Be a Mountain Mover

This is the season when graduates endure one more lecture that stands between them and their diploma. Students march into the commencement ceremony preoccupied with closing this chapter of life, opening up a new one, and plunging into a fuzzy future filled with great expectations and disconcerting realities. Meanwhile, the commencement speaker looks at the graduates and realizes that the words he or she has carefully crafted and arranged to be memorable will, in all likelihood, soon be forgotten. In fact one recent commencement speaker mused that most graduates will not even remember who spoke at their ceremony.

            If I had been asked to speak to graduates this year, even knowing what I said would likely be forgotten, I would encourage them to “be a mountain mover.” That phrase is embedded in a quote from an unknown source that wisely said, “Don't tell God how Big your storm is; tell the storm how Big your God is. Keep your eyes on the Lord and see Him magnify His power in you. With faith in your heart, you will move mountains. When fear fills your heart, mountains will move you. Be a mountain mover.” Perhaps graduates will not remember a speech while clouded by the emotion of the moment, but they might remember a phrase like “be a mountain mover.”

            This year I see large “mountains” looming before our nation. Economically we are operating by a financial delusion that supposes that our debts are never due. Morally the nation functions without a spiritual compass and celebrates how fast change is occurring while disregarding where the change is leading us. Emotionally people are deluded into assuming that, since there is a pill to mask discontentment and despair in life, then we must be happy regardless of nagging suspicions that things are otherwise. Spiritually people hunger for something to fill the God-shaped void in their lives and assume that by cramming empty ritual and euphoric experimentalism into that chasm their souls will be satiated. These mountains loom on the horizon of this year’s graduates as an imposing wall. How will the mountains be faced?

            In 1 Samuel 14 we see two men react to the “mountain” they faced called the Philistines. The situation was desperate. The army of the Philistines was a massive army of thousands (13:5), and Saul’s army had melted away to mere hundreds (13:15). Compounding this was the fact that the ragtag army of Saul was ill equipped to face the hostile forces with “neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan” except for the one Saul and Jonathan had (13:22). By any measurement, Saul and his son, Jonathan faced an enemy of “mountainous” proportions.

            The responses of Saul and Jonathan were vastly different. Saul was paralyzed into almost a catatonic state of despair as he focused upon the well-equipped and massive army of the Philistines. Thus, he sat down under a tree awaiting the inevitable annihilation in battle. His son Jonathan, in contrast, advanced toward the enemy with just one man and his sword (14:6). What made the difference? It was a matter of focus. In contrast to Saul’s focus, Jonathan’s is expressed in his words to his armor bearer, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these Philistines; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving us by many or by few” (14:6). To put it another way, let’s see how God will move this “mountain.” Jonathan was confident of how big his God really was. The outcome and the rest of the story are summarized in (14:23), “So the Lord saved Israel that day.”

            Graduates of 2013 face looming “mountains” of challenge. The media daily adds layers of gloom to already bleak prospects. The question that this year’s graduates and indeed all of us must answer is what will we focus upon? If we limit our view to our resources, abilities, power, and wisdom, then perhaps things are not too hopeful. However, there is an alternate focus. What can the Lord do if we rely upon His wisdom, power, and intervention? Moving out by faith as Jonathan did may be the very catalyst God wants to use to “move a mountain” in our nation.  

            The biggest mountain that needed to be moved has already been moved. On the cross Jesus Christ took away the “mountain” of separation between God and man and offered his work to be a gift we take by faith. The Apostle Paul concluded confidently, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” In other words, “If he has moved the biggest mountain, can’t He move the rest?” This certainly should encourage us to be mountain movers! 

