Scripture
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
~Matthew 5:4, NRSV
Quote
The most difficult aspect of the Christian life is maintaining proper balance.
~Calvin C. Inman
I guess that one of the reasons I love the Psalms of David so much is his honesty and realism. David’s highs and lows are evident in his songs. One minute he is teetering on brink of despair and the next he is shouting joyful praise. David was no Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he was not schizophrenic, he was normal. Undulation is a part of life. Go to any beach on the planet and there will be waves. They will vary in size but the tides are real. When God sends a wave, you ride it for as long as it last. What about the people below us who are beneath the wave? Just stay on your board, you will be down there sooner or later–this is the nature of life. It is a series of waves or storms. Enjoy the sunny days and smooth sailing.
How do you maintain your balance in a broken world, in a world where there is suffering, death and FaceBook? I prefer the old days when we knew very little about what was going on with our neighbors. As the old saying goes, “ignorance is bliss.” FaceBook seems to bring out the worse in all of us which is why I deleted my account. Some use it to bolster their image…posting things that make them look good which is pretense and then others use it to air out their dirty laundry and neither is edifying. But back to the original question: how can we be happy and mourn at the same time?
The answer is not in pretending; nor is it in escapism. We must face reality; it is the only mature thing to do. The LORD, nor our family or friends want us to be depressed: that doesn’t edify anyone but hedonism is certainly not the answer. You can entertain yourself to death and still be unhappy. We need to maintain a conscience awareness of our sin and need of grace but at the same time, we must stay focused on the purity and splendor of Christ. James and John were brothers, James was martyred in his twenties and John lived to be almost a hundred years old. I can’t explain this; no one can. Why I continue to live while young people die is a mystery to me and he leaves me feeling guilty at times but the bottom line is faith in the sovereign wisdom of God. Do you reckon He knows things that I don’t know? I will venture to guess He knows infinitely more than all of us combined.
I do know that we all need His grace. I also know that He leaves me here to communicate and share this amazing grace with those around me. Like Paul, I long to depart and be with HIM where there is no cancer, pain, sorrow or death and the next day or moment, I am longing to stay here and share His grace. The undulation is not just out there, it is inside me as well.
Something has happened in the last couple of weeks; I keep getting thought during the day and I stop and write a blog. Now I have a back log but I hate to prepare one and not post it so I have disciplined myself to post the one furtherest down the page. Some of them are better than others but I hate not to post them. I may have told you this yesterday, I can’t remember.
Today is Friday I think: so have a great weekend.
By the way: Five people got the answer right on the riddle. The answer was in Psalm 19:10 and the answer I was looking for was THE WORD OF GOD. Chloe said Jesus and since He is the WORD {logos} incarnate, I could not declare her wrong. Anthony was first to respond at 6:02 just minutes after I posted. Keith, Judy and Holly also responded with the right answer. I have some highly intelligent readers.