Why So Many Questions?

Have you ever considered the absolute necessity of questions? We ask for many reasons --- to get instructions, to get clarification on a statement, to make conversation, to conduct an interview, to expose a lie and get at the truth, to confirm intentions --- and much more.

Some people don't ask questions because they think that they will be regarded as stupid, that they should already know the answer. Others will often not ask, if they consider it to be prying or none of their business. Questions are not only a great source of information-gathering, but are required to start a conversation, or to keep it going.

To be sure there are times when silence is golden, when presence is more powerful than words, but asking questions is our way of showing that we care, that we are taking an active role in relating to those around us. Unlike a reporter, we don't have to come armed with specific questions, geared to a certain subject. Questions should flow as easily as conversation as we share each others' lives.

I've been told by some folks that it is difficult to ask questions. I think that may be because they are focusing on the questions themselves --- will they be dumb? will they be probing or intrusive? will they prompt questions in response, questions they can't answer?

The key is to focus on the person or conversation. How often do we ask, "How are you doing?" when we actually don't care how someone is doing? When someone comes in your "space" (or you invade theirs), one of two things should happen. If they say something, you may need to ask a question to understand what they are saying, or to get additional information on the subject. If they don't begin the conversation, then you can inquire as to how they are doing or feeling, what they have been doing, how their work is going, etc.. If they answer "fine," then the question should be more specific.

Responding to the answer is also important, because a string of successive questions can be intimidating. If the discussion turns to religion, philosophy or politics, then you should acknowledge the last statement and find something positive about it, even if you are needing to disagree with it. Questions are a great way to make sure that you don't misunderstand where a person is coming from.

You would be amazed at how well a conversation can go if you use it to increase your knowledge. When you do so, you begin to accumulate a growing subject matter for future encounters.

I believe that we have been put here to interact with our fellow humans. The success of our journey is predicated on our ability to not only get along, but to become one. Only then can we see ourselves as the true family of God.

True Colors

We are at the end of Autumn in our region, a season of beauty that too quickly fades into the chilly deadness of winter. Each season has its highlights of splendor, but Autumn has a special attraction in that it displays a final burst of glory preceding a long sleep, only to awaken into the new morning of spring.

I am blessed to live in a mountainous area with so many varieties of trees, each having a leaf that turns a unique, brilliant color that blends so well with that of its neighbor. Before this seasonal show begins, the hills and mountains are carpeted with various shades of green, looking luxurious against the blue sky.

While being pleasant to the eye, the leaves are hard at work, making food for the tree. Through the process of photosynthesis the leaf gets its green color from chlorophyll. As the chlorophyll is depleted, the original colors underneath are more noticeable.

Lives are like leaves. People are initially received based upon their appearance, mannerisms and behavior. Over time, and under stress, their true colors will surface. The character reveals what the heart has hidden.
Like chlorophyll, there are times when our surface should mask what’s going on inside. The Bible says to clean yourself up, comb your hair and don’t grimace when you are fasting, because the fasting is personal between you and God. It also says that you are to consider others ahead of yourself. This means not burdening them with your problems, unless they are willing and able to listen sincerely and give good counsel.

Unlike leaves, however, most times our true colors aren’t beautiful. Stress can bring to the surface what is building up inside, be it hurt or anger, sadness or depression. Sometimes we feel proud or vindicated when we read someone a certain way, then their true colors reveal that we were right. The better way would be to love the person, even though our suspicions were justly founded. To be sure, suspicions are better left unsaid to start with.

God knows our makeup. He also knows our cover-ups. And his love for us is unchanging. His photosynthesis is the working of his Spirit. Jesus came to us in order to confirm God’s feelings for his creation, especially for those who are made in his image. God wants our true colors to be that which reflects his image, the image of a loving spirit. For this we were created.

I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly --- my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.

Ecclesiastes 2:3

Life is what happens between the bookends of birth and death. Infants constantly seek attention because they are limited in ways in which to communicate their needs; they are also absorbed in the concept of focusing --- on anything.

We regard the activities of children as “playing”, when they are actually mimicking life. Everything they say or do stems from their years of observation. This gives serious consideration as to how we should behave in front of them.

The elderly spend a great amount of time reflecting on their past. They will either dwell on it, with many regrets, or smile over it, with fond memories. They also tend to give more attention to the possibility of an afterlife.

What we all seem to have difficulty with is focusing on the present. We brood over the past, due to our own mistakes, or hang onto feelings of how we were misunderstood or mistreated. On the other hand, we’re always looking ahead. To the weekend, a new job, an upcoming event, an end to a difficult task, or relief from a sickness.

