The final planting

My father in law, Elwood Schwartz, passed away about 10 days ago.  He was a dairy farmer for most of his life...grew up on the farm that he eventually bought from his parents and worked it for over 30 years as he raised his own family there.  I had no experience with farmers before I met his beautiful daughter and visited the farm.  I was impressed with the breadth of knowledge, skill and faith that farmers have.  A dairy farmer, like him, has to have knowledge of crops, animals, machinery, weather, business and government regulation.  They really are masters of many skills and yet keenly aware of their reliance on God....they know the limits of their control.  Elwood was not a man of many words, but when he used words they were well chosen and to the point.  That probably reflected his efficient use of time.  When Shirley and I were married, we had to work our wedding schedule around the daily milking of the herd.  The cows were milked twice a day and you can't take a day off...the cows have to release their milk each day.  But the church we were married in was located on a corner of their farm...I believe the family had provided the land to the church a long time ago...and it was poignant to start our lives on the soil where my father in law and his family had made a living for so many years.  He planted corn and other crops every year...I believe most of these crops became food for the herd he milked.  So the routine of plowing, planting and harvesting was as important as the daily milking routine. 

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Last Monday I was struck with a thought as the funeral was completed and we attended the graveside service.  At the end of the service at the gravesite we were given the opportunity to watch his casket  lowered into the ground.  I was struck that, in a sense, he was also being planted into the soil that had given him his living...that eventually he will be raised in the final harvest...the harvest of the Lord. 

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Genesis 15:¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

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Rest and rejoice faithful father of my wife,

Rob Smith

What do you want?

 Consider the following episode from Jesus' earthly ministry:

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Matthew 20:²⁹ And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. ³⁰ And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ³¹ The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" ³² And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?" ³³ They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened." ³⁴ And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

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Two blind men have heard of Jesus.  They know He is the promised one who would come from the line of King David...the Messiah!  Because they are blind they are limited in their mobility and it took some effort to position themselves in a place where they would be near Jesus for a few moments as He passed them.  They would have one brief opportunity to get His attention and then He'd be gone.  And they seized that chance to cry out in hopes He would hear them...despite the crowd and the noise.  They called repeatedly out in humility and submission to the one they knew was sent from God..."have mercy on us, Son of David!"  They pressed on, despite the rebuke of the crowd.  When Jesus heard their sincere plea He stopped...Jesus stopped everything, stepped away from the crowd and asked them this question: "What do you want me to do for you?".

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In our personal need are we willing to position ourselves close to Jesus?  Will we humble ourselves and cry out to the Son of God?  Will we throw off the attempts of the enemy to persuade us that are unimportant?  Will we express our need to the only one who can meet it?  And when He touches us and opens our eyes to Himself...will we follow Him?

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blessings,

Rob Smith

God's point of view

  We seem to need reminders that the world doesn't revolve around our lives.  In Matthew, chapter 20, Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard owner who goes out to hire workers for his vineyard.  He goes out early in the work day and hires some for a certain wage and then, throughout the day, he hires more.  Some workers were hired with only one hour left in the work day.  At the end of the day the owner pays all the workers the same amount, starting with those who worked the least time and finishing with those who worked all day.  To our minds and to the minds of the workers this seems totally unfair.  The "all day" workers should have been paid more.  But Jesus tells us at the outset that this is a parable about the kingdom of heaven.  The kingdom of heaven doesn't bend to our sense of "fairness" because the owner of the vineyard is God and He has every right to award each as He desires.  Suppose the payment that is represented in the story is eternal life.  Whether one comes to faith in childhood or as an elderly soul on a deathbed...the reward would be the same.  Verse 15 seems to sum up the perspective we all need about understanding how Heaven operates:  (and it doesn't bend to our rules...thankfully!)

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¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? 'Or do you begrudge my generosity?'

