Yesterday I wrote about a friend welcoming some free advice. Today I’m pleased to offer another story about a positive response to what could have been a negative situation.

Tom, a friend of mine from out-of-state, had a “chance” encounter at a rural Colorado hotel with another friend who is on part-time staff with a Christian organization. I’ll call him Joe. Tom described Joe as “interesting because parts of his personality were pleasant; at other times he appeared to be rude and demanding.” I pressed for details and passed them on to Joe’s team leader, who said he would talk with Joe about the importance of a Jesus-follower being “on-duty 24/7 even when you’re in the mountains with your grandsons.”

A little while later I received a call from Joe thanking me for passing along Tom’s observations and to everyone for “helping him stay between the ditches.”

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. Proverbs 15.31 – 33, ESV)

It’s refreshing when someone responds biblically!

My long-time friend Bob inquired into my health the other day, and I asked how he was doing. He responded with a long story of how he and his wife are caring for her sister from out of state who was involved in an auto accident. The details aren’t relevant here, but Bob said they were hoping they could get the sister re-certified to drive so she could return home.

Never afraid to offer unwanted advice, I wrote something like, “It’s none of my business, but is it realistic to try to get someone driving who’s already had a number of recent accidents?” I suggested that between her friends and the number of delivery options available these days, maybe she wouldn’t have to be able to drive to move back home.

Most people would have said something like, “You’re right. It is none of your business.” But not Bob. Here’s what he wrote:

You make some good points about delivery services.  We’ll have to look into that-plus Uber and Lyft for taking her to the doctors, etc.  Your ideas are always welcome-you’re a brother as well as a friend so you need not ever be concerned about something being your business or not.  That’s not an issue to me–you can always feel free to speak into my life with your thoughts, ideas, concerns, etc!

Bob is a wise man; I’m glad to be his brother and friend.

A wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12.15, ESV)

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27.17, NIV)

The more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances. (Proverbs 11.14, MSG)

It’s amazing how one’s perspective changes over time.

My friend Ray, 70 years old, life-long athlete, fellow disciple-maker, and I were discussing my knee surgery (from which I’m continuing to recover). Ray’s doctor said his knees appear OK for now with this caveat: “If it hurts when you do something, don’t do that anymore!” So Ray has backed off running in favor of walking and cycling.

The doc’s advice made perfect sense, and I practice it myself. Except I immediately thought of my conversation with a doctor back in 1981. I had hurt my knee playing soccer in 1979, and two years later, it wasn’t back to full strength. I thought it needed some surgical intervention. One orthopedist told me essentially the same thing Ray’s doctor told him: “Look, Bob. If it hurts to play basketball, don’t play basketball anymore.” My immediate response was, “Doc, I’m 34 years old, I have three sons, there’s no reason for me to stop playing basketball or anything else I want to do. I want my knee fixed!”

What’s the difference? I’m nearly 40 years older, that’s what! We all used to think, “That won’t happen to me!” But it has. As Ray said, the Bible speaks to that in a few places:

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”— …when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim; …when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along… (Ecclesiastes 12.1 – 5, NIV)

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4.16, NIV)

Here’s a great blog by Seth Godin in its entirety:

Often, people encounter ideas that are spreading like wildfire. The problem with a wildfire is that not only is it out of control, but it leaves nothing but destruction in its wake. Build an idea that spreads like wildflowers instead. –Seth Godin, August 17, 2020

It seems that Jesus intended the Kingdom to spread more like wildflowers than wildfire. He talked about a little leaven in a lump of dough and about a tree growing from a mustard seed. (Matthew 13.31 – 33)

He chose twelve men and built into them over a couple years and sent them out. (Luke 6.12 – 16) To be sure, there was a jump-start at Pentecost, but after that, it was person to person, Holy Moments, drip by drip, deeds of love and mercy, growing like wildflowers. A nice image.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2.14, NIV)

Our pastor closed yesterday with a simple thought from Philippians. He said something like:

Look how many people have been blessed by this letter down through the centuries. I’m sure Paul had no idea the impact his letter to the Philippians would have. What about us? Is there someone you need to write to encourage them? Who knows what your impact would be? – Dr. Dave Jordan-Irwin, August 16, 2020

That’s a good word. My friend Col Craigie was known for his hand-written notes. There’s a lady in our church who writes at least one note to a grandchild every day. A brother in our church sends me a hand-written note every time I preach. I keep them!

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. (2 Peter 3.1, NIV)

The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 1.1, 2, NIV)

I sent out a ministry update letter, which opened with the good report on my knee replacement surgery. Then I included what I called “perspective.” In addition to reporting the death of my friend Crusher Craigie, which readers of this blog are well aware of, I included this short paragraph:

Among other close friends, we have one at home recovering from August 6 brain surgery, another undergoing chemo for Stage 4 lung cancer, and a high school classmate who just lost his wife to cancer and his sister to COVID on the same day.

People seemed to resonate with that. One friend reported that her husband is in hospice “ready when God calls.” She also reported on the 18-year-old daughter of a friend with a rare form of pediatric cancer. That’s got to be tough.

A Navigator colleague thanked me “for that great reminder never to take our health for granted.”

A friend here in our area wrote: “Like you, it seems so many of our friends are facing health challenges or crises.  Yes, our lives are very fragile, and we must be thankful for every day the Lord gives us.” 

I could go on. But I take comfort in the promise and the present reality of Revelation 21:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21.1 – 4, ESV. UNTIL the former things have passed away, there will be death, mourning, crying, and pain.)

