Called Out of Darkness

If there was one overarching theme throughout my near-death journey that stood out to me, it would be the nature of darkness.  Is there anything more fearful than to stumble around in the dark where you could fall down a deep hole, step on a poisonous snake, or encounter some kind of unknown evil?

Not only is darkness a place of fear, confusion and hopelessness, but also it is a place where the truth is hard, if not impossible, to discern.  During my parallel journey many of those people and activities that were in reality working to help me medically I interpreted to be for my harm and torture.  Until the very end I was confused about my son James’ involvement when he became the instrument through which I was rescued by an overpowering light.

The Scriptures are full of comparisons of light and darkness, where they are used as metaphors for truth and falsehood, respectively, and ultimately for God and the devil.  I think there is a popular misconception about our world, today, that it is a good place with some bad mixed-in, here and there, that we just need to work on to overcome. 

But the Bible would have us understand otherwise.  Followers of Jesus know that we live in a fallen and broken world where evil has dominion.  Take for example 1John 5:19, which says that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  Consider, also, the book of Job which reveals that the devil had great power to harm Job, a man of God.  He caused a great windstorm that killed all of Job’s children, motivated thieves to steal his property and kill his employees and afflicted him with a terrible, painful disease.  Yes, he had to have God’s permission, but he got it and was limited only in not having power to take Job’s life.

The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:12 said, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  So, if this world is so influenced by the forces of darkness, from where does any light come?  Any wonder there is so much confusion, violence, senseless killing and hopelessness! 

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”  But, He is not here now to be that light but is in heaven.  That is why He also taught His disciples, “You are the light of the world,” (Matthew 5:15).  All who are His disciples, then, are the only true source of light in the world today.

For us, who have been called out of darkness and who claim to know and follow Jesus, our assignment, our responsibility, is to be light in the darkness and to make more disciples to become light bearers.  At the same time, we are not to be ignorant of the world and its ways, knowing that broken people will never fix a broken world.  The only hope is Jesus, the Light, both for every individual right now to save them from eternal darkness and for the whole world when He returns in glory to restore creation to its perfect order, as God intended it.

The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. – Matthew 4:16

Who Knew But God...

...that one of our sons would arrive hours before a another son and his family were due to depart and would fill the need for a driver to help transport them and their luggage to the airport?

...that we would have out-of-town company coming for a visit on short notice and our neighbors would bring over a plate of cookies that were gratefully accepted and enjoyed?

...that today our son would discover that our sump pump was not working and water was squirting all over the air conditioning unit (I wouldn't have been going under the house!)?

I am finding so often it is the little things that God does that make me realize how good He is to me.  Often Bible verses come to my mind when I am troubled by something and I am encouraged by His Word.

Having family with us recently has helped to motivate Hu to be more active, sometimes pushing the limits of endurance a bit.  However, he has fared well and enjoyed the opportunity to visit.  He continues with rehab twice a week.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  -- James 4:8

Grandchildren Are a Blessing From the Lord

It is rewarding to be able to spend time with our grandchildren.  They bring a special spark to our lives.  We've had the opportunity of enjoying two of our three families recently.  Since our family is spread over three different continents it is a rare occasion for us to all get together.  We are thankful to have had this brief time with some of them.  The elementary age grandchildren have prayed for Hu and followed his progress.  How blessed I feel that he is able to share his godly influence as a grandpa with them.

I took an evening stroll with Hu last night and noticed that his pace has picked up considerably from the time we first started the walks to the corner in our neighborhood.  That seems to be his limit for now but I have noticed that his endurance has increased since starting rehab.

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. -- Psalm 127:2-4

Just Be Patient!

How often have you heard that admonition?  How often have you said it to someone else?  In either case, chances are that it didn’t accomplish much.

For much of my life I have often been credited with having a lot of patience.   But since my ordeal with this recent illness, I have come to realize that I knew very little about true patience.  Having a phlegmatic personality and a tendency to sometimes allow my mind to wander, I have had a natural ability to deal with waiting for things to happen.  Thus, the apparent quality of patience has been a part of my inherited temperament and nothing in the way of personal accomplishment or cause to boast.

What Has God Been Teaching You?

One of our prayer warrior friends visited us last week.  During the course of our chat together he directed a question to me asking what the Lord has been teaching me.  My first thought was “thankfulness,” which is what I told him.  I have realized how thankful I should be for life itself and for God’s sparing Hu’s life.  Two days later I was doing a job that usually doesn’t fall under “my job description” and I was feeling stretched and grumpy about it.  Then I remembered my reply to our friend on the lesson I had been learning.  It helped me focus on why I was doing the job and that I could be thankful even though I was working outside my comfort zone.

Hu and I have a joke about people telling him he looks good because that is what is often said to the “mature” generation.  However, recently he was with some folks that hadn’t seen him for several months.  When they told him he looked good, we felt that they were actually assessing the improvement in his health.  We are blessed that he continues to improve.

It is amazing how the body reacts to stress.  This week Hu showed me lines in his fingertips and nails from when his body was going through the worst of his illness.  That is a visual reminder to be thankful for the ongoing healing of his body.

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. -- Isa 41:28b -29

Not In Vain

Hours of labor did not result in the birth of our first son David, and the doctors said that they were going to perform a Caesarean section.  That was never a remote possibility during my pregnancy, nor did I know anyone (at the time) that had experienced the surgery since it wasn't very common in the early 70's.

Was Jesus’ Death Enough?

As a young believer, I had many deep questions about my faith in Christ.  It wasn’t so much that I had doubts, although to be honest, I certainly had those times, too.  But there were for me various unanswered issues that I had accepted by faith but had an earnest desire to understand and to be able to explain to others, especially to those who were skeptical of the truth.