"Finding Beauty in the Darkness"

Most of us have gone through at least one funeral in our lives, whether due to the passing of a family member or that of a friend. No matter how close you may have been with the deceased or the family of the deceased, funerals never seem to be an easy thing to go through. I myself have been to more than I can remember, and it seems apparent now that even experience can't seem to prepare you for loss.

Last week I attended the funeral of a good friend of mine's son. My friend, Suzanne, already has a family, but the passing of this new addition of theirs was still very difficult; especially when you hear the story.

Suzanne was hospitalized a few months after she learned of her pregnancy. A complication had unfortunately arisen with the baby. At 30 weeks, the doctors at the hospital she was taken to delivered her son, Dylan, on November 5, 2010.

He died two days later.

The beautiful thing about Suzanne was that she was my first official friend in my college career. Subsequently I met her family too, and what a beautiful family they are! I thank God for such a blessing as they.

So I was honored to be with Suzanne when she learned of her pregnancy, and to be there when she told her husband. What a special moment for her and here I was, only a recent friend, and the one she chose to be there to hear the exciting news of Dylan-to-be. Suzanne and I discussed how wonderful it would be to one day recount to her child that moment of discovery. But alas, plans we make often do not go the way we want them to…

Losses such as these don't often make sense. Why should one as innocent as he have to die, we ask. Dylan was born without a lung, and while the doctors did everything they could to save him, alas, he could not be. His life was not meant to be lived, but his legacy will never die...

Dylan was just under 2lbs. when he was born, and he was loved from the moment he was conceived. How precious life is.

It was hard to watch my friends go through such a difficult time. Even though I didn't know Dylan personally, his loss was still painfully felt by all who were there at his memorial.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, you may be wondering how a person could truly be thankful. Losing someone is never an easy thing on its own to bear, and least of all to be able to say thank you to God for. Impossible you might say, but Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

So,

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Whoa.

Dylan's short life teaches us something, indeed, of how precious and fragile life really is. I am sure we think about death from time to time, but without actually experiencing it head on, we aren't as impacted as we should be. I am not here to depress you, but rather in the hopes of opening your eyes to something beautiful amidst all this darkness. Dylan's life personally hit me as a powerful eye-opener. Here I was, a young college student, with quite a few years already under my belt, living life as I see it, with nary a care in the world. I have no idea what it means to be Dylan. I take my life for granted everyday…Dylan will never truly know what I have lived or learned. His parents will never see him grow into the man they cherished him to be.

If you are thinking of blaming God for such a tragic loss, please think again. God grieves when lives are lost. This is what makes humans so beautiful: our ability to feel. And since we are fashioned in His image, it makes sense that we should also have torrid of emotions. God loves us, and as any father would, longs to see us joyful rather than hurt or sad. Fathers wish to protect their children from all the harm of this world, but no matter how they do try, it still comes. But fathers are there every step of the way, just as God was there with Dylan, with you, and with me. God helps us up when we fall, and rejoices as we grow in all that we experience.

"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" John 11:34-36

Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. John 13:1a

I know many things in this life of ours don't make sense. Why would Dylan have such a short life? Doesn't seem very fair does it. I can't give you an answer, although I wish that I could. All we seem to be able to do is try to work out as much as we can, and keep going even when it feels like we never could. For, after all, we have a beautiful hope, a hope that God offers us.

Come near to God and He will come near to you. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:8-10

When you are sad, God offers us comfort. So it is alright to grieve for those lost. But do not let it consume you, for look, and see beauty where it is rarely ever seen. As I mentioned earlier, Dylan's life was not meant to be lived. But his legacy can be…

So as you sit down for Thanksgiving dinner with all those lovely trimmings, give thanks for the life you have. Give thanks for every second that you are here. Give thanks that God has given you such blessed opportunities to love Him and to love others. We never know when our time will come, but we should be ready.

Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13

This is my prayer for my friend and her family during this time, that they can give thanks for having been with Dylan for those two beautiful days. That they also continue to give thanks that Dylan is with God right now where no pain or harm can come to him. Give thanks for the moments we get to spend with one another, for they are truly beautiful.

