, one family member has just been told they have cancer. As you are reading this, you know people who are going through health challenges, fractured relationships, and pain so deep that they dare not share it in a church. I volunteered to write on this subject because in 1994, my wife and I were enrolled in the graduate course of loss (as one author has described it). If you'd like to read more about our personal journey in reconciling loss and faith through it all, we welcome you to consider our book Undeniable: An Epic Journey Through Pain.

 

Although our loss will be unique to us in the realm of details, we do have something to share that crosses into each of these categories. Just as each of us is unique in our worship and our experience, we also will deal with loss in individualistic ways. Loss is a liminal moment that either brings clarity or disconnection. I am convinced that God wants to be present and involved in each person's experience with loss so that it will become a transformative process. For this week's reflections, let me share with you just one example of how God spoke to us powerfully in the midst of unexplainable pain.

 

I grew up learning the truths of the Bible, with all of the stories and end time theology as part of my life. I even remember one time going door to door to share all of my biblical knowledge, hoping to find someone who had yet to find the truth of Sabbath rest. Although, in reality, it would be years before I realized that I didn't understand it well myself. If you'd like to be challenged about the whole subject of Sabbath from a non-Adventist perspective, consider the book Subversive Sabbath by A.J. Swaboda. We might not agree with all that he says, but he is asking powerful and appropriate questions that we should consider. Sometimes it is possible to argue about a day and miss the point. But I digress. Suffice it to say, I have grown up with the truths that we hold dear. Because of that, I was regularly tormented by one question: How could Jesus walk the earth without sin? How could he live the perfect life?

 

I realize there may be many answers in each of your minds, but for me, I finally came to a conclusion. I simply thought that He had the most incredible mind and had every possible sin categorized so that He could not be deceived. I pictured Jesus with a huge mental compendium of all possible variations of sin. Part of that came from the Bible verse where we are told that David hid the law of God in his heart so that he might not sin against God. I took that thought and ran with it a little bit further. So, the only way that I could reconcile the perfection of Jesus was to imagine His ability to identify sin no matter how He was confronted with it. For example, a beautiful woman would walk in front of Him and He would identify it as lust number 14,648. Or, when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness, He recognized self-protection number 127. Or, self-centeredness number 3. Whatever temptation came His way, I pictured His incredible knowledge to be the key in keeping Him from being deceived. That was my working hypothesis. And therefore, the answer was to seek knowledge, and I did. Knowledge and performance became my focus. I don't want to say it became my god, but if I am honest, idolatry was involved. Then my kids died.

 

My wife and I were doing all the right things. I knew the knowledge. I was serving God full time. And then our two precious children died in a horrendous car accident on the Sabbath day after preaching. Everything that I thought I knew was challenged. As I mentioned before, in this short essay, there is no way to capture it all, but you are welcome to read our book for a longer version of the journey.

 

Six days after the accident, my wife had been miraculously spared and we had the chance to go and say goodbye to our babies. My wife was in a wheelchair, her left arm in a sling. For reasons we did not understand, she had cheated brain damage, and her compromised lungs were beginning to get their function back. I gently pushed her into the room of the funeral home in order to have a few moments alone and to try to say goodbye. As we attempted to hold our children, filled with sobbing false starts of sentences, we came face to face with the horrendous reality of death. Our children were stiff, their faces unresponsive, limp to our hugs. Words cannot fully explain what happened that evening. Of course, we had our grief counselor and supportive pastor, Frank Bacchus, there to help walk us through the living nightmare, and we are so grateful. Yet, there was no way to make that a positive experience. That Sabbath was destroyed with a Friday night viewing, and a Sabbath afternoon funeral at our church. We would never see that church again in the same way. Others might see a pulpit. Our eyes would always see a casket.

 

Little did I know, and it was a number of months before the realities could be considered, but on that Friday night, saying goodbye, I began to have a revelation, an answer to that burning question I shared before. As we held our children, attempting to say goodbye, we saw the makeup masking the colors of death and the hats trying to cover the scar of the autopsy. And something else happened. The smell of the chemicals involved in preparing a body for burial began to go deeply into the very core of my being. With each passing moment in that room, the smell became a visceral reminder of death. I HATE that smell. Months later when our minds began to go through events and to experience God's grace amidst the loss, I remembered that night.

