FROM
THE PASTOR
I
was trying to figure out why the name sounded familiar – Chandler S. Robbins.
He was the subject of an interview article in Birding magazine (Sept., 2012), at that time a 94-year-old
patriarch in the world of ornithology. Fine, but why did the name ring a bell?
Then I read more closely. Oh, it’s that
Robbins.
Robbins was the author of the
first “real” field guide to birds I ever owned. I’m pretty sure I received it
for Christmas in 1969. Considering my age, I took good care of it. But it has seen better days. Some pages are
loose, and one is missing. I seem to have used the index as a sort of checklist
– but if that’s what I was up to I was optimistic, as I checked off birds that
I still haven’t seen to this day. Speaking of the index, it looks like the dog
tried to eat it. And throughout, the pages are stained and worn.
In other words, the book got
used.
Robbins would be pleased. I know
because of an anecdote from author Scott Weidensaul. It seems that Weidensaul’s
copy looked even worse than mine. But when he found himself in the presence of
the great Chandler Robbins, he overcame his embarrassment at the condition of
his book, and asked for an autograph. In Weidensaul’s words, when Robbins saw
the book, he “beamed that thousand-watt smile of his, held up my battered field
guide, and said with undisguised delight, ‘This is a book that’s been used!’”
That story sets me in mind of a
question: What would God say about our use of God’s Book, the Bible? The
writings in the Bible are “God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16). We call God the
Author, but God did not simply drop a book from heaven onto someone’s lap.
Rather, “prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit” (II Peter 1:21). In speaking of the Bible, theologians have
used language similar to that which we use to describe Jesus of Nazareth –
fully human, fully divine.
God has gone to much trouble to
communicate with us – inspiring the human authors, superintending the
production and collection of this library of writings we call the Bible. What
does God think of what we have done with His Book? Can God flash a (more than)
thousand-watt smile at us and say, “This is a Book that’s been used!” Even more to the point, do our lives look like our Bibles are getting
used?
Okay, so by now I have most of
you on a guilt trip. I’m sure there is no one, myself included, who has always
used the Bible as we should. Feeling guilty? Then I have an important message
for you. Ready? The core of the Bible’s
message is not a guilt trip but a “forgiveness trip”. That’s not saying
there’s nothing there about guilt. (There’s no forgiveness if there’s no sin to
forgive.). But receive the forgiveness of sins, okay? It’s yours through
Christ.
Now isn’t it amazing that God
has communicated to us? Not only in a Book, but especially in His Son! A number
of you have recently bought new Bibles. May they someday be tattered, perhaps
written in, marked with fingerprints, perhaps tear-stained, pages falling out.
May God look at each copy and say, “Yes! This is a Book that’s been used!”
COMMUNITY
LUTHERAN CHURCH
|
Parish Messenger
|
I’m
no biologist, but I think I know one thing about life: No one understands it.
Scientists can describe a great
many things in connection with life. They can specify characteristics of plant
life as opposed to animal life. They can detail the workings of a living cell,
map out DNA, write treatises on respiration or elimination, or recognize
differences between organic and inorganic matter.
They can tell the difference
between dead or living tissue. So can anybody with a working nose. (As the
scripture says – Martha the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord
by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days [John 11:39 KJV].)
But to describe is not
necessarily to understand.
We instinctively recognize what
is living as opposed to dead. But what exactly is “life”? And how did it get
here? Of course, I believe God imparted it to us. But will it ever be explained
– really explained – by scientists or philosophers? I doubt it.
As I write, we await the
greening of the landscape. The green, when it comes, is familiar yet
mysterious. Spring green signifies photosynthesis.
Somehow, sunlight works with soil and water, and plants turn green. Huh?
Light is turned into life. It’s
as if God says, “Abracadabra,” and presto! There is life. Furthermore, the world’s smartest botanist won’t come up with
a better explanation than that.
I’ve been struck with some
verses in the Gospel of John that speak of life and light: “In [Christ] was
life, and the life was the light of human beings” (John 1:4). Later in the
Gospel, Jesus says, “Whoever follows me will have the light of life” (John
8:12). Light and life go together. Let’s call it Christian Photosynthesis. The
light of God’s Word works with the water of God’s Spirit upon the soil of our
heart. Then it’s as if God says, “Abracadabra,” and presto! There is New Life.
I admit, that sounds a bit hokey. But will any theologian come up with a better
explanation?
Plants, as we can easily
observe, seek out light. Take a walk in the woods, or even along a wasteland
thicket, and you can see this: Leaves and branches reach toward the light. If
you place a board on the ground, the plants underneath will strain to get to a
place where the sun shines.
People, on the other hand,
perversely do the opposite. “The light has come into the world, and people
loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil” (John
3:19). Go figure. We seem to think that if no one sees the dirt in our lives,
it isn’t there. But Someone does see – that’s why He sent the Savior to be the
light of life. To flourish, we need this light. We need for light to shine on
us as we truly are – and upon Jesus as He truly is, “full of grace and truth”
(John 1:14).
“If we walk in the light as He
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus
God’s Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). Friends, we can afford to walk in the light – and it is
in the light that we find life. And some
day Christ will stand at our graves and (as it were) say, “Abracadabra,” and
presto! Eternal Life!
No comments:
Post a Comment