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“For none of us lives to himself alone.”  – Romans 14:7 

After all these many years I still think often about Rookh Richards, a lady who lived around the block from us in my small hometown when I was growing up, and how in her quiet little way she influenced my life.  We had this interesting bond, Rookh and I, even though she was a generation older than my parents, and I was just a young kid of about ten or eleven.  Every afternoon for exercise Rookh would take a brisk walk around our neighborhood, so if I happened to be playing in the yard and saw her coming my way I would stand and wait for her to come by where we would engage in this brief little banter, some sort of teasing, about what I don’t remember.  Whatever it was we would both laugh as she scooted off to finish her walk.

While Rookh was certainly a beloved neighbor and well-known by our family, yet she was not part of what I would consider our family’s inner circle.  A great lady though she was for sure – warm, kind, and generous, a fine citizen, married to a prominent rancher, and always a quiet supporter in church and civic affairs, one of the “grand ladies” in our community back in her day.  But what I remember most was her sense of humor, and how our relationship was formed by teasing each other – about who knows what!

“No man is an island,” the poet John Donne famously wrote.  What the poet was expressing I think is that no matter who we are, where we live, what we do, whether rich or poor, young or old, male or female, outgoing or shy, educated or not, we all touch the lives of others we encounter one way or another.  Realizing that, we each have an opportunity, even in the briefest and most casual circumstances, to influence and leave a lasting impression, either for good or not so good.  My relationship with Rookh was certainly brief and casual, probably no more than twenty or thirty seconds each time she passed by our house.  Yet, for me she left a lasting impression in how one’s warmth, friendliness, and sense of humor can be used in a positive way.

Rookh passed away when I was in high school, and I still remember sitting in her funeral service teary-eyed, mourning the loss of my friend and those brief, casual encounters that will never be forgotten.  As the Apostle Paul says, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.” Rookh certainly didn’t.  And neither do we.

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”  – Joel 2:28 

Among the volumes of influential writings and scores of eloquent speeches and sermons by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., none perhaps is more memorable nor more often quoted than his famous “I Have a Dream” speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in August of 1963.  Some scholars argue it may have been the greatest speech of the twentieth century; for it was in that passionate address that Dr. King beautifully summarized his own life’s mission and purpose, and the meaning behind his many courageous acts, brilliant writings and inspiring speeches – his dream.

Like Moses, though, who never made it to the promised land, Dr. King’s own life was tragically cut short before he could experience the fulfillment of his dream.  But even if he were still alive today would he have seen his mission completed?  The answer, of course, is no.  While much progress has been made – and hopefully Dr. King would be pleased about that – we are still far from the peaceful, civil, racially unbiased society of his dream.  His was a big dream, though, a massive one, and big dreams take years, indeed generations to fulfill.

Dr. King dreamed of a society where people are judged “not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, and Moses dreamed of leading his people into the long-awaited promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  But don’t we dream the same dreams they did, though perhaps in a lesser context, dreams of a future for our children whereby they have an opportunity to live safe, healthy and prosperous lives?

I have often felt bad for Moses and Dr. King, who dedicated their lives in pursuit of their dreams, faithful to the missions for which they had been called by God.  It seemed unfair they did not live to see them into fruition.  But maybe they knew that, that their dreams were too massive, and life inherently too short to see them through to the end.  Perhaps it was not their jobs to see them through, but to inspire the future generations.  Maybe that’s what we’re all called to do in our own time.  It is why we honor Dr. King on this day; for as the prophet Joel proclaimed centuries ago, “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways . . .”    Psalm 37:7 

As a young business professional there came a point when I became impatient that my career was not advancing fast enough.  I wanted to move ahead, and move ahead of my peers.  Chalk it up to ambition, but in retrospect my impatience sometimes caused more setbacks than advancements, such as the time I uprooted my family for an “opportunity” in another city.  What I thought would surely lead to a giant leap in my career, thus my family’s financial wellbeing, turned out to be a near disaster.  Fortunately – and literally by the grace of God – my mistake got redeemed and all turned out well.  But I wonder sometimes how much better off I might have been had I remained slow and steady and waited patiently before the Lord.

