Give In, Give Up

Give In, Give Up

"...cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."

Dietrich Bonheoffer "The Cost of Discipleship"

            The world is full of dereliction, the shameful failure to fulfill one's obligation. This writer has no rationale-excuse to point fingers at anyone else.

            In the "prayer closet" a time of evaluation, quietness with only the presence of God, I realize just how cheaply I have valued his grace, and not just me, others, who claim the name of Christ, unwilling to "give in, give up" selfishness, in a world of wantonness.

            In this world of technology, one never knows what might happen next. My phone rang, I was not sure of the voice and I am sure he realized my hesitation. My friend said, "Tom this is Ned. We were students at the University 60 years ago. I have never forgotten you, someone gave me a copy of your blog and I thought, 'Could this possibly be the person I knew in school?' So, I googled you, found your blog, Facebook, along with your telephone number. You look older but not that much different from the time I saw you last-60 years ago. From your blogs, your photographs from all over the world, I see that you have had an exciting life."

           

            Ned said he had enjoyed some measure of success, lost his wife to cancer early but blessed with two daughters-five grandchildren. Retired, he lives in Arizona.

            He talked with me about blindness, the military, my interest in many things, including philanthropy at the University.

            In our conversation, we talked more about the enigma of my lifestyle when he knew me...working my way through school... my nickname, Iron Pockets, watching every dime I spent, while the men from the state's privileged families, products of prep schools, large well equipped high schools, the sons of the political elect, spending their time "networking," lazying around the "frat house," golfing and gold digging with the power brokers.  He remembered that I never ate meat...too expensive, always a vegetable plate. (Back then it was a matter of money, now, a matter of health.) He had remembered me saying, "This university is supposed to be for the state's best students in spite of the poverty of the state, the homes and backgrounds from which students come." INSTEAD, a watering hole-oasis in the desert of despair for the masses, for the elitist of the state....high society, "good ol' boys" club. He reminded me of my bitterness towards a world without shame for the "have not's" even at a place of liberty, freedom of thought, academic exploration. He remembered that I was one of the few white students who associated with the only black student there. (I was a student at UNC CH when the first black student was admitted, Harvey Beech. Who, like me, lived in Steele Hall.)

            He was amazed that anyone with my libertarian stained-trappings could become such a rabid conservative. I reminded him that because of liberals controlling government, agnostics controlling churches, socialists controlling academic education and the news media, contrived destructionists of The Constitution have slowly taken over our nation, every area of life and, like whipped-dumb animals, cowering to the masters of intimidation and fear, patriots and pastors have "given in", so quickly "given up."

            Check your biographies, the who's who of accomplishments, science, arts, finance, military. Almost without fail, the men and women of convictions-commitment, zealots of faith. Faith in family-God-country.

             I gave to Ned a basic course in religion. Basic Christianity, before the foundation of the world, God chose those who would honor him not only in belief but in recognizing those who would become the salt and light of the world. Even Christians do not realize that we are in a battle with the forces of darkness, "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]" (Eph 6:12). God does not need cowards and I have never known a liberal who is not a coward, always seeking the easy way, wanting to live off the sweat of others. SOMETIMES in three piece suits, country clubs, pill hill homes, but more interested in government subsidizing than God's sovereignty in a world of almost constant conflict-challenge. The person who has been handed everything..now entitlements, never knows the joy of giving in, attaining the righteousness of the Holy Spirit of God, "giving up" the silly ideas of personal pride-lust-laziness, cheating self from the grace, mercy, faith in an all sufficient creator. We do what we do because we believe what we believe. The true conservative, with courage, believes that saving babies is more important than saving trees or turtles (abortion), believes that the gay agenda antecedent of Marxism, has always failed. GIVE IT UP. God may talk with us with a hurricane called Sandy or a school called Sandy Hook. But you can be sure that he is talking and it is time for the world to listen. The message of the times, dispirited people, especially those who have spit in the face of our blessed Lord, you can not save yourself.  We all know, just as the world's greatest writer-Apostle Paul, knew, " For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I" (Romans 7:15), the challenge of life, as we face the world and a certain eternity. "Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).