I hope this story of Dylan's doesn't sadden you during this upcoming holiday. I hope instead that he makes you think about things, especially about your own lives, and that you value life that much more. Dylan has already taught us to live, to love God more, to go to Him in our times of comforting needs, and to see how beauty can be found from the loss of life. This beauty is the ability to learn, and the ability to keep ever onward in our spiritual walks. So, say thank you for his story touching yours. Take his legacy and learn to give thanks in every aspect of your life. Thank God for both the ups, AND the downs. Thank God that He draws near.*

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1:2-6

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Thank you Dylan,

Whitney

The Inward and Outward Appearance - 3/14/08

In the book of Ruth, let's focus on love, devotion, and trust, as well as the effects of a good role model (or the Inward and Outward Appearance).

Ruth impressed me by her love and faithfulness towards her mother-in-law Naomi in the first Chapter. We see this more in the following Chapters. Naomi loved Ruth as though she were her own daughter; she wanted what was best for Ruth. So she gave her advice, such as how to gain favor from Naomi's kinsman Boaz. And how does Ruth respond to this? "I will do whatever you say". She was willing to submit to Naomi's advice, because her mother-in-law knew best; they were Naomi's people, and they had certain ways of doing things that often differed from her own. To get right down to it, Ruth had a lot of love for Naomi, putting all her trust in her.

One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do." "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. Ruth 3:1-6

Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working..... Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed." So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law. Ruth 2:19-23

It is interesting to me to see the noted line "And she lived with her mother-in-law." Perhaps this little line was added to further establish the relationship between Naomi and Ruth.

Now let's see about the qualities of Ruth.

Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband——how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Ruth 2:11

(Also read Ruth 3:10-13)

Boaz, who we meet in the second chapter, is struck right away by the good qualities of Ruth. Everyone spoke very highly of her. This makes her even more of a good role-model; she not only had good qualities, she lived them too.....

This is how people tend to measure other people: by first impressions. What we see from a person, in physical appearance and by the way they act, forms what we think of them. Of course we ought to get to know them more, for one encounter is never enough to fully understand someone.

But you see, if we judge others this way, others will judge you this way. As Christians, we should live a Christ-centered life, both in our appearance and by our actions. People are constantly watching; let us shine Christ's love and compassionate qualities. Ruth did, and became an inspiration for those around her. She was spoken of highly, respected, and loved despite her being a foreigner. Her first impression was a good one, but instead of just ending it there, she made it a point to practice it all the days of her life.*

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b

Will your actions reflect your heart for the Lord?

Whitney

Love & Sacrifice - 2/26/08

Good day to you all,

Today the message I would like us to examine focuses specifically on love, being inspired by John 13:34-35.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35 ESV)

What we can gather from these verses is that we must learn to love one another just as Jesus Christ has loved us. So just how has Christ loved us? Let's think. For one, He died for us, and as we know, "greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) But let's be honest here people; how often does the opportunity - and the challenge - for us to physically lay down our lives for our friends come along? I haven't jumped in front of any bullets recently - have you? Perhaps so; perhaps not, but my point is this: that even though we may not all be given the opportunity to express selfless love in such a physical manner as this, we can lay our lives down in other ways.

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:23-24 ESV)

I want to come after Jesus, don't you? In order to do this, He calls us to "take up our crosses daily," and to even lose our own lives in service to Him. But what does this have to do with loving others? More than you might imagine, in fact. Loving Christ and loving others are so intricately interwoven that you simply cannot separate the two. Following Jesus involves us learning to love those around us - encouraging them, building them up in Christ, putting our own desires aside in favor of theirs; loving them (See 1 Corinthians 13 for this). Sometimes, this is hard. When the emotions are running low and the impatience is running high, when we simply don't want to, or when there's just something tugging us away from doing what's right, we must look past this and make the decision - the commitment - to love anyway.

Do you think Jesus enjoyed being beaten, flogged, tortured, nailed to a cross, and crucified while those He came to save stood around mocking Him? I think not. But He chose to anyway - now this, this is love.