We stumble through the drudgeries of the day, and in so doing, we overlook the abundant blessings that are before us. We miss opportunities to care for those around us. Sometimes the task at hand is to care for others, but we do it with resentment, because we don’t feel appreciated.

So we try to offset dull or difficult or meaningless experiences with periods of pleasure or entertainment. We look forward to them with anticipation, but often find afterward that they didn’t completely satisfy. And we are constantly seeking something better, going to the next level. This involves futile attempts at self-contentment, and can be costly.

It is acceptable to think of, and make plans for, the future. It is expected that we are to look back with fond memories, or to learn from our mistakes. But what if we were to focus on the next thing --- no matter how trivial?

Has it occurred to you how special and significant routine things are? Like tying your shoe. Or cooking from a recipe. Or mowing the grass. An Alzheimer’s patient has lost that ability. Like watching a sunrise. Or hearing birds sing. Blind or deaf people miss out on certain pleasures.

Some people only have a few days on this earth. Others have many, which, when looking back, seem like only a few. We can’t ponder and pine over wasted days gone by. Nor can we throw away today in anticipation of tomorrow. We must make the most of each day --- using all of our senses to appreciate this thing called life.

We are to also be ever conscious about those we come into contact with each day. How do they feel? What can we do for them? Do they need a listening ear, or a hug, or a piece of sound advice? Ask questions. Really listen to the answers. Ask more questions. Show that you care. Live.

A Life Lived

“In this ‘season of calm weather,’ when the past has receded so far that he can behold it as in a picture, and his share in it as the history of a man who had lived and would soon die; when he can confess his faults without the bitterness of shame, both because he is humble, and because the faults themselves have dropped from him; when his good deeds look poverty-stricken in his eyes, and he would no more claim consideration for them than expect knighthood because he is no thief; when he cares little for his reputation, but much for his character --- little for what has gone beyond his control, but endlessly much for what yet remains in his will to determine; then I think, a man may do well to write his own life.”

George MacDonald, from Wilfrid Cumbermede

How many of us ever take the time to reflect on our lives and give serious thought as to its purpose? Even those who are regular churchgoers confirm to themselves each Sunday that they are to “do God’s work,” only to slip back into the same routine throughout the week --- eat, sleep, go to the job, pay the bills, raise the kids, do the laundry, mow the grass and fill the voids with some form of entertainment (TV, movies, sports, etc.).

You might be surprised to find that doing those very things is God’s work. He made us for the purpose of living. However, while in the course of living, we will make mistakes, and we will do some good. When we fail, we are to be assured that God forgives every repentant heart, with the sole purpose of correcting the character and building up the child. When we do good, it should not be so sporadic that even we are surprised that we’ve done it, or that we need to be recognized for doing it.

The difference is not so much in what people do, but how they do it. We often fail to understand that God doesn’t want us to do religious things in order to be close to him. He wants us to do the same things, but in a very different way. What sets us apart from the so-called rat race is how we address ordinary things, how our focus is directed to a life of obedience. How do we do that?

First, we know that we get some level of personal pleasure when we accomplish something, do a job right, or just simply enjoy our relaxation. The problem is that we put ourselves in the center of these activities. I did it. I want it. I deserve it. The lasting pleasure, however, lies in the interaction with others --- seeing them succeed, overcome and be refreshed. But that is so unlike what our society teaches us.

Also, we must be ever conscious of God’s presence in all that we do. We have this crazy idea that he’s not concerned with everything that we do, that there are things that we can keep from him. He’s seen it all, sees it all, and understands completely the joys and frustrations that we encounter daily. He’s ready to heal us and fill us with his love --- even after he’s called us on the carpet for bad behavior.

Finally, we are to be fully persuaded that God is love, a consuming fire that purges all of the bad from his created ones. We are made in his image, which means that we too must love, not because we have to, but because we can do no other. We are to set no goals for straightening out our lives; we are to look no further than today, this moment, then the next, and the next, until we lose ourselves in the wondrous events that we call life. Not routine. Not just getting by. But proceeding with purpose, not building for the few paltry years that we expect to have on this earth; instead moving steadily forward in that life eternal, growing to be one with our heavenly Father, looking beyond to the greater journey, with his only son, Jesus Christ, as our guide.