Enough is Enough

Looking at the events of history one often observes times when it appears that the hinges of history turn. In the United States, the Boston Tea Party led by the Sons of Liberty on December 16, 1773, was one such point. There a group of tax protesters turned Boston Harbor into a salty “pot” of tea. More recently in China the hinge of history turned at the Student Protest at Tiananmen Square on April 21, 1989. On that day 100,000 students gathered at Beijing's Tiananmen Square to commemorate deposed reform-minded leader of the Communist Party Hu Yaobang. The event unleashed voices of discontent against China's authoritative communist government. Ultimately, this led to the June massacres of demonstrators by Chinese troops and the arrest of thousands of protesters and other dissidents. But this also led to a reform movement that is still underway. The picture of students standing defiantly before massive tanks is etched in minds of many around the world, and especially the citizens of China. Throughout history it seems there comes a time when people come to the point of exasperation and say, “Enough is enough!”

            One is never really sure of all of the ingredients that provoked such protests. We tend to focus upon the catalyst that ignited the historical flash point. However, we realize the Boston Tea Party was about more than taxed tea. The protest in Tiananmen Square was about more than a deposed reform-minded leader. There was a “back-story” to these events where the hinges of history turned. How much does it take for people to get to the point where they break into a no-holds-barred protest?

            Dotting the pages of Scripture there are points in time when God concluded that enough is enough. Consider the days of Noah when a time came where the judgment of God fell (Genesis 6). In the days of Abraham a time came when God looked at the peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) and determined that enough was enough. In the days of Moses the hinges of history turned as the judgment of God fell on Egypt (Exodus 7-11). In all of these cases and many more, there was a point in time when God acted. Could God have acted earlier? Certainly. Could He have waited longer? If He wanted to. The point is we do not know the “back-story” like God does.

            Peter seems to address this in 2 Peter 3. People were criticizing, challenging, and even ridiculing the possibility of God intervening and changing history at a point in time. The particular issue at hand had to do with the “return of Christ.” These scoffers were bold enough to conclude that the course of history would not and could not be altered by God. They snidely concluded that “all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (verse 4). Peter points out that such people have forgotten history (verse 5-6) and do not realize that God alone controls its course. God specifically knows the point in history when the hinges of history will turn one last time as He carries out His just judgment against those who are in rebellion against Him and His will (verse 7).

            The question Peter then answers is about the seeming delay of Christ’s return and His just judgment. Is God a “slacker?” No, God is merciful. Peter writes, “The Lord… is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (verse 9). Part of the “back-story” of God not closing the door of history relates to His character. He is longsuffering. He is provides time for repentance to occur until He finally says, “Enough is enough.”

            The Psalmist wrote a song to commemorate the Lord who “is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy,” adding, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (103:8, 10). The Psalmist adds a stern reminder, “He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever” (103:9). I suppose one might conclude from the Psalmist’s insights, “In His mercy he has not yet said, ‘Enough is enough.’ But He will.”

            In contrast with my Heavenly Father, I recall my Dad and his level of patience with a hyper-energetic son. Sunday in our Irish home was to be a day of rest and quiet. My Dad worked a six-day work-week as a manager for the Acme Markets and was justly exhausted when Sunday came. He announced on numerous occasions that he wanted to enjoy some “peace and quiet” on Sunday afternoon. I knew what he wanted; however, there were those occasions when my energy seemed to exceed my capacity for compliance. After a few energy outbursts echoed through our home, suddenly the Sunday newspaper that had lain on his lap as he napped, was flung into the air and I was in the grip of an Irishman that had woken out of his Sunday afternoon hibernation. Without going into details, judgment fell swiftly! It was just. I knew what was expected. I had violated his “Sunday afternoon law.”

            In my life I have done much more than violated God’s will. I have been defiant in doing so. How thankful I am that my Heavenly Father has responded to me with longsuffering mercy and grace. He did not dismiss His will because of my rebellion, but He gave me the opportunity to repent. There will come a point in time when God looks at rebellious humanity and say, “Enough is enough.” That hinge in history will come. It has not yet. However, it could happen at any time. In view of the inevitable, wouldn’t it be wise both personally and nationally to heed Peter’s words and “come to repentance?”    