Let us pray that we can have this kind of love first for God, and second for all those around us. It may not always be fun or enjoyable (though often times, it can be) - but this is the nature of sacrifice. The beauty in all of this is that as we learn to sacrifice of ourselves for the glory of God and the well being of others, we are blessed with a life that becomes so much more satisfying and fulfilling than ever before! What a wonderful paradox this is!

And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)

Blessings,
Andrew

Gentleness; 2/21/08

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)

The reason I quote this verse twice here (once in the NIV, once in the KJV) is because I feel that they both show a different side of this particular fruit: meekness (humility), and gentleness. This is sort of a humble gentleness I suppose one could say. Have you ever had a friend go astray? Perhaps they were beginning to get involved in things they should not, perhaps they were falling away from the Lord, or perhaps you were just concerned for their well-being. Isn't it so very hard to reach these people? On one hand, you value their friendship and fear the worst; but on the other, you know that if you kept silent, you would not be a true, loving friend. So what's the key here? Gentleness and meekness. Our Lord Jesus Christ paints a perfect picture of this:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

Isn't this amazing? What can I really say to this? I sit here, trying to come up with something to say, and it just speaks for itself so clearly. When we come to Jesus, He puts his arm around us, helps us up, and carries us along as only a true friend would. He gently tells us when we are in the wrong and holds His arms open to receive us once again. One example of this is when Peter denies Jesus thrice on the night He was taken.

Peter answered him, "Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away." Jesus said to him, "Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times..."

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. (Matthew 26:33-34; 75 ESV)

I can just see the gentleness in Jesus' eyes after that third rooster crows and they look one another in the eyes; spoken with a single look, everything is laid out. Perhaps there was disappointment, or maybe there was even some pain; I do not know. But I do know that when Peter looks into Jesus' eyes, he sees gentleness, forgiveness, and welcomeness. This is my story as well. I came to Jesus having disappointed Him, having caused Him pain, undeserving of anything more than to be punished for my evil ways; but rather than condemnation, I looked into His eyes and I saw gentleness. I saw love. He told me, "Yes Andrew, you've sinned. You've disappointed me, you've caused me pain. But it doesn't have to be this way - come, take my hand, and let us start over again - please." And from that moment on, my life has been changed.

So when we see those we care for turning onto the path of darkness, how are we to treat them? With love, care, and gentleness, warning them of the impending doom that lies ahead, genuinely concerned for their future. But we must always remember to pray for this gentleness at all times. When we must correct those we care for, do they see this gentle, humble spirit within us? And when they return, do they feel welcome as we hold our arms open to take them in? Let us pray together that yes, they do; for this gentleness comes from God alone.

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4 ESV)

Blessings,
Andrew

Goodness - 2/19/08

Hello once again!

The word that we'll be studying today, from Galatians 5:22-23 (the Fruit of the Spirit), is goodness.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)

So, what is goodness? We use "good" for such a wide variety of things and in such a wide variety of ways, that our understanding of this word may have become a little watered down. I promise not to throw you another all-out Greek definition (at least today), but in short, this word basically means being "virtuous, charitable, actively good." So Who can we look to to demonstrate this goodness? I sure hope you know the answer to this one! It's Jesus, whose entire life was a testimony to the goodness of God. So now, let's look to the Word for something we can grab a hold of regarding this topic.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:17-18 ESV)

At first glance, this verse doesn't seem to help much; in fact, it seems perplexing. "Is Jesus denouncing His own goodness?" you might ask. Well no, He's not. Read it over and you'll find that not once does He deny His own goodness. (Think about it this way: why would we call Jesus good, if God alone is good? Simple, because Jesus is God.) So now we know that 1) God alone is good and that 2) Goodness, as a fruit of the Spirit, comes from God alone. If we have "crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires" and have invited the Spirit of God to dwell within our souls, we will find that this goodness will begin to manifest itself in our lives as well. However, this happens not by anything we have done, but by the grace and "goodness" of God alone:

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. (Romans 3:12 ESV)

I hope you will join in with my prayers that the goodness of God may shine out through our lives as we live to glorify Him and His greatness!

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15 ESV)

Blessings,
Andrew