Flying Higher Under Constraint

My earliest memory comes from when I was about two years old. Grandpa Minikus bought a kite and took Dad and Mom and I half a block down the road to the empty lot next to the huge Council Bluffs grain elevators. The kite was a brightly colored plastic. The day was also bright, but chilly; and the wind made me squint as it blew in my face.

Grandpa must have really talked up this kite flying experience, because to this day I can remember the suspense! It was a serious business and things had to be done just right. Mom and Dad stood off to one side, and I was to run next to Grandpa. He put the wing braces in and laid the kite out on the ground, pretty side down. The instructions were repeated again. I was to run my little legs very fast next to Grandpa’s long-legged, polio-stricken walk. “Ready?... Set?... Go!”

I remember running over the muddy, uneven ground for all I was worth, until... “Toni! Go get my shoe!” Grandpa was somewhere behind me and he sounded panicked. “Shoe?” I stopped running and turned around. There was Grandpa trying to balance on one leg and reel in kite string at the same time. And there was his shoe, a step behind and stuck in the mud! I remember tugging frantically at the shoe and making my way through the mud to hand it to him amidst the breathless laughter of my parents and Grandpa, who somehow managed to keep the kite afloat during this whole escapade!

Flying a kite still holds the same sense of adventure for me today as it did back then. When I was in Vancouver, Canada, a church member took us to English Bay to fly his two handed kite. Has anyone here ever had an opportunity to fly a two-handed kite?That was really fun, and scary too! Sometimes it felt as if it would lift me right off the beach! Somehow I feel like I am flying free, up there in the sky, when I am flying a kite.

Dad shared an illustration with me about a kite that helps explain the following two verses. See if you can figure out how these verses can be compared to a kite:

2Cor. 5:14 For the love of Christ constrains us;

John 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love

These verses sound rather restrictive. We can only stay in His love if we keep His commandments? Where is the freedom in this?

It sounds even worse when you look at the definition for constrain (to keep in, compel). The love of Christ keeps us in? compels us? Sounds like force! Where’s the freedom?

Think of how a kite works. There is wind to pull it away. Gravity that tries to pull it down. And a string to keep it in (constrain it). In order for the kite to rise high in the air and soar around “freely,” it must be kept tightly in with a string. If the kite gets loose from the string it will fly around up there totally free for a brief while. Then what happens? Yep, it dips and dives and eventually crashes into the ground.

God’s commandments are like the string. They pull us toward the One who causes us to fly free. The commandments restrict us for sure. We can’t do this, wear that, eat this, say that, think this, act like that...

I know for myself, it is really easy to avoid restraint. I will make up all sorts of excuses and reasons why I don’t need to follow this or that...

Do you ever feel restricted by the commandments? Guess what. We should! If we don’t, maybe it’s because we aren’t letting them constrain us. Maybe we have cut loose. Maybe we are deciding for ourselves that this is OK, God doesn’t really care, that would be Pharisaical, only the fanatics stick that close to the commandments, after all God wants us to fly free...

But we will only stay afloat for a little while if we choose our own way and cut loose. We need these restrictions. The restrictions are what keep us flying in freedom. The tight connection is not to drag us down but to keep us up.

It’s true the commandments do restrict us -- they restricts us from crashing! In this windy world of sin and deadly grave-ity, the only way for our kite to fly free is to be constrained by the commandments of God.

Good News!

The Doctor said she thinks Mom's lump is just a lipoma (fatty tumor)! They won't mess with it unless it keeps growing and becomes a bother. They only advised her to keep an eye on it.

What a relief!

Life feels all new to me now. I learned something through all this that changed my paradigm, and I think differently or something. Can't really explain it. Probably most of you have been through a similar situation that has changed your perspective on life...

I am thankful for the new perspective, and for the good news!

Indispensable

It is not what one does that makes them indispensable; it is who they are.

My Mom is going to a clinic this Friday to have them look at a lump she has had for about a year now. It may be a fatty tumor and not a big deal at all. But the number of relatives in our family who have died of cancer, and the fact that two people I know lost loved ones suddenly (literally overnight), and the “what if” game that I always seem to play in my mind -- all have combined to cause me painful thoughts and a lot of crying.

Of course I know that God is always with me and with my Mom. I also know that He is in control and doesn’t allow anything to happen that is not for our ultimate good. But that doesn’t mean that Mom will be OK and live forever. In fact, the reality of this sinful world is that she will most certainly die. It’s just a matter of time.

My selfish thoughts ran like this one night: “What would I do if Mom died soon? Who would watch out for me, send me care packages, ask if I am eating enough, spend hours on end helping me balance my checkbook, answer “female issue” questions, straighten out my emotions and hormonal thinking, give me that motherly advice... What if I met someone who wanted to date me and Mom wasn’t around to talk to? [Of course my Dad is there for me! But everyone knows that a Dad can’t be a Mom in such situations - and visa versa.] What if I got married and she wasn’t there to see? What if I had kids someday and Mom wasn’t around to ask advice from? How bitterly painful it would be to have so many things to want to tell her...”

