“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. . .”  – Luke 12:48 

I came of age during a difficult time.  The Vietnam War was raging when I was a young college student and of prime draft age, at the exact time I was becoming more politically aware.  So, like many young American men during that time I lived in constant fear that my ultimate fate upon graduation was not to pursue my hopes and dreams, but to be thrust into that bloody conflict, a conflict I neither understood nor necessarily supported.  The future seemed grim to me back then, over a situation that was impacting my life yet which I felt helpless to influence.

It all worked out eventually.  I did serve in the military, but not in Vietnam, nor ever for one moment put in harm’s way.  It’s been the story of my blessed life since the day I was born.  I was raised in a stable and loving family, supported by an extended family who served as role models by their values and character, had a large circle of friends, my best friend living right across the street whose own family I could practically claim as part of my own.  Throughout my childhood I never lacked for anything.  My whole life has been like that in fact – a long happy marriage, children and grandchildren who I love dearly and who bring me great joy; good health, a nice home, nice car, always able to pay my bills, lacking for nothing.  What a blessed man I am, no doubt all by God’s grace!

These too are difficult times, at least for some it is, if not for many.  Doesn’t at least some segment of every age and generation suffer difficult times in some way?  Has there ever been a time when there were not people struggling and hurting, lost and lonely, hungry and homeless, sick and suffering, broken and destitute, or unfairly treated?

Why, I often wonder, even to the point of guilt, has my life been so richly blessed, albeit undeservedly, while so many others suffer unjustly?  Perhaps I will never know for sure, except that Jesus does call upon those of us who are blessed to even things out.  “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded,” he says.  Or as Dr. Jim Denison expressed recently in one of his articles, “the best way to advance God’s kingdom on earth is to keep our focus and energy on the parts of our lives where we can make a difference.”  Imagine how the world would be if more of us who are blessed were to share more of our blessings – advancing God’s kingdom on earth.

It’s worth repeating, the best Easter message I ever heard, from a sermon by the late Dr. S. M. Lockridge, longtime pastor of Calvary Baptist Church San Diego, California. 

“The Bible says my King is the King of the Jews.  He’s the King of Israel.  He’s the King of righteousness.  He’s the King of the ages.  He’s the King of Heaven.  He’s the King of glory.  He’s the King of Kings, and He’s the Lord of lords.  That’s my King!  I wonder, do you know Him?  My King is a sovereign King.  No means of measure can define his limitless love.  He’s enduringly strong.  He’s entirely sincere.  He’s eternally steadfast.  He’s immortally graceful.  He’s imperially powerful.  He’s impartially merciful.  Do you know Him?  He’s the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of the world.  He’s God’s Son.  He’s the sinner’s Savior.  He’s the peak of civilization.  He’s unparalleled.  He’s unprecedented.  He is the loftiest idea in literature.  He’s the highest personality in philosophy.  He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology.  He’s the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Savior.  I wonder if you know Him today.

“He supplies strength for the weak.  He’s available for the tempted and the tried.  He sympathizes and He saves.  He strengthens and sustains.  He guards and He guides.  He heals the sick.  He discharges debtors.  He delivers the captives.  He defends the feeble.  He blesses the young.  He serves the unfortunate.  He regards the aged.  He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meager.  I wonder if you know Him.  He’s the key to knowledge.  He’s the wellspring of wisdom.  He’s the doorway of deliverance.  He’s the pathway of peace.  He’s the roadway of righteousness.  He’s the highway of holiness.  He’s the gateway of glory.  Do you know Him?

“Well, His light is matchless.  His goodness is limitless.  His mercy is everlasting.  His love never changes.  His word is enough.  His grace is sufficient.  His reign is righteous, and His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  I wish I could describe Him to you.  Yes, He’s indescribable.  He’s incomprehensible.  He’s invincible.  He’s irresistible.  You can’t get Him out of your mind.  You can’t get Him off of your hand.  You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him.  Well, the Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him.  Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him.  Herod couldn’t kill Him.  Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him.  I wonder if you know Him?” . . . . Hallelujah Dr. Lockridge, for the Lord is risen indeed!  Happy Easter!

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  – John 15:13

“If you want people to be interested in you, take a genuine interest in other people,” Dale Carnegie wrote many years ago in his ever popular and relevant book, How to Win Friends and Influence People.  That is to say, when you are genuinely curious about others, about their lives and what they value, you will inevitably connect with them.

When we were preparing to put our house on the market a few years ago, we prudently lined up several real estate agents to interview.  All were experienced with strong credentials and came highly recommended by people we knew.  The first three sat with us around our dining room table presenting impressive résumés and brilliant marketing ideas.  It appeared it was going to be a difficult choice.  Then Susan showed up.  She too had terrific credentials and great ideas for selling our home, but that came much later in the conversation.  First she was interested in us, our goals and desires, our values, and how selling our home and relocating would help fulfill our hopes and dreams.  It was the tipping point in the interviews; for Susan was the only one who expressed genuine interest in us, not just in selling our house.  Furthermore, she’s the only one who thought to inquire where we planned to move, so we ultimately engaged her as our buying agent.