 

Gradually, I began to realize there may be another answer. Instead of Jesus having a huge compendium of sin (although I do acknowledge He probably did) I began to think it was something deeper. Could it be that as Jesus walked the earth, when temptation was put before Him to lead Him to sin, it would be as alluring as someone trying to invite me to a bottle of perfume of the smell that I experienced as we said goodbye to Caleb and Abigail? Could it be that Jesus simply smelled death? And death is not a temptation. Especially when He was, is, and came to bring life. As I reflected in my own life, it wouldn't matter what you tried to hide the smell in or make it look good, the moment I would catch a whiff of that smell, I would be repulsed with all that I am. I began to see that that is probably one part of how Jesus walked this earth, trusting His Father, remaining connected with life, because He was life. Which leads me to the conclusion that unless we help our people, and specifically our young people, to actually find the life, there is no way we can make enough rules, or give them enough knowledge to protect them from all the permutations of sin (but that could be another article).

 

Obviously, our experience of loss took us to a place of deep brokenness and God transformed us in that dark place. We learned incredible lessons of his undying faithfulness, more than I can share here. We have found that loss brings a clarity of what is important like nothing else. I am convinced that God, in His grace, can work through our times of loss, when we are stripped of the other voices and noise of this world so that we can hear His still small voice inviting us to a place of wholeness. Just as Ellen White references in Ministry of Healing, the little caged bird which cannot learn the song its master wants it to sing, in the noise and bustle of life, so it is covered. In the darkness it learns its one song and then it can sing it for the rest of its life. Grief forces a silence on the soul, and God is greater than our grief and He is able to use that silence to speak life. As this week's lesson brings out a number of powerful verses to give encouragement as we walk the journey of grief and loss, there is one more amazing reality as Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. God in His grace and mercy is able to turn all things (Romans 8:28) in such a way that He also empowers us to minister to a broken and hurting world around us. My wife and I can say, like Joseph did years ago, you meant it for evil, but God has turned it for good. When we allow God to work in the darkness, when we let His love shine, and trust His plan, relying on His power, He is able to make our times of loss some of the most powerful and important in our lives. I hope you will get a glimpse of that this week as you study.

 

~Bryan Gallant

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Wednesday, May 22, 2019

“SEASON OF PARENTING”

"SEASON OF PARENTING"

 

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward" Psalm 127:3.

Giving birth to a new life has the potential for bringing tremendous joy as well as unfathomable grief to parents. Some have experienced profound pain for never having children. Others have struggled to do a two-parent job alone. Being a parent is wonderful, but it isn't easy. 

In anatomy class we aren't taught what really happens when a baby is born: months before descending the birth canal, it reaches its little hand up to its mother's heart, wraps its tiny fingers around it, and holds on tightly to it through the birth process. After the baby is born, the baby keeps its mother's heart. She never gets it back. Forever, her heart is wrapped in love and concern for this being. Whatever happens to this baby will affect her--for life and eternity, for better or for worse. 

"Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed," said Simeon to Mary as he blessed her infant baby Jesus (Luke 2:35). 

Of all women who ever lived, Mary was singularly blessed to be the mother of our world's Redeemer. But all of us are blessed beyond measure to be called the children of God.

The story of the human family with each succeeding generation is the story of God's family. He made us with this amazing capacity to bring children into the world, and in so doing, He gave us a window into His heart of love for mankind. Where our love is, at best, still faulty and selfish, His love is unfailing.

"I have loved you with an everlasting love," He says, "Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you" (Jeremiah 31:3).

When our first child was born, she was wrapped in a blanket and presented to my husband in his new fatherly role, the first to ever cradle her in his arms. Gazing at that tiny bundle, he sang to her softly. Welcome to our world, little one. We love you so much. After that, I couldn't imagine that I could love another child as much as her. But the Lord blessed us with three more children. With the arrival of each new life, our hearts were again smitten with an overwhelming sense of love. 

And as the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace good will toward men," so our heavenly Father rejoiced over us with singing. His love for us has not abated on account of the billions that have been born. God's plan for each baby is that it would grow to distinctly reflect His character of love. We cannot calculate the value of a human soul except as we stand with Mary at the foot of the cross and permit the sword that pierced her heart to pierce our hearts also. 

Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward." And we are His reward. 

Sin introduced pain to the universe, and most acutely, to God. He could have spared Himself so much if He had just canceled His plans for the creation of our little world. Think of it. If He assessed the pain, He would experience on account of creating Adam and Eve, He could have decided to take an easier route. He could have skipped the cross and the agony that began in the garden of Eden, continued through the slaughter of Abel, and reverberated through the ages. Sin, death, pain. It wasn't the easy path. Why did He do it?

Paul explains that "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," assessed the situation from eternity past. He saw all the sorrow and woe that would come because of sin, and He made a decision to create man anyway, and to save man at any cost. Why? "For the joy set before Him." What was that joy? Seeing a few of us saved. Oh, John makes it clear that God so loved the world, not just those who would be saved at last. Paul tells us that He died for all, that none need be lost. That the free gift of salvation has come to all. But so few will respond. Would it really be worth it? "Who for the joy set before Him," the joy of seeing us respond to His love, would give Him courage to "[endure] the cross," even while "despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2).

If any who are reading this today are parents, think of the burden you feel for the salvation of your children. Multiply that longing times infinity, and that is the longing in the heart of God for our salvation.

We can praise God for whatever pain (whether the source be physical, emotional, guilt, regret or loss) we have experienced on account of bringing children into this world, for in this He has gifted us with a glimpse into His heart.

He could not bear to stay in heaven when we were lost and without hope in this world. For those of us who aren't parents, if we can learn to see the world through God's eyes, we will recognize everywhere children who are desperately searching for love and to be loved by Someone. If we will open our hearts to His love, He will instill in us a love for these needy ones. We can be to them a lifeline by revealing Jesus' love to them. 

Heaven will be wonderful, but it won't present any new opportunities for saving souls. Only in this world do we have opportunity to increase His reward by sharing the Good News of salvation. 

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" Psalm 103:13, 14.

 

~Patti Guthrie

Friday, May 10, 2019

“THE ROYAL LOVE SONG”

"THE ROYAL LOVE SONG"
 
 
TEMPORIZING 
 
It was a very dark, damp and cold night. But that didn't bother her, for she had a dim candle to light her way to bed. During the time when she lived, most of the homes were very simple. There were one or two rooms, whose floors were made of dirt and covered with hay; this type of flooring meant that the occupants' feet were dirty and needed to be cleaned just prior to going to bed. Hers were no exception. By the side of her bed, there was a little bowl of water. Nightly she sat on the bed, placed her feet in the cold water, washed and immediately dried them with a small towel she had by a table - where she had placed the candle. As soon as she dried her feet, she put them on the bed, leaned over, blew out the candle, and then pulled the thick blankets up to cover herself. After a few minutes, she began to feel comfortable and warm. As she felt the heaviness in her eyes, and limbs, she began to relax, thinking that at last she'd get a good night's sleep. As soon as she closed her eyes, and began to drift into sleep, she heard the knock at the door. Startled, she opened her eyes, and listened intently. It was her Beloved Lover calling to her, telling her he wanted to see her, that he longed to spend time with her and that he wanted to be intimate. Annoyed that he had awakened her, she decided to remain quiet; perhaps he would go away. Afterall, he could come at another time—a more convenient time. But he didn't go away. Instead, he continued knocking, pleading even more softly, and persuasively, "Please open the door, my love, I wish to see you. Won't you let me in? Don't you miss me? My darling, it's so cold out, it's raining, and I'm wet. Can't I at least come in and dry off?" Conflicted, as he continued to plead for entry, she finally, retorted, "Not now! It's very dark, and I've blown out the candle; it's cold, and I am underneath my blankets. Besides that, my feet are already clean, and I do not want to dirty them by going to the door." Quiet for a few moments, her lover responded, "It has been such a long day; I have not seen you, and I really want to spend time with you; you will not regret it. "Frustrated, yet conflicted, she firmly replied, "Come back tomorrow." Her response was met with silence. Feeling awful that she had rejected him and moved with remorse, she got up, and walked in the dark to the door. After a few moments of feeling her way, she found the knob. Turning it, she opened the door, and sadly found that her lover had left. Filled with angst, she wept, thinking that it would probably be days before she could see him again. It was likely that he left to see his fields far away and would not return anytime soon.
 