Danger of Forgetfulness

Forgetfulness is often associated with aging. In reality, forgetfulness is more associated with being human and discovering that living life often crowds out memory. Time seeps into our memories and washes out knowledge we once possessed. It is replaced with vague memories of what we once knew but cannot, or subconsciously prefers not to, recollect in present circumstances. Thus, memories and lessons of the past are subject to either complete oblivion or distortion. Distortion often allows facts from our distant memory to become conveniently reinterpreted to mesh with current desires. Sometimes forgetfulness is a blessing – especially when coupled with forgiveness of an offense which we have endured. At other times forgetfulness can be extremely dangerous.

      On March 11, our world remembered the 2^nd anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan. It was the fifth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record keeping in 1900, resulting in a devastating tsunami of epic proportions reaching in some places to a height of 133 feet and racing as far as 6 miles inland.  The combined tragedy that resulted left 19,000 people dead or missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, over a million buildings either collapsed or damaged, and an economic catastrophe estimated at 235 billion dollars – marking it as the most costly natural disaster ever.

      Some assume that the tsunami was unprecedented and could not have been anticipated. Archeologists however, note that there are hundreds of stone markers stretched out along the coastline of eastern Japan, dating back more than 600 years that gave warnings of the dangerous waves. One stone slab near the town of Aneyoshi has the carved warning, “High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build below this point.” The warning on the stone markers was heeded by the dozen or so households of the hamlet of Aneyoshi and their homes survived the disaster that destroyed low-lying communities below them. Other markers did not indicate a safety zone, but did issue a serious warning like one that read, “If an earthquake comes, beware of tsunamis.” Another read, “Always be prepared for unexpected tsunamis. Choose life over possessions and valuables.”

      The stone tablets were not a secret. Yuto Kimura, 12, living in Aneyoshi, reported, “Everybody here knows about the markers. We studied them in school.” Because they didn’t forget and heeded the warning, he said, “When the tsunami came, my mom got me from school and then the whole village climbed to higher ground.”  Others forgot the stone marker’s alerts and perished. Why? A scholar who studied the tablets, Yotaru Hatamura, concluded, “People had this crucial knowledge, but they were busy with their lives and jobs, and many forgot.” Professor Fumihiko Imamura, teaching disaster planning at Tohoku University in Sendai, a city devastated by the tsunami, added, “It takes about three generations for people to forget. Those that experience the disaster themselves pass it to their children and their grandchildren, but then the memory fades.” Forgetfulness can be dangerous!

      The Old Testament reveals that God knows that humans have poor memories. Therefore, he gave the children of Israel a warning in Deuteronomy 8. This was the generation who has just finished the wilderness wanderings. They were told as they were about to enter the “promised land” to “not forget the Lord” (verses 11, 14, 19). He had delivered them from captivity, led them through the wilderness, and provided for them during those 40 years. He cautioned that their current pleasant circumstances may perpetuate amnesia of the past (verses12-17). God also provided for them “tables of stone” (10:1-5) to aid them in remembering God and what He wanted them to do. However, forgetfulness sets in and the alerts that God gave were not heeded and national disaster resulted. How dangerous forgetfulness was for God’s people.

      Again we are reminded in the New Testament that people are prone to forgetfulness. The Apostle John records the words that the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus Christ had for the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7). They forgot to love Christ as they should. They are challenged to “remember and repent” (5). Here the church was busy doing all sorts of things but in the process they were forgetting to love God as they should – “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Forgetfulness again is seen as dangerous.

      Are we in danger of forgetfulness when it comes to God? Nations and individuals can easily forget the wisdom, guidance, and warnings that God has provided to give us a life that both pleases God and benefits us. Perhaps people are prone to forget that “the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). When this occurs, we are in danger of being overwhelmed and destroyed when the emotional, moral, ethical, financial and spiritual “tsunamis” roar into our lives. The Psalmist challenges God’s people to “forget not all His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). That is good advice for everyone because forgetfulness can be dangerous. How can we stimulate our memories about God and what He has done for us and what He wants from us? The place to start is not on “stone monuments” or human traditions. Our memories are reactivated as we turn to God’s Word, the Bible, which God has provided for us to neutralize our natural tendency to become forgetful. Remember, forgetfulness can be dangerous!

