pastoroncall.net » Being Civil

Take the Time

Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:47:20 +0000

The number of hours people spend shopping for gifts at this time of the year is staggering. Whether you shop on line, walk the mall, or drive from store to store, you still spend a great deal of time looking for that special gift for that special someone. I’ve always wondered,
“What if people took just a fraction of the time they spend shopping and spent it instead on their relationship, with God, with someone else, or with oneself. Think about it, time is of the essence, it is the one commodity we can truly give freely and openly, and of course
“relationships” are essential for survival. You may have all the basic necessities, but if you don’t have at least one caring, loving relationship in your life, then it’s hard to consider oneself truly alive. So why not (at this time of the year) bring these two great gifts together, the gift of time and relationship. Instead of spending all our time shopping, let’s spend some time working on our relationship with God (mediation), ourselves (reflection), and each other (conversation). I have often thought to myself, how different Christmas would be if people took some of their precious time and spent it on some of their special relationships. After all, don’t relationships usually last a lot longer than store bought gifts and are they not worth the investment? So, if you are still looking for that special gift for that special someone, why not give them, the greatest gift of all, some of your much needed time and attention!

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An Antidote to Violence

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 16:22:52 +0000

Everywhere you look these days there is violence to be seen and heard. It is truly a violent world we live in and it’s been that way since the beginning of time when Cain killed his brother Abel. The Bible is full of violence (read the Old Testament) and Jesus Himself was the victim of extreme violence. When will it end, you ask? Unfortunately, as long as the human race is alive and well, there will be violence; there will always be the perpetrator and the victim. I remember watching the opening scene of the movie 2001 Space Odyssey; there were two tribes of human like ape creatures rummaging for food in a rocky valley full of dry bones. The two tribes just happen to run into to each other and immediately the male leader of each tribe starts to demonstrate violent behavior trying to scare the other tribe away from the hunting grounds. One male leader inadvertently grabs this huge leg bone from the ground and starts swinging it around as part of his violent demonstration. He accidentally hits the other male leader on the head who falls on the ground holding his head. The male leader with the leg bone continues to hit the other male leader until he stops moving. Suddenly, the victorious male leader throws the leg bone in the air and you see it rotating in slow motion. The next thing you see is a spaceship shaped like a leg bone rotating slowly in outer space. The implication is that no amount of modernization is able to eliminate violent human behavior.Technology is not the antidote to what unfortunately lies at the very core of our being. The only antidote I am aware of is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who Himself the victim of violence had these words to say to His perpetrators, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Jesus also in the Garden of Gethsemane told Peter to put his sword away and then had the audacity to heal the person Peter struck with his sword trying to protect Jesus from the perpetrator who was coming to take Him away. The words and actions of Jesus are the only antidote to violence I know that can change a person from the inside out. The question is, are we willing to follow in His footsteps and allow that change to take place?

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Being Civil

Sun, 22 Jun 2014 20:44:12 +0000

My mother used to say “civility is the beginning of one’s walk with Christ”. That’s right, just learning to be “civil” is a good start, i.e. showing respect, courtesy, politeness, doesn’t sound too difficult, but it is, especially in a world that sometimes isn’t very “civil”. Learning to walk with Christ starts not with reflecting what the world would have us do, but reflecting what Christ would ask us to do, and being “civil” is a start. Being “civil” is the beginning of being conscious of others and not just yourself. Being “civil” is realizing that other peoples needs, wants, and desires, are just as important (and sometimes more important) than your own needs, wants, and desires. Being “civilized” is just the “beginning of one’s walk with Christ”; from there we are called to walk with kindness, mercy, love, compassion, and forgiveness, but none of these would mean anything if we don’t start with being “civil”!

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