We’ve often heard it said, “It’s just business, it’s not personal.”  If that’s true then please show me a product or service in the marketplace that does not involve another human being.  Consider dog food, for instance.  Have you ever witnessed a dog buying dog food?  No, people buy it – for their beloved dogs.  Or explain to me how either the employment or job loss of another human being does not impact that person in a personal way, for better or worse.  The fact is, business is quite personal, and relationships do matter.

So, when someone places the well-being of another human being above his or her own, that is a form of laying one’s life down for a friend, which is what Susan demonstrated through her genuine interest in us.  For her the relationship far out-weighed any prospects of earning commissions.  Yet, it was for that very reason that she won our business.

“. . . the same yesterday and today and forever.”  — Hebrews 13:8 

One of the spare bedrooms in our home is designated as the grandkids’ room, furnished with bunkbeds, decorated with children’s type artwork, shelves filled with children’s books, and toys and games galore.  It has served its purpose well, except now our grandchildren are growing up, either teenagers or fast approaching, so the weekend sleepovers have all but ground to a halt.  Recently Tee asked our middle granddaughter, Corrina, age 13, how she would feel if we converted that room back into a normal adult bedroom.  Corrina glared sternly at her grandmother before responding in no uncertain terms, “Grantee, don’t you dare change that room!”

I get it.  Certain things represent stability in our lives, things we can count on, that make us feel safe and keep us grounded.  Had she not asked I’m not sure Tee and I would have realized that grandkids’ room in our house represented that in our grandchildren’s lives.

When I grew up we lived in the same house we moved into when I was two years old.  My dad was the second-generation owner of a family business founded by my grandfather that perpetuated for sixty years.  I graduated high school with the same classmates I had had since first grade.  My parents were married almost sixty years, and likewise Tee and I have been married almost fifty-four.  Stability is something I have always known, and I realize more and more how it has served to keep me grounded.

Stability is not as common as it once was.  The average family, they say, moves about every three years.  “The median length of employment for workers between twenty-five and thirty-five is 2.8 years,” according to Steve Cadigan in his book Workquake.  And no wonder, as Cadigan also reports, the average “shelf life” of today’s job skills is less than one year due to rapidly changing technology.  It is a rapidly changing world indeed!

So, where do we find stability in today’s world, and how can we find ways to provide it for the younger generations?  Everyone needs something and someone they can count on, that makes them feel safe and keeps them grounded.  Yet, even that grandkids’ room will change – eventually.  There is One, though, I have found who never changes, He’s “the same yesterday and today and forever,” and the only true stability – for all generations. 

“If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” – Ecclesiastes 4:10 

“Pushing down hard with his fists on the table-top he heaved himself up to where he was standing.  For the first time we saw he wanted one leg.  It was gone from the knee down.  He was hopping sideways to reach for his stick in the corner when he lost his balance.  He would have fallen in a heap if Brendan hadn’t leapt forward and caught him.  ‘I’m as crippled as the dark world,’ Gildas said.  ‘If it comes to that, which one of us isn’t, my dear?’ Brendan said. . . The truth of what Brendan said stopped all our mouths.  We was cripples all of us. . . ‘To lend each other a hand when we’re falling,’ Brendan said.  ‘Perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.’”  (Excerpt from the novel Brendan by Frederick Buechner)

We are cripples all of us, and there is no better reminder than those times when we are forced to admit that we need a helping hand, if not a rescuer.  Recently, high winds in our area blew down a portion of our wood fence creating the need for some temporary emergency repairs until we could find professionals who could fix it properly and permanently.  Being the “rugged individualist” that I am, I thought surely I could shore it up myself, until I quickly realized that at my age I lacked both the strength and the agility that I once had, crippled in a sense by my aging body.  Thankfully, two of my good neighbors recognized my plight and rushed to my aid, toolboxes in hand, much the way Brendan leapt forward to save Gildas from falling in a heap.

We are cripples all of us, physically, developmentally, mentally, or emotionally; some from birth, others resulting from accidents, traumas, or diseases.  But I wonder if for many of us we are not even more crippled by our own arrogance, refusing to admit our weaknesses, convincing ourselves – and trying to convince others – that we are smarter and stronger and more capable than we really are.

“I’m as crippled as the dark world,” Gildas said, making no pretense of being otherwise, to which Brendan blurted out in response, “Which one of us isn’t,” thus silencing the whole room, revealing a deep and ancient truth dating back to the Book of Ecclesiastes. “Two are better than one,” it says.  “If one falls down, his friend can help him up.”  “Perhaps,” Brendan pondered, “that’s the only work that matters in the end.”