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blessings,

Rob Smith

true gains

 We are self-centered creatures by nature.  As we move into life we typically seek to "add" to our lives, to find the "ultimate success" for our lives.  We focus on gaining...gaining status, gaining possessions, gaining purpose.  We like to use words like "profit" to show that we are doing well.  Somewhere inside...just leaning on our own resources...we try to build the ultimate life for ourselves.  There is a great passage in Matthew, chapter 16, verses 24-28 where Jesus is teaching his disciples that there is another way to go that is far superior.  In this passage Jesus says it is better to let all these self-centered ambitions go completely...and follow Him!  Talk about a scary proposition...full of unknown!  Not only that, Jesus suggests that following him will open a person up to difficulties and rejections (just like He faced). 

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But Jesus argues that following the self-centered route is very limited in potential.  You can't find salvation that way and anything you gain (even if you won a great lottery)...you also lose...especially your life....your eternal life.  The most valuable possession we can ever attain we already have...our soul...our very life that God has given.  We need to lose the self focus, gain the Son focus, follow Jesus despite difficulty and even rejection.  But there are great profits...there are the best of rewards.  In verse 27 we learn that ultimately Jesus will come back with angels and the glory of the Father and he will reward every person for what he has done.

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We are right to desire an ultimate great outcome for our lives but we won't find it following the self-centered approach that we fall into naturally.  We need to recognize that our life is a great gift...not of our own doing...we need to lose our grip on our lives, take a risk and let Jesus lead us.  He has important things for us to do and there are rewards...there is life eternal and there is the personal reward of the Lord at a marvelous future time.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

how closes is Heaven?

 Very close, I believe.  Heaven is very close.  At one point Jesus illustrated how close Heaven is by taking Peter, James and John up a mountain (you would expect to go up something like a mountain to reach Heaven).  At the top an amazing thing happened.  Jesus' appearance was totally changed.  His face became alive with light...having the radiance as bright as the sun.  His clothes took on an electric brightness suggesting they had some kind of energy as well.  But the really amazing thing was the visitors Jesus started talking to on top of the mountain: Elijah and Moses.  These great men of the Old Testament had died centuries before but were instantly recognizable, somehow, to the disciples.  They must have come from Heaven and provide exciting proof that there is life after death.  Not only that but in their conversations with Jesus they discussed the upcoming events that would include His death in Jerusalem.  How encouraging that, not only is there Heaven, but there is a "master plan" that God controls and that included Jesus' amazing death and resurrection.  It must have encouraged and reinforced Jesus to review the upcoming difficult stages of His life, knowing that it was His Father's plan and had such great purpose.  But the disciples were struck with shock and amazement...Peter filled the emotional moment with talking....and then a cloud came over the mountain and the voice of God, Himself spoke: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."  It wasn't a time for Peter's talk...it was time to listen to Jesus.  And as the disciples fell on their faces in fear the first words of Jesus for them to hear were, "Rise, and have no fear."  When they rose, only Jesus remained.

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This great event showed the reality and closeness of Heaven.  It showed that God has a place where we go, if we have trusted in Him, where we will see others who have gone before.  God is there and there is a vital relationship between men and God in that place.  We see that the difficult events of life on earth are under the control and plan of God.  And we see that God has sent His Son for us.  We should listen to him as His father tells us and we should trust Him and we shall then follow Him to the Heaven that the disciples sampled on top of that mountain.

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from Matthew 17:1-8, Luke 9:31

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blessings

Rob Smith

the constant companion

  It occurred to me this morning, as I strolled by the local pond, that the Lord is a constant companion.  There was nothing I could see in the morning that He didn't create Himself...including me...the whole context for living is set in the context of what He has made.  God is not someone I invite into my experience so much as God is gracious to allow me to experience at all!  He is not just a part of life...He defines life.  And yet...I have this misconception at times that I rule my life...I make my choices independently...I relate to God as I choose.  How foolish that is!  And how comforting to relate to Him as Lord and Father.  It is a warm thought to realize that we are never alone and never apart from His care and His oversight...not to mention His presence within.  Both within and without He is present.  He is the big God, whose mark is on all we see.

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It encourages me this morning to remember that He is with me always and that I was formed for Him.  (and so were you!)