The thought came to mind that God would provide someone to take that place for me. I know many women who would gladly do their best to be a mom to me. But this thought didn’t help AT ALL. No doubt God would provide someone to do the things a mother would do for me. But no one can be Mom! It isn’t what Mom does that makes her indispensable to me; it is who she is.

In this age of materialism, life is all about producing -- work, work, work, accomplish, succeed, make it happen... It’s so easy to be sucked into the thinking that it is what people do that makes them worth something. We even see this thought in the opposite end of the spectrum. Those who have done something terrible in the past are considered to be more worthy of resentment. We value people according to what they do instead of who they are.

Considering the possible loss of my Mom has given me a new perspective on the value of each person. It’s not what you do that makes you indispensable; it is who you are.

The Little Controversy

I Peter 5:8,9

I Corinthians 10:12,13

Hebrews 12:3,4

I Timothy 6:12

Psalm 108:12,13

James 4:7

Where I Stay While in Topeka

The Barelli mansion - doesn't look like much from this side. But it's nice!

The lake and fountain right outside the back door.

A visitor at the lake. I was so happy to see one of my favorite birds here in Kansas!

"My" bedroom is so pretty, quiet, and comfortable. I'm so grateful to have a peaceful place.

Dr. Tony Barelli, playing with his "boys" on his "farm" outside of Topeka.

Simon, he's all about retrieving! (Lucky, pictured in my bedroom, is all about eating. Lucky is getting up there in age.)

Simon, getting his shower so he can ride back to his city home.

Dr. Arla Barelli playing with Dehlia's cat while visiting our friends, the Llizos.

Mom riding with Dr. B in his "tank" at the farm - it's better than any amusement park ride!

Mom & Dad came to visit us in August. This is at the Barelli's 350 acre farm in the Flint Hills.

The Romance of Holiness

There stands a couple, face to face, in the fading light of sunset. Neither one is speaking. They only stare into each other’s eyes. A soft breeze plays with the hair that has escaped from her loosely made ponytail, blowing it across her face. The man slowly reaches up and tucks it gently behind her ear... A typical, romantic scene from any black and white movie.

What is so romantic about somebody fixing your hair? “But it isn’t the hair fixing that made it romantic!” you argue. “It is the setting, the face to face...”

Just ask any girl who has had a guy tuck loose hairs behind their ear; it feels romantic! It doesn’t matter if the setting is a busy workday; and the interaction is two seconds long; and the man is your boss; and his only motive is to try to make you more presentable for your next appointment. It still makes a person feel loved.

Perhaps, for the men, it is having someone fix your collar, or tuck the washing instructions tag back inside your shirt, or flatten the “cowlick” of hair that is standing straight up, unbeknownst to you. We all have a desire to be made right. We all appreciate someone who sees us as we cannot see ourselves, and who loves us enough to “fix” us.

I’ve been studying the word “holy” in the Bible. The word is so common that we feel comfortable using it; but I imagine that I am not the only one who couldn’t define it.

The Greek word for “holy” could also be translated “clean” or “right.” Revelation 22:11 fairly gives us the definition in one verse, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Holy and right are on one side of the equation, and their opposites are filthy and unjust (not right).

When I read “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 20:7) I thought that God was saying, “You need to be holy because I want my people to be perfect ‘pin-up’ people for me to show off. You need to be right for me. You need to be clean - no mussed up hair, no smudges, no sins - don’t embarrass Me like that.”

I couldn’t see any love in that. All I could see was someone wanting to protect their name. Be ye holy, for I am holy; and I don’t want you running around with my name, making people think I am dirty like you!

But the following verses gave me a different perspective on the one in Leviticus. God’s desire for us to be holy is not for selfish reasons.

“Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.” Deuteronomy 26:17-19

This is relationship language. They vowed to follow the Lord... and the Lord vowed to take them as His people, to make them honored, praised, and lifted up. God was going to make them a holy people (clean) so that they would be honored.

“According as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:” Ephesians 1:4

There is some romantic language for sure! He chose us. He had His eye on us for a long time, even before we were created! And He desired for us to be “before Him,” standing in front of Him, face to face - “in love.” Having your hair tucked behind your ears, or any other sort of “fixing,” fits right into this picture.

And notice in this last verse: God’s desire for our holiness is as UNselfish as it can be!

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27

God “gave Himself for us” that we might be made holy. Jesus died that He might make His church holy. He died to make you and I holy. He died because He loved.

Isn’t it true that when we love someone we want to fix them? We wouldn’t let a loved one go around with spinach in their teeth, or with their skirt tucked into the back of their pantyhose, or with a sock stuck to the back of their shirt, or with a smudge of dirt on their forehead, or with a drug addiction, or with a gossip problem, or with a bragging pride, or with anything else that makes them ugly. We put value on our loved ones, and we want others to honor them as well. We don’t want to see them ashamed or judged or disrespected or hurting themselves.