Does this scenario sound familiar? If you have read the book of the Song of Solomon, you may realize that this is a paraphrase of Song of Solomon 5:2-6, in which the lovers part ways for a time. Things seemed to be going so well between them, so why did Solomon leave Shulamite? What could have caused him to distance himself in such a way? And why did Shulamite respond to him with such resistance? Of course, we remember that the floor was dirty, and the light out; that she had just drowsily retired to bed, and was in that sweet sleep-wake state. Naturally she didn't wish to be disturbed—after all, who would. I mean, proper rest is needed to function the next day, right? Yes, at first glance we can see these things. But, where was her compassion for him? He was cold, she was warm, he was wet, she was dry, he was shivering, she was comfortable. Leaving a friend outside in the inclement elements is something you wouldn't do. Then why did she do it to her lover? What could have motivated her, and why did he leave?
 
The last three questions can be answered, "because she was temporizing." What is temporizing? It is acting evasively to gain time, avoid argument, or postpone a decision. It is what we do when we do not want to be bothered, inconvenienced, or are caught unprepared. In either case, we may be trying to buy some time to find a way out. But a way out of what? Closeness; the vulnerability that comes with both emotional and physical closeness -- Intimacy.
 
On the one hand we want intimacy, we desire to be close, to be fully known and accepted. Yet on the other we don't want the vulnerability, and inconvenience that comes with self-exposure. Thus, like the Shulamite woman, we selfishly and immaturely find more comfort in the warmth and cleanliness of our beds, than in the company and presence of our divine Lover who has come so near to us. As Shulamite perceived she was better off in her condition, "in need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17), we often do too. And by so doing both she and we resist the love, warmth, comfort and cleanliness, the wonderful knowing, and deep acceptance that only our divine Beloved Lover can give.
 
You may recall that the Song of Solomon is a metaphor for the relationship between Christ the Bridegroom - the Beloved Lover - and His Bride the Church. Christ has not come back for us, because we - His Bride, the Church - like the Shulamite woman have repulsed His nearness to us – His desire for union. We are content with connectivity, if you will, but not union—or full ongoing disclosure on our part. And yet, it is our permission and receptivity to His closeness that brings cleansing and renewal such as is typified in the cleansing of the Sanctuary. As a body we seem to be preoccupied with teaching and preaching the temporal specifics of how to know He's coming (prophecy), without teaching, preaching or practicing the internal preparation needed for His return. We want Him to be near enough to rescue us from our individual and corporate fears and failures but not near enough to see us as we really are. We're willing to point people to the mirror as a standard of Sabbath keeping, but not as a reflection of our unlikeness to our divine Lover. We're even willing to share the Gospel, as long as it's focused on the righteousness we are to have, and the "nearness" with its attendant victory Christ desires us to receive.
 
These things are in essence true, however, if we were in school, it would be the difference between theory and clinicals. Spiritually speaking, we as a body like the old covenant theory (and practice), but God wants to provide us with His new covenant clinical model. In the old covenant model, we try to impress God and each other with our theology and endeavors. Under the new covenant model, we believe His compassionate nearness to us (the taking on of our collective humanity, and gaining the victory over sin) along with His promises, and see them as His loving invitation to open the door of our individual and corporate heart to Him. This is the only power that will transform our thinking, our living, and our witnessing.
There is a song that comes to mind, probably one of many with this theme-- "Open the door, Jesus is knocking, open the door let the light shine in. Open the door, Jesus is waiting, open the door to Him." Couple this with another that goes something like this, "the Saviour is waiting to enter your heart, why don't you let Him come in? Receive Him and all of your darkness will end, O how He wants to come in. Time after time He's waited before, and now He's waiting again, to see if you're willing to open the door; O how He wants to come in."
 
Friends, no longer let us temporize, but willingly open the door of our hearts—the deepest recesses of our minds, to Him.
 
~Raul Diaz

Friday, May 03, 2019

WISE WORDS FOR FAMILIES

SECOND QUARTER 2019

SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #5

MAY 4, 2019

"WISE WORDS FOR FAMILIES"


 

God's design for families.