Better Than a Mini-series

     Masterpiece’s Downton Abbey, according to Maria Elena Fernandez, senior entertainment reporter for Newsweek, has generated critical acclaim, audience enthusiasm, and impressive ratings, garnering both Emmys and Golden Globe awards. People are amazed at the success of a series focused upon a period of the early 20^th century when history was at the hinge of a cultural mega shift. The three season series focused upon the English aristocratic Crawley family and their servants who are deeply embedded in a post-Edwardian culture and class structure. They lived lives many 21^st century Americans find at best intriguingly obscure and at worst disturbingly socially unfair. Weaving throughout the series are snippets of historical events and their impact upon all levels of society. 

     One actor commenting on the series universal appeal noted, “What’s interesting about the show is that as our culture’s protocol and etiquette deteriorates, we get to watch this show where it’s in full swing from the turn of the century, where people actually honor their place in society and live there.” He added, “That’s why it’s so interesting to watch Downton Abbey because these people know their place and they thrive in their place.” In our era of social discord it seems as if people are discontent with where they are in life and equally discontent that someone else may be in a better state than they are. We increasingly hear political rhetoric highlighting the differences between people and classes rather than seeing the individual value of people regardless of status, wealth, or achievements in life.

     Throughout Downton Abbey, people are clearly portrayed with a different station in life, yet they were also portrayed as being proud of the status they had and the inherent responsibilities associated with their position. They saw themselves as having personal value, making a contribution by the part they played in the overall scheme of life, and desiring to do the best for others to whom they related. The series portrayed some notable exceptions who viewed life differently, but they were not portrayed favorably.

     The aristocratic Crawleys viewed their servants as people whom they valued and for whom they were responsible. There was genuine affection for those who worked for them. Their staff worked with the attitude that they wanted the Crawleys to have the best of their service and proudly carried out their duties, no matter how seemingly trivial, as a privileged vocation not just a job to complete. When exceptions to these attitudes were seen, they were portrayed as an aberration to the norm and not an attitude to be tolerated. The series portrayed people living life as collaborators so life could be jointly enjoyed not as competitors seeking to benefit oneself over the welfare of others.

     The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:5-9 wrote to Christians in a Roman world that was definitely filled with class distinction. He wrote that if one’s life was controlled by the Spirit of God, those with a different status in life would relate to one another differently than the cultural norm. Such people would respect their vocation on earth as a means by which God can be glorified. Servants worked in their vocation “as to Christ” (5:5). Masters would carry out their vocation knowing that they too were serving God and “knowing that your own Master is in heaven” (5:9). This view of a person’s vocation and value adjusted how servants worked and how masters treated those who worked for them. This is the standard God has for people of different vocations as they relate to one another.

     Yesterday I conducted a funeral for an Irish immigrant who knew that God had called her to a vocation as a maid. She and her husband, who was a chauffeur, served one family through several generations with integrity, diligence, hard labor, respect, and love from the day they arrived in the United States until they had to retire. Her service was not a job to perform but a way to express love to God by lovingly serving another. The family she served respected her and her vocation and treated her with respect, care, and love. When she could no longer work and needed to retire they provided her a house, cared for her needs, and maintained loving contact with her and her family. As time passed this maid needed to go to a nursing home; and there, too, her needs were met by the family she had served. Above all, they visited her. Yesterday at her funeral, a family member she was probably closest to was there. Her glistening eyes revealed that that this Irish maid and this wealthy family had connected as an employer and employee on a level which God intended and honored. Two people from two very different worlds with different status, and fulfilling different God-appointed vocations, connected in such a way that developed a strong bond of love.

     Downton Abbey is a work of fiction that has caught our nation’s collective imagination. But what I have seen over six decades in the life of an Irish maid and an aristocratic American family is a wonderful reality of what life can be like when people of different status can value, respect, and love one another. What would our world look like if people looked at themselves and others this way? It would be much better than a mini-series!