Can we take a break and do something just for fun? Actually, not just for fun – for encouragement, too.

The Rev. Lonnie Lacy, an Episcopal priest in Tifton, Georgia, wrote and performed a parody of a song from Hamilton. It’s about one day we will be back in church, singing hymns, receiving communion, and seeing friends. If you don’t have a sense of humor, don’t watch it! His church might not look like your church, and he might not dress and act like your pastor, but he just wanted to get this message out there:

What I have discovered is there is such a hunger to be back together. The video is a little humorous word of hope, a promise that God is going to get us through this. There is going to be another side of this, and we will get back together. The Rev. Lonnie Lacy, reported in Episcopal News Service

“God is going to get us through this…” reminds me of my mother’s favorite verse fragment:

It came to pass… And so will COVID.

I love variety and creativity, but when it comes to certain things, we just need to run the play as drawn up. 

I’m still struggling to teach math to a young high-schooler, and I’ve never seen such creative rule inventing! We were working through a problem involving exponents, and every time he tried it, he invented a different rule! Variety?

On a geometry problem I had told him explicitly how to get started and what mathematical properties to use. He immediately went in a different direction. “Why didn’t you follow the guidance I gave you?” “I was trying a creative approach.” It was creative all right, involving properties of parallel lines when there were no parallel lines in the figure!

Many families have at least one kid whose motto is, “But I want to do it my way.” It reminds me of the fellow I had in Bible study years ago. A relatively young believer, his favorite phrase was, “But I thought…” 

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. (Proverbs 14.12, NIV)

Wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. (Proverbs 8.11, 12, NIV)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2.15, NIV)

I hate to have to write this, but it appears to be necessary. Why are believers reluctant to wear masks? A friend of mine in a very small church said that when they started to meet again, half were strongly in favor of wearing the mask (per state order), and the other half were strongly opposed.

I believe it’s a very simple “care about the other person” issue. The New Testament is filled with counsel along those lines. For example,

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. (Romans 15.1, 2, ESV)

There’s a fellow in our church that has a weakened immune system and was wearing a mask and giving fist bumps long before COVID. By any definition, he is “weaker.” June just talked with a “strong” believer this week: “I believe in Psalm 91.” Look it up – it’s the protection Psalm. “He will deliver you from the deadly pestilence,” is in there. June responded, “I’m a huge fan of Psalm 91; I pray it every time I fly. But I’m also a nurse…”

The obligation of the “strong” believer in God’s protection is to wear a mask to honor the weaker believer – after all, the purpose of the mask in these COVID times is not to protect yourself as much as to protect the other person.

I’m pleased that some pastors aren’t afraid to say the same thing. My friend John Ed Mathison of Montgomery, AL, the state whose motto is, “We dare defend our rights,” wrote about masks, and here’s some of what he said:

One issue is about wearing masks. I will wear one at appropriate times to communicate that I care about other people…One of the best ways to help contain the spread of COVID-19 is for everybody to try to help take care of each other. We are better together! Whether something is mandated, suggested, or proposed, I need to seriously consider participating. If it’s going to save the life of one person or keep one person from contracting the coronavirus, it’s worth any kind of inconvenience on my part…If we try to curtail COVID-19 by practicing “I, Me, Mine,” our society will fall apart and the virus will continue to spread. The best decisions are based on The Golden Rule: “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.” (Matthew 7:12 MSG) – John Ed Mathison, August 12, 2020.

A local pastor in Colorado Springs, whom I don’t know, has been preaching a series of COVID-related sermons. David Ramsey, writing in the Colorado Springs Gazette, said this about Pastor Ed White of Eastside Church of Christ:

Early in the summer, [Pastor White] examined the question, “To Mask or Not to Mask.” White dislikes wearing a mask, which causes his glasses to fog and leaves him looking, borrowing his word, “goofy.” Yet he believes a Christian should wear a mask in public as a statement of care to fellow woman and man. David Ramsey, Gazette

Again, scripture is clear:

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [or of mask-wearing or not mask-wearing!] but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14.13 – 17, ESV)

I haven’t written about the COVID-19 pandemic in a while, but it’s still very much with us, along with a plethora of people trying to figure out what God is up to or telling us what God is up to. Some have said it’s a sign of the end times. Others, that it’s a call to repentance.

An excellent book, hot off the press, decries this approach. It’s N.T. Wright’s God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath. I recommend the book – it’s a short read. One of his arguments is that the question isn’t, “Why is this happening?” it’s, “What do we do now?” He points out that when Agabus predicted a world-wide famine, the Antioch church did not waste time trying to figure out why it was happening. Instead, they decided what they should do:

One of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. (Acts 11.28, 29, ESV)

Then Dr. Wright makes this simple case:

The Lord’s Prayer is our ‘norm’. Are we looking for sudden signs of the End? No: we pray every day, ‘Thy Kingdom Come on earth as in heaven’, and we know that prayer will be answered because of what we know about Jesus. Are we looking for fresh, sudden calls to repent? No: we pray every day, ‘Forgive us our Trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ We know that prayer will be answered, because of what we know about Jesus. Are we then looking for fresh reasons to leave our comfortable lifestyles and tell our neighbours the good news? Well, shame on us if it takes a pandemic to get us to that point. Why wasn’t Jesus’ command enough? ‘As the father sent me, so I’m sending you’; ‘Go and make all nations into disciples’. As Paul knew in Athens, you don’t need extra signs. (Page 52)

Here’s what N.T. Wright was referring to with respect to Paul in Athens. I don’t think I need to add anything else.

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17.29 – 31, ESV)