Look for patterns not promises.....

 

Behold the child, by Nature's kindly law,

Pleas'd with a rattle, tickled with a straw:

Some livelier play-thing gives his youth delight,

A little louder, but as empty quite:

Scarfs, garters, gold, amuse his riper stage;

And beads and pray'r-books are the toys of age:

Pleas'd with this bauble still, as that before;

'Till tir'd he sleeps, and Life's poor play is o'er. . . .

Alexander Pope.

 CRYING

I find tears are so much closer to the surface as I age. 

Is it just me? Or do we all become more sentimental with age? Am I the only one that finds tears welling up and streaming where once I found it easy to quench? 

As a younger man, tears were rare and emotions were easily controlled; but in old age, I find myself welling up so often as I watch humans struggle with life and the difficulties it brings. Seeing someone in tears has always caused compassion within me, but now..... I find my eyes wringing wet when I see almost anyone fighting the battle of life with all that's within them. The underdog battling for rightful ground causes emotions to rise up in me like never before. The heroic worker sacrificing for the good of others brings my heart to near bursting with admiration. 

King David said, "My heart is stirred by a noble theme." It can be the nobility in a child exerting all they have to achieve excellence any any arena of life. There's within me a tenderness for the downcast that was buried in my younger years but now rises up wherever I see the struggle. I choke up at the least display of mercy and unselfish kindness, be it a song, a line in a book, a scene in a movie, or a simple expression on a face....  

Am I just a "sentimental old fool" or is it the hand of God?  

 When to crack the whip and turn the tables.

Now when we have grown in Christ,

and begin to have the mind of Christ,

and truly love others,

and have shown ourselves faithful in serving Christ,

and He has given us a position of leadership,

and we can minister with love, grace and maturity,

then, perhaps, we can gain the trust of those in error

and help them see the tenets of our faith more clearly.

What many young Christians gravitate to first,

is to be a corrector, to point out heresies,

sins, and faults in others.

Of course it is pride driven,

but that is invisible to the young Christian whom may actually believe God has called him to be a helper to the Holy Spirit in pointing out the sins, shortcomings and errors in others.

I've had a few immature Christians tell me they believe they are called to correct,

they believe it's their spiritual gift!

Oh how easy it is to point out the sins of others,

and how exceedingly difficult it is to love.

We love the crack of the whip!

We love to turn over tables and drive out the wicked!

Our testosterone surges and our adrenaline pumps,

but of course, this is not the power of the Holy Spirit,

it is simply self deluded self-righteousness.

 What a fascinating looking young woman!

How God has graced the palate of her face with such distinct stokes of beauty, melting colors and freckles and eyes to amaze anyone, well, it's just like His hand in nature, mixing shades of colors, shadows and textures.

May she always glory in God's handiwork!

 "If the mountain seems too big today 

then climb a hill instead;

If morning brings you sadness 

it's okay to stay in bed.

If the day ahead feels heavy and your plans feel like a curse, There's no shame in rearranging, don't make yourself feel worse.

If a shower stings like needles and a bath feels like you'll drown; 

If you haven't washed your hair for days, 

don't throw away your crown! 

A day is not a lifetime. A rest is not defeat. 

Don't think of it as failure, 

Just a quiet, kind retreat.

It's okay to take a moment From an anxious, fractured mind. 

The world will not stop turning While you get realigned! 

The mountain will still be there When you want to try again 

You can climb it in your own time, Just love yourself till then."

~Laura Ding-Edwards

 

I'm reading Kent's book "The Social Teachings of The Prophets and Jesus," and having been brought up in the Evangelical faith, the label "Social Gospel" has such negative connotations that I became blinded to the vast application of Christ's teachings for the social order and good of mankind.    

A Summary of Jesus' Economic Teachings

"Jesus' economic teachings are highly individualistic; but they rise to a plane where the interests of the individual and of society are absolutely identical. Briefly stated in modern terms, they are:

1. The possession of more things than are necessary for a man tends to destroy his freedom and his social efficiency. 

2. The pursuit of wealth as an end in itself is incompatible with loyalty to a man's highest ideals and interests as well as to those of society. 

3. Each man is under obligation to contribute to the wealth of society in exact proportion to his ability. 

4. No man is entitled to share in the world's wealth who is not willing to work, and service to society constitutes his only valid claim to the possession of property. 

5. Private property is a public trust to be administered for the best interests of society. 

6. Society is under obligation to devise means so that each man who is willing to labor will have not only a living, but also an opportunity to contribute what he is able to the common wealth. 

7. The rights of humanity are paramount to those of capital. 

8. The cure of poverty is the elimination of its ultimate causes, moral and intellectual, as well as economic. 

9. In the Christian social order the dominant principle is not selfish competition, but fraternal co-operation which aims to promote the economic welfare of each individual, of each class, and of society as a whole. 

Competition has a place, even under the Golden Rule, but its motive is social rather than individualistic, its purpose is primarily to promote efficiency rather than merely to increase private wealth, and it's benefits are shared by the entire community as well as by the capitalist and laborer."  Charles Foster Kent, PhD., Litt.D.