There is no better illustration of this than the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare”, one of the best known and most beloved among Aesop’s fables.  So the story goes, “The hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals.  ‘I have never yet been beaten,’ said he, ‘when I put forth my full speed.  I challenge any one here to race with me.’  The tortoise said quietly, ‘I accept your challenge.’  ‘That is a good joke,’ said the hare, ‘I could dance around you all the way.’  ‘Keep your boasting till you’ve won,’ answered the tortoise.  ‘Shall we race?’  So a course was fixed and a start was made.  The hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show contempt for the tortoise, lay down to have a nap.  The tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the hare awoke from his nap, he saw the tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.  Then the tortoise said, ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’” 

Sarah Young, in her bestselling devotional book Jesus Calling claims that, “Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come.” Boy was that ever true for me!  But in my case, it was not that I was cocky and over-confident like the hare, I simply got impatient, and fretted when others succeeded ahead of me, instead of “being still before the Lord and waiting patiently for him.”  Thankfully that near demise of my career served as a wakeup call, awakening the tortoise within me.  It reminded me that God’s pace is always perfect, not our selfish ambition, and being slow and steady, obedient and faithful to Him will win the race – every time.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”  – Matthew 9:37 

Two partners were discussing their business strategies for the upcoming new year.  One was focused only on making more money, to which the other responded, “instead, why don’t we see how many more people we can help?”  The first partner reminds me of my annual failed attempts at New Year’s resolutions, which typically center around exercising more, improving my diet, losing a few pounds, those sorts of things – but ultimately are about me.  Perhaps the second partner was suggesting a better approach, focusing less on themselves and more on helping others.

An old pastor friend of mine is an amazing observer of people. Oftentimes when in a restaurant or Starbucks together, noticing someone acting surly toward the server, or otherwise appearing distraught in some way – troubled or lonely or angry – he would lean over to me and whisper, “that person needs to be loved on.”

I think the second business partner and my old pastor friend may have been singing from the same page in the songbook, different verses perhaps, but the same song.  My pastor friend recognized the abundance of people around in need of help, starving as he would say “to be loved on.”  Likewise, the second business partner recognized an opportunity in there being a scarcity of people willing to do so.  Together it was exactly the message Jesus was trying to teach his disciples when he pointed out to them that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” 

Admittedly, after over-indulging during the holidays I could use a good dose of self-discipline to take off some of those extra pounds I have gained, which may well enhance my personal appearance and even my health, but does little toward helping others or improving mankind.  Instead, says the writer of Hebrews, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  Is that not what the second business partner was trying to suggest to the first?  Sounds like a good business strategy to me, and a New Year’s resolution that will not end in failure.  And if in fact “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” perhaps by joining the workforce might even help knock off a few extra pounds, or in the case of the two business partners improve their profitability.

“Behold, I make all things new.”  Revelations 21:5 

As is my custom each year, Issue 50 will be the final edition of Abundant Living for 2024.  So, I take this opportunity to wish all of you, my faithful readers, supporters and encouragers, a blessed Christmas and holiday season with these final thoughts: 

It is not known the exact time of Jesus’ birth, which has created much speculation throughout the centuries, along with extensive scholarly research.  December 25, of course, eventually became the settled-upon date for celebrating the birth of our Lord, but no one seems to know for sure why that day was chosen either.  There are, however, several factors that may have influenced the choice.  One source I read theorized, “December 25 was the date the Romans marked as the winter solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year, and the first day in which the days would begin to elongate, and the sun would have a longer presence in the sky.  Jesus was identified with the ‘sun’ based on an Old Testament verse [from the Book of Malachi], and the date [25^th] is exactly nine months following the Annunciation, when the conception of Jesus is celebrated.”  Several other theories exist, but no one knows for sure.

Regardless how it came about, what I find curiously fascinating about December 25 is its one-week proximity to New Year’s Day, such that in our modern world we have tended to lump them together.  I doubt that was intentional in the beginning, but perhaps through the increasing commercialization and secularizing of Christmas it has simply evolved into an extended celebration.  We say, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” in one breath, and commonly refer to this time of year as the “Holiday Season”, as if it were all one singular event.

There is an interesting irony in lumping the two celebrations together, for although both events celebrate new beginnings, there is a difference as New Year’s places the burden on us to begin anew, and the reason we make New Year’s resolutions.  Christmas, on the other hand, places that burden on – of all things – a Babe in a manger whose new beginnings fulfill an ancient promise of restoring mankind’s relationship with God.  And while New Year’s resolutions are sure to fail, the Babe in the manger is a sure thing – He who proclaims, “Behold, I make all things new.”    Merry Christmas!