Emotional Hodgepodge

"Jesus is God, therefore His love, His Thirst, is infinite. He the creator of the universe,
asked for the love of His creatures.
He thirst for our love… These words: 
‘I Thirst’ –
Do they echo in our souls?”

Mother Teresa

            A mob is always made up of people.  Great doors turn on very small hinges, from the small acorn grows the great oak tree.  God plants into good soil, small seeds-thoughts using mere mortals to nourish-germinate-grow His earthly bounty.  This writer can always tell-discern young people-young minds willing to listen.  For many, like Demas (loving this present world - 2 Timothy 4:10) it is like talking to a stump.  I encourage young-insightful people to always keep a legal pad and pen by their bed because, "God will often implant a thought into your mind while you are sleeping that He will never 'run by you again.'"  You need to write it down.  There is a famous TV-radio commercial, "The mind is a terrible thing to waste."  Man's crowning glory is his nervous system.  Other animal life has far superior senses;  the eyesight of a bird, the hearing of a dog, the musculature of a cat, the metabolism of a horse, cow or camel.  Man has the ability to think, plan, he knows he is going to die. 

            Many Christians-church members, with whom I come into contact, are invisible during the week, incomprehensible on Sunday.  They are so critical of the Muslims, Islam.  The Muslim prays 5 times a day, actually gets down on a prayer rug, very careful about what he puts in his body.  This writer has attended many church services, which were no different than a civic club meeting.  I still remember the Sunday morning when the well paid organist did not show up for church service.  One of the deacons went to his home to waken him while the church service started with a lady playing the piano.  Later, the "hung over" organist crept into the quior loft and onto the bench of the organ.  I still remember the pastor, commune service, announcing the service would be postponed because no one had checked to see if there was grape juice to use (What difference would it have made, symbolic, they could have used Coke or Pepsi?!).  I still remember, scheduled baptismal service postponed, someone had forgotten to heat the water in the baptistery.    

            Just this week, a great 777 plane which on the ground when you look up at it appears over 10 stories high, for over a week, this great airplane lost, with 23,000 satellites in the sky.  Those who still fly tell me you can not go through an airport without someone "massaging" you top to bottom to make sure you are safe to fly.

            Yet, before we become too critical of others, I must remember there are still church members who faithfully, Sunday after Sunday, are at their posts... greeters at the front door, teachers in the Sunday school classroom, choir members and musicians (I still remember, very large church-very large parking lot, the faithful church member who, always there, always with a wonderful Christian greeting, directing the parking of cars... often in rain coat and umbrella.)  The are two sides to the Christian coin, faithfulness to God and faithfulness to His work.  The two greatest gifts God gave us, such amazing love on His cross and the ability-desire to love one another.

            We can become cynical-skeptical with the hostility of this world.  It is easy to become so concerned about our own wants and needs that we forget the needs of others.  The many people with just simple employment but, they need their jobs, need to pay their bills.  I become so saddened by Christians who are such poor "tippers," so unpleasant in the marketplace.  St. Augustine, 4th century, "Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him."  All mankind needs this rest.  God who made the workday, made a day of rest.  The philosopher, Frederick Niche, atheist, said, "Don't attack Christians for their truth, attack them for their unpleasant attitude."  I am convinced that most of us, those of use who claim the name of Christ, keep more anti-Christ-unbelievers away from God's redemption because of our attitude, than we ever lead toward Him.

            We are all broken, broken in many ways, physically as well as spiritually.  The mortality rate is still 100% in spite of defensive medicine... big pharmas treatment for everything and cures for nothing.  Yet, when we get sick we need help and there are still those professionals (doctors, nurses, osteopaths, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, surgeons, etc.) who put patient care before their own comfortable lifestyle.   Every day of my life I thank God there are still men and women who are willing to study-train-work to ease a suffering world.  Caring for old people, infirmed people and disabled people, is not easy.  I believe the most difficult thing for me to adjust in caring with patients was human odor.

            Beware of the emptiness of an empty life!  Beware of the blessings from the zest-spiciness personality pluses of our fellow man!  Isn't it wonderful that God has instilled in so many people the ability to be kind, considerate, to smile and even to make us laugh?  A beautiful tapestry from the front seems so perfect, only when you look at the back and see all of the knots in its creation, do you realize what it has taken to achieve that perfection. 

             I live in a city, which during WWII, was known for ship building.  Thousands of liberty ships were built here in order to furnish allied forces in Europe with the materials of war.  I knew some men who worked in the shipyard.  They talked of the absolute necessity for preventing any leaks, everything sealed to perfection.  Those with roofs on houses know how much water can come in through a pin hole.  Life is truly an emotional hodgepodge, constant management of leaks and flaws.