We are living in interesting times. Things that many Christians reading this article will assume to be normal simply no longer are. Principles of dating, marriage, sexuality, discipline, spouse roles seem to have changed in the minds and lives of many people. This is especially true for the younger generations coming up.

To illustrate this and to invite us deeper into the study this week I would like to contrast two buildings for you. The first one takes us to the wilds of Cambodia, the second back to the USA. 

You will need to use your godly imagination to create the correct mental pictures as I take you to this far off place. One travel book quoted a famous writer calling the Bokor Hill Station the "eeriest place on earth." So, with an introduction like that and a healthy sense of adventure, let's go!

These descriptions have come from a trip my family and I took years ago when we were serving with Adventist Frontier Missions and long before Cambodia's infrastructure caught up and made this historic French installment accessible. For us to make the trip we had to use our new to us "off-road" Camry that God's believers had sacrificed to supply for us. I say off-road because the Cambodian people liked to use the older Camrys and add about 4 inches to the struts so that there was a little higher clearance for the roads that would be the norm. So, feeling a little more secure with four wheels (compared to our trusty 100 cc moped we had used previously for all of our trips - with 4 people on it) we headed off towards the mountains in southwest Cambodia.

As we ambulated up this intentional piece of old French military asphalt, with thoughts of elephants emerging from the pristine jungle each hole, fallen log, and mud filled chasm reminded us of our thankfulness that we weren't on our trusty moped for this adventure! Passing a poor tourist on our right further cements that thought. I intentionally use the word cement because the road needed some of that; and the tourist was poor, not in the sense of having no money (though flying half way around the world to see Bokor may increase those chances), but because she actually believed the travelogue blather about "you can take a local moped driver up to the top of the mountain." As each bump and pothole (read: !POTHOLE!) catapults her to new heights we quickly realize that it was only the weight of the clay draped all over her body that is keeping her spinal shock absorber semi-attached to the intrepid driver and moped. Hoping to see her again on the top if any of us make it, we wave and bounce on, happily surrounded in our bondo-sustained steel Camry.

After what seemed like a tremendously long time of Toyotian/Cambodian rodeo and a few stops to check on our tire pressure, we arrive at one of the buildings towards the top of the mountain. Was it truly eerie? Only because of disuse. Peering through the fog our eyes take in a building of great intention and marvelous beauty. Unfortunately, due to Cambodia's horrendous past it is being reclaimed by the jungle although the structure is still intact. Many items are missing either from age or from the pilfering or irresponsible guides and tourists. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that this place was made to be a retreat of majestic grandeur with magnificent views. Walking from room to room one sight intrigues me above all others: a glorious, oversized bay window overlooking . . .

In contrast, quickly come with me in your mind's eye to the heartland of the USA to see a building that the international speaker Ravi Zacharias describes as unthinkable. Imagine an experimental building known for being the epitome of postmodern thinking on a university campus. Having thrown off the normal constraints of purpose and "rules", it boasts columns supporting nothing, staircases leading nowhere, hallways that dead end, and even windows in front of brick walls. As Ravi listened to his driver praise the merits of a building made without the age old constraints in the name of pure freedom, he asked an important question: what about the foundation? Even a building defying rules requires a solid foundation!

That is what this week's lesson endeavors to do and remind us of. In a world of doubt and change the scripture gives us both the foundation and design for a true and happy family. Principles for marriage, discipline, interpersonal communication, and finding true love can be found through this study guide of God's word. I pray that we take the time to glean its timeless truths. Yet, may they be more than just a foundation for a life of mindless futility and decisions that lead nowhere. Let God's truth transform our families. 

Momentarily let's go back to Cambodia. What was the picture window overlooking? 

Unfortunately, I did not see it! Due to the dense fog I failed to see both the view and the purpose of all the architectural focus of the building. Tragically, we actually left Bokor without the fog ever lifting. 

I am concerned that the same is happening in our world today. Godly marriages and families are becoming ancient relics of a bygone time. The intention, design, and beauty remain nearly inaccessible in remote corners of the world, and the god of this world has blinded peoples' eyes so that they do not see the whole point and purpose of the family. As we dive into this week's lesson let's pray that God will send His mighty wind in these last days to dispel the mists of doubt and reveal His glorious design for families, again!

~Bryan Gallant


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