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“And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

–          Esther 4:14 

For all its drama, power, romance and intrigue the story of Esther could easily be mistaken for a modern day best-selling novel.  Yet far from a modern piece of fiction this ancient historical story occurred and was recorded centuries ago.  The story begins with Queen Vashti refusing to obey an order from her husband King Xerxes, king of Persia, causing her to be banished from her royal position.  The king then sent out a decree to gather all the beautiful women in the empire and bring them into the royal harem.  Esther, a young Jewish woman, was among those chosen.  So pleasing was she to King Xerxes – obviously she was a real knockout – that he chose her to become his queen.

The drama unfolded as Haman, the king’s right-hand man, deceived the king into plotting a plan that would annihilate all the Jewish people in the kingdom.  But ultimately Esther, herself a Jewish woman turned heroine, risked her life by using her beauty and influence to turn the tables on Haman – who was eventually hung with his own rope – thus saving the Jewish people.  “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” suggested Mordecai, her cousin and co-hero of the story.

Do you ever wonder why you were born in this particular age and time or circumstances instead of another?  I have – often!  Why am I living on this earth at this particular time in history and to what purpose? Why was I born into a middle-class family rather than poverty – or else into wealth and royalty?  Why was I born and raised in America in a small rural community as opposed to a big city – or why not a third-world country?  Why am I of one ethnicity rather than another, short instead of tall?  I could go on and on.

The example of Esther should help as we sort through such questions; for by being there at “such a time as this” and through her courageous act, a whole nation was saved.  Her life made a difference.  So could it be that we too in our own time and circumstances have been called to make a difference; that God has placed us here for just “such a time as this”?

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. . . The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”  – Psalm 126:2,3 

Army basic training, for those of us who have experienced it, is hardly a laughing matter . . . that is, unless you happen to have a guy like Al Williams constantly by your side like I did.  For eight weeks the two of us – alphabetically, Williams and Wilson – stood side-by-side in formation, bunked next to each other in the barracks, and were training partners much of the time.  Al with his hilarious sense of humor kept me in stitches, making my boot camp a barrel of laughs instead of the grueling experience it could have been.  The most difficult thing I had to endure was keeping a straight face so I wouldn’t get yelled at for inappropriately busting out laughing over something he had just said.

For as long as I can remember Reader’s Digest magazine has included a joke section called “Laughter, the Best Medicine”.  I firmly believe that to be the case and have tried to live my life accordingly.  Every single morning at the breakfast table Tee and I start the day by reading comic section in the daily newspaper.  And usually in the evenings we end the day by reading aloud a few jokes from Garrison Keillor’s Pretty Good Joke Book which I keep on my bedside table.  Laughter is indeed great medicine.

Like basic training, life as we all know is hardly a laughing matter . . . that is, unless you can see the humor in it.  Humor, though, is not about being less serious about life; rather it helps keep life and our role in it in perspective.  Though my army buddy and I may have laughed our way through boot camp we took the training very seriously.

Humor and laughter are gifts from God, comical versions of our human failings, reminding us that only God is perfect and we are not.  But God has a great ability to restore us from our imperfections, and when that occurs as the Psalmist reminds us, “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. . . The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”  Life is hardly a laughing matter . . . that is, unless you happen to have God constantly by your side like Al Williams was to me in boot camp, making it a barrel of laughs instead of the grueling experience it could be.

“. . . whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

–          Matthew 25:40 

There’s an old familiar story about all the starfish that had been washed up on the beach during high tide only to be left there in the sand to die as the tide went back out.  A young boy playing on the beach recognized the fate of the starfish and began to methodically pick them up one at a time and toss them back into the sea.  A man who had been observing the boy approached him shaking his head.  “What’s the point, boy, don’t you see there are thousands of these starfish lying along the beach?  There’s no way you’re going to make a difference.”  Undaunted, the boy replied to the man as he tossed another starfish into the ocean, “Yeah, but it made a difference to that one.”