Ode To $$$

If I should be quite honest here, I must put forth my reasons
For viewing money and it’s woes, it surely has it’s seasons
To buy or sell
I cannot tell
Denying would be treason

I know what having much feels like, I was an only child
Extra gifts, and food, and snacks --- my life was far from mild
My Mom, my Dad
Gave all they had
My world they had defiled

I married well --- or so I thought --- the dowry I could not measure
But little did I know back then what I had gained in treasure
My love, my life
I’d found a wife
Who is my greatest pleasure

Some times were hard, with lack of funds, we struggled some, I feel
Searching for coins in our little car was really no big deal
If you could see
Me, you’d agree
I never missed a meal

At other times the pay was good, the job was going well
Expenses offset income, though, my treasures rose and fell
To buy some pills
To pay some bills
No future I could tell

But then I came to realize that life is more than money
Although I work, the Lord provides my needed bread and honey
Not in the wild
I am his child
No matter rain or sunny

I live and play, and work for pay, but life is sweeter now
I’ve learned to give him every day, and humbly before him bow
Times can be tough
But God’s enough
My love to him I vow

The greatest gift I have received has come down from above
Through all my struggles I believe I understand his love
To live for others
My sisters and brothers
Be harmless as a dove

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
APOSTLE PAUL (Philippians 4:12)

Another Church Sign: NO ONE IS BEYOND THE REACH OF GOD’S LOVE

How true. But as I drove past that particular church, and knowing something of the doctrine of that particular denomination, I could only shake my head and say, “But they don’t really believe it.”

How could I possibly make that claim? Because their reference to “no one” is, at best, limited, and, at worst, conditional. No one applies only to those who are living in this world. Does God still love any who have rejected him? Sure, they say; God will continue to love them, up until they draw their last breath. But, what happens when they die with rejection still on their lips and unbelief still in their hearts?

The church with the loving sign would say that without Christ, all will be condemned to an eternity in Hell. Does God still love them?

In George MacDonald’s novel, Robert Falconer, the young Robert puts the same question to several that cross his path: “What if a devil were to repent, would the Lord receive him back?” Each reply to him was a total rejection of the idea, and he was given a stern admonishment not to challenge the justice of God.

But the question remains --- is the church sign correct? Does God’s love truly reach to everyone, or does his justice cause him to withdraw that love at some point in time? Is God’s love limited to this life only, or is it a universal love that moves beyond our world and draws all of his creation to himself, in the span of however long it takes to accomplish it?

What about the sins we commit? The unloving, selfish lifestyle? Can God love, does God love the one who does not believe the atonement, who does not apply the blood of Christ to their utterly sinful condition?

The church sign is 100% correct. God’s love MUST reach to everyone because God IS love; he can do no less. He loves through forgiveness. He loves through discipline. He loves no matter what is thrown in the path of redemption, be it devils or our own stubbornness.

The very essence of God is LOVE. It is hard-wired into each of us. Our free will allows us to feel our way through this life, and some, many pick up a lot of garbage along the way, making it difficult to get any real answers and being unable to see God as he really is. But he still loves us. He has the perfect plan in order to make our free will yield to his will in the end. We are his children.

It Is No Secret --- THE SECRET

A secret is something that you generally keep to yourself --- or maybe tell one or two friends or family. Rhonda Byrne's Secret, however, as told through her book, movie and website, is really no secret at all, but yet another self-help tool. The alleged quote from circus magnate, P. T. Barnum, “There's a sucker born every minute,” quickly comes to mind.

No, I didn't buy the book; I got it at the library. Nor did I pay for membership on the web site. Information from the book wasn't incentive enough to make me desire more. I read it simply for the same reason that many others would --- was it yet another twist on that age-old search for the meaning of life?

While the cover design was inviting, and the format was in small bites, making it an easy read, the content was a disappointing remake of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking, first published in 1952. In fact, you could go to any two pages in the book and get the exact content of the entire book.

Just for the record, a positive attitude is not a bad thing. It keeps you healthy, focused and determined. It also has a positive influence on those around you. But to say that all the powers of the universe are magnetically ordered to keep you healthy, wealthy and wise is pretty much out there. It means that all bad things happen to losers, and I just don't buy it.

So why did I even pick it up? Don't I already have a palatable belief structure that gives me enough answers to get me through life? Or am I still unsatisfied and continuing to search? I think that what we believe should always be open to testing, comparing and challenging. If what we hold true remains true, our faith will grow stronger. It we remain open to adjustments to what we hold to be true, we are better for it.

This is all the work of the Spirit of God. We are, and have always been, his children. He is always at work in us, though we may not always see it. But for a great many it is a secret that they have yet to discover. It lies buried under years of tradition, as well as cumbersome layers of religious dogma. The really good news is that the love of God will withstand the tests of time, will survive when all else fails and will provide much-needed answers to age old questions.

Feel free to share this secret with anyone.