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Deuteronomy 33:

¹² Of Benjamin he said,

"The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God surrounds him all day long,
    and dwells between his shoulders."

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blessings on your walk today,

Rob Smith

Walking by starlight

 I went for a walk this morning...before the sun arose.  The sky was crisp and clear and stars studded the velvet canopy and provided enough light to just make out the path in front of me.  I was glad to be alone with all that vastness above.  It felt both humbling and intimate at the same time.  I considered how our great God fashioned all of that great expanse and then how He also made me and gave me the eyes to see His greatness.  Beyond that, I was amazed to consider that the One who could conceive and create on such a grand level would even have interest in me and all the other "me's" out there!  I spend much of my day peering into a much smaller computer screen and it was good to re reattached to the original high definition, big screen...lit by the stars.

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It's interesting that in the early morning the blackness of the night gives no hint of the brilliant light of day, which lies just ahead.  This also encouraged me as I realized that the great and intimate Creator I'd been visiting with quietly would soon shine on my world and continue to shine in my life.  He is the God of day and of night...the God of the vast and the intimate.

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Psalm 136:⁹ the moon and stars to rule over the night,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;

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blessings,

Rob Smith

crisp morning

  We had unusually warm weather over much of the Christmas holiday period.  It seemed a little strange to wear spring clothes outside in late December.  In a way the crisp morning air today was refreshing and I enjoyed a bracing walk as I spent some time with the Lord.  The thought that seemed to refresh me, like the chilly temperatures, was that we need to focus first on our primary relationship.  We have so many relationships...with our spouse, with coworkers, with friends...even with ourselves.  At times all the other relationships seem to take priority and drive our emotions and even our actions and attitudes.  But this morning I was reminded that it is essential to focus first on the 'primary' relationship....the personal relationship we have with the Lord.  He came personally to find us and to buy us back so that we could enjoy a close and intimate walk.  For some reason we may allow other things to interfere with that personal walk.  This morning I was reminded to make it a 'first step' to realign with Him...to make sure that there was nothing between us.  All the other relationships...even with myself...will only go as well as my primary relationship with the Lord.

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John 10:²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

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blessings,

Rob Smith

a clean sheet of paper

  Snow...a clean sheet of paper...a New Year...

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These are three things or substances or concepts that appear pure, untouched, full of potential while free of errors or "wish I had's".  I remember great times playing in fresh snow, feeling like a pioneer in my familiar backyard by making boot prints, snowballs and sled tracks where there had been nothing but perfect snow.  In school I learned the joy of framing creative ideas through words on notebook paper.  And each New Year we feel a fresh start, a new beginning, a chance to improve or correct or complete things that we have been wanting to address.

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Perhaps we can apply this approach to our view of God.  Perhaps we can start with a clean sheet of paper, like a backyard of fresh snow, to reconsider God.  I have a feeling that we project our view of people onto the person of God.  Instead of starting fresh and allowing Him to fill us with a picture of who He is and how we can know Him, we start with ourselves and try to imagine God like another one of us somehow.

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So, maybe as the New Year begins we can bring a new view upward and allow God to describe and inform us Himself, about Himself.  It might help us see ourselves more clearly!

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Deuteronomy 7:⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.

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love,

Rob Smith

New Year's Resolution

 I don't do well with New Year's resolutions, historically.  My good intentions often don't translate into lasting change.  As this New Year is upon us now it appears almost like a fresh blank page of paper and we can write whatever we want upon it.  What shall we give ourselves to this year?  What should our personal goals be?  This morning a quote from 2 Corinthians struck home:

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2 Corinthians 5:⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

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That last verse, verse 9, is what landed a punch on my heart...."whether we are at home in Heaven or away on earth we make it our aim to please the Lord"  (my paraphrase)

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Perhaps we can make it our daily goal to please the Lord...in attitude, actions, affections, attention...sounds like a good resolution.  Perhaps if we start each day with "aiming to please Him" as our intention the rest of the day...the rest of the year...the rest of our lives...might play out well.  Until we are finally home!

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blessings,

Rob Smith