During World War II my grandmother committed herself to writing letters to servicemen stationed overseas, primarily to those who at one time had been students in her Sunday School class.  Now, my grandmother’s letters were no small feat.  They were labors of love, written in her small handwriting on multiple pages front and back and often times around the edges.  In them she would share news from home, stories she remembered about that person’s family and childhood, and offer words of encouragement and inspiration.  Each letter she composed represented hours of tedious work.  Yet, I doubt seriously that my grandmother’s letter writing made much of a difference in defeating Hitler and saving the world.  But I am pretty sure it made a difference to each one of those servicemen who received one.

Too often, I’m afraid, we find ourselves overwhelmed by the challenges and problems that exist in our lives and the world around us, becoming paralyzed by the enormity of it all.  We’re like the man observing the boy on the beach tossing starfish back in the sea.  “What’s the point?” we ask ourselves.  “Surely my little contribution won’t make any difference.”  But as Bob Pierce, Founder of World Vision once said, “Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.”  And Jesus was crystal clear about this: “whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers,” he said, “you did for me.”

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

–          James 1:19 

Upon his arrival home from work one day a father discovered the front window of his home shattered to smithereens, and there in the yard lay the evidence, a baseball bat and ball.  So without further investigation the father stormed into the house, found his young son, and was just about to administer the punishment he obviously deserved for what appeared to be an open and shut case . . . until his wife walked in with the boy next door in tow who had confessed to the whole incident.

For many years during my Wall Street career I served as an arbitrator in the industry when disputes arose between two parties.  The way the arbitration system works, arbitrators receive in advance a written detailed explanation of the claim from the claimant (plaintive) as well as a detailed response from the respondent (defendant).  After reading the claim and response I would invariably conclude that it was an open and shut case in need of no further investigation . . . that is, until I listened to the testimonies on the actual day of the hearing.  Without fail my initial conclusion would be proven wrong.

It was an open and shut case as well, so thought Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar.  Why else would Job have lost everything he had – his family, wealth and health – unless he was being punished by God for some undisclosed sin he had committed?  All the evidence they needed was in plain sight, Job sitting on an ash heap, clothes ripped to shreds, head shaved, his body covered with painful sores.  No need for further investigation, as Job’s three “friends” accusingly rushed to his side in their respective attempts to convince him to confess (to something he did not do).  And if things were not bad enough for poor Job, he was forced to defend himself in kangaroo court where Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar presided as the self-appointed – not to mention self-righteous – judges.

We’ve all been there on one side or the other, either the one falsely accused or the one judging without further investigation.  What a difference listening makes!  “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

–          Hebrews 11:1 

Buddy Greene – renowned harmonica player, musician and song writer – inspired by a funeral he had once attended, wrote and recorded a ballad about the life of a man named Charlie, a righteous man who lived a good life.  Eventually Charlie became ill and died – but in the ballad that was hardly the end of Charlie’s story.  I’ll let the song lyrics explain.

“Now the sky was cold and gray / at the funeral home that day / And the friends and family gathered from far and wide / And they all stood by Charlie’s grave / and they listened to the message the preacher gave / And thought it was over when up stood Charlie’s bride. / She said ‘I’m sure glad to see you all here / ‘cause Charlie held you all so dear / And he wants to see you all in heaven when it comes your time. / So if you want to die like Charlie died / you’ve gotta live like Charlie lived / Loving God and people and longing for the other side.’” 

It should be obvious that Charlie was a man of deep faith.  But what is faith?  First of all, it is not optimism, that is a “Pollyannaish” belief that a positive outcome is forthcoming.  Neither is it a philosophy or religious system.  Rather, faith is just as the scripture defines it, “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”, derived not from scientific proof or mathematical fact, but from an intimate relationship with God.  Like my mother who, after being told she only had a few months to live, looked her family boldly in the eyes.  “Don’t worry about me,” she proclaimed.  “Grieve because you miss me, that’s okay.  But don’t worry about me.  I know where I’m going!”  She was as sure and certain as I had ever seen her, and remained so up to her final breath.

The surety and certainty of our faith gives us the strength to overcome the difficulties we inevitably face in this life, and provides the freedom to use our lives for good purposes.  It is by faith that we are able to live like Charlie lived, and one-day die like Charlie (and my mother) died.  Faith comes from being sure and certain of the empty tomb on Easter morning.  “The Lord is risen,” the witnesses cried!  He is risen indeed!  Happy Easter!