God wants to make us holy because He loves us. If we could see ourselves as we really are, we also would want to be fixed! He loves us enough to want to save us from embarrassment, from the unknown-to-us dirt that Satan throws on us to shame us before the universe.

I think I have been pushing away His hand, not letting Him tuck those loose hairs away, because I wasn’t sure what He was up to. God, please forgive me. I should have known that Your motive for “fixing” me was love! You’ve always been so good to me...

On Forgiveness

The small group of people in my training class at the Topeka, Kansas church are learning how to write a five verse Bible study. Last week I gave them the topic of "Forgiveness," and asked them to choose five verses on the subject and put them in an order that would be most helpful. They did such a good job I decided to share it with you all! (I "fleshed out" the study, as follows, for an example to the class on how to finish writing their study.) May you all be blessed!

No doubt, we have all seen a small child brought before a white wall that has hieroglyphic looking scribbles on it, and heard them insist, “I didn’t do it!” The look of guilt on their face is even more obvious than the crayon sticking out of their pocket!

Before such children can be forgiven, they have to admit that they did something wrong. How can you say “It’s okay, honey.” when there is no “it” to be okay or not? We have to admit that we have done something wrong before we can receive forgiveness.

Look at what the Bible promises to those who admit their sins:

Prov. 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

We don’t have to cover up our sins or try to find some reason for why we have done certain things. Those who “lay it all out on the table” are promised mercy. Mercy: compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is in one’s power to punish or harm.

David put it this way in Psalm 130...

Psa. 130:3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

Psa. 130:4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

David recognized that if God held our sins against us, there is not ONE person who would make it. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 And David gave that as one of the reasons we stand in reverent awe of God (fear Him) - He doesn’t treat us as we deserve; He will forgive!

And the news gets better yet in I John 1:9. Here we see that God doesn’t just listen to our confessions and say “Ah, don’t worry about it; I’m not going to hold it against you.” God’s forgiveness is deeper than just turning a blind eye and pretending it never happened. What else does His forgiveness include?

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Yes! Cleansing! When God forgives, He will also clean us from that sin. He is faithful, or trustworthy, to clean us from all un-right-ness. That’s what we really want isn’t it? We don’t want our sins to merely be ignored. We want to be rid of those things that cause us so much guilt and pain. We want to be innocent again. We want to be lovable, not ignored. God’s forgiveness doesn’t overlook our issues; it fixes them!

But how can this be? These sins I have cannot just “go away”? They have already been done. Their consequences are in motion. I’m trapped in them. I deserve every bit of what I get. I did this knowingly, on purpose!

Look at Ephesians 1:3 and 7...

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph. 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

This is the very reason Jesus came to die for us. Because we have “blown it” and are trapped in the consequences of our sin, Jesus came to redeem us. Redeem means to exchange or buy back. Adam and Eve, and every human being since them, has listened to the Serpent, Satan, and found themselves hopelessly trapped in the consequences of their sins. This is exactly what salvation is all about! Jesus came to “save His people from their sins” Matthew 1:21

And notice that last word in verse 7. Grace is “undeserved favor.” Jesus didn’t come to save people who “deserve it.” In fact He didn’t even come to save people who only sinned by accident! He came to save people who sinned on purpose and knowingly rebelled against Him. Our salvation comes because of His grace - His love for those who don’t deserve it. Forgiveness is available to everyone because of His grace.

Have you ever heard of Mary Magdalene? She was a prostitute who lived at the same time Jesus was on earth. She had listened to Jesus’ teachings and admitted that she needed forgiveness. She had confessed her sins to Him and been forgiven. No one else understood the experience she had with forgiveness, but she understood it! She was so thankful that she wanted to honor Jesus as her Savior. In the verses we are going to read in Luke 7:44-50 we see her attempt to show her thankfulness for being made clean, forgiven, freed from her sins...

Luke 7:44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

Luke 7:45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.

Luke 7:46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Luke 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

Luke 7:48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

Luke 7:49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

Luke 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Notice the crowd’s question: “Who is this that forgiveth sins also?” If they had believed that Jesus was their Savour, they wouldn’t have asked such a silly question. But it is a good question. When it really comes down to it, there is no one else in all of creation who has the power to erase our actions, change our hearts, and take away forever the condemnation and guilt that our sins cause. Only the God who creates something out of nothing, can make nothing out of something!

For the sake of the condemning crowd around them, Jesus once again told Mary that she was forgiven. Her faith, or trust, in Jesus’ power to forgive is what had freed her from her sins. She could go on now, in PEACE.

Would you like to experience that peace? The Bible tells us that we can confess our sins to God and He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all un-right-ness. Forgiveness is available to you and I right now! Let us go to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to forgive us.