Oranges And Diamonds

“On the night of April 14, 1912, the great ocean-liner Titanic crashed into an iceberg in the Atlantic and sank, causing great loss of life. One of the most curious stories to come from the disaster was of a woman who had a place in one of the lifeboats.

“She asked if she could return to her stateroom for something and was given just three minutes. As she hurried through the corridors, she stepped over money and precious gems that littered the floor where they had been dropped in haste. In her own stateroom she ignored her own jewelry, and instead grabbed three oranges and returned to her place in the boat.

“Just hours earlier it would have been ludicrous to think she would have accepted a crate of oranges in exchange for even one small diamond, but circumstances had suddenly transformed all the values aboard the ship. Oranges were now more precious than diamonds” (preaching.com).

In a similar way, choosing to serve God should alter our value systems. We see it happen often in the Bible. Moses chose ill-treatment with God’s people over the riches of Egypt (Heb. 11:24-26). Peter, Andrew, James, and John chose to leave their nets to follow Christ (Mk. 1:16-20). Saul of Tarsus chose to trade Pharisaical stardom for beatings, imprisonments, and shipwrecks (2 Cor. 11:23-25). Matthew chose following the Messiah over a lucrative gig as a tax collector (Matt. 9:9). Simon the Zealot directed his zeal to a different cause.

When we give our lives to Christ, our priorities should change. Are we called to do exactly as the examples just listed? Not necessarily. But we measure value with a different yardstick now. The silver and gold of the world loses its sparkle in the shadow of the cross of Christ. Like Peter, it is the blood of Christ that is truly precious to us now (1 Peter 1:18–19). Jobs, careers, and causes can be good and often necessary things, but we should never value them more than following Christ.

God loves you!

Mike 

Pushing In The Same Direction

“Did you hear about the two moving men who were struggling with the big crate they found in the doorway? They pushed and worked until both of them were worn out. Finally the man on the outside said, “We might as well give up. We’ll never get this thing in.” All at once the man on the inside said, “What do you mean, get it in? I thought we were trying to get it out!” Sometimes we’re just like that: some pushing one way, others pushing another. There’s nothing like cooperation to get us working in the same direction and get the job done.”*

“I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2). Paul doesn’t elaborate on what the specific problem was between these two women in the Philipppian church. Obviously he knew and the church knew so there was no need to explain. The main concern was that they, like the movers in the story above, weren’t pushing in the same direction. In one way or another, they were at cross purposes. Notice also that the apostle wasn’t content to leave alone. He asks another member to step in and help them work it out (Philippians 4:3). Why? Because whenever individual members are at odds with each other, it affects the church. Perhaps Paul was thinking of this very problem between these two sisters in Christ when he wrote this earlier in the letter: “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves…” (Philippians 2:1–3).

Kingdom work is difficult enough even when we all work together. Let’s endeavor to make sure we are all pushing in the same direction.  

God loves you!

Mike

*preaching.com

Run Out Every Hit

One of the embarrassing parts of being famous is that your mistakes are highlighted and broadcast for all to see. This happened last summer to professional baseball player Marcell Ozuna.

“Braves manager Brian Snitker confirmed that outfielder Marcell Ozuna was benched in Sunday’s win over the Diamondbacks after an embarrassing sequence in which he was caught gawking at his 415-foot mammoth hit, resulting in only a single. In the top of the fourth inning, with the score tied 3–3 and no runners on base, Ozuna hit an absolute bomb to center field off a Zac Gallen fastball. Ozuna apparently believed he’d hit a home run, and he stood at the plate and watched the ball sail to the outfield only to carom off the wall. It was only then that he decided to start running, and he barely made it to first base safely. Ozuna clearly would’ve had extra bases if he’d hustled immediately after making contact. Instead, Snitker pulled Ozuna from the game, and he finished 1-for-1 on the day.”*

This story made me think of the words of the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae. In chapter 3:12-17, he calls the brothers and sisters there to the high standards of godliness in Christ. Then in 3:18-22, he applies those standards to specific groups of people: wives, husbands, children, fathers, and slaves. On the heels of that, he summarizes by saying: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23-24).

 Although he wasn’t perfect, notice what is said about King Hezekiah: “Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in law and in commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:20–21). In baseball parlance, he ran out every hit.

God loves you!

Mike

*https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/06/05/braves-marcell-ozuna-benched-loafing-415-foot-single?fbclid=IwAR3ppGrRVZGlqLikNE5Xihc40fa4lIFUCCHh10Ul_sFByWicG_5TFScsJ8c 

Where Is Your Treasure?

“A granny in Malaysia hit rock bottom in an unusual way after she had her entire life savings completely devoured by termites. A Facebook post detailing her unfortunate route to rock bottom is currently blowing up online. According to her grandson, Khairul Azhar, who uploaded the tragic tale, the unnamed senior had reportedly squirreled away RM30,000 (around $8,700) in a box for a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2024, the Straits Times reported. However, her dreams of a trip to the holy land were soon dashed by a biblical plague of bugs. When she tried accessing her stash, she saw that the banknotes had been chewed to shreds by termites, per her son’s account. Accompanying photos show the mangled greenbacks, which have been sliced into leaf-like shapes. Khairul, who lives in Kelantan, said he tried to salvage the situation by sending half of the pillaged bills to the Central Bank of Malaysia with the hopes of getting them replaced. However, he claimed that the other half were beyond salvaging. Khairul alleged that perhaps the banknote banquet was a sign that his grandmother was not destined to go to Mecca. Now, he is imploring others to refrain from storing their cash at home, lest they suffer a similar fate”*

This is a rather vivid illustration of an admonition Jesus included in the Sermon on the Mount. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal…” (Matthew 6:19–20). The point, of course, is that earthly treasure is subject to earthly damage as the story above illustrates. A better plan would be to focus on heavenly treasure because it is exempt from moth, rust, thieves (and termites). God protects our heavenly investments! According to the apostle Peter, our heavenly inheritance is “...imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you…” (1 Peter 1:4).

God loves you!

Mike

*https://nypost.com/2023/07/28/termites-eat-grandmothers-life-savings-for-trip-to-mecca/